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THE FARTHKR
Adventure s
■■ O^^ of C5^-^^^
ROBIKSOK CRUSOE;
The Second and Last Part
L I F E ,
TRAVELS
..K-ouind three pairts of dieOlolbe .
VOL. 11.
THE WEW YORK
POBUC LIBRARY I
7587:i7A
ASTOR, Z.BNOX AMD
TU^KJN FOUMOATXOMSl
Jl 1036 L
THE
P R E F AC E. ^^
fT^ HE fiiccels the former part of this Work
■*■ has met with in the world, has yet been
no other than is acknowledged to be due to
the furprifing variety of the fubjed, and to
the agreeable manner of the performance.
All the endeavours of envious people to re-
proach it with being a romance, to fearch it
for errors in geography, inconfiftency in the
relation, and contradidions in the faft, have
proved abortive, and as impotent as mali-
cious.
^ The juft application of every incident, the
^ religious and ufeful inferences drawn from
^ every part, are fo many teftimonies to the
2 good defign of making it public, and muft
legitimate all the part that may be called in-
vention or parable in the ftory.
Vol. II. A Th(b
IV PREFACE,
The Second Part, if the Editor's opinion
may pafs, is (contrary to the ufage of Second
Parts) every way as entertaining as the Firfi ;
contains as ftrange and furprifing incidents,
and as great a variety of them; nor is the
application lefs ferious or fuitable ; and doubt-
lefs will, to the fober, as well as the ingenious
Reader, be every way as profitable and di-
verting; and this makes the abridging this
Work as fcandalous, as it is knavifh and ridi-
culous. Seeing, to fhorten the Book, that they
may feem to reduce the value, they ftrip it of
all thofe reflexions, as well religious as moral,
which are not only the greateft beauties of the
Work, but are calculated for the infinite ad-
vantage of the Reader.
By this, they leave the Work naked of its
brighteft ornaments; and yet they would' (at
the fame time they pretend that the Author
has fupplied his ftory out of his invention)
take from it the improvement, which alone
recommends that invention to wife and good
men.
The injury thefe men do to the Propri-
etors of Works, is a practice all honeft
4 men
PREFACE. V
men abhor ; and they believe they may chal-
lenge them to fhew the difference between that
and robbing on the highway, or breaking open
a houfe.
If they cannot Ihew any difference in the
crime, they will find it hard to fhew why
there fhould be any difference in the punifh-
ment.
The farther
ADVENTURES
O F
ROBINSON CRUSOE,
^InHAT homely proverb ufed on fo many occa-
,-*• fions in England^ viz. That what is bred in the
bone will not go outofthejlejh^ was never more verified
than in the ftory of my LIFE. Any one would think,
that after thirty-five years affliftion, and a variety of
unhappy circumftances, which few men, if any, ever
went through before, and after near feven years of
peace and enjoyment in the fulnefs of all things;
grown old, and when, if ever, it might be allowed
me to have had experience of every ftate of middle
life, and to know which was moll adapted to make
a man compleatly happy ; I fay, after all this, any
one would have thought that the native propenfity to
rambling, which I gave an account of in my firft
fetting out into the world to have beeii fo predomi^
Vol. !!• B nant
2 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
nate in my thoughts, fliould be worn out, the volafife
part be fully evacuated, or at leaft condenfed, and I
might at 6 1 years of age have been a little inclined to
ftay at home, and have done venturing life and for-
tune any more.
Nay farther, the common motive of foreign ad-'
ventures was taken away in me; for I had no fortune
to make, I had nothing to feek : If I had gained ten
thoufand pounds, I had been no richer; for I had
already fufficient for me, and for thofe I had to leave
it to ; and that I bad was vifibly increafmg ; for
having no great family, I could not fpend the income
of what I had, unlefs I would fct up for an expenfive
way of living, fuch as a great family, fervants,
equipage, gaiety, and the like, which were things I
had no notion of, or inclination to ; fo that I had
nothing indeed to do but to fit ftill, and fully enjoy
what I had got, and fee it increafe daily upon my
bands*
Yet all thefe things had no efFeft upon me, or at
leaft not enough to refift the ftrong inclination I
had to go abroad again, which hung about me like a
chronical diftemper ; particularly the defire of feeing
my new plantation in the ifland^ and the colony I left
there, run in my head continually. I dreamed of it
all night, and my imagination run upon it all day ;
it was uppermoft in all my thoughts, and my fancy
worked fo fteadily and ftrongly upon it, that I talked
of it in my fleep; in fhort, nothing could remove it
out of my mind; It even broke fo violently into all
niy difcourfes, that it made my converfation tirefome;
for I could talk of nothing elfe, all my difcourfe run
into it, even to impertinence, and I faw it myfelf,
I have
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE*
1 have often heard perfons of good jiidgitietit fay,
that all the ftir people make in the world about
ghofts and apparitions^ is owing to the ftrength of
imaginationj and the powerful operation of fancy
in their minds ; that there is no flich thing as a fpirit
appearing, or a ghoft walking, and the like; that
peopIe^s poring affectionately upon the paft converfa-
tion of their deceafed friends fo realifes it to them,
that they are capable of fancying upon fome extra*
ordinary circumftances that they fee them, talk to
them, and are anfwered by them, when, in truth,
there is nothing but fhadow and vapour in the thing j
and they really know nothing of the tnatten
For my part, I know not to this hour whether
there are any fuch things as real apparitions, fpeftres,
or walking of* people after they are dead, or whether
there is any thing in the ftories they tell us of that
kind, more than the produd of vapours, fick minds j
and wandering fancies: But this I know, that my
imagination worked up to fuch a height, and brought
me into fuch excefs of vapours, or what elfe I may
call it, that I adually fuppofed myfelf often-times
upon the fpot, at my old caftle behind the trees, faw
my old Spaniard^ Friday^ father, and the reprobate
iailors whom I left upon the ifland; nay, I fancied I talk-
ed with them, and looked at them fo fteadily, though
I was broad awake, as at perfons juft before me ; and
this I did till I often frightened myfelf with the images
my fancy reprefented to me: one time in my fleep I
had the villainy of the three pirate failors fo lively relat-
ed to me by the firft Spaniard and Fryday\ father, that
it was furprizing; they told me how they barbaroufly
iittempted to murder all the Spaniards^ and that they
B z ht
<
4 LlfE AND ADVENTURES
fet fire to the provifions they had laid up, on pur-
pofe to diftrefs and ftarve them, things that I had
never heard of, and that were yet all of them
true in faft : but it was fo warm in my imagina-
' tion, and fo realized to me, that to the hour I faw
them, I could not be perfuaded but that it was or
would be true ; alfo, how I refented it when the
Spaniard comphintd to me, and how I brought them
to jullice, tried them before me, and ordered them
all three to be hanged : what there was really in this,
fliall be feen in its place : for however, I came to form
fuch things in my dream, and what fecret converfe
of fpirits injedted it, yet there was, I fay, very much
of it true. I own, that this dream had nothing
literally and fpecifically true: but the general part
was fo true, the bafe and villainous behaviour of thefe
three hardened rogues was fuch, and had been fo
much worfe than all I can defcribe, that the dream
had too much fimilltude of the faft, and as I would
aft'jrwards have puniflied them, feverely; fo if I had
hanged them all, I had been much in the right, and
fhould have been juftifiable both by the laws of God
and man.
But to return to my ftory. In this kind of temper
I had lived fome years ; I had no enjoyment of my
life, no pleafant hours, no agreeable diyerfion but
what had fomething or other of this in it, fo that
my wife, who faw my tnind fo wholly bent upon it,
told me very ferioufly one night, that fhe believed
^ there was fome fecret powerful impulfe of Providence
upon me, which had determined me to go thither
again ; and that fhe found nothing hindred my going
but my being engaged to a wife and children. She
told
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 5
■
told me, that it was true fhe could not think of part-
ing with me ; but as fhe was aflTured, that if fhe was
dead it would be the firfl: thing I would do ; fo, as
it feemed to her that the thing was determined above,
fhe would not be the only obftruclion: for if I
thought fit, and refolved to go here fhe found
me very intent upon her words, and that I looked
very earneflly at her ; fo that it a little difordcred her,
and fhe flopped. I afked her why fhe did not go on,
and fay out what fhe was going to fay ? But I per-
ceived her heart was too full, and fome tears flood in
her eyes : Speak out my dear, faid I, are you willing
I fhould go ? No, fays fhe, very affeftionately, I am far
from willing : but if you are refolved to go, fays fhe,
and rather than I will be the only hindrance, I will
go with you ; for though I think it a prepofle-
rous thing for one of your years, and in your condi-
tion, yet if it mufl be, faid fhe again, weeping, I
won't leave you ; for if it be of heaven, you mufl
do it ; there is no refifling it ; and if heaven makes
it your duty to go, he will alfo make it mine to go
with you, or otherwife difpofe of me, that I may
not obflrudl it.
This affeftionate behaviour of my wife brought
me a little out of the vapours, and I began to confider
what I was doing ; I correfted my wandering fancy,
and began to argue with myfelf fedately, what bufi-
nefs I had, after threefcore years, and after fuch a
life of tedious fufferings and difaflers, and clofed in
fo happy and eafy a manner, I fay, what bufinefs
had I to ruih into new hazards, and ^ut myfelf upon
adventures, fit only for youth and poverty to run
into f
B 3 With
6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
With thofe thoughts, I confidered my new engagci
ment ; that I had a wife, one child born, and my
wife then great with child of another j that I had
all the world could give me, and had no need to feek
hazards for gain ; that I was declining in years, and
ought to think rather of leaving what I had gained,
than of feeking to increafe it ; that as to what my
wife had faid, of its being an impulfe from heaven,
and that it fhould be my duty to go, I had no notioA
of that ; fo after many of thefe cogitations, I ftrug^
gled with the power of my imagination, reafoned my-^
felf out of it, as I believe people may always do in like
cafes ^ if they will ; and, in a word, I conquered it;
compofed myfelf with fuch arguments as occurred to
my thoughts, and which my prefent condition fur*
nifhed me plentifully with ; and particularly, as the
mod effeftual method, I refolved to divert myfelf
with other things, and to engage in fome bufmefs
that might effeftually tie me up from any more
excurfions of this kind ; for I found the thing return
upon me chiefly when I was idle, had nothing to do,
or any thing of moment immediately before me.
To this purpofe I bought a little farm in the coun-
ty of Bedford^ and refolved to remove myfelf thither.
I had a little convenient houfe upon it, and the land
about it I found was capable of great improvement,
and that it was many ways fuited to my inclination,
which delighted in cultivating, managing, planting
and improving of land ; and particularly, being an
inland country, I was removed from converfing
fimong fhips, failors, and things relating to the re-f
piote part gf the world,
la
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. J
In a word, I went down to my farm, fettled my
family, bought me ploughs, harrows, a cart, waggon,
horfes, cows, flieep ; and fetting ferioufly to work,
became in one half year a meer country gentleman;
my thoughts were entirely taken up in managing my
fervants, cultivating the ground, enclofing, planting,
&c. and I lived, as I thought, the moft agreeable
life that nature was capable of diredJing, or that a
man always bred to misfortunes was capable of being
retreated to.
I farmed upon my own land, I had no rent to
pay, was limited by no articles ; I could pull up or
cut down as I pleafed : what I planted was for my-
felf, and what I improved, was for my family ; and
having thus left off the thoughts of wandering, I had
not the lead difcomfort in any part of ftiy life, as to this
world. Now I thought indeed, that I enjoyed the
middle ftate of life which my father fo earneftly re-
commended to me, a kind of heavenly life, fome*
thing like what is defcribed by the poet upon the
fubjeft of a country life.
Free from vices^ free from care^
Age has no pains^ and youth nofnare*
But in the middle of all this felicity, one blow
from unforefeen Providence unhinged me at once ;
and not only made a breach upon me, inevitable and
incurable, but drove me, by its confequence, upon
a deep relapfe into the wandering difpofition ; which,
as I may fay, being born in my very blood, foon re-
covered its hold of me, and, like the returns of a
violent diftemper, came on with an irrefiftible force
lipon me j fo that nothing could make any more
B 4 impreffion
8 LIFK AND ADVENTUHES
imprcflion upon me. This blow was the lofs rif
my wife.
It is not my bufinefs here to write an elegy upon
my wife,>to give a chai after of her particular virtues,
and make my court to the fex by the flattery of a
funeral fermon. She was, in a few words, the flay
of all my affairs, the center of all my enterprizes,
the engine that by her prudence reduced me to that
happy compafs I was in, from the mofl extravagant
and ruinous projed that fluttered in my head as
above ; and did more to guide my rambling genius,
than a mother's tears, a father's inflruftions, a friend'$
counfel, or all my own reafoning powers could do.
I was happy in liflening to her tears, and in being
moved by her entreaties, and to the lafl degree defo-
late and diflocated in the world by the lofs of her.
When flie was gone, the world looked aukwardly
round me; I was as much a ftranger in it, in my
thoughts, as I was in the Braftls when I went firfl
on Ihore there ; and as much alone, except as to the
afTiflance of fervants, as I was in my ifland. I knew
neither what to do, or what not to do. I faw the
world bufy round me, one part labouring for bread,
and the other part fquandring in vile excefljbs or
empty pleafures, equally miferable, becaufe the end
they propofed ftill fled from them ; for the men of
pleafure every day furfeited of their vice, and heaped
up work for forrow and repentance; and the men
of labour fpent their flrength in daily ftrugglings for
breath to maintain the vital flrength they laboured
with, fo living in a daily circulation of forrow, living
but to work, and working but to live, as if daily
bread
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 9
bread were the only end of a -wearifome life, and a
wearifome life the only occafion of daily bread.
This put me in mind of the life I lived in my
kingdom, the ifland ; where I fufFered no more corn
to grow, becaufe I did not want it ; and bred no
more goats, becaufe I had no more ufe for them ;
where the money lay in the drawer till it grew
mildewed, and had fcarce the favour to be looked
upon in 20 years.
All thefe things, had I improved them as I ought
to have done, and as reafon and religion had diftated
to me, would have taught me to fearch farther than
human enjoyments for a full felicity, and that there
was fomething which certainly was the reafon and
end of life, fuperior to all thefe things, and which
was either to be poJOTefled, or at lead hoped for, on
this fide the grave.
But my fage counfellor was gone; I was like a fhip
without a pilot, that could only run before the wind:
my thoughts run all away again into the old affair, my
head was quite turned with the whimfies of foreign
adventures; and all the pleafing innocent amufements
of my farm, and my garden, my cattle, and my
family, which before entirely poffeft me, were no-
thing to me, had no relifh, and were like mufic to
one that has no ear, or food to one that has no tafte:
In a word, I refolved to leave off houfe-keeping, lett
my farm, and return to London; and in a few
months after I did fo.
When I came to London, I was ftill as uneafy as
before ; I had no relifli to the place, fto employ-
ment in it, nothing to do but to faunter about like
an idle perfon, of whom it may be faid, he is per-
feftly ufelefs in God's creation and it is not one
farthing
lO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
farthing matter to the reft of his kind, whether he
be dead or alive. This alfo was the thing which of all
circumftances of life was the moft my averfion, who
had been all my days ufed to an aftive life; and
I would often fay to myfelf, Ajiate of idlenefs is the
very dregs of life; and indeed I thought I was much
more fuitably employed, when I was 26 days
making me a deal board.
It was now the beginning of the year 1693, when
my nephew, whom as I have obferved before I had
brought up to the fea, and had made him commander
of a fhip, was come home from a fhort voyage to
Bilboa, being the firft he had made ; he came
to me, and told me, that fome merchants of his
acquaintance had been propofing to him to go a
voyage for them to the Eq/i Indies and to China j as
private traders : and now uncle, fays he, if you will
go to fea with me, Fll engage to land you upon your
old habitation in the ifland, for we are to touch at
the Brafds.
Nothing can be a greater demonftration of a future
ftate, and of the exiftence of an invifible world, than
the concurrence of fecond caufes with the ideas of
things which we form in our minds, perfectly re*
ferved, and not communicated to any in the world.
My nephew knew nothing how far my diftemper
of wandering was returned upon me, and I knew
nothing of what he had in his thoughts to fay, when
that very morning before he came to me I had, in
a great deal of confufion of thought, and revolving
every part of my circumftances in my mind, come
to this refolution, viz. That I would go to Lifion^^
and confult with my old fea-captain ; and fo, if it was
, rational
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. II ,
Tafional and prafticable, I would go and fee the
illand again, and fee what was become of my people
there. I had pleafed myfelf alfo with the thoughts of
peopling the place, and carrying inhabitants from
hence, getting a patent for the poffeffion, and I know
not what ; when, in the middle of all this, in comes
my nephew, as I have faid, with his project of carry-
ing me thither, in his way to the Eaji Indies.
I paufed a while at his words, and looking fteadily
at him. What Devil^ faid I, fent you of this unlucky
errand? My nephew ftartled, as if he had beea
frighted at firft ; but perceiving I was not much dif-
pleafed with the propofal, he recovered himfelf. I
hope it may not be an unlucky propofal. Sir, fays he ;
i dare fay you would be pleafed to fee your new co-
lony there, where you once reigned with more felicity
than moft of your brother monarchs in the world.
In a word, the fcheme hit fo exaftly with my tem-
per, that is to fay, with the prepoffeflion I was under,
and of which I have faid fo much, that I told him,
in few words, if he agreed with the merchants, I
would go with him : but I told him, I would not
promife to go any farther than my own ifland. Why
Sir, fays he, you don't want to be left there again,
I hope ? Why, faid I, can you not take me up again
in your return ? he told me, it could not be poffible
that the merchants would allow him to come that way
with a loaden fhip of fuch value, it being a month's
fail out of his way, and might be three or four:
Befides, Sir, if I fhould mifcarry, faid he, and not
return at ^11, then you would be juft reduced to
the condition you were in before.
This
It LIFE AND ADVENTURES
This was very rational ; but we both found out a
remedy for it, which was to carry a framed floop on
board the fhip, which, being taken in pieces arid
Ihipped on board the (hip, might, by the help of
fome carpenters, who we agreed to carry with us,
be fet up again in the ifland, and finifhed, fit to go
to fea in a few days.
I was not long refolving ; for indeed the importu-
nities of my nephew joined in fo eifeftually with my
inclination, that nothing could oppofe me : on the
other hand, my wife being dead, I had nobody con-
cerned themfelves fo much for me, as to perfuade
me one way or other, except my ancient good friend
the widow, who earneftly ftruggled with mc to con-
fider my years, my eafy circumftances, and the
needlefs hazard of a long voyage ; and, above all,
my young children : but it was all to no purpofe; I
had an irrefiftible defire to the voyage ; and I told her
I thought there was fomething fo uncommon in the
impreffions I had upon my mind for the voyage, that
it would be a kind of refilling Providence, if I fhould
attempt to fl:ay at home ; after which flie ceafed her
expoftulations, and joined with me, not only in
making provifion for my voyage, but alfo in fettling
my family affairs in my abfence, and providing for
the education of my children.
In order to this, I made my will, and fettled the
eftate I had in fuch a manner for my children, and
placed in fuch hands, that I was perfeftly eafy and
fatisfied they would have juftice done them, what-
ever might befal me ; and for their education, I left
it wholly to my widow, with a fuflicient maintenence
to'herfelf for her care : all which fiie richly deferveti;
for
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I^
for no mother could have taken more €are In their
education, or underftood it better ; and as fhe lived
till 1 came home, I alfo lived to thank her for it.
My nephew was ready to fail about the beginning
of yanuary 1 694-5, and I with my man Friday went
on board in the Downs the 8th, having befides that
iloop which I mentioned above, a very confiderable
•cargo of all kinds of neceffary things for my colony,
which, if I did not find in good condition, I refolved
to leave fo.
Firft, I carried with me fome fervants, whom I pur-
pofed to place there, as inhabitants, or at lead to fet
on work there upon my own account, while I ftayed,
and either to leave them there, or carry them for-
ward, as they fhould appear willing; particularly, \
carried two carpenters, a fmith, and a very handy
ingenious fellow who was a cooper by trade, but
was alfo a general mechanick ; for he was dextrous
at making wheels, and hand-mills to grind com, wa«
a good turner, and a good pot maker ; he alfo made
any thing that was proper to make of earth, or of
wopd ; in a word, we called him our Jack of all
trades.
With thefe I carried a taylor^ who had offered
himfelf to go paffenger to the Eaji Indies with my
nephew, but afterwards confented to flay on our new
plantation, and proved a moft neceffary handy fellow
as could be defired, in many other bufineffes befides
that of this trade ; for, as I obferved formerly, necef-
fity arms us for all employments.
My cargo, as near as I can recoiled, for I have
not kept an account of the particulars, cpnfifled of a
Sufficient quantity of linen, and fome thin Englijh
fluffs
14 JLIFE AND ADVENTURES
(luffs for cloathing the Spaniards that I expefled (^
find there^ and enough of them as by my calculation
might comfortably fupply them for feven years ; if I
remember right, the materials which I carried for cloath-
ing them, with gloves, hats, fhoes, (lockings, and all
fuch things as they could want for wearing, amount-
ed to above 200 pounds, including fome beds, bed-
ding, and hou(hold-(luff, particularly kitchen uten-
fils, with pots, kettles, pewter, brafs, &c. befides near
a hundred pounds more in iron-work, nails, tools of
every kind, (laples, hooks, hinges, and every necef-
fary thing I could think of.
I carried alfo a hundred fpare arms, mulkets, and
fuzees, befides fome pidols, a confiderable quantity
of (hot of all (izes, three or four tons of lead, and
two pieces of brafs cannon j and becaufe I knew not
what time, and what tetremities I was providing for,
I carried ah hundred barrels of powder, befides
fwords, cutlaffes, and the iron part of fome pikes,
and halberts ; fo that in (hort we had a large maga-
zine of all forts of (lores ; and I made my nephew
carry two fmall quarter-deck guns more than he
wanted for his (hip, to leave behind, if there was
occafion ; that when they came there^ we might build
a fort, and man it againft all forts of enemies : and
indeed, I at fird thought there would be need enough
of it all, and much more, if we hoped to maintain
our pofleflion of the ifland, as (hail be feen in the
courfe of the (lory.
I had not fuch bad luck in this voyage as I had
been ufed to meet with ; and therefore (hall have the
lefs occafion to interrupt the reader, who perhaps
may be impatient to hear how matters went with
my colony} yet fome odd accidents, crpfs winds,
andi
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 1$
and bad weather happened, on this firft fetting out,
which made the voyage longer than I expedled it at
firft ; and I, who had never made but one voyage,
(viz.) my jirji voyage to Guinea^ in which I might be
faid to come back again as the voyage was at firft
defigned, began to think the fame ill fate ftill attended
ifne; and that I was born to be never contented with
being on fhore, and yet to be always unfortunate
at fea.
Contrary winds firft put us to the northward, and
we were obliged to put in at Galway in Ireland^ where
we lay wind-bound two and thirty days ; but we
had this fatisfa£tion with the difafter, that provifions
were here exceeding cheap, and in the utmoft plen-
ty ; fo that while we lay here we never touched
the fhip's ftores, but rather added to them ; here alfo
I took feveral hogs, and two cows, with their calves,
which I refolved, if I had a good paffage, to put on
fliore in my ifland; but we found occafion to difpofe
otherwife of them.
We fet out the 5th of February from Ireland^ and
had a very fair gale. of wind for fome days; as I re-
member, it might be about the 20th of February in
the evening late, when the mate having the watch,
came into the round-houfe, and told us he faw a
flafh of fire, and heard a gun fired ; and while he was
telling us of it, a boy came in, and told us the boat-
fwain heard another.^ This made us all run out upon
the quarter-deck, where for a while we heard nothing,
but in a few minutes we faw a very great light, and
found that there was fome veryterriblefireat a diftance;
immediately we had recourfe to our reckonings, in
which we all agreed that there could be no land
that
l6 rrPB AND ADVENTURED
that way, in which the fire fhewed itfelf, no not fof
500 leagues, for it appeard at W, N. W. upon this
we concluded it muft be fome fhip on fire at fea ; and
as by our hearing the noife of guns juft before, we
concluded it could not be far off, we ftood direSly
towards it, and were prefently fatisfied we Ihould
difcover it, bfecaufe the farther we failed the greater
the light appeared, tho* the weather being hazy we
could not perceive any thing but the light for a
while ; in about half an hour's failing, the wind being
fair for us, though not much of it, and the weather
clearing up a little, we could plainly difcern that it
was a great fhip on fire in the middle of the fea.
I was moft fenfibly touched with this difafter,
though not at all acqiiiainted with the perfons engaged
in it ; I prefently recollected my former circumftances,
in what condition I was in when taken up by
the Portugal Captain ; and how much more deplorable
the circumftances of the poor creatures belonging to
this fhip muft be if they had ho other fhip in company
with them : upon this I immediately ordered, that
five guns fhould be fired, one foon after another,
that, if poffible, we might give notice to them
that there was help for them at hand, and that they
might endeavour to fave themfelves in their boat;
for though we could fee the flame in the fhip, yet
they, it being night, could fee nothing of us.
We lay by fome time upon this, only driving as.
the burning fhip drove, waiting for day light; when
on a fudden, to our great terrof, though we had
reafon to expeft it, the fhip blew ijp in the air, and
immediately funk : this was terrible, and indeed an
afHiaing fight, for the fake of the poor men, who, I
concluded.
OF kOBlNSON CRUSOE. 1 7
concluded mufl be either all deftroyed in the fliip,
or be in the utmoft diftrefs in their boats in the mid-
dle of the ocean, which, at prefent, by reafon it was
dark, I could not fee : however to direft them as well
as I could, I caufed lights to be hung out in all the
parts of the (hip where we could, and which we had
lanthoms for, and kept firing guns all the night
long ; letting them know by this, that there was a
Ihip not far off.
About eight o'clock in the morning, we difcovered
the (hip's boats, by the help of our perfpefl:ive-gla(res ;
and found there were two of them, both thronged
with people, and deep in the water : we perceived
they rowed, the wind being againft them; that they
faw our (hip, and did the utmoft to make us fee
them.
We immediately fpread bur ancient, to let them
know we faw them ; and hung a waft out, as a fig-
nal for them to come on board ; and then made more
fail, ftanding direftly to them. In a little more than
half an hour, we came up with them, and, in a
word, took them all in, being no lefs than fixty-
four men, women, and children ; for there were a
great many paflTengers.
Upon the whole, we found it was a French mer-
chant-(hip of 300 tons, homeward-bound from
Rebeck, in the river of Canada. The mafter gave
us a long account of the diftrefs of his (hip, how the
fire began in the fteerage by the negligence of the
fteerfman ; but, on his crying out for help, was, as
every body thought, entirely put out : but they foon
found that fome fparks of the firft fire had gotten
into fome part of the (hip, fo difficult to come at.
Vol. II. C that
1 8 LIFE AKD AD VENTITRES
that they could not eflFeftually quench it ; and after-
wards getting in between the timbers, and within
the cieling of the (hip, it proceeded into the hold,
and maftered all the ikill and all the application
they were able to exert.
They had no more to do then but to get into their
boats, which, to their great comfort, were pretty
large ; being their long boat, and a great fhallop,
befides a fmall (kiff, which was of no great fcrvice to
them, other than to get fome frefh water and provi-
fions into her, after they had fecured themfelves from
the fire* They had indeed fmall hope of their lives
by getting into thefe boats at that diftance from toy
land; only, as they faid well, that they were efcaped
from the fire, and had a poffibility, that fome Ihip
might happen to be at fea, and might take them in^
They had fails, oars, and a compafs ; and were pre-
paring to make the beft of their way to Newfound-
landy the wind blowing pretty fair ; for it blew an
eafy gale at S. E. by E. They had as much provi-
fions and water, as, with fparing it fo as to be next
door to flarving, might fupportthem about 12 days;
in which, if they had no bad weather, and no con-
trary winds, the captain faid, he hoped he might get
to the banks of Newfoundland, and might perhaps
take fome filh to fuftain them till they might go on
fliqre. But there were fo many chances againft them
in all thefe cafes ; fuch as llorms to overfet and foun-
der them ; rains and cold to benumb and perifh their
limbs ; contrary winds to keep them out and flarve
them; that it mufl have been next to miraculous if
they had efcaped.
In the midft of their confultations, every one being
hopelefs, and ready to defpair, the captain with tears:
in
OF kdftiNsoN ciELusdE* 19
in liis eyes told me, they were on a fudden furprifed
•with the joy of hearing a gunfire, and after that
four more ; thefe were the five guns which I caufed
to be fired at firft feeing the light : this revived their
hearts, and gave them the notice, which, as above,
I defigned it fliould, viz. that there was a fhip at
hand for their help.
It was upon the hearing thefe gtlns, that they took
down their mafls and fails ; and the found coming
from the windward, they refolved to lie by till
morning. Some time after this, hearing no more
guns, they fired three mufquets, one a confiderable
while after another ; but thefe, the wind being con-
trary, we never heard.
Some time after that again, they were ftill more
agreeably furprifed with feeing our lights, and hear-
ing the guns, which, as I have faid, I caufed to be
fired all the refl of the night ; this fet them to work
with their oars to keep their boats a-head, at leaft
that we might the fooner come up with them ; and
at laft, to their inexpreffible joy, they found we faw
them
It is impoflible for me to exprefs the feveral geflures,
the ftrange ecftafies, the variety of poftures, which
thefe poor delivered people run into, to exprefs the
joy of their fouls at fo unexpected a deliverance ;
grief and fear are eafily defcribed; fighs, tears,
groans, and a very few motions of head and hands,
make up the fum of its variety : but an excefs of joy,
a furprife of joy, has athoufand extravagancies in itf
there were fome in tears, fome raging and tearing
themfelves, as if they had been in the greatefl agonies
of forrow j fome ftark raving and down-right luna-
C 2 tic:
fiO LIPE AND ADVENTURES
tic ; fome ran about the (hip ftamping with their
feet, others wringing their hands ; fome were
dancing, feveral finging, fome laughing, more cry-
ing ; many quite dumb, not able to fpeak a word ;
others fick and vomiting, feveral fwooning, and
ready to faint ; and a few were crofSng themfelves
and giving God thanks.
I would not wrong them neither ; there might be
many that were thankful afterwarci ; but the paflion
was too ftrong for them at firft, and they were not
able to mafter it ; they were thrown into ecftafies and
a kind of frenzy, and fo there were but a very few
who were compofed and ferious in their joy.
Perhaps alfo the cafe may have fome addition to it,
from the particula,r circumftance of the nation they
belonged to ; I mean the French^ whofe temper is
allowed to be more volatile, more.pafiionate, and
more fprightly, and their fpirits more fluid, than of
other nations. I am not philofopher to determine
the caufe, but nothing I had ever feen before came
up to it : the ecflafies poor Friday^ my trufty favage,
was in, when he found his father in the boat, came
the neareft to it ; and the furprife of the mafter, and
his two companions, whom I delivered from the two
villains that fet them on fhore in the ifland, came a
little way towards it; but nothing was to compare
to this, either that I faw in Friday^ or any where elfe
in my life.
It is farther obfervable, that thefe extravagancies
d* d not (how themfelves in that diflferent manner I
have mentioned, in diflferent perfons only : but all
the variety would appear in a fhort fucceflion of mo-
ments, in one and the fame perfon. A man that we
faw
OF ROBINSON" CRUSOE. 21
few this minute dumb, and, as it were, flupid and
confounded, (hould the next minute be dancing and
hallooing like an antick ; and the next moment a
tearing his hair, or pulling his clothes to pieces, and
llamping them under his feet like a madman ; a few
minutes after that, we fhould have him all in tears,
then fick, then fwooning ; and had not immediate
help been had, would in a few moments more have
been dead ; and thus it was, not with one or two,
or ten or twenty, but with the greateft: part of them;
and, if I remember right, our furgeon was obliged to
let above thirty of them blood.
There were two piiefts among them, one an old
man, and the other a young man ; and that which
was ftrangeft was, that the oldeft man was the
worft.
As foon as he fet his foot on board our fhip, and
faw himfelf fafe, he dropped down ftone-dead, to all
appearance ; not the leaft fign of life could be per-
ceived in him ; our furgeon immediately applied pro-
per remedies to recover him ; and was the only man
in the (hip that believed he was not dead : and at
length he opened a vein in his arm, having firft cha-
fed and rubbed the part, fo as to warm it as much
as poffible : upon this the blood, which only dropped
at firft, flowed fomething freely ; in three minutes
after the man opened his eyes ; and about a quarter
of an hour after that he fpoke, grew better, and,
in a little time, quite well ; after the blood was flop-
ped, he walked about, told us he was perfeftly well,
took a dram of cordial which the furgeon gave him,
and was, what we called, come to himfelf; about a
quarter of an hour after this, they came running
C 3 into
22 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
into the cabbin to the furgeon, who was bleeding a
French woman that had fainted ; and told him, the
prieft was gone ftark mad. It feems he had began
to revolve the change of his circumftances in his
mind, and this put him into an ecftacy of joy ; his
fpirits whirled about fafter than th^ veffels could con-
vey them ; the blood grew hot and feverifti ; and the
man was as fit for Bedlam as any creature that ever
was in it ; the furgeon would not bleed him again in
that condition, but gave him fomething to doze and
put him to fleep, which, after fome time, operated
upon him, and he waked next morning perfedtly
compofed, and welL
The younger prieft behaved himfelf with great com-
mand of his paffion, and was really an example of a
ferious well-governed mind ; at his firft coming on
board the fliip, he threw himfelf flat on his face,
proftrating himfelf in thankfulnefs for his deliverance;
in which I unhappily and unfeafonably difturbed him,
really thinking he had been in a fwoon; but he fpoke
calmly; thanked me; told me, he was giving God
thanks for his deliverance ; begged me to leave him
a few moments, and that, next to his Maker, he
would give me thanks alfo.
I was heartily forry that I difturbed him ; and not
only left him, but kept others from interrupting him
alfo ; he continued in that pofture about three
• minutes, or a little more, after I left him ; then came
to me, as he had faid he would, and, with a great
deal of ferioufnefs and afFeftion, but with tears in
his eyes, thanked me, that had, under God, given
him and fo many miferable creatures their lives ;
I told him, I had no room to move him to thank
God
OF ROBIKSON CkUSOfi* H^
God for it, rather than me ; for I had feen, that he
had done that already: but I added, that it was
nothing but what reafon and humanity diftated to
all men, and that we had as much reafon as he to
give thanks to God, who had bleffed us fo far as to
make us the inftruments of his mercy to fo many of
his creatures.
After this the young priefl applied himfelf to his
country folks ; laboured to compofe them ; perfuaded
intreated, argued, reafoned with them, and did his
iitmoft to keep them within the exercife of their rea-
fon ; and with fome he had fuccefs, though others
were, for a time, out of all government of
themfelves.
I cannot help committing this to writing, as per-
haps it may be ufeful to thofe into whofe hands it
may fall, in the guiding themfelves in all the extrava-
gancies of their paffions ; for if an excefs of joy can
carry men out to fuch a length beyond the reach of
their reafon, what will not the extravagancies of
anger, rage, and a provoked mind, carry us to?
And indeed, here I faw reafon for keeping an ex-
ceeding watch over our paffions of every kind, as
well thofe of joy and fatisfaftion, as thofe of forrow
and anger.
We were fomething difordered by thefe extrava-
gancies among our new guefts for the firft day j but
when they had been retired, lodgings provided for
them as well as our fhip would allow, and they had
flept heartily, as moft of them did, being fatigued
and frightened, they were quite another fort of peo-
ple the next day.
C 4 Nothing
\
64 I-IFE AND ADVENTURES
Nothing of good manners, or civil acknow-
ledgments for the kindnefs fliewn them was wanting ;
the French, it is known, are naturally apt enough
to exceed that way. The captain, and one of the
priefts, came to me the next day ; and, defiring to
fpeak with me and my nephew, the commander,
began to confult with us what fliould be done with
them ; and firft they told us, that, as we had faved
their lives, fo all they had was little enough for a
return to us for the kindnefs received. The captain
faid, they had faved fome money, and fome things
of value in their boats, catched haftily out of the
flames ; and if we would accept it, they were ordered
to make an offer of it all to us ; they only defired to
be fet on fhore fomewhere in our way, where, if
poflible, they might get a paffage to France.
My nephew was for accepting their money at firft
word, and to confider what to do with them after-
wards ; but I over-ruled him in that part ; for I knew
what it was to be fet on fhore in a ftrange country ;
and if the Portugal captain that took me up at fea
had ferved me fo, and took all I had for my delive-
rance, I muft have ftarved, or have been as much a
flave at the Brafils, as I had been at Barbary, the
being fold to a Mahometan only excepted ; and per-
haps a Portuguefe is not a much better mailer than a
Turk, if not, in fome cafes, a much worfe.
I therefore told the French captain, that we had
taken them up in their diftrefs, it was true ; but that
it was our duty to do fo, as wq were fellow-creatures,
and as we would defire to be fo delivered, if we were
in the like or any other extremity ; that we had done
nothing for them, but wh^t we believed they would
have
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 25
have done for us if we had been in their cafe, and
they in our's ; but that we took them up to ferve them,
not to plunder them ; and that it would be a moll bar-
barous thing, to take that little from them which they
had faved out of the fire, and then fet them on Ihore,
and leave them ; that this would be firft to fave
them from death, and then kill them ourfelves ; favc
them from drowning, and then abandon them to
ftarving; and therefore I would not let the leaft
thing be taken from them : as to fetting them on
Ihore, I told them indeed, that was an exceeding
difficulty to us, for that the fhip was bound to the
EaJi'Indies ; and though we were driven out of our
courfe to the weftward a very great way, which per-
haps was dire<3:ed by heaven on purpofe for their de-
liverance, yet it was impoffible for us wilfully to
change our voyage on this particular account ; nor
could my nephew, the captain, anfwer it to the
freighters, with whom he was under charter-party to
purfue his voyage by the Wciy o£ Bra/il ; and all i
knew he could do for them was, to put ourfelves in
the way of meeting with other fhips homeward-
bound from the Pfeji-Indies^ and get them paffage,
if poffible, to England or France.
The firft part of the prppofal was fo generous and
kind, they could not but be very thankful for it ; but
they were in a great confternation, efpecially the paf-
fengers, at the notion of being carried away to the
Eajl-Indies : they then intreated me, that feeing I
was driven fo far to the weftward before I met with
them, I would at leaft keep on the fame courfe to the
banks of Neufoundland^ where it was poffible I might
meet with fome (hip or floop that they might hire to
carry them back to Canada^ from whence they came.
I though
26 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
I thought this was but a reafonable requeft on their
part ; and therefore I inclined to agree tp it ; for in-
deed I confidered, that to carry this whole company
to the EaJi'Indies^ would not only be an intolerable
feverity to the poor people, but would be ruining our
whole voyage by devouring all our provifions \ fo I
thought it no breach of charter-party, but what an
unforefeen accident made abfolutely neceffary to us ;
and in which no one could fay we were to blame;
for the laws of God and nature would have forbid,
that we fliould refufe to take up two boats full of
people in fuch a diftreffed condition ; and the nature
of the thing as well refpeding ourfelves, as the poor
people, obliged us to fee them on fhore fomewhere
or other, for their deliverance ; fo I confented that
we would carry them to Newfoundland^ if wind and
weather would permit ; and, if not, that I would
carry them to Martinico in the Weji-Indies.
The wind continued frelh eafterly, but the wea-
ther pretty good ; and as it had blowed continually
in the points between N» E. and S. E. a long time,
we miffed feveral opportunities of fending them to
France ; for we met feveral fliips bound to Europe ^^
whereof two were French^ from St. Chrt/iopher* s ;
but they had been fo long beating up againft the
wind, that they durft take in no paffengers for fear
of wanting provifions for the voyage, as well for
themfelves as for thofe they fiiould take in ; fo we
were obliged to go on. It was about a week after this,
that we made the Banks of Newfoundland^ where, to
(horten my ftory^ we put all our French people on
board a bark, which they hired at fea there, to put
them on fhore, and afterwards to carry them to
France^
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. ^7
Trance^ if they could get provifions to viftual them-
felves with : when, I fay, all the French went on
fhore, I fliould remember, that the young prieft I
fpoke of, hearing we were bound to the Eaji Indies^
defired to go the voyage with us, and to be fet on
fliore on the coaft of Coromandel : I readily agreed to
that ; for I wonderfully liked the man, and had very
good reafon, as will appear afterwards ; alfo four of
the feamen entered themfelves in our Ihip, and pro-
ved very ufeful fellows.
From hence we direded our courfe for the PFg/?-
Indiesy (leering "away S. and ^. by E, for about 20
days together, fometimes little or no wind at all,
when we met with another fubjeft for our humanity
to work upon, almoft as deplorable as that bfefore.
It was in the latitude of 27 degrees 5 minutes N,
and the 19th day of March, 1684-5, when we efpied
a fail, our courfe S. E. and by S. We foon perceived
it was a large veffel, and that fhe bore up to us ; but
could not at firft know what to make of her, till, after
coming a little nearer, we found fhe had loft her
main-top-maft, fore-maft, and bowfprit ; and pre-
fently flie fires a gun as a fignal of diftrefs ; the wea-
ther was pretty good, wind at N. N. W, a frefh gale,
and we foon came to fpeak with her.
We found her a fhip oi Brijiol bound home from
Barbadoesy but had been blown out of the road at
Barbadoes^ a few days before fhe was ready to fail, by
a terrible hurricane, while the captain and chief mate
were both gone on fhore; fo that befide the terror of
the ftorm, they were but in an indifferent cafe for
good artifts to , bring the fhip home ; they had been
already nine weeks at fea, and had met with another
terrible
Ȥ
l8 LIFE AND ADVENTXTRES
terrible ftorm after the hurricane was over, which
had blown them quite out of their knowledge to the
weflward, and in which they had loft their mafts, as
above ; they told us, they expefted to have feen the
Bahama iflands, but were then driven away again to
the fouth-eaft by a ftrong gale of wind at N. N. W.
the fame that blew now, and having no fails to work
the ftiip with, but a main-courfe, and a kind of
fquare fail upon a jury fore-maft, which they had fet
up, they could not lie near the wind, but were en-
deavouring to ftand away for the Canaries,
But that which was worft of all, was, that they
were almoft ftarved for want of provifions, befides
the fatigues they had undergone ; their bread and
flefh was quite gone, they had not an ounce left in
the fhip, and had had none for eleven days ; the
only relief they had, was, their water was not all
fpent, and they had about half a barrel of flour left ;
they had fugar enough ; fome fuccades or fweet-meats
they had at firft, but they were devoiu*ed, and they
had feven cafks of rum.
There was a youth and his mother, and a maid-fer-
vant, on board, who were going paOengers, and
thinking the ihip was. ready to fail, unhappily came
on board the evening before the hurricane began;
and, having no provifions of their own left, they
were in a more deplorable condition than the reft j
for the feamen, being reduced to fuch an extreme
neceffity themfelves, had no compaffion, we may be
fure, for the poor paflengers ; and they were indeed
in a condition that their mifery is very hard to
defcribe.
I had
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 2^
1 had perhaps not known this part, if my curiofity
had not led me, the weather being fair, and the wind
abated, to go on board the ftiip : (he fecond mate,
who upon this occafion commanded the fhip, had
been on board our fhip ; and he told me indeed,
that they had three paffengers in the great cabbin, that
they were in a deplorable condition j nay, fays he, I
believe they are dead, for I have heard nothing of
them for above two days ; and I was afraid to en-
quire after them, faid he, for I had nothing to relieve
them with.
We immediately applied ourfelves to give them what
relief we could fpare ; and indeed I had fo far over-
ruled things with my nephew, that I would have
vifliualled them, though we had gone away to Ver^
ginia, or any part of the coaft of America^ to have
fupplied ourfelves J but there was no neceffity for
that.
But now they were in a new danger ; for they were
afraid of eating two much, even of that little we
gave them ; the mate or commander brought fix men
with him in his boat ; but thefe poor wretches looked
like {keletons, and were fo weak, they could Jiardly
fit to their oars : the mate himfelf was very ill, and
half-ftarved ; for he declared he had referved nothing
from the men, and went fhare and fhare alike with
them in every bit they eat.
I cautioned him to eat fparingly, but let meat be-
fore ^him immediately, and he had not eaten three
mouthfuls before he began to be fick, and out of
order ; fo he ftopt awhile, and our furgeon mixed
him up fomething with fome broth, which he faid
would be to him both food and phyfick j and after
he
30 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
he had taken it, he grew better : in the mean tim^
I forgot not the men ; I ordered viftuals to be given
them, and the poor creatures rather devoured than
eat it ; they were fo exceeding hungry, that they
were in a manner ravenous, and had no command
of themfelves ; and two of them eat with fo much
greedinefs, that they were in danger of their lives
the next morning.
The fight of thefe people's diftrefs was very moving
to me, and brought to mind what I had a terrible
profpefl: of at my firft coming on fhore in my ifland,
where I had not the lead mouthful of food, or any
hopes of procuring it; befides the hourly apprehen-
fion I had of being made the food of other creatures.
But all the while the mate was thus relating to me
the miferable condition of the (hip's company, I
could not put out of my thought the ftory he had
told me of the three poor creatures in the great cabbin;
(viz.) the mother, her fon, and the maid fervant,
whom he had heard nothing of for two or three days;
and whom he feemed to confefs they had wholly neg-
lected, their own extremities being fo great; by
which I underftood, that they had really given them
no food at all ; and that therefore they muft be
periflied, and be all lying dead perhaps on the floor
or deck of the cabbin.
As I therefore kept the mate, whom we then cal-
led captain, on board with his men to refrefh them,
fo I alfo forgot not the ftarving crew that were left on
board, but ordered my own boat to go on board the
fhip, and with my mate and twelve men to carry
them a fack of bread, and four or five pieces of beef
to boil. Our furgeon charged the men to caufe ther
meat
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 3I
meat to be boiled while they flayed, and to keep
guard in the cook-room, to prevent the men's taking
it to eat raw, or taking it out of the pot before it
was well boiled, and then to give every man but a
little at a time ; and by this caution he preferved the
men, who would otherwife have killed themfelves
with that very food that was given them on purpole
to fave their lives.
At the fame time, I ordered the mate to go into
the great cabbin, and fee in what condition the poor
paffengers were in, and, if they were alive, to com-
fort them and give them what refrefhment was pro-
per ; and the furgeon gave him a large pitcher with
fome of the prepared broth which he had given the
mate that was on board, and which he did not quef-
tion would reftore them gradually.
I was not fatisfied with this ; but, as I faid above,
having a great mind to fee the fcene of mifery, which
I knew the Ihip itfelf would prefent me with, in a
more lively manner than I could have it by report, I
took the captain of the fliip, as we now called him,
with me, and went myfelf a little after in their
boat.
I found the poor men on board almoft in a tumult
to get the viftuals out of the boiler before it was
ready t but my mate obferved his order, and kept a
good guard at the cock-room door ; and the man he
placed there, after ufmg all poffible perfuafion to
have patience, kept them off by force : however, he
caufed fome bifcuit cakes to be dipped in the pot,
and foftened them with the liquor of the meat, which
they call brewis, and gave them every one one, to
ftay their ftomachs, and told them it was for their
own
32 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
own fafety, that he was obliged to give them but
little at a time. But it was all in vain, and had I
not come on board, and their own commander and
officers with me, and with good words, and fome
threats alfo of giving them no more, I believe they
would have broke into the cook-room by force, and
tore the meat out of the furnace ; for words indeed
are of a very fmall force to an hungry belly : however
we pacified them, and fed them gradually and
cautioufly for the firft time, and the next time gave
them more, and at laft filled their bellies, and the
men did well enough.
But the mifery of the poor paffengers in the cabbin
was of another nature, and far beyond the reft ; for
as, firft, the fliip's company had fo little for them-
felves, it was but too true, that they had at firft kept
them very low, and at laft totally neglefted them ;
fo that for fix or feven days, it might be, faid, they
had really had no food at all, and for feveral days
before, very little.
The poor mother, who, as the firft mate reported,
was a woman of good fenfe, and good breeding, had
fpared all flie could get fb affeftionately for her fon,
that at laft flie entirely funk under it : and when the
mate of our fliip went in, fhe fet upon the floor or
deck, with her back up againft the fides, between
two chairs, which were laftied faft, and her head
funk in between her fhoulders, like a corpfe, though
not quite dead. My mate faid all he could to revjve
and encourage her, and with a fpoon put fome broth
into her mouth j ftie opened her lips, and lifted up
one hand, but could not fpeak : yet fhe underftood
what he faid, and made figns to him, intimating,
that
OJI^ ROBINSON CRUSOE* 3^
that it was too late for her ; but pointed to her child,
as if ihe would have faid, they ihould take care of
him.
However the mate, who was exceedingly moved
with the fight, endeavoured to get fome of the broth
into her mouth ; and, as he faid, got two or three
fpoonfuls down, though I queftion whether he could
be fure of it or not : but it was too late, and flie
died the fame night.
The youth, who was preferved at the price of his
moft affedionate mother's life, was not fo far gone;
yet he lay in a cabin-bed as one ftretched out, with
hardly any life left in him ; he had a piece of an old
glove in his mouth, having eaten up the reft of it ;
however, being young, and having more ftrength
than his mother, the mate got fomething down his
throat, and he began fenfibly to revive, though, by
giving him fome time after but two or three fpoon-
fuls extraordinary, he was very fick, and brought
it up again.
But the next care was the poor maid ; fhe lay all
along upon the deck hard by her miftrefs, and juft
like one that had fallen down with an apoplexy, and
ftruggled for life : her limbs were diftorted, one of her
hands was clafped round the frame of one chair, and
Ihe griped it fo hard, that we could not eafily make
her let it go ; her other arm lay over her head, and
her feet lay both together, fet faft againft the frame
of the cabin-table ; in fhort, fhe lay juft like one in
the laft agonies of death ; and yet ftie was alive too.
The poor creature was not only ftarved with
hunger, and terrified with the thoughts of death,
but, as the men told us afterwards, was broken^
Vol. II. D hearted
34 LIFE AND ADVENTURfIS
hearted for her miflrefs, whom fhe faw dying two
or three days before, and whom fhe loved moft
tenderly.
We knew not what to do with this poor girl ; for
when our furgeon, who was a man of very great
knowledge and experience, and with great appKca-
tion recovered her as to life, he had her upon his
hand as to her fenfes, for flie was little lefs than
diftradted for a confiderable time after ; as fhall ap-
pear prefently.
Whoever fhall read thefe memorandums, muft be
defired to confider, that vifits at fea are not like a
journey into the country, where fometimes people
flay a week or a fortnight at a place. Our bufin^fs
was to relieve this diflreffed fhip's crew, but not lie
by for them ; and though they were willing to fleer
the fame courfe with us for fome days, yet we could
carry no fail to keep pace with a fhip that had no
mafts: however, as their captain begged of us to
help hini to fet up a main top-maft, and a kind of
top-mafl to his jury fore-mafl, we did, as it were,
lie by him for three or four days, and then having
given him five barrels of beef and pork, two hogfheads
ofbifcuit, and a proportion of peas, flour, and what
other things we could fpare ; and taking three cafks
of fugar and fome rum, and fome pieces of eight of
them for fatisfaftion, we left them, taking on board
with us, at their own earnefl requefl, the youth, and
the maid, and all their goods.
The young lad was about feventeen years of agCi
a pretty, well-bred, modefl, and fenfible youth ^
greatly dejefted with the lofs of his mother, and, as
it feems, had loft his father but a few months before
at
OF ROBINSON CRUSOEi* 35
ttt Barbadoes. He begged of the furgeon to fpeak to
me, to take him out of the fhip ; for he faid, the
cruel fellows had murdered his mother; and indeed
fo they had, that is to fay, paflively ; for they might
have fpared a fmall fuftenance to the poor helplefs
widow, that might have preferved her life, though
It had been juft to keep her alive. But hunger knows
no friend, no relation, no juftice, no right ; and
therefore is remorfelefs, and capable of no com-
paflion.
The furgeon told hin^ how far we were going, and
how it would carry him away from all his friends,
, and put him perhaps in as bad circumftances, almoft,
as we found them in ; that is to fay^ ftarving in the
World. He faid he mattered not whither he went,
if he was but delivered from the terrible crew that
he was among : that the captain (by which he meant
me, for he could know nothing of my nephew) had
faved his life, and he was fure would not hurt him ;
and as for the maid, he was fure, if Ihe came to
herfelf, (he would be very thankful for it, let us
carry them whither we would. The furgeon repre-
fented the cafe fo afFeftionately to me, that I yielded,
and we took them both on board with all their goods,
except eleven hogfheads of fugar, which could not
be removed, or come at; and as the youth had a
bill of lading for them, I made his commander fign
a writing, obliging him to go, as foon as he came to
Brijiol^ to one Mr. Rogers^ a merchant there, to
whom the youth faid he was related, and to deli-
ver a letter which I wrote to him, and all the goods
he had belonging to the deceafed widow ; which I
fuppofe was not done^ for I could never learn that
D 2 the
5^' I^IFE AND ADVENTURES
the fhip came to Brijlol; but was, as is moft prota*
ble, loft at fea, being in fo difabled a condition, and
fo far from any land, that I am of opinion, the firft
ftorm (he met with afterwards Ihe might founder in
the fea; for flie was leaky, and had damage in her
hold when I met with her»
I was now in the latitude of 19 deg. 32 min. and
had hitherto had a tolerable voyage as to weather,,
tho' at firft the winds had been contrary. I fhall
trouble nobody with the little incidents of wind,
weather, currents, &c. on the reft of our voyage y
but, fhortening my ftory for the fake of what is to
follow, fhall obferve, that I came to my old habitation,
the ifland, on the loth of April, 1695^ It was with
no fmall difficulty that I found the place ; for as I
came to it, and went from it before, on the fouth
and eaft fide of the ifland, as coming from the Brqfils,
fo now coming in between the main and the ifland,
and having no chart for the coaft, nor any land-
mark, I did not know it when I faw it, or know
whether 1 faw it or no.
We bjsat about a great while, and went on %)re
on feveral iflands in the mouth of the great river
Oroomque, but none for my purpofe; only this I
learned by my coafting the fliore, that I was under
one great miftake before, viz. that the continent
which I thought I faw from the ifland I lived in^
was really no continent, but a long ifland, or rather
a ridge of iflands reaching from one to the other fide
of the extended mouth of that great river \ and that
the favages v/ho came to my ifland, were not pro-
perly thofe which we call Caribecs^ but iflanders, and
other Barbarians of the fame kind., who inhabited
fomething nearer to our fide than the reft..
OF ROBmSON CKUSOE. 37
In fhort, I vifited feveral of the iflands to no pur-
pofe ; fome I found were inhabited, and fome were
not. On one of them I found fome Spaniards^ and
thought they had lived there; but fpeaking with
them, found they had a floop lay in a fmall creek
hard by, and that they came thither to make fait,
and catch fome pearl-mufcles, if they could; but
they belonged to the IJle de Trinidad^ which lay far-
ther north, in the latitude of i o and 1 1 degrees.
Thus coafting from one ifland to another, fome-
times with the fhip, fometimes with the Frenchman^^
jQiallop (which we had found a convenient boat, and
therefore kept her with their very good will), at
length I came fair on the fouth-fide of my ifland, and
\ prefently knew the very countenance of the place ;
io I brought the fhip fafe to an anchor, broadfide
with the little creek whefe was my old habitation.
As foon as I faw the place, I called for Friday^
and afked him, if he knew where he was ? He looked
about a little, and prefently clapping his hands, cri-
ed, O yes, O there, O yes, O there ! pointing to
our old habitation, and fell a dancing and capering
like a mad fellow ; and I had much ado to keep him
from jumping into the fea, to fwim afliore to the
place.
Well, Friday^ faid I, do you think we fliall find
any body here^ or no ? and what do you think, fhall
we fee your father ? The fellow flood mute as a flock
a good while ; but when I named his father, the
poor affedionate creature looked dejected; and I
could f(Se the tears run down his face very plentifully.
What is the matter Friday'^ faid I ? are you troubled
becaufe you may fee ybur father ? No, no, fays he,
D 3 fhaking
38 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
fhaking his head, no fee him more, no ever more
fee again. Why fo, fatd I, Friday? how do you
know that ? O no, O no, fays Friday^ he long ago
die; long ago, he much old man. Well, well, faid
I, Friday^ you don't know: but fliall we fee any
one elfe then : the fellow, it feems, had better eyes
than I, and he points juft to the hill above my old
houfe ; and tho' we lay half a league o T, he cries out,
Me fee ! me fee ! yes, yes, me fee much man there,
and there, and there, I lookec^, but I could fee no-
body, no, not with a perfpedive glafs ; which was,
I fuppofe, becaufe I could not hit the place ; for the
fellow was right, as I found upon enquiry the next
day, and there were five or fix men altogether ftood
to look at thvi Ihip, not knovv'ing what to thinly
of us.
As foon as Friday had told me he faw people, I
caufed the EngliJJo ancient to be fpread, and fired thr^e
guns, to give them notice we were friends ; and
;ibout half a quarter of an hour after, we perceived a
fmoke rife from the fide of the creek ; fo. I imme-
diately ordered a boat out, taking Friday \jith mtf
and, hanging out a white flag, or a flag of truce, I
went direfl:ly on flio^'e, taking with me the young
friar I mentioi eJ, to whom I had told the whole
ftory of my living there, and the manner of it, and
every particular, both of myfelf, and thofe that I
left there ; and who was on that account extremely
defirous to go with me. We had befides about fix-
teen men very well armed, if we had found any new
gueft there which we did not know of 5 but we had
no need of weapons.
As we went on ftiore upon the tide of flood, near
high water, we rowed direftly into the creek j and
the
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 39-
the firft man I fixed my eye upon, was the Spaniard
whofe life I had faved, and whom I knew by his face
perfeaiy well ; as to his habit, I fhall defcribe it
afterwards. I ordered nobody to go on fliore at firft
but myfelf ; but there was no keeping Friday in the
boat : for the afFedionate creature had fpied his
father at a diftance, a good way off of the Spaniards^
where indeed I faw nothing of him ; and if they had
not let him go on fliore, he would have jumped into
the fea. He was no fooner on fhore, but he flew
away to his father like an arrow out of a bow. It
would have made any man fhed tears, in fpite of the
firmefl refolution, to have feen the firft tranfports of
tiiis poor fellow's joy, v/hen he came to his father j*
how he embraced him, kiffed him, ftroaked his face,
took him up in his arms, fet him down upon a tree,
and lay down by him ; then ftood and looked at him
as any one would look at a ftrange pidure, for a
quarter of an hour together ; then lay down upon
the ground, and ftroaked his legs, and kiffed them,
and then got up again, and flared at him ; one would
have thought the fellow bewitched : but it would
have made a dog laugh to fee how the next day his
paflion run out another way: in the morning he
walked along the fhore, to and-again, with his father,
feveral hours, always leading him by the hand, as if
he had been a lady ; and every now-and-then would
come to fetch fomething or other for him from the
boat, either a lump of fugar, or a dram, a bifcuit, or
fomething or other that was good. In. the afternoon his
frolics ran another way, for then he would fet the old
man down upon the ground,, and dance about him,
and made a thoufand antic poflures and geftures ; and
D 4 all
40 l-IFE AND ADVENTURES
all the while he did this, he would be talking to him,,
and telling him one ftory or another of his travels,
and of what had happened to him abroad, to divert
him. In fhort, if the fame filial affeftion was to be
found in chriftians to their parents, in our parts of
the world, one would be tempted to fay, there hard-
ly would have been any need of the fifth commands
ment.
But this is a digrefSon ; I return to my landings
It would be endlefs to take notice of all the ceremo-
nies and civilities that the Spaniards received me with*
The firft Spaniard^ whom, as I faid, I knew very well
was he whofe life I faved, he came towards the boat,
attended by one more, carrying a flag of truce alfo ;
and he did not only not know me at firft, but he had
no thoughts, no notion, of its being me that waa
come, till I fpoke to him. : Seignor, faid I, in Portu-^
guefe^ do you not know me ? at which he fpoke not
a word ; but giving his mufquet to the man that was.
with him, threw his arms abroad, and faying fome-
thing in Spanijh^ that I did not perfedly hear, came
forward, and embraced me, telling me, he was inex-
cufable not to know that face again that he had
once feen, as of an angel from Heaven fent to favQ
his life : he faid abundance of very handfome things,
as a well-bred Spaniard always knows how ; and
then beckoning to the perfon that attended him, bade
him go and call out his comrades. He then alked
me, if I would walk to my old habitation, where
he would give me poffeflion of my own houfe
again, and where I fhould fee there had been but
mean improvements ; fp I walked along with him y
but, alas ! I could no more find the place again, than
if
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 41
if I had never been there ; for they had planted fo
many trees, and placed them in fuch a pofture, fp
thick and clofe to one another, in teii years time
they were grown fo big, that, in fhort, the place was
inacceffible, except by fuch windings and blind ways,
as they themfelves only who made them could find.
I alked. them, what put them upon all thefe forti*
fications ? He told me, I would fay there was need
enough of it, v/hen they had given an account how
they had pafled their time fince their arriving in the
ifland, efpecially after they had the misfortune to find
that I was gone : he told me he could not but have
fome fatisfaftion in my good fortune, when he heard
that I was gone in a good fhip, and to my fatisfadion ;
and that he had oftentimes a ftrong perfuanon, that
one time or other he (hould fee me again: but no-
thing that ever befel him in his life, he faid, was fo
furprifing and affliding to him at firft, as the difap- '
pointment he was under when he came tack to the
Jiland, and found I was not there.
As to the three Barbarians (fo he called them) that
were left behind, and of whom he faid he had a long
ftory to tell me j the Spaniards all thought themfelvesi
much better among the favages, only that their
number was fo fmall. And, fays he, had they been
ftrong enough, we had been all long ago in purga-
tory ; and with that he croffed himfelf upon the
breaft. But Sir, fays he, I hope you will not be
difpleafed, when I fliaU tell you how, forced by
necefllty, we were obliged, for our own prefervatlon,
to difarm them, and making them our fubjefl:s, who
would not be content with being moderately our
matters, but would be our murderers. I anfwered, I
42 LIFE AND ADVEXTURr.^
was heartily afraid of it when I left tliein there ; and
nothing troubled me at my parting from the ifland,
but that they were not come back, that I might have
put them in pofleffion of every thing firft, and left the
other in a ftate of fubjedion, as they defer ved : but
if they had reduced them to it, I was very glad, and
fhould be very far from finding any fault with it;
for I knev\r they were a parcel of refractory ungo-
vernable villains, and were fit for any manner of
jnifchief.
While I was faying this, came the man whom he
had'fent back, and with him eleven men more : in
the drefs they were in, it was impoffible to guefs what
nation they were of; but he made all clear both to
them and to me. Firfl: he turned to me, and pointing
to them, faid, Thefe, Sir, are fome of the gentlemen
who owe their lives to you ; and then turning to
them, and pointing to me, he let them know who I
was ; upon which they all came up one by one, not
as if they had been failors, and ordinary fellows, and
I the like, but really, as if they had been ambaffa-
dors or noblemen^ and I a monarch, or a great con-
queror : their behaviour was to the laft degree
obliging and courteous, and yet mixed with a manly
majeftic gravity, which very well became them ; and
in fliort, they had fo much more manners than I,
that I fcarce knew how' to receive their civilities,
much lefs how to return them in kind.
The hiftory of their coming to, and condufl in
the ifland, after my going away, is fo remarkable,
and has fo many incidents, which the former part of
my relation will help to underftarid, and which will,
in moft of the particulars, refer to that account I hav?
already
OF ROBINSON CRTJSOE. 43
silready given, that I cannot but commit them with
great delight to the reading of thofe that come after
me.
I fhall no longer trouble the ftory with a relation
in the fir ft perfon, which will put me to the expence
cf ten thoufand" faid Fs, and faid he's, and he told
me's, and I told him's, and the like ; but I fliall
colleQ: the fadls hiftorically , as near as I can gather
them out of my mqmory from what they related to
me, and from what I met with in my conyerfing with
them, and with the place.
In order to do this fuccinftly, and as intelligibly as
I can, I muft go back to the circumftance in which
I left the ifland, and which the perfons were in, of
whom I am to fpeak. At firft, it is neceffary to re-
peat, that I had fent away Friday^ father and the
SpaniarLi^ the two whofe lives I had refcued from the
lavages ; I fay, I had fent them away in a large canoe
to the main, as 1 then thought it, to fetch over
the Spaniard^ ^ companions whom he had left behind
him, in order to fave them from the like calamity
that he had been in ; and in order to fuccour
them for the prefent, and that, if poffible, we might
together find fome way for our deliverance after-
ward.
When I fent them away, I had no vifible appear-
ance of, or the leaft room to hope for, my own de-
liverance, any more than I had twenty years before ;
much lefs had I any foreknowledge of what after hap-
pened, I mean of an Englijh fhip coming on fliore
there to fetch them off; and it could not but be a
very great furprife to them, when they came back,
not only to find that I was gone, but to find three
ftrangers
44 ^^^^ AND ADVENT D RES
ftrangers left on the fpot, poffeffed of all that I had
left behind me, which would otherwife have been
their own.
The firft thing, however, which I enquired into,
that I might begin where I left off, was of their own
part : and I defired he would give me a particular
account of his voyage back to his countrymen with
the boat, when I fent him to fetch them over. He
Xold me there was little variety in that part ; for no^
thing remarkable happened to them on the way, they
having very calm weather, and a fmooth fea ; for his
countrymen, it could not be doubted, he faid, but
that they were overjoyed to fee him (it feems he
was the principal man among them, the captain of
the veffel they had been fhipwrecked in, having been
dead fome time) : they were, he faid, the more fur-
prifed to fee him, becaufe they knew that he was fal-
len into the hands of favages, who, they were fatisfied,
would devour him, as they did all the reft of their
prifoners; that when he told them theftoryof the
deliverance, and in what manner he was fur^ifhed
for carrying them away, it was like a dream to them :
and their aftonifhment, they faid, was fomething like
that of yo/ep/ys brethren, when he told them who he
was, and told them the ftory of his exaltation in
Pharaob's court : but when he fhewed them the arms,
the powder, the ball, and the provifions that he
brought them for their journey or voyage, they were
reftored to themfelves, took a juft fliare of the joy of
their deliverance, and immediately prepared to come
s^way with him.
rfheir firft bufinefs was to get canoed ; and in this
they were obliged not to ftick fo much upon the
honeft
OF ROBINSdN cRirsdf* 45
lionell part of It, but to trefpafs upon their friendly
fevages, and to borrow two large canoes or periagua's,
on pretence of going out a-filhing, or for pleafure.
In thefe they came away the next morning ; it
feems they wanted no time to get themfelves ready,
for they had no baggage, neither clothes, or provi-
fions, or any thing in the world, but what they had
on them, and a few roots to eat, of which they ufed
to make their bread.
They were in all three weeks abfent, and in that
time, unlucldly for them, I had the occafion oflFered
for my efcape, as I mentioned in my other part, and
to get off from the ifland ; leaving three of the moft
impudent, hardened, ungoverned, difagreeable villains
behind me, that any man could defire to meet with,
to the poor Spaniards grtzt grief diid difappointment,
you may be fure.
The only juft thing the rogues did, was, that when,
the Spaniards came on fhore, they gave my letter to
them, and gave them provifions, and other relief, as
I had ordered them to do ; alfo they gave them the
long paper of direftions, which I had left with them,
containing the particular methods which I took for
managing every p^rt of my life there ; the way how I
baked my bread, bred'up my tame goats, and plant-
ed my corn ; how I cured my grapes, made my pots,
and, in a word, every thing I did ; all this being
written down, they gave to the Spaniards^ two of
whom underftood Englijh well enough ; nor did they
refufe to accommodate the Spaniards with any thing
elfe, for they agreed very well for fome time ; they
gave them an equal admiffion into the houfe, or cave,
and they began to live very fociably j and the head
Spaniard^
46 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
Spaniard J who had feen pretty much of my method J
and Friday^ % father together, managed all their affairs,
for, as for the Engliflomen^ they did nothing but ram-
ble about the ifland, (hoot parrots, and catch tortoifes,
and when they came home at night, the Spaniards
provided their fuppers for them.
The Spaniards would hkvebeen fatisfted with this,
would the other but have left them alone ; which,
however, they could not find in their hearts to do
long ; but, like the dog in the manger, they would
not eat themfelves, and wT5uld not let others eat
neither: the differences, neverthelefs, were at firft
but trivial, and fuch as are not worth relating ; but
at laft it broke out into open war, and it began with
all the rudenefs and infolence that can be imagined,
without reafon, without provocation, contrary to
nature, and indeed to cpmmon fenfe ; and though,
it is true, the firft relation of it came from the
Spaniards themfelves, whom I may call the accufers,
yet when I came to examine the fellows, they could
not deny a word of it.
But before I come to the particulars of this part,
I muft fupply a defeft in my former relation; and
this was, that I forgot to fet down among the reft,
that, juft as we were weighing the anchor to fet fail,
there happened a little quarrel on board our ftiip,
which I was afraid once would turn to a fecond mu-
tiny ; nor was it appeafed till the captain, roufing
up his courage, and taking us all to his afliftance,
parted them by force, and making two of the moft
refraftory fellows prifoners, he laid them in irons ;
and as they had been aftive in the former diforders,
and let fall fome ugly dangerous words the fecond
time,
OF ROBINSOlSr CRUSOE. 4/
time, he threatened to cajrry them in irons to Eng*
land^ and have them hanged there for mutiny, and
running away with the fhip.
This, it feems, though the captain did not intend
to do, it frighted fome other men in the fhip ; and
fome of them had put it in the heads ,of the reft, that
the captain only gave them good words for the pre-
fent, till they ftiould come to fome Efiglijlo port ; and
that then they fliould be all put into a gaol, and tried
for their lives.
The mate got intelligence of this, and acquainted
us with it ; upon which it was defired, that I, who
ftill pafled for a great man among them, fhould go
down with the mate, and fatisfy the men, and tell
them, that they might be affured, if they behaved'
well the reft of the voyage, all they had done for the
time paft fhould be pardoned. So I went, and after
pafEng my honour's word to them, they appeared
eafy, and the more fo, when I caufed the two men,
who were in irons, to be releafed and forgiven.
. But this mutiny had brought us to an anchor for
that night, the wind alfo falling calm ; next morning
we found, that our two men who had been laid in
irons, had ftole each of them a mufket, and fome
other weapons ; what powder or fhot they had, we
knew not ; and had taken the fhip's pinnace, which
was not yet haled up, and run away with her to their
companions in roguery on fhore.
As foon as we found this, I ordered the long-boat
on fhore, with twelve men and the mate, and away
they went to feek the rogues; but they could neither
find them,' nor any of the reft; for they all fled into
the woods, w.hen they faw the boat coming on fhore.
The
48 LIFE And adventure^
The mate was once refolved, in juftice to theif
roguery, to have deftroyed their plantations, burnt
all their houfehold-ftuff and furniture, and left them
to fhift without it ; but having no order, he let all
alone, left every thing as they found it, and bringing
the pinnace away, came on board without them.
Thefe two men made their number five j but the
other three villains were fo much wickeder than
thefe, that after they had been two or three days
together, they turned their two new-comers out of
doors to fhift for themfelves, and would have nothing
to do with them ; nor could they, for a good while,
be perfuaded to give them any food ; as for the Spa-
niardsy they were not yet come.
When the Spaniards came firft on fliore, the bufi-
nefs began to go forward ; the Spaniards would have
perfuaded the three Englijh brutes to have taken in
their two countrymen again, that, as they faid, they
might be all one family ; but they would not hear of
it : fo the two poor fellows lived by themfelves, and
finding nothing but induftry and application would
make them live comfortable, they pitched their tents
on the north fhore of the ifland, but a little more to
the weft, to be out of the danger of the favages, who
always landed on the eaft parts of the ifland.
Here they built two huts, one to lodge in, and
the other to lay up their magazines and ftores in ;
and the Spaniards having given them fome corn for
feed, and efpecially fohie of the peas which I had left
them, they dug and planted, and inclofed, after the
pattern I had fet for them all, and began to live pretty
well ; their firft crop of corn was on the ground,
and though it was but a little bit of. land which
they
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 49
they had dug up at firft, having had but a little time,
yet it was enough to relieve them, and find them
with bread or other eatables ; and one of the fellows,
being the cook's mate of the fhip, was very ready at
making foup, puddings, and fuch other preparations^
as the rice and the milk, and fuch little fleih as they
got, furnifhed him to do.
They were going on in a little thriving pofture,
when the three unnatural rogues, their own country-
men too, in mere humour, and to infult them, came
and bullied them, and told them the ifland was
theirs ; that the governor, meaning me, had given
them poffeflion of it, and nobody elfe had any right
to it J and, damn them, they fhould build no houfes
upon their ground, unlefs they would pay them rent
for them.
The two men thought they had jefted at firfl ; and
afked them to come and fit down, and fee what fine
houfes they were that they had built, and tell them
what rent they demanded : and one of them merrily
told them, if they were ground-landlords, he hoped
if they built tenements upon the land, and made im-
provements, they would, according to the cuftom of
all landlords, grant them a long leafe ; and bid them
go fetch a fcrivener to draw the writings. One of
the three, damning and raging, told them, they
fliould fee they were not in jeft ; and going to a little
place at a diftance, where the honeft men had made /
a fire to drefs their viduals, he takes a fire-brand,
and claps it to the outfide of their hut, and very
fairly fet it on fire j and it would have been all burnt
down in a few minutes, if one of the two had not
run to the fellgw, thruft him away, and trod the fire
VojL. II. E out
50 LIFE AND ADVENTURED
out With his feet, and that not without fome difficult
ty too.
The fellow was in fuch a rage at the honeft man's
thrufting him away, that he turned upon him with
a pole he had in his hand ; and had not the man
avoided the blow very nimbly, and run into the hut,
he had ended his days at once. His comrade, fee-
ing the danger they were both in, ran in after him,
and immediately they came both out with their muf-
kets ; and the man that was firft ftruck at with the
pole, knocked the fellow down, who began the
quarrel, with the flock of his mufquet, and that
before the other two could come to help him ; and
then feeing the reft come at them, they ftood toge.
ther, and prefenting the other ends of their pieces to
them, bade them ftand oflF. ^
, The others had fire-arms with them too ; but one
of the two honeft men, bolder than his comrade, and
made defperate by his danger, told them, if they
offered to move hand or foot, they were all dead itien j
and boldly commanded them to lay down their armsr
They did not indeed lay down their arms ; but, fee-
ing him refolute, it brought them to a parley, and,
they confented to take their wounded man with them,
and be gone ; and indeed, it feems the fellow was
wounded fufEciently with the blovy ; however, they
t^e much in the wrong, fince they had the advan-
t^e, that they did not difarm them effectually, as
piey might have done, and have gone immediately
to the Spaniards^ and given them an account how
the rogues had treated them ; for the three villains
lludied nothing but rev.enge, and every day gave
them fome intimation that they did fo^
But
.'^f:mmv^
bF ROBINSON CRtlSOEi 51
But not to crowd this part with an account of the
leffer part of their rogueries, fuch as treading down,
their corn, fhooting three young kids, and a fhe^
^oat, which the poor men had got to breed up tame
for their ftore ; and, in a word, plaguing them night
and day in this manner, it forced the two men to
fuch a defperation, that they refolved to fight them
all three the firft time they had a fair opportunity^
In order to this they refolved to go to the caftle, as
they called it, that was my old dwelling, where the
three rogues and the Spaniards all lived together at
that time, intending to have a fair battle, and the
Spaniards fhould ftand by to fee fair play. So they
got up in the morning before day, and came to the
place, and called the Englijhmen by their names, teU
ling a Spaniard that anfwered, that they wanted to
fpeak with them.
It happened that the day before two of the Spa^
niards^ having been in the woods, had feen one of.
the two Englijhmen^ whom, for diftindion, I call the
honeft men ; and he had made a fad complaint to
the Spaniards^ of the barbarous ufage they had met
•with from their three countrymen, and how they had
ruined their plantation, and deftroyed their corn,
that they had laboured fo hard to bring forward, and
killed the milch-goat, and their three kids, which
was all they had provided for their fuftenance ; and^
that if he and his friends, meaning the Spaniards^
did not affift them again, they fhould be ftarved*;
When the Spaniards came home at night, and they
were all at fupper, he took the freedom to reprove
the three Englijhmen^ though in gentle and mannerly
terms, and alked them, how they could be fo cruel,
£ 2 they
$2 LIFE AND ADVENTURBS
they being harmlefs inoffenfive fellows, and that they
were putting thenifelves in a way to fubfift by their
labour, and that it had coft them a great deal of pains
to bring things to fuch perfeftion as they had ?
One of the EngliJJomen returned very brifldy. What
had they to do there ? That they came on fhore with-
out leave, and that they fhould not plant or build
upon the ifland ; it was none of their ground. Why,
fays the Spaniard^ very calmly. Seignior higlefe^ they
muft not ftarve. The Englijhman replied, like a true
rough-hewn tarpaulin, they might ftarve and be damn-
ed, they fhould not plant nor build in that place.
But what muft they do then. Seignior ? fays the Spa-
niard. Another of the brutes, returned, Do ! d — n
them, they fhould be fervants, and work for them.
But how can you expeft that of them ? they are
not bought with your money ; you have no right to
make them fervants. The E^iglijhman anfwered. The
ifland was theirs, the governor had given it to them,
and no man had any thing to do there but themfelves;
^nd with that fwore by his Maker, that he would go
"and burn all their new huts j they fhould build none
upon their land.
Why Seignior, fays the Spaniard^ by the fame
rule, we muft be your fervants too. Ay, fays the
bold dog, and fo you fhall too, before we have done
with you, mixing two or three G — d d — mme's in
the proper intervals of his fpeech. The Spaniard
only fmiled at that, and made him no anfwer. How-
ever, this little difcourfe had heated them ; and
ftarting up, one fays to the other, I think it was h«
they called Will Atkins, Come Jack, let us go and
have the other brufh with them j we will demolifh
their
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. S3
their caftle, I will warrant you ; they fliall plant no
colony in our dominions.
Upon this they were all trooping away, with
every man a gun, a piftol, and a fword, and mut-
tered fome infolent things among themfelves, of
what they would do to the Spaniards too, when op-
portunity offered ; but the Spaniards^ it feems, did
not fo perfeftly underftand them as to know all the
particulars ; only that, in generaf, they threatened
them hard for taking the two Englijhmen's part.
Whither they went, or how they beftowed their
time that evening, the Spaniards faid they did not
know ; but it feems they wandered about the country
part of the night ; and then lying down in the place
which I ufed to call my bower, they were weary, and
overflept themfelves. The cafe was this : they had
lefolved to flay till midnight, and fo to take the
poor men when they were aflcep ; and they acknow-
ledged it afterwards, intending to fet fire to their
huts while they were in them, and either burn them
in them, or murder them as they came out : and,
as malice feldom fleeps very found, it was very ftrange
they fhould not have been kept waking.
However, as the two men had alfo a defign upon
them, as I have faid, tho' a much fairer one than
that of burning and murdering, it happened, and
very luckily for them all, that they were up and
gone abroad, before the bloody-minded rogues came
to their huts.
When they came thither and found the men gone,
Atkins, who it feems was the forwardeft man, called
out to his comrades. Ha ! Jack, here's the neft ; but
d — n them, the birds are flown : they mufed a tvhile
E 3 to
54 i-IPE AKD ADVENTURES
to think what fhould be the occafion of their being
gone abroad fo foon, and fuggefted prefently, that
the Spaniards had given them notice of it ; and with
that they (hook hands, and fwore to one , another*
that they would be revenged of the Spaniards. As
foon as they had made this bloody bargain, they fell
to work with the poor men's habitation ; they did
not fet fire indeed to any thing, but they pulled down
both their houfes, and pulled them fo limb from limb
that they left not the lead flick {landing, or fcarce
any fign on the ground where they flood ; they tore
all their little colleded houfehold-fluflf in pieces, and
threw every thing about in fuch a manner, that the
poor men found, afterwards, fome of their things
a mile off from their habitation.
When they had done this, they pulled up all the
young trees which the poor men had planted ; pulled
up the inclofure they had made to fecure their catde
and their corn ; and, in a word, fa.cked and plun-
dered every thing, as completely as a herd of Tai^tar^
would have done.
The two men were at this jundlure gone to find
them out, and had refolved to fight them wherever
t^^ey had been, tho' they were but tv/o to three : fo
that, had they met, there certainly would have been
bloodfhed among them ; for they were all very flout,
refolute fellows, to give them their due.
But Providence took more care to keep them
afunder, than they themfelves could do to meet : for,
?is they had dogged one another, when the three were
gotie thither, the two were here; and afterwards,
when the two went back to find them, the three were
cpm^ to the old habitation again j we fliall fee their
^ifferipg
t)F ROBINSON CRUSOE. 55
differing conduft prefently. When the three came
tack, like furious creatures, flufhed with the rage
which the work they had been about put them into,
they came up to the Spaniards, and told them what
they had done, by way of feoff and bravado ; and
one of them ftepping up to one of the Spaiiiards, as
if they had been a couple of boys at play, takes hold
of his hat, as it was upon his head, and giving it a
twirl about, fleering in his face, fays he to him. And
you. Seignior yack Spaniard, fhall have the fame
fauce, if you do not mend your manners. The Spa^
mard who, though quite a civil man, was as brave
as a man could defire to be, and withal a ftrong
well-made man, looked fteadily at him for a good
while ; and then, having no weapon in his hand,
ftept gravely up to him, and with one blow of his
fift, knocked him down, as an ox is felled with a
pole-axe, at which one of the rogues, infolent as the
firft, fired his piftol at the Spaniard immediately;
he miffed his body indeed, for the bullets went
through his hair, but one of them touched the tip
of his ear, and he bled pretty much. The blood
made the Spaniard believe he was more hurt than he
really was, and that put him into fome heat, for be-
fore he a£ted all in a perfeQ: calm ^ but now re-
folving to go through with his work, he (looped and
took the fellow's mufquet whom he had knocked
down, and was jufl going to ihoot the man who had
fired at him ; when the reft of the Spaniards, being
in the cave, came out, and calling to him not to
flioot, they ftept in, fecured the other two, and took
their arms from them.
E 4 When
56 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
When they were thus difarmed, and found they
had made all the Spoftiards their enemies, as well as
their own countrymen, they began to cool; and
giving the Spaniards better words, would have had
their arms again ; but the Spaniards^ confidering the
feud that was between them and the other two Englijh*
Tuen^ and that it would be the beft method they could
take to keep them from one another, told them they
would do them no harm ; and if they would live
peaceably they would be very willing to afEft and
affociate with them, as they did before; but that
they could not think of giving them their arms
again, while they appeared fo refolved to do mif-
chief with them to their own countrymen, and had
even threatened them all to make them their
fervants.
The rogues were now more capable to hear rea-
fon than to aft reafon ; but being refufed their arms,
they went raving away, and raging like madmen,
threatening what they would do, though they had
no fire-arms : but the Spaniards defpifing their threat-
ening, told them they fliould take care how they
offered any injury to their plantation or cattle ; for
if they did, they would fhoot them, as they would
do ravenous beads, wherever they found them ; and
if they fell into their hands alive, they would cer-
tainly be hanged. However, this was far from cool-
ing them ; but away they went, fwearing and raging
like furies of hell. As foon as they were gone, came
back the two men in paffion and rage enough alfo,
though of another kind ; for, having been at their
plantation, and finding it all demolifhed and deftroy*
ed, as above, it will eafily be fuppofed they had pro-
vocation
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 57
Vocation enough ; they could fcarce have room to
tell their tale, the Spaniards were fo eager to tell
them theirs ; and it was ftrange enough to find, that
three men Ihould thus bully nineteen, and receive no
punilhment at all.
The Spaniards indeed defpifed them, and efpecially
having thus difarmed them, made light of their
threatenings ; but the two Englijhmen refolved to have
their remedy againfl them, what pains foever it cofl
to find them out.
But the Spaniards interpofed here too, and told
them, that they were already difarmed : they could
not confent that they (the two) fliould purfue them
with fire-arms, and perhaps kill them: but, faid the
grave Spaniard^ who was their governor, we will
endeavour to make them do you juftice, if you will
leave it to us, for, as there is no doubt but they will
come to us again when their paffion is over, being not
able to fubfift without our afliftance, we promife you
to make no peace with them, without having a full
fatisfaftion for you ; and upon this condition we hope
you will promife to ufe no- violence with them, other
than in your defence.
The two Englijhmen yielded to this very awkwardly,
and with great relufliance ; but the Spaniards pro-
tefted, they did it only to keep them from bloodfhed,
and to make all eafy at laft ; for, faid they, we are
not fo many of us ; here is room enough for us all,
and it is great pity we fliould not be all good friends.
At length they did confent, and waited for the iffue
of the thing, living for fome days with the Spaniards ;
for their own habitation was deftroyed.
In
58 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
In about five days rime the three vagrants, tireJ
with wandering, and almoft ftarved with hunger,
having chiefly lived on turtles eggs all that while,
came back to the grove ; and finding my Spaniard j
who, as I have faid, was the governor, and two
more with him, walking by the fide of the creek ;
they came up in a very fubmiffive humble manner,
and begged to be received again into the family. The
Spaniards ufed them civilly, but told them, they had
aded fo unnaturally by their countrymen, and fo
very grofsly by them (the SpatiiardsJ^ that they could
not come to any conclufion without confulting the
twa EngUJJjmcn^ and the reft; but however they
would go to them, and difcourfe about it, and they
fnould know in half an hour. It may be guefled
that they were very hard put to it ; for it feems, as
they were to wait this half-hour for an anfwer, they
begged he would fend them out fome bread in the
mean time ; which he did, and fent them at the fame
time a large piece of goat's flefh, and a broiled par-
rot; which they eat very heartily, for they were
hungry enough.
After half an hour's confultation they w^ere called
in, and a long debate had , about them, their two
countrymen charging them with the ruin of all their
labour, and a defign to murder them ; all which they
owned before, and therefore could not deny now ;
upon the whole, the Spaniards afted the moderators
between them; and as they had obliged the two
Lnglifomen not to hurt the three, while they were
naked and unarmed, fo they now obliged the three
to go and rebuild their fellows two huts, one to be
of
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 59
of the fame dimenfions, and the other larger than
they were before ; alfo to fence their ground again,
where they had pulled up the fences, plant trees in
the room of thofe pulled up, dig up the land again
for planting corn, where they had fpoiled it ; and,
in a word, to reftore every thing in the fame ftate as
they found it, as near as they could ; for entirely it
could not be, the feafon for the corn, and the growth
of the trees and hedges, not being poffible to be
recovered.
Well, they all fubmitted to this ; and as they
had plenty of provifions given them all the while,
they grew very orderly, and the whole fociety began
to live pleafantly and agreeably together again ; only
that thefe three fellows could never be perfuaded to
work ; I mean, not for themfelves, except now and
then a little, juft as they pleafed ; however, the Sj>a'
niards told them plainly, that if they would but live
fociably and friendly together, and ftudy in the whole
the good of the plantation, they would be content to
work for them, and let them walk about and be as
idle as they pleafed; and thus having lived pretty
well together for a month or two, the Spaniards gave
them their arms again, and gave them liberty to go
abroad with them as before.
It was not above a week after they had thefe arms,
and went abroad, but the ungrateful creatures be-
gan to be as infolent and troublefome as before ; but
however, an accident happened prefently upon this,
which endangered the fafety of them all ; they were
obliged to lay by all private refentments, and look
tp the prefervation'of their lives.
It
62 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
In all the difcoveries I had made of the favage^ '
landing on the ifland, it was my conftant care to
prevent them making the leaft difcovery of there be^
ing any inhabitant upon the place ; and whtfn by
any neceffity they came to know it, they felt it fo
effeftually, that they that got a* ay, were fcarce able
to give any account of it, for we difappeared as foon
as poffible, nor did ever any that had feen me,
efcape to tell any one elfe, except it were the three
favages in our laft encounter, who jumped into the
boat, of whom I mentioned that I v/as afraid they
fliould go home, and bring more help.
Whether it was the confequence of the efcape of
thofe men, that fo great a number came now to-
gether; 01 whether they came ignorantly, and by
accident, on their ufual bloody errand, the Spaniards
could not it feems underfland : but whatever it was,
it had been their bulinefs, either to have concealed
themfelves, and not have feen them at all; much
lefs to have let the favages have feen, that there were
any inhabitants in the place ; but to have fallen upon
them fo effeftually, as that hot a man of them fliould
have efcaped, uhich could only have been by getting
in between them and their boats ; but this prefence
of mind was wanting to them, uhich was the ruin of
their tranquillity, for a great while.
We need not doubt but that the governor, and
the man with him, furprifed with this fight, ran back
immediately, and raifed their fellows, giving them
an account of the imminent danger they were all in;
and they again as readily took the alarm, but it was
impofEble to perfuade them to flay clofe within where
they
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 63
they were, but that they muft all run out to fee how
things flood.
While it was dark indeed, they were well enough,
and they had opportunity enough, for fome hours, to
view them by the light of three fires they Had made
at fome diftance from one another ; what they were
doing they knew not, and what to do themfelves they
knew not ; for, firft, the enemy were too many ;
and, fcGondly, they did not keep together, but were
divided into feveral parties, and were on fhore in
feveral places.
The Spaniards were in no fmall conftemation at
this fight J and as they found that the fellows ran
ftraggling all over the fhore, they made no doubt,
but, firfl or laft, fome of them would chop in upon
their habitation, or upon fome other place, where
they would fee the tokens of inhabitants ; and they ^
were in great perplexity alfo for fear of their flock of
goats, which would have been little lefs than flarving
them, if they fhould have been deftroyed ; fo the
firfl thing they refolved upon, was to difpatch three
men away before it was light, viz. two Spaniards and
one EngUjIoman^ to drive all the goats away to the
great valley where the cave was, and, if need were,
to drive them into the very cave itfelf.
Could they have feen the favages altogether in
one body, and at a diflance from their canoes, they
refolved, if there had been an hundred of them, to
have attacked them ; but that could not be obtained,
for there were fome of them two miles off from the
other, and, as it appeared afterwards, were of two
different nations.
After
64 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
After having mufed a great while on the eourfe
they Ihould take, and beaten their brains in confi-
dering their prefent circumftances, they refolved at
laft, while it was dark, to fend the old favage (JRr/-
daf^ father) out, as a fpy, to learn, if poffible, fome-
thing concerning them, as what they came for, and
what they intended to do, and the like; the old
man readily undertook it, and, ftripping himfelf
quite naked, as mod of the fayages were, away he
went : after he had been gone an hour or two, he
brings word, that he had been among them undifco-
vered, that he found they were two parties, and of
two feveral nations, who had war with one another
and had had a great battle in their own country, and
that both fides having had feveral prifoners taken in
the fight, they were by mere chance landed in the
fame ifland, for the devouring their prifoners, and
making merry ; but their coming fo by chance to
the fame place, had fpoiled all their mirth ; that they
were in a great rage at one another, and were fo near,
that he believed they would fight again as foon as
day-light began to appear ; but he did not perceive
that they had any notion of any body's being on the
ifland but themfelves. He had hardly made an end
of telling the ftory, when they could perceive, by
the unufual noife they made, that the two little
armies were engaged in a bloody fight.
Friday^ father ufed all the arguments he could to
perfuade our people to lie clofe, and not be feen j he
told them, their fafety confifted in it, and that they
had nothing to do but to lie ftill, and the favages
would kill one another to their hands, and the reft
would
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE# 6^
would go away; and it was fo to a tittle. But It
was impoffible to prevail, efpecially upon the Eng-
lijhmen ; their curiofity was fo importunate upon
their prudentials, that they mufl run out and fee the
battle: however, they ufcd fome caution, viz. they
did not go openly juft by their own dwelling, but
went farther into the woods, and placed themfelves
to advantage, where they might fecurely fee them
manage the fight, and, as they thought, not to be
feen by themj but it feems the favages did' fee
them, as we fliall find hereafter.
The battle was very fierce, and if I might believe
the Englijhmen^ one of them faid, he could perceive,
that fome of them were men of great bravery, of
invincible fpirits, and of great policy in guiding the
fight. The battle, they faid, held two hours, before
they could guefs which party would be beaten ; but
then that party which was neareft our people's habita-
tion began to appear weakeft, and after fome time
more, fome of them began to fly j and this put our
men again into a great confternation, left any pf
thofe that fled fliould run into the grove, before their
dwelling, for flielter, and thereby involuntarily dif-
cover the place j and that by confequence the pur-
fuers fhould do the like in fearch for them. Upon
this they refolved, that they would ftand armed with-
in the wall, and whoever came into the grove, they
fhould fally out over the wall, and kill them ; fo
that, if poflible, not one Ihould return to give an
account of it ; they ordered alfo, that it fliould be
done with their fwords, or by knocking them down
Vol. II. F with
68 LIFE A^D ADVENTURES
enough ; planted, fowed, reaped, and began to be
all naturalized to the country; but fome time after
this, they fell all into fuch fimple meafures again as
brought them into a great deal of trouble.
They had taken three prifoners, as I had obferved }
and thefe three being lufty ftout young fellows, they
made them fervants, and taught them to work
for them; and, as flaves, they did well enough;
but they did not take their meafures with them
as I did by my man Friday ^ viz. to begia with them
upon the principle of having faved their lives, and
then inftruded them in the rational principles of
life, much lefs of religion, civilizing and reducing
them by kind ufage, and affedionate arguings;
but, as they gave them their food every day, fa
they gave them their work too, and kept them fully
employed in drudgery enough; but they failed in
this by it, that they never had them to aflift them
and fight for them, as I had my man Friday^ wha
was as true to me as the very flefli upon my bones.
But to come to the family part : Being all now
good friends (for common danger, as I faid above,
had effedually reconciled them), they began to con^
fider their general circumftances ; and the firll thing
that came under their confideration was, whether,
feeing the favages particularly haunted that fide of the
ifland, and that there were more remote and retired
parts of it equally adapted to their way of living, and
manifeftly to their advantage, they fliould not rather
remove their habitation, and plant in fame more
proper place for their fafety, and efpecially for the
fecurity of their cattle and corn.
Upon
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 69
Upon this, after long debate, it was conceived,
that they fhould not remove their habitation ; be-
caufe that fome time or other they thought they
might hear from their governor again, ;neaning
me : and if I ftiould fend any one to feek them, I
would be fure to dire£t them on that fide, where, if
they fliould find the place demolifhed, they would
conclude the favages had killed us all, and we were
gone, and fo our fupply would go away too.
But as to their corn and cattle, they agreed to
remove them into the valley where my cave was,
where the land was as proper to both, and where
indeed there was land enough : however, upon fe-
cond thoughts, they altered one part of that refolu-
tion too, and refolved only to remove part of their*
cattle thither, and plant part of their corn there ;
and fo, if one part was deftroyed, the other might
be faved: and one piece of prudence they ufed,
which it was very well they did ; viz. That they
never trufted thefe three favages, which they had
taken prifoners, with knowing any thing of the
plantation they had made in that valley, or of any
cattle they had there ; much lefs of the cave there,
which they kept in cafe of neceflity, as a fafe retreat;
and thither they carried alfo the two barrels of pow-
der which I had left them at my coming away.
But, however, they refolved not to change their
habitation; yet they agreed, that as I had carefully
I covered it firft with a wall and fortification, and
then with a grove of trees ; fo, feeing their fafety
confided entirely in their being concealed, of which
they were now fully convinced, they fet to work to
cover and conceal the place yet more effeftually than
F 3 before ••
7^ LIFE AND ADVENTURES
brfore : to this purpofe, as I had planted trees (of
rather thrufl in flakes, which in time all grew to be
trees) for fome good diftance before the entrance
into my apartment, they went on in the fame man-»
ner, and filled up the reft of that whole fpace of
ground, from the trees I had fet, quite down to the
fide of the creek, where, as I faid, I landed my
floats, and even into the very ouze where the tide
flowed, not fo much as leaving any place to land, or
anyfign that there had been any landing thereabout:
thefe ftakes alfo, being of a wood very forward to
grow, as I had noted formerly, they took care to
have generally very much larger and taller than thofq
which I had planted, and placed them fo very thick
and clofe, that when they had been three or four
years grown, there was no pier<:ing with the eye any
confiderable way into the plantation : as for that part
which I had planted, the trees were grown as thick;
as a man's thigh ; and among them they placed fo
many other fhort ones, and fo thick, that, in a word,
it ftood like a palifado a quarter of a mile thick, and
it was next to impoflible to penetrate it, but with a
little army, to cut it all down ; for a little dog coul4
hardly get between the trees, they ftood fo clofe.
But this was not all ; for they did the fame by
all the ground to the right hand, and to the left,
and round even to the top of the hill ; leaving no
way, not fo much as for themfelves to come out,
but by the ladder placed up to the fide of the hill,
and then lifted up, and placed again from the firfl;
ftage up to the top ; which ladder^ when it was taken
down, nothing but what had wings or witchcraft to
;iflift it, could come at th?m.
This
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, "JX
This was excellently well contrived : nor was it
lefs than what they after waMs found occafion for;
which ferved to convince me, that as human pru-
dence has authority of Providence to juftify it, fo
it has, doubtlefs, the direftidn of Providence to fet
it to work ; and, would we liften carefully to the
voice of it, I am fully perfuaded we might prevent
many of the difafters which our lives are now, by
our own negligence, fubjeSed to, But this by the
way.
I return to the ftory : they lived two years after
this in perfed retirement, and had no more vifits
from the favages ; they had indeed an alarm given
them one morning, which put them in a great con-
fternation; for, feme of the Spaniards being out
early one morning on the weft fide, or rather end of
the ifland, which, by the way, was that - end where
I never went, for fear of being difcovered, they were
furprifed with feeing above twenty canoes of Indians
juft coming on fliore,
They made the beft of their way home, in hurry
enough; and giving the alarm to their comrades,
they kept clofe all that day and the next, going
out only at night, to make obfervation : but they
had the good luck to be miftaken; for wherever
the favages went, they did not land at that time
on the ifland, but purfued fome other defign.
And now they had another broil with the three
jL7igliJhmen ; one of which, a moft turbulent fellow,
being in a rage at one of the three flaves, which I
mentioned they had taken, becaufe the fellow had
jipt done fomething right which he bid him do, an<J
F 4 , feemed
72 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
feemed a little untradlable in his fhewing him, drew
a hatchet out of a frog-belt, in which he bore it by
his fide, and fell upon him, the poor favage, not to
correal him, but to kill him. One of the Spaniards^
who was by, feeing him give the fellow a barbarous
cut with the hatchet, which he aimed at his head,
but ftruck into his fhoulder, fo that he thought he
had cut the poor creature's arm off, ran to him, and
intreating him not to murder the poor man, clapt
in between him and the favage, to prevent the
mifchief.
The fellow, being enraged the more at this, ftruck
at the S/^/z/^^r^ with his hatchet, and fwore he would
ferve him as he intended to ferve the favage ; which
the Spaniard perceiving, avoided the blow, and
with a fhovel, which he had in his hand (for they
were working in the field about the corn-land,)
knocked the brute down : another of the Englijhmen^
running at the fame time to help his comrade,
knocked the Spaniard down; and then two Spaniards
more came to help their man, and a third Eng/ijhman
fell upon them. They had none of them any fire-
arms, or any other weapon^ but hatchets and other
tools,, except the third Englijhman; he had one of
my old rufly cutlaffes, with which he made at the
laft Spaniards^ and wounded them both : this fray
fet the whole family in an uproar, and more help
coming in, they took the three Englijhvten prifoners.
The next queftion was. What fhould be done with
them ? They had been fo often mutinous, and were
fo furious, fo defperate, and fo idle withal, that they
knew 'not what courfe to take with them, for they
were
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 73
were mifchlevous to the higheft degree, and valued
not what hurt they did any man ; fo that, in fliort,
it was not fafe to live with them.
The Spaniard who was governor, told them in fo
many words, that if they had beeil his own country,
men, he would have hanged them all ; for all laws,
and all governors, were to preferve fociety; and
thofe who were dangerous to the fociety ought to be
expelled out of it; but as they were Engltjhmen^
and that it was to the generous kindnefs of an Eng-'
lijhman that they all owed their prefervation and de-
liverance, he would ufe them with all pofTible lenity,
and would leave them to the judgment of the other
two Englijlvnen^ who were their countrymen.
One of the two honeft EngUjlomen flood up, and
faid, they defired it might not be left to them : for,
fays he, I am fure we ought to fentence them to the
gallows ; and with that gives an account how Will
Atkins^ one of the three, had propofed to have all
the fiYt-Englijlomen join together, and murder all the
Spaniards^ when they were in their fleep.
When the Spanijh governor heard this, he calls to
Wilt Atkins : How, Seignior Atkins^ fays he. Will
you murder us all ? What have you to fay to that ?
That hardened villain was fo far from denying it,
that he faid it was true, and G — d d — mn him they
would do it ftill before they had done with them.
Well, but Seignior Atkins^ faid the Spaniard^ What
have we done to you that you will kill us ? And
what would you get by killing us ? And what muft
we do to prevent your killing us ? Muft we kill you,
or will you kill us ? Why will you put us to the ne-
ceflit/
74 ^^FE AND ADVENTURES
ceffity of this, Seignior Atkins? fays the Spaniard
very calmly, and fmiling.
Seignior Atkins was in fuch a rage at the Sfaniard^s
making a jeft of it, that, had he not been held by
three ifien, and withal had no weapons with him, it
was thought he would have attempted to have killed
the Spaniard in the middle of all the company.
This hare-brained carriage obliged them to confi*
der fcrioufly what was to be done. The two Englijh-
men and the Spaniard^ who faved the poor favage,
were of the opinion. That they fhould hang one of
the three for an example to the reft j and that par-r
ticularly it ftiould be he that had twice attempted to
commit murder with his hatchet ; and indeed there
was fome reafon to believe he had done it, for the
poor favage was in fuch a miferable condition with
the wound he had received, that it w^as thought he
could not live.
But the governor Spaniard ftill faid ; No, it was
• an Englijhman that had faved all their lives, and he
would never confent fo put an EngUJJwmn to death,
though he had murdered half of them; nay, he faid,
if he had been killed himfelf by an Englijhman^ and
had time left to fpeak, it fliould be, that they iliould
pardon him.
This was fo pofitively infifted on by the governor
Spaniard^ that there was no gainfayihg it ; and, as
merciful counfels are moft apt to prevail, w^here they
are fo earneftly prcffed;, fo they all came into it ; "but
then it was to be confidered, what fliould be done
to keep them from the mifchief they defigned ; for
all agreed, governor and all, that means were to be
ufed
OP ROBINSON CRUSOU. 75
tiled for preferving the fociety from danger : After a
long debate it was agreed, firft. That they fhould be
difarmed, and not permitted to have either gun, or
powder, or fhot, or fword, or any weapon, and
fliould be turned out of the fociety, and left to live
where they would, and how they could, by them*
felves ; but that none of the reft, either Spaniards or
Englijh^ fhould converfe with them, fpeak with them,
or have any thing to do with them ; that they fhould
be forbid to come within a certain diftance of the
place where the reft dwelt ; and that if they offered
to commit any diforder, fo as to fpoil, burn, kill, or
deftroy any of the corn, plantings, buildings, fences,
or cattle belonging to the fociety, that they fhould
die without mercy, and would fhoot them wherever
they could find them.
The governor, a man of great humanity, mufing
upon the fentence, confidered a little upon it ; and,
turning to the two honcH Englijhmen^' faid. Hold; you
muft reflect, that it will be long ere they can raifc
corn and cattle of their own, and they muft not ftarve j
we muft therefore allow them provifions. So he cau-
fed to be ^dded. That they fhould have a proportion
pf corn given them to laft them eight months, and for
feed to fov/, by which time they might be fuppofed
to raife fome of their own j that they fhould have
fix milch-goats, four he-goats, and fix kids given
them, as well for prefent fubfiftence, as for a ftore ;
^nd that they fhould have tools given them for their
work in the field ; fuch as, fix hatchets, an axe, a
f^w, and the like : But they fliould have none of
thefe tools or provifions, unlefs they would fwear
folemnly
y6 XIFE AND ADVENTURES
folemnly, that they would not hurt or injure any of the
Spaniards with them, or of their fellow Englijhmen.
Thus they difmiffed them the fociety, and turned
them out to fliift for themfelves. They went away
fullen and refraftory, as neither contented to go
away, or to flay ; but, as there was no remedy, they
went, pretending to go and choofe a place where they
(hould fettle themfelves, to plant and live by them-
felves ; and fome provifions were given, but no wea-
pons.
About four or five days after, they came again for
fome victuals, and gave the governor an account
where they had pitched their tents, and marked them-
felves out an habitation or plantation ; it was a very
convenient place indeed, on the remoteft part of the
ifland, N. E. much about the place where I provi-
dentially landed in my firft voyage, when I was dri-
ven out to fea, the Lord alone • knows whither, in
my foolifh attempt to furround the ifland.
Here they built themfelves two handfome huts,
and contrived them in a manner like my firft habita-
tion, being clofe under the fide of a hill, having
fome trees growing already to the three fides of it ;
fo that by planting others, it would be very eafily
covered from the fight, unlefs narrowly fearched
for ; they defired fome dry goat fldns for beds and
covering, which were given them ; and upon their
giving their words that they would not difturb the
reft, or injure any of their plantations, they gave
them hatchets, and what other tools they could
fpare; fome peafe,. barley, and rice, for fowing,
and, in a word, any thing they wanted but arms and
ammunition.
They
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 77
They lived in this feparate condition about fix
months, and had got in their firft harveft, though
the quantity was but fmall, the parcel of land they
had planted being but Kttle ; for indeed, having all
their plantation to form, they had a great deal of
work upon their hands ; and when they came to
make boards, and pots, and fuch things, they were
quite out of their element, and could make nothing
of it ; and when the rainy feafon came on, for want
of a cave in the earth, they could not keep their ^
gredn dry, and it was in great danger of fpoiling :
and this humbled them much ; fo they came and beg-
ged the Spaniards to help them, which they very
readily did; and in four days worked a gieat hole
in the fide of the hill for them, big enough to fecure
their corn, and other things from the rain ; but it
was but a poor place at beft, compared to mine ; and*
efpecially as mine w^as then ; for the Spaniards liad
greatly enlarged it, and made feveral new apartments
in it.
About three quarters of a year after this feparation,
a new froliok took thefe rogues, which, together
with the former villainy they had committed, brought
mifchief enough upon them, and had very near been
the ruin of the whole colony : the three new affociates
began, it feems, to be weary of the laborious life
^hey led, and that without hope of bettering their
circumftances ; and a whim took them, that they
would make a voyage to the continent from whence
the favages came, and would try if they could not
feize upon forae prifoners among the natives there
and bring them home, fo as to make them do the
laborious part of tRe work for them*
The
7? LIFE AND ADV£NtUR£S
The projeft was not fo prepofterous, if they had gon4
no farther ; but they did nothing, and propofed no-
thing, but had either mifchief in the defign, or mif-
chief in the event : and, if I may give my opinion,
they feemed to be under a blaft from Heaven ; for if
we will not allow a vifible curfe to purfue vifible
crimes, how fhall we reconcile the events of things
with divine juftice ? It was certainly an apparent ven-
geance on their crime of mutiny and piracy, that
brought them to the ftate they were in ; and, as they
Ihewed not the leaft remorfe for the crime, but added
new villainies to it, fuch as, particularly, that piece
of monftrous cruelty of wounding a poor flave, be-
caufe he did not, or perhaps could not, underftand to
do what he was direfted ; and to wound him in fuch
a manner, as, no queftion, made him a cripple all his
life, and in a place where no furgeon or medicine
could be had for his cure : and, what was ftill worfe,
the murderous intent ; or, to do juftice to the crime,
the intentional murder, for fuch to be fure it was,
as was afterwards the formed defign they all laid, to
murder the Spaniards in cold blood, and in their
fleep.
JBut I leave obferving, and return to the ftory :
The three fellows came down to the Spaniards one
morning, and, in very humble terms, defired to be
j^dmitted to fpeak Vvith them: the Spaniards very
readily heard what they had to fay, which was this :
that they were tired of living in the manner they did ;
that they were not handy enough to make the necef-
faries they wanted ; and that, having no help, they
found they fhould be ftarved ; but if the Spaniards
Iv^ould give them leave to take one of the canoes which
they
thgy cime over in, and give them arms and ammuni*
tion, proportioned for their defence, they would go
over to the main, and feek their fortune, and fo deli-*
ver them from the trouble of lupplying them with
any other provifions.
The Spaniards were glad enough to be rid of them ;
but yet very honeftly reprefented to them the certain
deftru^kion they \vere running into ; told them,
they had fuffered fuch hardfliips upon that very fpot,
that they could, without any fpirit of prophecy, tell
them, that they would be ftarved or murdered j and
bade them confider of it.
The men replied audacioufly, they fhould be ftar-
ved if they ftayed here, for they could not work, and
would not work; and they could but be ftarved
abroad ; and if they were murdered, there was an
end of them, they had no wives or children to cry
alter them ; and, in fliort, infifted importunately upon
their demand, declaring that they would go, whether
they would give them any arms or no.
The Spaniards told them, with great kindnefs,
that if they were refolved to go, they fliould not go
like naked men, and be in no condition to defend
themfelves; and that though they could ill fpare
their fire-arms, having not enough for themfelves,
yet they would let them have two mufquets, a piftol,
and a cutlafs, and each man a hatchet, which they
thought fufficient for them.
In a word, they accepted the offer ; and having
baked them bread enough to ferve them a month,
and given them as, much goat's flefli as they could
eat while It was fweet, and a great bafket full of dried *
grapes, a pot full of frefti water, and a young kid
* alive
8a LIFE AND ADVENTURES.
alive to kill, they boldly fet out in a canoe for a
voyage over the fea, where it was at lead forty miles
broad.
The boat was indeed a large one, and would have
very well carried 15 or 20 men; and therefore was
rather too big for them to manage ; but as they had
a fair breeze and the flood-tide with them, they did
well enough : they had made a maft of a long pole,
and a fail of four large goat-{kins dried, whi^ch.they
had fowed or laced together; and away they went
merrily enough : the Spaniards called after them,
Bon Veajo ; and no man ever thought of feeing them
any more*
The Spaniards would often fay to one another, and
the two honed Englijhnien who remained behind, how
quietly and comfortably they lived, now thofe three
turbulent fellows were gone ; as for their ever coming
again, that was the remoteft thing from their thoughts
could be imagined ; when, behold, after twenty
two days abfence, one of the Englljlomen being
abroad upon his planting-work, fees three ft range
, men coming towards him at a diftance^ two of them
with guns upon their Ihoulders.
Away runs the EngUJloman^ as if he was bewitched,
and became frighted and amazed, to the governor
Spaniard^ and tells him they were all undone, for
there were ftrangers landed upon the ifland, he could
not tell who : the Spaniard paufing a while, fays to
him. How do you mean, you cannot tell who ? They
are favages to be fure. No, no, fays the Englijh?7iany
they are men in clothes, v/ith arms : Nay then, fays
the Spaniard^ why are you concerned ? If they are
not favages, they muft be friends ; for there is no
Chriftian
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 8 1
Chriftian nation upon earth, but will do us good ra-
ther than harm.
While they were debating thus, came the three
Englijhmen^ and, (landing without the wood which
was new planted, hallooed to them ; they prefently
knew their voices, and fo all the wonder of that
kind ceafed. But now the admiration was turned
upon another queftion, viz. What could be the mat-
ter, and what made them come back again ?
It was not long before they brought the men in ;
and enquiring where they had been, and what they
had been doing ? They gave them a full account
of their voyage in a few words, viz. That they
reached the land in two days, or.fomething lefs ; but
finding the people alarmed at their coming, and pre-
paring with bows and , arrows to fight them, they
durft not go on fhore, but failed on to the northward
fix or feven hours, till they came to a great opening,
by which they perceived that the land they faw from
our ifland was not the main, but an ifland : that
entering that opening of the fea, they faw another
ifland on the right hand north, and feveral more
weft ; and being refolved to land fomewhere, they
put over to one of the iflands which lay weft, and
went boldly on fliore y that they found the people
were courteous and friendly to them, and they gave
them feveral roots, and fome dried fifli, and ap-
peared very fociable ; and the women, as well as
the men, were very forward to fupply them with
any thing they could get for them to eat, and
brought it to them a great way upon their heads.
They continued here four days, and enquired, as
well as they could of them by figns, what nations
Vol. II. G were
82 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
were this way, and that way ; and were told of fe-
veral fierce and terrible people, that lived almoft
every way ; who, as they made known by figns to
them, ufed to eat men ; but as for theinfelves, they
faid, that they never eat men or women, except
only fuch as they took in the wars ; and then they
owned, that they made a great feaft, and eat their
prifoners.
The Englifhmen enquired, when they had a feaft
of that kind ; and they told them two moons ago,
pointing to the moon, and then to two fingers ; and
that their great king had two hundred prifoners now,
which he had taken in his war ; and they were
feeding them to make them fat for the next feaft.
The Englifhmen feemed mighty defirous to fee thofe
prifoners; but the others miftaking them, thought
they were defirous to have fome of them to carry
away for their own eating. So they beckoned to
them, pointing to the fetting of the fun, and then
to the rifing ; which was to fignify, that the next
morning, at fun-rifing, they would bring fome for
them; and accordingly, the next morning, they
brought down five women, and eleven men; and
gave them to the EngUJlomeir^ to carry with them
on their voyage, juft as we would bring fo many
cows and oxen down to a fea-port town, to vidual
a fliip.
As brutifli and barbarous as thefe fellows were
at home, their ftomachs turned at this fight, and
they did not know what to do ; to refufe the pri-
foners would have been the higheft affront to the
favage gentry that offered them ; and what to do
with them they knew not : however, upon fome de-
bate.
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE# 8 J
bate, they refolved to accept of them ; and, m re-
turn, they gave the favages that brought them one
of their hatchets, an old key, a knife, and fix or
feven of their bullets, which, though they did not
underftand, they feemed extremely pleafed with :
and then, tying the poor creatures hands behind
them, they (the people) dragged the prifoners into
the boat for our men.
The Englijhmen were obliged to come away as
foon as they had them, or elfe they that gave them
this noble prefent, would certainly have expefted
that they fhould have gone to work with them, have
killed two or three of them the next morning, and
perhaps have invited the donors to dinner.
But, having taken their leave with all the refpe£t
and thanks that could well pafs between people, where,
on either fide, they underllood not one word they
could fay, they put oflf with their boat, and came
back towards the firft ifland, where, when they ar-
rived, they fet eight of their prifoners at liberty,
there being too many of them for their occafion.
In their voyage they endeavoured to have fome
communication with their prifoners, but it was im-
poffible to make them underftand any thing ; no-
thing they could fay to them, or give them, or do
for them, but was looked upon as going about to
murder them : they firft of all unbound them ; but
the poor creatures fcreamed at that, efpecially the
women, as if they had juft felt the knife at their
throats ; for they immediately concluded they were
unbound on purpofe to be killed.
G2 If
84 LIfE A>^0 ADVENTURES
If they gave them any thing to eat, It was the
fame thing ; then they concluded it was for fear they
fliould fink in flefh, and fo not be fat enough to kill :
if they looked at one of them more particularly,
the party prefently concluded, it was to fee whether
he or flie was fatteft and fitted to kill firfl: ; nay,
after they had brought them quite over, and began
to ufe them kindly, and treat them well, ft:ill they
expefted every day to make a dinner or fupper for
their new mafl:ers.
When the three wanderers had given this unac-
countable hifl:ory or jqurnal of their voyage, the
Spaniard alked them, where their new family was ?
And being told that they had brought them on fhore,
and put them into one of their huts, and were come
to beg fome viftuals for them ; they (the Spaniards)
and the other two Englijhmen^ that is to fay, the
whole colony, refolved to go all down to the place,
and fee them, and did fo, and Friday^ father vsith
them.
When they came into the hut, there they fat all
bound : for when they had brought them on fhore,
they bound their hands, that they might not ^ take
the boat and make their efcape ; there, I fay, they
fat, all of them fl:ark.naked : firfl:, there were three
men, lufl:y, comely fellows, well fhaped, ftrait and
fair limbs, about 30 or 35 years of age, and five
women, whereof two might be from 30 to 40, two
more not above 24 or 25, and the fifth, a tall, comely
maiden, about 16 or 17 : the women were well, fa-
voured agreeable perfons, both in fhape and features,
only tawny; and two of them, had they been per-
fea
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 85
fed white, would have paffed for handfome women,
even in London itfelf, having very pleafant agreeable
countenances, and of a very modeft behaviour, efpe-
cially when they came afterv/ards to be clothed, and
drefled, as they called it, though that drefs was very
indifferent, it muft be confeffed j of which here-
after.
The light, you may be fare, was fpmething un-
couth to our Spaniards^ who were (to give them a
juft charader) men of the bed behaviour, of the mofl
calm, fedate tempers, and perfeft good-humour that
ever I met with ; and, in particular, of the mod
modefty, as will prefently appear: I fay the fight
was very uncouth, to fee three naked men, and five
naked women, all together bound, and in the moft
miferable circumftances that human nature could be
fuppofed to be, viz. to be expeding every moment
to be dragged out, and have their brains knocked
out, and then to be eaten up like a calf that is killed
for a dainty.
The firft thing they did was to caufe the old Indian,
Friday^s father, tp go in, and fee firft if he knew
any of them ; and then, if he underftood any of
their fpeech : as foon as the old man came in, he
looked ferioufly at them, but knew none of them j
neither could any of them underftand a word he
faid, or a fign he could make, except one of the
women.
However, this was enough to anfwer the end,
which was to fatisfjr them, that the men into vhofe
hands they were fallen, were Chriftians ; that they
abhorred eating of men or women, and that they
might be fure they would not be killed ; as foon a$
G 3 they
86 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
they were affured of this, they difcovered fuch
a joy, and by fuch awkward and feveral ways, as is
hard to defcribe j for it feems they were of feveral
nations.
The woman, who was their interpreter, was bid,
in the next place, to afk them if they were willing
to be fervants, and to work for the men who had
brought them away, to fave their lives ? At which
they all fell a dancing ; and prefently one fell to
taking up this, and another that, any thing that lay
next, to carry on their fhoulders, to intimate, that
they were willing to work.
The governor, who found that the having women
among them, would prefently be attended with fome
inconveniency, and might occafion fome ftrife, and
perhaps blood, afked the three men, what they in-
tended to do with thefe women, and how they in-
tended to ufe them, whether as fervants, or as wo-
men ? One of the EngUJhmen anfwered very boldly
and readily, that they would ufe them as both. To
which the governor faid, I am not going to reftrain
you from it ; you are your own mafters as to. that :
but this I think is but juft, for avoiding diforders and
quarrels among you, and I defire it of you for that
reafon only, viz. that you will all engage, that if
any of you take any of thefe women, as a woman,
or wife, he Ihall take but one ; and that, having
taken one, none elfe Ihould touch herj for though
we cannot mairy any of you, yet it is but reafonable,
that while you (lay here, the woman any of you
takes fhould be maintained by the man that takes
her, and fhould be his wife ; I mean fays he,Vhile
he continues here j and that none elfe fhould have
any
OF ROBINSON CRUSOJS* 87
any thing to do with her. All this appeared fo juft,
that everyone agreed to it without any difficulty.
Then the EngUjhmen afked the Spaniards^ if they
deligned to take any of them ? But every one an-
fwered, No : fome of them faid they had wives
in Spain ; and the others did not like women
that were not Chriftians ; and altogether declared,
that they would not touch one of them ; which was
an inftance of fuch virtue, as I have not met with
in all my travels ; on the other hand, to be fhort,
the five Englijkmen took them every one a wife ;
that is to fay, a temporary wife ; and fo they fet
up a new form of living; for the Spaniards and
Fridays father lived in my old habitation, which
they had enlarged exceedingly within ; the three
fervants, which they had taken in the late battle of
the favages, lived with them ; ^d thefe carried on
the main part of the colony, fupplying all the reft
with food, and affifting them in any thing as they
could, or as they found neceffity required.
But the wonder of this ftory was, how five fuch
refradory, ilUmatched fellows fhould agree about
thefe women, and that two of them fliould not
pitch upon the fame woman, efpecially feeing two
or three of them were, without comparifon, more
agreeable than the others : but they took a good
way enough to prevent quarrelling among them*
felves : for they fet the five women by themfelves
in one of their huts, and they went all into the
other 'hut, and drew lots among them who fhould
choofe firft.
" He that drew to choofe firft, went away by him-
felf to the hut, where the poor naked creatures. were,
G 4 and
50 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
The two men had innumerable young trees planted
about their huts, that when you came to the place
nothing was to be feen but a wood ; and though
they had their plantation twice demoliflied, once by
their own countrymen, and once by the enemy, as
Ihall be fhewn in its place ; yet they had reftored all
again, and every thing was flourifliing and thriving
about them : they had grapes planted in order, and
managed like a vineyard, though they had them-
felyes never feen any thing of that kind : and by
their good ordering their vines, their grapes were
as good again as any of the others. They had alfo
formed themfelves a retreat in the thickeft part of
the woods, where, though there was not a natural
cave, as I had found, yet they made one with in-
ceffant labour of their hands, and where, when the
mifchief which followed happened, they fecured
their wives and children, fo as they could never be
found ; they having, by flicking innumerable ftakes
and poles of the wood, which, as I faid, grew fo
eafily, made a grove impaffable, except in one place,
where they climbed up to get over the outfide part,
and then went in by ways of their own leaving.
As to the three reprobates, as I juftly call them,
though they were much civilized by their new fet-
tlement, compared to what they were before, and
were not fo quarrelfome, having not the fame oppor-
tunity, yet one of the certain companions of a pro-
fligate mind never left them, and that was their idle-
nefs : It is true, they planted corn, and made fences;
but Solomon's words were never better verified than
in them : " I went by the vineyard of the flothful,
*^ and it was overgrown with thorns j'' for when
the
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 9X
the Spaniards came to view their crop, they could
not fee it in fome places for weeds ; the hedge had
feveral gaps in it, where the wild goats had gotten
in, and eaten up the corn; perhaps here and there
a dead bufh was crammed in, to Hop them out for
the prefent, but it was only (hutting the ftable door
after the fteed was ftolen ; whereas, when they
looked on the colony of the other two, there was
the very face of induftry and fuccefs upon all they
did ; there was not a weed to be feen in all their
corn, or a gap in any of their hedges ; and they, on
the other hand, verified Solomon's words in another
place : " The diligent hand maketh rich ;" for
every thing grew and thrived, and they had plenty
within and without ; they had more tame cattle than
the others, more utenfils and neceffaries within doors,
and yet more pleafure and diverfion too.
It is true, the wives of the three were very handy
and cleanly within doors ; and having learned the
Englijh ways of drefling and cooking from one of
the other Englijhmen^ who, as I faid, was a cook's
mate on board the fhip, they dreffed their hufbands
visuals very nicely ; whereas the other could not be
brought to underftand it ; but then the hufband,
who, as I faid, had been cook's mate, did it him-
felf; but, as for the hufbands of the three wives,
they loitered about, fetched turtles eggs, and caught
fifli and birds : in a word, any thing but labour ;
and they fared accordingly. The diligent lived well
and comfortably ; and the flothful lived hard and
beggarly ; and fo I believe, generally fpeaking, it is
all over the world.
But
9^ LIFE AND ADVENTURES
But now I come to a fcene different from all that
had happened before, either to them or me j and the
origin of the ftory was this :
Early one morning there came on fhore five or
fix canoes of Indians y or favages, call them which
you pleafe ; and there is no room to doubt that they
came upon the old errand of feeding upon their
Haves ; but that part was now fo familiar to the
Spaniards^ and to our men too, that they did not
concern themfelves about it, as I did ; but, having
been made fenfible by their experience, that their
only bufinefs was to lie concealed, and that, if
they were not feen by any of the favages, they would
go off again quietly, when their bufmefs was done,
having as yet not the lead notion of there being
any inhabitants in the ifland j I fay, having been
made fenfible of this, they had nothing to do but to
give notice to all the three plantations' to keep with-
in doors, and not to fliew themfelves ; only placing a
fcout in a proper place, to give notice when the boats
went off to fea again.
This was, without doubt, very right ; but a dif^
after fpolled all thefe meafures, and made it known
among the favages, that there were inhabitants
there; which was, in the end, the defolation of
almoft the whole colony. After the canoes with
the favages were gone off, the Spaniards peeped
abroad again, and fome of them had the curiofity
to go to the place where they had been, to fee what
they had been doing. Here, to their great furprife,
they found three favages left behind, and lying faft
afleep upon the ground ; it was fuppofed they had
either been fo gorged with their inhuman feaft, that,
like
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 93
like beafts, they were afleep, and would not ftir when
the others went, or they were wandered into the
woods, and did not come back in time to be taken
in.
The Spaniards were greatly furprifed at this fight,
and perfeaiy at a lofs what do ; the Spaniard go-
vernor, as it happened, was with them, and his ad-
vice was alked ; but he profeffed he knew not what
to do ; as for flaves, they had enough already ; and
as to killing them, they were none of them inclined
to that ; the Spaniard governor told me they could
not think of fliedding innocent blood ; for as to
them, the poor creatures had done no wrong, in-
vaded none of their property ; and they thought
they had no juft quarrel againft them to take away
their lives.
And here I muft, in juftice to thefe Spaniards^
obferve, that let all the accounts of Spanijh cruelty
in Mexico and Feru be what they will, I never met
with feventeen men, of any nation whatfoever, in any
foreign country, who were fo univerfally modeft, tem-
perate, virtuous, fo very good-humoured, and fo
courteous, as thefe Spaniards \ and, as to cruelty,
they had nothing of it in their very nature ; no in-
humanity, no barbarity, no outrageous paffions, and
yet all of them men of great courage and fpirit.
Their temper and calmnefs had appeared in their
bearing the infufFerable ufage of the three Englijh-
men ; and their juftice and humanity appeared now
in the qafe of the favages, as above : after fome con-
fultation, they refolved upon this, that they would
lie ftill awhile longer, till, if poffible, thefe three
men might be gone j but then the governor Spa^
niard
94 Lir*^ AND ADVENTURES
niard recolhdied, that the three favages had no boat;
and that, if they were left to rove about the ifland,
they would certainly difcover that there were inha-
bitants in it, and fo they fhould be undone that
way.
Upon this they went back again, and there lay
the fellows fall afleep ftill; fo they refclved to
awaken them, and take them prifoners ; and they did
fo : the poor fellows were ftrangely frighted when
they were feized upon and bound, and afraid, like
the women, that they fhould be murdered and eaten ;
for, it feems, thofe people think all the world do
as they do, eating men's flefli ; but they were foon
made eafy as to that ; and away they carried them.
It was very happy for them, that they did not
carry them home to their caftle ; I mean to my pa-
lace under the hill j but they carried^ them firft to
the bower, where was the chief of their country
work ; fuch as the keeping the goats, the planting
the corn, &c. and afterwards they carried them to
the habitation of the two EngUJhinen.
Here they were fet to. work, though it was not
much they had for them to do : and whether it was
by negligence in guarding them, or that they thought
the fellows could not mend themfelves, I know not,
but one of them ran away ; and, taking into the
woods, they could never hear of him more.
They had good reafon to believe he got home
again foon after in fome other boats or canoes of
favages, who came on fliore three or four weeks af-
terwards, and who, carrying on their revels as ufual,
went off again in two days time : this thought ter-
rified them exceedingly J for they concluded, and
that
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 95
that not without good caufe indeed, that if this fel-
low got fafe home among his comrades, he would
certainly give them an account that there were peo-
ple in the ifland, as alfo how weak and few they were ;
for this favage, as I obferved before, had never beeu
told, as it was very happy he had not, how many
they were, or where they lived, nor had he ever feen
or heard the fire of any of their guns, much lefs
had they Ihewn him any other of their retired
places, fuch as the cave in the valley, or the new
retreat which the two EngUjhmen had made, and
the like.
The firft teftimony they had, that this fellow had
given intelligence of them was, that about two
months after this, fix canoes of favages, with about
feven or eight, or ten men in a canoe, came rowing
along the north-fide of the ifland, where they never
ufed to come before, and landed about an hour after
fun-rife, at a convenient place, about a mile from
the habitation of the two EngUjhmen^ where ' this
efcaped man had been kept : as the Spaniard go-
vernor faid, had they been all there, the damage
would not have been fo much, for not a man of
them would have efcaped : but the cafe differed now
very much; for two- men to fifty were too much
odds : the two men had the happinefs to difcover
them about a league off, fo that it was above an hour
before they landed ; and as they landed about a mile
from their huts, it was fome time before they could
come at them. Now having great reafon to believe
that they were betrayed, the firfl thing they did was
to bind the flaves which were left, and caufe two of
the three men, whom they brought with the women,
who,
J
95 LIFE AND ADVENTtTRffS
who, It feems, proved very faithful to them, to lead
them with their two wives, and whatever. they couWi
carry away with them, to their retired place in the-
woods, which I have fpoken of ^bove, and there to
bind the two fellows hand and foot till they heard
farther..
In the next place, feeing the favages were all
come on Ihore, and that they bent their courfe di-
redly that way, they opened the fences where their
milch-goats were kept, and drove them all out, leav-
ing their goats to ftraggle into the wood, whither
they pleafed,' that the favages might think they were
all bred wild ; but the rogue who came with them
was too cunning for that, and gave them an ac-
count of it all ; for they went direftly to the place.
When the poor frighted men had fecured their
wives and goods, they fent the other flave they had
of the three, who came with the women, and who
was at their place by accident, away to the Spa--
niards with all fpeed, . to give them the alarm, and
defire fpeedy help ; and in the mean time they took
their arms, and. what ammunition they had, and
retreated towards the place in the wood where their
wives were fent, keeping at a diftance ; yet fo that
they might fee, if poffible, which way the favages
took.
They had not gone far, but that, from a rifing
ground, they could fee the little army of their ene-
mies come on direftly to their habitation, and in a
moment more could fee all their huts and houfehold.
ftuif flaming up together, to their great grief and
mortification ; for they had a very great lofs, and
to them irretrievable, at lead for fome time. They
kept
, \A^4^i*^
i^arov'<^ /y >/vCeMa*tU
^/li/hd Jfeo' fJ79^ 6- iW« McctMtaU li'etndiUy.
\^
OF ROBlNSdN CRUSOE. 97^
kept their ftation for awhile, till they found the fa-
vages, like wild beafts, fpread themfelves all over the
place, rummaging every way, and every place they
could think of, in fearch for prey ; and, in particu.
lar, for the people, of whom it plainly appeared they
had intelligence.
The two Englifhmen feeing this, thinking them-
felves not fecure where they flood, as it was likely
fome of the wild people might come that way, fo
they might come too many together, thought it pro-
per to make another retreat about half a mile far-
ther, believing, as it afterwards happened, that the
farther they (trolled, the fewer would be together.
The next halt was at the entrance into a very
thick grown part of the woods, and where an old
trunk of a tree flood, which was hollow, and vaflly
hrge ; and in this tree they both took their fli^nding,
refolving'to fee what might offer*
They had not flood there long, but two of the
favages appeared running direftly that way, as if
they had already notice where they flood, and were
coming up to attack them ; and a little way farther
they efpied three more coming after them, and five
more beyond them, all coming the fame way ; be-
fides which, they faw feven or eight more at a dif-
tance, running another way ; for, in a word, they
ran every way, like fportfmen heating for their
game.
The poor men were now in great perplexity, whe-
ther they fhould fland, and keep their poflure, or
fly ; but after a very fhort debate with themfelves,
they confidered, that if the favages ranged the coun-
try thus, before help came, they might, perhaps,
Vol. IL H find
98 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
find out their retreat in the woods, and then all
would be loft ; fo they refolved to ftand them there ;
and if there were too many to deal with, then they
would get to the top of the tree, from whence they
doubted not to defend themfelves, fire excepted, as
long as their ammunition lafted, though all the fa-
vages that were landed, which were near fifty, were
to attack them.
Having refolved upon this, they next confidered
whether they fhould fire at the two firft, or wait for
the three, and fo take the middle party ; by which
the two and the five that followed would be fepa-
rated ; at length they refolved to let the two firft
pafs by, unlefs they fhould fpy them in the tree, and
come to attack them. The two firft favages alfo
confirmed them in this refolution, by turning a little
from them towards another part of the wood ; but
the three, and the five after them, came forwards
direftly to the tree, as if they had known the Eng.
liflimen were there.
Seeing them come fo ftraight towards them, they
refolved to take them in a line as they came ; and
as they refolved to fire but one at a time, perhaps
the firft fhot might hit them all three; to which
purpofe, the man who was to fire, put three or
four bullets into his piece, and having a fair loop-
hole, as it were, from a broken hole in the tree, he
took a fure aim, without being feen, waiting till they
were within about thirty yards of the tree, fo that
he could not niifs.
While they were thus waiting, and the favages
came on, they plainly faw, that one of the three
was the run-av/ay favage that had efcaped from
them,
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 9^
them, and they both knew him diftindtly, and re-
folved, that, if poflible, he fhould not efcape, though
they fhould both fire j fo the other flood ready with
his piece, that if he did not drop at the firfl fhot, he
fhould be fure to have a fecond.
But the firfl was too good a markfman to mifs his
aim; for, as the favages kept near one another, a:
little behind in a line, in a word, he fired, and hit
two of them direftly : the foremofl was killed out-
right, being fhot in the head ; the fecond, which
was the run-away Indian,^ was fhot through the
body, and fell, but was not quite dead ; and the
third had a little fcratch in the fhoulder, perhaps by
the fame ball that went through the body of the fe-
cond ; and being dreadfully frighted, though not
much hurt, fat down upon the ground, fcreaming
and yelling in a hideous manner.
The five that were behind, more frighted with the
noife than fenfible^of their danger, flood flill at
firfl ; for the woods made the found a thoufand times
bigger than it really was j the echoes rattling from
one fide to another, and the fowls rifing from all
parts, fcreaming and making, every fort, a feveral
kind of noife, according to their kind, jufl as it was
when I fired the firfl gun that, perhaps, was ever
fhot off in that place fince it was an ifland^
However, all being filent again, and they not
knowing what the matter was, came on unconcerned,
till they came to that place where their companions
lay, in a condition miferable enough ; and here th^
poor ignorant creatures, not fenfible that they wera
within reach of the fame mifchief, flood all of a
huddle over the wounded man, talking, and, gs may
H2 be
loo .LIFE AND ADVJENTURES
be fuppofeJ, enquiring of him how he came to he
hurt J and who, *tis very rational to believe, told
them that a flafh of fire firft, and immediately after
that^ thunder from their gods, had killed thofe two,
and wounded him : This, I fay, is rational ; for no-
thing is more certain than that, as they faw no man
near them, fo they had never heard a gun in all their
lives, or fo much as heard of a gun ; neither knew
they any thing of killing or wounding at a diftance,
with fire and bullets ; if they had, one might rea-
fonably believe, that they would not have flood
fo unconcerned, in viewing the fate of their fel-
lows, without feme apprehenfion of their own.
Our two men, though, as they confefTed to me,
It grieved them to be obliged to kill fo many poor
creatures, who at the fame time bad no notion of
their danger; yet, having them all thus in their
power, and the firfl having loaded his piece again,
refolved to let fly both together among them ; and
fmgling out by agreement which to aim at, they fhot
together, and killed, or very much wounded, four
of them ; the fifth, frighted even to death, though
not hurt^ fell with the refl ; fo that our men, feeing
them all fall together, thought they bad killed them
all.
The belief that the favages were all killed, made
our two men come boldly out from the tree before
they had charged their guns again, which was a
wrong ftep; and they were under fonie furprife,
when they came tb the place, and found no Fefs than
four of the men alive, and of them, two very little
hurt, and one not at all : this obliged them to fall
upon them with the flocks of their mufquets ; and
firft.
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. lOI
firfl:, they made fure of the run away favage, that
had been the caufe of all the mifchief ; and of ano-
ther that was hurt in his knee, and put them out of
their pain ; then the man that was not hurt at all
came and kneeled down to them, with his two hands
held up, and made piteous moan to them by gef-
tures and figns, for his life ; but could not fay one
word to them that they could underftand.
However, they fignified to him to fit down at the
foot of a tree thereby ; and one of the Englijhmeny
with a piece of rope-twine, which he had by great
chance in his pocket, tied his feet faft together, and
his hands behind him, and there they left him ; and,
with what fpeed they could, made after the other
two which were gone before, fearing they, or any
more of them, fhould find the way to their covered
place in the woods, where their wives, and the few
goods they had left lay : they came once in fight of
the two men, but it was at a great diftance ; how-
ever, they had the fatisfaftion to fee them crofs over
a valley, towards the fea, the quite contrary way
from that which led to their retreat, which they were
afraid of ; and, being fatisfied with that, they went
back to the tree where they left their prifoner, who
as they fuppofed, was delivered by his comrades ; for
he was gone, and the two pieces of rope-yarn, with
which they had bound him, lay jufl: at the foot of
the tree.
They were now in as great a concern as before,
jiot knowing what courfe to take, or how near the
enemy might be, or in what numbers ; fo they re-
folved to go away to the place where their wives
were;, to fee if all was well there, and to make them
H 3 eafy.
102 ^ LIFE AND ADVENTURES
eafy, who were in fright enough to be fure; for
though the favages were their own country folks, yet
they were moft terribly afraid of them, and perhaps
the more, for the knowledge they ha(J of them.
When they came thither, they found the favages
had been in the wood, and very near the place, but
had not found it ; for indeed, it was inacceffible, by
the trees {landing fo thick, as before, unlefs the per-
fons feeking it had been direfted by thof(? that knew
it, which thefe were not; they found, therefore,
every thing very fafe, only the women in a terrible
fright V while they were here, they had the comfort
of feven of the Spaniards coming to their affiftance ;
the other ten, with their fervants, and old Friday^
I mean Fridayh father, were gone in a body to de-
fend their bower, and the corn and cattle that were
kept there, in cafe the favages fhould have roved
over to that fide of the country ; but they did not
fpread fo far. With the feven Spaniards came one of
the favages, who, as I faid, were their prifoners for-
merly, and with them alfo came the favage whom
the Englijhmen had left bound hand and foot at 'the
tree ; for it feems they came that way, faw the
flaughter of the feven men, and unbound the eighth,
and brought him along with them, where, however,
they were obliged to bind him again, as they had
done the two others, who were left when the third
ran away.
The prifoners began now to. be .a burden to them ;
and they were fb afraid of their efcaping, that they
thought they were under an abfolute neceffity to
kill them for their own prefervation : however, the
Spaniard governor would not confent -to it j but or-
dered,
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I03
dered, that they fhould be fent out of the way to
my old cave in the valley, and^ be kept there, with
two Spaniards to guard them, and give them food :
which was done ; and they were bound there hand
and foot for that night.
When the Spaniards came, the two Englijhmen
were fo encouraged, that they could not fatisfy
themfelves to flay any longer there ; but taking five
of the Spaniards^ and themfelves, with four muf.
quets and a piftol among them, and two ftout quar-
ter ftaves, away they went in queft of the favages ;
and firft, they came to the tree where the mefi lay
that had been killed ; but it was eafy to fee, that
fome more of the favages had been there ; for they
attempted to carry their dead men away, and had
dragged two of them a good way, but had given it
over ; from thence they advanced to the firft rifing
ground, where they had ftood and feen their camp
deftroyed, and where they had the mortificationftill
to fee fome of the fmoke ; but neither could they
here fee any of the favages: they then refolved,
though with all poffible caution, to go forward to-
wards their ruined plantation: but a little before
they came thither, coming in fight of the fea fhore,
they faw plainly the favages all embarking again in
their canoes, in order to be gone.
They feemed forry at firft that ihere was no way
to come at them, to give them a parting blow ; but
upon the whole, were very well fatisfied to be rid of
them.
The poor Englijhmen being now twice ruined, and
all their improvements deftroyed, the reft all agreed
H4 to
104 tiFE AND ADVENTURED
to come and help them to rebuild, and to aflift them
wth needful fupplies. Their three countrymen,
who were not yet noted for having the lead inclinaT
tion to do any thing good, yet, as foon as they heard
of it (for they, living remote, knew nothing till all
was over) came and offered their help and affiftance,
and did very friendly work for feveral days, to reftore
their habitations, and make neceffaries for them ; an4
thus, in a little time, they were fet upon their legs
again.
About two days after this, they had the farther fa-
tisfaSion of feeing three of the favages canoes come
driving on fliore, and, at fome diftance from them,
with two drowned men ; by which they had reafon
to believe, that they had met with a ftdrm at fea, and
had over-fet fome of them ; for it blew very hard
the night after they went off.
However, as fome might mifcarry, fo on the
* other hand, enough of them efcaped to inform the
reft, as well of what they had done, as of what hap-»
pened to them; and to whet them on to another en-,
terprife of the fame tiature, which they, it feems,
refolved to attempt, with fufficient force to carry all
before them ; for, except what the firft man had told
them of inhabitants, they could fay little to it of
their own knowledge ; for they never faw one man,
and the fellow being killed that had affirmed it, they
had no other witnefs to confirm it to them.
It was five or fix months after this, before they
heard any more of the favages, in which time our
men were in hopes they had not forgot their former
bad luck, or had given over the hopes of better ;
when, on a fudden, they were invaded with a moft
formi-
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I05
formidable fleet, of no lefs than twenty-eight canoes^
full of favages, armed with bows and arrows, great
clubs, wooden fwords, and fuch like engines of
war ; and they brought fuch numbers with them,
that, in fhort, it put all our people into the utmoft
confternatlon.
As they came on fliore in the evening, and at the
cailermoft fide of the ifland, our men had that night
to confult and confider what to do ; and, in the firft
place, knowing that their being entirely concealed
was their only fafety before, and would much more
be fo now, while the number of their ejiemies wass
fo great, they therefore refolved, firft of all, to take
down the huts which were built for the two Englijh-
pieuj and drive away their goats to the old cave ;
becaufe they fuppofed the lavages would go diredly
thither, as foon as.it was day, to play the old game
over again, though they did not now land within
two leagues of it.
In the next place, they drove away all the flock of
goats they had at the old bower, as I called it, which
belonged to the Spaniards ; and, in fliort, left as
little appearance of inhabitants any where as poflSble j
and the next morning early they pofted themfelves
with all their force, at the plantation of the two men,
waiting for their coming. As they guefled, fo it
happened ; thefe new invaders, leaving their canoes
at the eaft end of the ifland, came ranging along the
fliore, direftly towards the place, to the number of
two hundred and fifty, as near as our men could
judge. Our army was but fmall indeed; but, that
which was worfe, they had not arms for all their
number
I06 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
number neither : The whole account, it fcems, ftood
thus : Firft, a$ to men : •
17 Spaniards.
5 Englijhmen.
I Old Friday^ or Friday*^ father.
3 Slaves, taken with the women, who proved
very faithful.
3 Other flaves who lived with the Spaniards.
29
To arm thefe they had ;
II Mufquets.
5 Piftols.
3 Fowling pieces.
5 Mufquets, or fowling pieces, which were
taken by me from the mutinous fea-
men whom I reduced.
2 Swords.
^ 3 Old halberts,
29
To their flaves they did not give either mufquet
or fufil, but they had every one an halbert, or a long
ftaflF, like a quarter ftafF, with a great fpike of iron
faflened into each end of it, and by his fide a hatchet ;
alfo every one of bur men had hatchets. Two of
the women could not be prevailed upon, but they
would come into the fight ; and they had bows and
arrows, which the Spaniards had taken from the fa-
vages, when the firft adion happened, which I have
fpoken
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I07
fpoken of, where the Indians fought with one ano« -
ther, and the women had hatchets too.
The Spaniard governor, whom I have defcrlbed
fo often, commanded the whole ; and William Atkinsy
who, though a dreadful fellow for wickednefs, was a
mod daring bold fellow, commanded under him.
The favages came forward like lions, and our men,
which was the worft of their fate, had no advan-
tage in their fituation ; only that Will Atkinsy who
now proved a mod ufeful fellow, with fix men, was
planted juft behind a fmall thicket of buflies, as an
advanced guard, with orders to let the firft of them
pafs by, and then fire into the middle of them ; and,
as foon as he had fired, to tnake his retreat, as nim-
bly as he could, round a part of the wood, and fo
come in behind the Spaniards where they flood,
having a thicket of trees all before them.
When the favages came on, they ran ftraggling
about every way in heaps, out of all manner of or-
der ; and Will Atkins let about fifty of them pafs by
him ; then, feeing the reft come in a very thick
throng, he orders three of his men to fire, having
loaded their mufquets with fix or feven bullets a-
piece, about as big as large piftol bullets. How
many they killed or wounded, they knew not j but
the confternation and furprife was inexpreffible among
the favages, who were frighted to the laft degree, to
hear fuch a dreadful noife, and fee their men killed,
and others hurt, but fee nobody that did it ; when
in the middle of their fright, William Atkins ^ and
his other three, let fly again among the thickeft of
them ; and in lefs than a minute, the firft three,
being loaded again, gave them a third volley.
Had
I08 LIFJE AND ADVENTURES
Had William Atiins and his men retired immedi^
ately, as foon as they had fired, as they were or-
dered to do ; or had the reft of the body been at
hand, to have poured in their (hot continually, the
favages had been efFeftually routed ; for the terror
that was among them came principally from this ;
iHz, That they were killed by the Gods with thun-
der and lightning, and could fee nobody that hurt
them ; but William Atkins, flaying to load again,
difcovered the cheat ; fome of the favages, who were
at a didance, fpying them, came upon them behind ;
and though Atkins and his men fired at themalfo,,
two or three times, and killed above twenty, retir*
ing as fafl as they could, yet they wounded Atkins
himfelf, and killed one of his fellow EngliJIymcn with
their arrows, as they did afterwards one Spaniard,
and one of the Indian flaves who came with 'the wo-
men ; this flave was a moft gallant fellow, and fought
moft defperately, killing five of them with his own
hand, having no weapon but one of the arme4
ftaves, and an hatchet.
Our men being thus hard laid at, Atkins wound-^
ed, and two other men killed, retreated to a rifing
ground in the wood ; and the Spaniards, after firing
three voUies upon them, retreated alfo ; for their
number was fo great, and they were fo defperate,
that though above fifty of them were killed, and
more than fo many wounded, yet they came on in
the teeth of our men, fearlefs of danger, and fhot
their arrows like a cloud \ and it was obferved, that
their wounded men, who were not quite difabled,
were made outrageous by their wounds, and fought
like madmen.
When
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE# log
When out men retreated, they left the Spaniard
and the Englijhnui}!^ that were killed, behind them ;
and the favages, when they came up to them, killed
them over again in a wretched manner, breaking
their arms, legs, and heads, with their clubs, and
wooden fwords, like true favages : But, finding our
men were gone, they did not feem inclined to purfue
them, but drew themfelves up in a kind of a ring,
which is, it feems, their cuftom ; and fhouted twice,
in token of their vidtory ; after which, they had the
mortification to fee feveral of their wounded men
fall, dying with the mere lofs of blood.
The Spaniard governor having drawn his little
body up together, upon a rifing ground, Atkiyisr,
though he was wounded, would have had him march-
ed, and charged them again all together at once ; but
the Spaniard replied. Seignior Atkins^ you fee how
their wounded men fight ; let them alone till morn-
ing ; all thefe wounded men will be ftifF and fore
with their wounds, and faint with the lofs of blood j
and fo we fliall have the fewer to engage.
The advice was good ; but Will Atkins replied
merrily. That's true. Seignior^ and fo Ihall I too ;
and that's the reafon I would go on, while I am
warm. Well, Seignior Atkins^ fays the Spaniard^
you have behaved gallantly, and done your part ; wc
will fight for you, if you cannot come on ; but I
think it bed to ftay till morning : fo they waited.
But as it was a clear moon-light night, and they
found the favages in great diforder about their dead
and wounded men, and a great hurry and noife
among them where they lay, they afterwards refolved
to fall upon them in the night, efpecially if they
, could
no LIFE AND ADVENTURES
could come to give them but one volley before they
were difcovered. This they had a fair opportunity
to do ; for one of the two Englijhmeny in whofe
quarter it was where the fight began, led them round
between the woods and the fea-fide, weftward, and
turning fliort fouth, they came fo near where the
thickeft of them lay, that before they were feen or
heard, eight of them fired in among them, and did
dreadful execution upon them; in half a minute
more eight others fired after them, pouring in their
fmall (hot in fuch a quantity, that abundance were
killed and wounded ; and all this while they were
not able to fee who hurt them, or which way to
The Spaniards charged again, with the utmoft ex-
pedition, and then divided themfelves into three
bodies, and refolved to fall in among them all toge-
ther : they had in each body eight perfons ; that is
to fay, twenty.four, whereof were twenty-two men,
and the two women, who, by the way, fought def-
perately.
: They divided the fire-arms equally in each party>
and fo of thehalberts and ftaves. They would have
had the women keep back ; but they faid, they were
refolved to die with their hufbands. Having thus
formed their little army, they marched out from
among the trees, and came up to the teeth of the
enemy, fhouting and hallooing as loud as they could;
the favages flood all together, but were in the utmoft
confufion, hearing the npife of our men fhouting
from three quarters together; they would have
jFought if they had feen us ; and, as foon as we
came near enough to be feen, fome arrows were
(hot.
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. Ill
(hot, and poor old Friday was wounded, though not
dangeroufly. But our men gave them no time;
but, running up to them, fired among them three
ways, and then fell in with the but-ends of their
mufquets, their fwords, armed ftayes, and hatchets ;
and laid about them fo well, that, in a word, they
fet up a difmal fcreaming and howling, flying to fave
their lives which way foever they could.
Our men were tired with the execution ; and
killed, or mortally wounded, in the two fights, about
180 of them; the reft, being frighted out of their
wits, fcoured through the woods, and over the
hills, with all the fpeed that fear and nimble feeW
could help them to do ; and as we did not trouble
ourfelves much to purfue them, they got all together
to the fea-fide, where they landed, and where their
canoes lay. But their difafter was not at an end
yet ; for it blew a terrible ftorm of wind that even-
ing from the fea-ward j fo that it was impoflible for
them to put off ; nay, the ftorm continuing all night,
when the tide came up, their canoes were moft of
them driven by the furge of the fea fohigh upon the
fliore, that it required infinite toil to get them off;
and fome of them were even daflied to pieces againft
the beach, or againft one another.
Our men, though glad of their vidory, yet got
little reft that night ; but having refreflied themfelves
as well as they could, they refolved to march to that
part of the ifland where the favages were fled, and
fee what pofture they were in. This neceflarily led
them over the place where the fight had been, and
where they found feveral of the poor creatures not
quite dead, and yet paft i'ecovering life ; a fight dif-
agreeable
112 LIFE AKD ADVENtURElJ
agreeable enough to generous minds ; for a truly
great man, though obliged by the law of battle to
deftroy his enemy, takes no delight in his mifery.
However, there was no need to give any order irt
this cafe ; for their own favages, who were their fer-
vants, difpatched thofe poor creatures with their
hatchets*
At length they came in view of the place where
the more miferable remains of the favages' army lay,
where there appeared about loo ftill ; their pofture
was generally fitting upon the ground, with their
knees up towards their moiith, and the head put be-
tween the hands, leaning down upon the knees.
When our men came within two mufquet ihot of
them, the Spaniard governor ordered two mufquets
to be fired without ball, to alarm them ; this he did,
that by their countenance he might know what to ex-r
pefl:, viz. Whether they wer^ ftill in heart to fight,
or were fo heartily beaten, as to be difpirited and dif«
couraged, and fo he might manage accordingly.
This ftratagem took ; for, as foon as the favages
heard the firft gun, and faw the flalh of the fecond,
they ftarted up upon their feet in the greateft con-
Iternation imaginable ; and, as our men advanced
fwiftly towards them, they all ran fcreaming and
yawling away, with a kind of an howling noife,
which our men did not underftand, and had never
heard before j and thus they ran up the hills into the
country.
At firft, our men had much rather the weather had
been calm, and they had all gone away to fea ; but
they did not then confider, that this might probably
have been the occafion of their coming again in fuch
multi-
I
'^l^tt^^t/id .-J/n^if 6,29f fy l^ift SfffJb/a/f .J/tfo^/i/fy
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 113
multitudes as not to be refifted; or, at leaft, to
come fo many and fo often, as would quite defol ate
the ifland, and ftarve them: Will Atkins thereforey
who^ notwithftanding his wound, kept always with
them, proved the beft counfellor in this cafe : his
advice was, to take the advantage that offered, and
clap in between them and their boats, and fo deprive
them of the capacity of ever returning any more to
plague the ifland.
They confulted long about this, and fpme were
agaiiift it, for fear of making the wretches fly into
the woods, and live there defperate ; and fo they
flioald have them to hunt like wild beafts^, be afraid
to ftir about their bufinefs, and have their plantation
continually riSed, all their tame goats deftroyed,
and, in fliort, be reduced to a life of continual
. diftrcfs,
WHl Atkins told them, they had better have to do
xsrith ioo men, than with 100 nations ; that as they
muft deftroy their boats, fo they muft deftroy the
men -J or be all of them deftroyed themfelves. In a
"word, he Ihewed them the neceflity of it fo plainly,
that they all came into it j fo they went to work im»
mediately with the boats, and, getting fome dry .
wood together from a dead tree, they tried to fet
fome of them on fire; but they were fo wet^ that
they would fcarce burn. However, the fire fp burned
the upper part, that it foon made them unfit for
fwimming in thcNfea as boats. When the Indians faw
what they were about, fome of them came running
out of the woods ; and coming as near as they could
to our men, kneeled down and cried, 0^, 0^, Wa-
Vol. II. I ramokoa^
114 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
ramokoa^ and fome other words of their language,
which none of the others underftood any thing of;
but as they made pitiful geftures, and ftrange noifes,
it was eafy to underftand they begged to have their
boats fpared, and that they would be gone, , and ne-
ver return thither again.
But our men were now fatisfied, that they had no
way to preferve themfelves, or to fave their colony,
but eflfedlually to prevent any of thefe people from
ever going home again ; depending upon this, that
if ever fo much as one of them got back into their
country to tell the ftory, the colony was undone ; fo
that, letting them know that they {hould not have
any mercy, they fell to work with their canoes, and
deftroyed them every one that the ftorm had not de-
ftroyed before ; at the fight of which, the favages
raifed a hideous cry in the woods, which our people
heard plain enough ; after which they ran about the
ifland like diftrafted men ; fo that, in a word, our
men did not really know at firft what to do with
them.
Nor did the Spaniards y with all their prudence,
confider that while they made thofe people thus def-
perate, they ought to have kept good guard at the
fame time upon their plantations ; for though it is
true they had driven away their cattle, and the i«-
dians did not find their main retreat, I mean my old
caftle at the hill, nor the cave in the valley ; yet
they found out my plantation, at the "bower, and
pulled it all to pieces, and all the fences and plant-
ing about it J trod all the corn under foot ; tore up
the vines and grapes, being juft then almoft ripe ;
and did oui men an ineftimable damage,^ though',
' to
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I15
to themfelves, liot one farthing's worth of fer-
vice.
Though our men were able to fight them upon all
occafions, yet they were in no condition to purfue
them, or hunt them up and down ; for as they were
two nimble of foot for our men when they found
them fingle, fo our men durft not go about fingle,
for fear of being furrounded with their numbers ;
the bed was, they had no weapons ; for though they
had bows, they had no arrows left, nor any mate-
rials to make any, nor had they any edged tool or
weapon among them.
The extremity and diftrefs they were reduced to
was great, and indeed deplorable, but at the fame
time our men were alfo brought to very hard cir-
cumftances by them ; for though their retreats were
preferved, yet their provifion was deftroyed, and
their harveft fpoiled ; and what to do, or which way
to turn themfelves, they knew not ; the only refuge
they had now was, the (lock of cattle they had in the
valley by the cave, and fome little corn which grew
there. The three Englijhmen^ William Atkins and
his comrades, were now reduced to two, one of
them being killed by an arrowj which ftruck him
on the fide of his head, juft under the temples, fo
that he never fpoke more ; and it was very remark-
able, that this was the fame barbarous fellow who
f ut the poor favage flave with his hatchet, and who
afterwards intended to have murdered the Spa*
niards.
I looked upon their cafe to have been worfe at this
time than mine was at any time after I firft difco-
vered the grains of barley and rice, and got into the
I a method
Il6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
method of planting and raifing my corn, and my
tame cattle ; for now they had, as I may fay, an
hundred wolves upon the ifland, which would de-
vour every thing they could come at, yet could be
very hardly come at themfelves.
The firft thing they concluded, when they faw
what their circumftances were, was, that they would,
if poflible, drive them up to tHe farther part of the
ifland, fouth-eaft, that if any more favages came on
fhore, they might not find one another } then, that
they would daily hunt and harrafs them, and kill is
many of them as they could come at, till they had
reduced their number ; and if they could at laft tame
them, and bring them to any thing, they would
give them corn, and teach them how to plant, and
live upon their daily labour.
In order to this, they followed them, and fo ter-
rified them with their guns, that in a few days, if
any of them fired a gun at an Indian^ if he did not
hit him, yet he would fall down for fear ; and fa
dreadfully frighted they were, that they kept out of
fight farther and farther, till at laft our men follow-
ing them, and every day almoft killing and Nvound-
ing fome of them, they kept up in the woods and
hollow places fo much, that it reduced them to the
utmoft mifery for want of food ; and many were
afterwards found dead in the woods, without any
hurt, but merely ftarved to death.
When our men found this, it made their heart?
relent, and pity moved them ; efpecially the Spaniard
governor, who was the moft gentleman-like, gene-
rous minded man that eve» I met with in my life ;
and he propofed, if poflible, to take one of them
i^live,
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. II7
alive, and bring him to underftand what they meant,
fo far as to be able to zQt as interpreter, and to go
among them, and fee if they might be brought to
fome conditions, that might be depended upon, to
fave their lives, and do us no fpoil.
It was fonne time before any of them could be
taken; but being weak, and half-ftarved, one of
them was at laft furprifed, and made a prifoner ; he
was fullen at firft, and would neither eat nor drink ;
but finding himfelf kindly ufed, and vLftuals given
him, and no violence offered him, he at laft: grew
tradable, and came to himfelf.
They brought old Friday to him, who talked of-
ten with him, and told him how kind the others
would be to them all ; that they would not only fave
their lives, but would give them a part of -the ifland
to live in, provided they would give fatisfaftion ;
that they {hould keep in their own bounds, and not
come beyond them, to injure or prejudice others ;
and that they fhould have corn given them, to plant
and make it grow for their bread, and fome bread
given them for their prefent fubfiftence ; and old
Friday bade the fellow go and talk with the reft of
his countrymen, and hear what they faid to it ; af-
furing them, that if they did not agree immediately
they fhould all be deftroyed.
The poor wretches, thoroughly humbled, and re-
duced in number to about thirty-feven, clofed with
the propofal at the firft offer, and begged to have
fome food given them ; upon which twelve Spaniards
and two Englijhjnen^ well armed, and three Indian
fiaves, and old Friday^ marched to the place where
they were j the three' ^ Indian flaves earned them a
I 3 l^^ge
Il8 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
large quantity, of bread, and fome rice boiled up to
cakes, and dried in the fun, and three live goats ;
and they were ordered to go to the fide of an hill,
where they fat down, eat the proviRons very thank-
fully, and were the moft faithful fellows to their
words that could be thought of; for, except when
they came to beg victuals and direftions, they never
came out of their bounds ; and there they lived when
I came to the ifland, and I went to fee them.
They had taught them both to plant corn, make
bread, breed tame goats, and milk them ; they want-
ed nothing but wives, and they foon would have
been a nation : they were confined to a neck of land,
furrounded with high rocks behind them, and lying
plain towards the fea before them, on the fouth-eaft
corner of the ifland ; they had land enough, and it
was very good and fruitful ; for they had a piece of
land about a mile and a lialf broad, and three or
four miles in length.
Our men taught them to make wooden fpades,
fuch as I made for myfelf ; and gave among them
twelve hatchets, and three or four knives ; and there
they lived the moft fubjeded innocent creatures that
were ever heard of. '
After this the colony enjoyed a perfeft tranquillity,
with refpefl: to the favages, till I came to re-vifit them,
which was in about two years ; not but that now
and then fome canoes of favages came on fhorefor
their triumphal, unnatural feafts ; but as they were
of feveral nations, and, perhaps, had never heard
of thofe that came before, or the reafon of it, they
did not make any fearch or enquiry after their country-
men}
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE.' II9
men ; andjf they had, it would have been very hard
for them to have fourid them out.
Thus, I think, I have given a full accourit of all
that happened to them, to my return, at leaft, that
was worth notice. The Indians, or favages, were
wonderfully civilized by them, and they frequently ,
went among them ; but forbid, on pain of death,
any of the Indians coming to them, becaufe they
would not have their fettlement betrayed again.
One thing was very remarkable, viz. that they
taught the favages to make wicker-work, or bafkets ;
but they foon out-^did their mafter.s j for they made
abundance of moft ingenious things in wicker-work ;
particularly, all forts of bafkets, fieves, bird cages,
cup-boards, &c. as alfo chairs to fit on, ftools, beds,
couches, and abundance of other things, being very
ingenious at fuch work, when they were once put in
the way of it. ..
My coming was a particular relief to thefe people,
becaufe we furnifhed them with knives, fciffars, fpades, .
fliovels, pick-axes, and all things of that kind which
they could want.
With the help of thefe tools they were fo very
handy, that they came, at laft, to build up their huts,
or houfes, very handfomely ; raddling, or working
it up like baiket-work all the way round, which was
a very extraordinary piece of ingenuity, and looked
very odd; but was an exceeding good fence, as well
againfl heat, as againft all forts of vermin ; and our
men were fo taken with it, that they got the wild fa-
vages to come and do the like for them ; fo that when
I came to fee the two Englijh?nen\ colonies, they
looked, at a diflance, as if they lived all like bees in
I 4 a hive J
120 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
a hive ; and as for Will AtkiiiSj who was now be-
come a very induftrious, neceflary, and fober fellow,
he had made himfelf fuch a tent of bafket-work, as
I believe was never feen. It was 1 20 paces round on
the outfide, as I meafured by my fteps ; the walls
were as clofe worked as a baflvet, in pannels or
fquares, thirty-two in number, and very ftrong, (land-
ing about feven feet high : in the middle was ano-
ther not above 22 paces round, but built ftronger,
being eight fquare in its form, and in the eight cor-
ners flood eight very ftrong pofts, round the top of
which he laid ftrong pieces, joined together with
wooden pins, from which he raifed a pyramid before
the roof of eight rafters, very handfome, I affure
you, and joined together very well, though he had
no nails, and only a few iron fpikes, which he had
made himfelf too, out of the old iron that I had left
there ; and, indeed, this fellov/ fhewed abundance
of ingenuity in feveral things which he had no know-
ledge of; he made himfelf a forge, with a pair of
wooden bellows to blow the fire ; he made himfelf
charcoal for his work, and he fo'rmed out of one of
the iron crows a middling good anvil to hammer up-
on ; in this manner he made many things, but efpe-
cially hooks, ftaples and fpikes, bolts and hinges.
But to return to the houfe ; after he pitched the roof
of his innermoft tent, he worked it up between the
rafters with bafket-work. To firm, and thatched that
over again fo ingenioufly with rice ftraw, and over
that a large leaf of a tree, which covered .the top,
that hk houfe was as dry as if it had been tiled or
Hated. Indeed he owned that the favages made the
bafliet-work for him.
The
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 121
The outer circuit was covered, as a lean-to, all
round this inner apartment, and long rafters lay
from the 32 angles to the top pofts of the inner
houfe. Toeing about twenty feet dillant ; fo that there
was a fpace like a walk within the outer wicker- wall,
and without the inner, near twenty feet wide.
The inner place he partitioned off with the fanle
wicker-work, but much fairer, and divided into fix
apartments, for that he had fix rooms on a floor,
and out of every one of thefe there was a door ; firft,
into ' the entry, or coming into the main tent ; and
another door into the fpace or walk that was round
it ; fo that this walk was alfo divided into fix equal
parts, which ferved not only for a retreat, but to
ftore up any neceflaries which the family had occafion
for. Thefe fix fpaces not taking up the whole cir-
cumference, what other apartments the outer circle
had, were thus ordered : as foon as you were in at
the door of the outer circle, you had a (hort paflage
ftraight before you to the door of the inner houfe ; but
on either fide was a wicker partition, and a door in
it, by which you went, firft, into a large room or
ftore-houfe, 20 feet wide, and about 30 feet long,
and through that into another not quite fo long : fo
that in the outer circle were ten handfome rooms,
fix of which were only to be come at through the
apartments- of the inner tent, and ferved as clofets or
retired rooms to the refpcftive chambers of the inner
circle ; and four large warehoufes or barns, or what
you pleafe to ball them, which went in through one
another, two on either hand of the paflage that led
through the outer door to the inner tent.
Such
122 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
Such a piece of baflvct-work, I believe, was never
feen in the world ; nor an houfe or tent fo neatly
contrived, much lefs fo built : in this great bee-hive
lived the three families ; that is to fay, Will Atkins,
and his companions ; the third was killed, but his
wife remained with three children ; for (he was, it
feems, big with child when he died ; and the other
two were not at all backward to give the widow her
full fhare of every thing, I mean, as to their corn,
milk, grapes, &c. and when they killed a kid, or
found a turtle on the fliore; fo that they all lived well
enough, though it was true, they were not fo induf-
trious as the other two, as has been obferved -already.
One thing, however, cannot be omitted, viz. that,
as for religion, I don't know that there was any
thing of that kind among them ; they pretty often,
indeed, put one another in mind, that there was a
God, by the very common method of feamen, viz.
fwearing by his name ; nor were their poor, igno^
rant favage wives much the better for having been
married to Chrijiians, as we muft call them ; for as
they knew very little of God themfelves, fo they
were utterly incapable of entering into any difcourfe
with their wives about a God, or to talk any thing
to them concerning religion.
The utmoft of all the improvement which I can fay
the wives had made from them, was, that they had
taught them to fpeak EngUjh pretty well ; and all the
children they had, which were near twenty in all,
were taught to fpeak EngUJh too, from their firft
learning to fpeak, though they at firft fpoke it
in a very broken manner, like their mothers. There
were none of thofe children above fix years old
when I came thither j for it was not much above
feveu
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 12^
feven years that they had fetched thefe five favage
ladies over, but they had all been pretty fruitful, for
they had all children, more or lefs : I think the cook's
mate's wife was big of her fixth child ; and the mo-
thers were all a good fort of well governed, quiet, labo-
rious women, modeft and decent, helpful to one an-,
other, mighty obfervant and fubjeft to their mafters,
I cannot call them hufbands ; and wanted nothing
but to be well inftrufted in the Chrijiian religion,
and to be legally married ; both which were happily
brought about afterwards by my means, or, at leaft,
by the confequence of my coming among them.
Having thus given an account of the colony in
general, and pretty much of my five runagade Eng^ '
lijhmen^ I muft fay fomething of the Spaniards j who
were the main body of the family j and in whofe
ftory there are fome incidents alfo remarkable
enough.
I had a great many difcourfes with them about
their circumftances, when they were among the fa-
vages : they told me readily, that they had no in-
ftances to give of their application or ingenuity in
that country ; that they were a poor, miferable, de-
jected handful of people ; that if means had been put
into their hands, they had yet fo abandoned them-
felves to defpair, and fo funk under the weight of
their misfortunes, that they thought of nothing but
flarving. One of them, a grave and' very fenfible
man, told me, he was convinced they were in the
wrong ; that it was not the part of wife men to give
up themfelves to their mifery, but always to take hold
of the helps which reafon offered, as well for prefent
fupport, as for future deliverance j he told me, that
^ricf
114 ^I^E AND ADVENTURES
grief was the moft fenfelefs, infignificant paffion in
the world ; for that it regarded only things paft,
which were generally impoffible to be recalled or to
be remedied, but had no view to things to come,
and had no fhare in any thing that looked like deli-
verance, but rather added to the afflidion than pro-
pofed a remedy ; and upon this, he repeated a Spa-
nijh proverb ; which, though I cannot repeat in juft
the fame words that he fpoke it, yet I remember I
made it into an EngliJI^ prpverb of my own, thus :
In trouble to be troubled^
Is to have your trouble doubled.
He then ran on in remarks upon all the little Im-
provements I had made in my folitude ; my unwea-
ried application, as he called it, and how I had made
a condition, which, in its circumftances, was at firft
much worfe than their's, a thoufand times more
happy than their's was, even now, when they were
altogether : he told me, it was remarkable, that
Englijhmen had a greater prefence of mind, in their
diftrefs, than any people that ever he met with j that
their unhappy nation, and tl\e Portuguefe^ were the
worfl men in the world to ftruggle with misfortunes j
for that their firft ftep in dangers, after common
efforts are over, was always to defpair, lie down un-
der it and die,^ without roufing their thoughts up to
proper remedies for efcape.
I told him, their cafe and mine differed exceed-
ingly ; that they were caft upon the fhore without
neceffaries, without fupply of food, or of prefent
fuftenance, till they could provide it : that it is true, I
had this difadvantage and difcomfoit, that I was
alone ; but then the fupplies I had providentially
thrown
OF ROBINSO>r CRUSOE. \2§
thrown into my hands, by the unexpeded driving of
the Ihip on fhore, was fuch a help as would have en-
couraged any creature in the world to have applied
himfelf as I had done : Seignior » fays the Spaniard^
had we poor Spaniards been in your cafe, we fliould
never have gotten half thofe things out of the fhip
as you did : ^nay, fays he, we fhould never have found
means to have gotten a raft to carry them, or to
have gotten a raft on fhore without boat or fail ; and
how much lefs Ihould we have done, faid he, if any
of us had been alone ! Well, I defired him to abate
his compliment, and go on with the hiftory of
their coming on fhore, where they landed : he told
me, they unhappily landed at a place where there
were people without provifions j whereas, had they had
the common fenfe to have put off to fea again, and
gone to another ifland a little farther, they had found
provifions, though without people ; there being an
ifland that way, as they had been told, where there
were provifions, though no people \ that is to fay,
that the Spaniards of Trinidad had frequently been
there, and filled the ifland with goats and hogs at
feveral times ; where they have bred in fuch multi-
tudes, and where turtle and fea fowls were in fuch
plenty, that they could have been in no want of
flefh, though they had found no bread; whereas
here they were only fuflained with a few roots and
herbs, which they underflood not, and which had
no fubflance in them, and which the inhabitants gave
them fparingly enough, and who could treat them
no better, unlefs they would turn canibals, and eat
men's flefh, which was the great dainty of the
country.
They
125 LltE AND ADVENTURES
They gave me an account how many ways they
ftrove to civilize the favages they were with, and to
teach them rational cuftoms in the ordinary way of
living J but in vain : and how they retorted it upon
them, as unjuft, that they, who came thither for
affiftance and fupport, (hould attempt to fet up for
inftrufltors of thofe that gave them bread ; intimat-
ing, it feems, that none fhould fet up for the in-
flruftors of others, but thofe who could live without
them.
They gave me difmal accounts of the extremities
they were driven to ; how fometimes they were ma-
ny days without any food at all ; the ifland they were
upon being inhabited by a fort of favages that lived
more indolent, and, for that reafon, were lefs fup-
plied with the neceffaries of life, than they had rea-
fon to believe others were in the fame part of the
world; and yet they found that thefe favages were
lef& ravenous and voracious, than thofe who had
better fupplies of food.
Alfo they added, that they could not but fee with
what demonftrations of wifdom and goodnefs, the
governing Providence of God direfts the event of
things in the world ; which, they faid, appeared in
their circumflances ; for if, preffed by the hardfhips
they were under, and the bariennefs of the country
where they were, they had fearched after a better
place to live in, they had then been out of the way
of the relief that happened to them by my means.
Then they gave me an account, how the favages^
whom they lived among, expefted them to go out
with them into their wars ; and it was true, that, as
they had fire-arms with them, had they not had the
difafter
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 1:27
difaftet to lofe their ammunition, they fliould not
have been ferdceable only to their friends, but have
made themfelves terrible both to friends and enemies ;
but being without powder and (hot, and in a con-
dition, that they could not in reafon deny to go out
with their landlords to their wars ; when they came
in the field of battle, they were in a worfe condition
than the favages themfelves ; for they neither had
bows nor arrows, nor could they ufe thofe the fa-
vages gave them ; fo that they could do nothing but
ftand ftill, and be wounded with arrows, till they
came up to the teeth of their enemy ; and then, in-
deed, the three halberts they had were of ufe to
them ; and they would often drive a whole little
army before them, with thofe halberts and fliarpened
fticks put into the muzzles of their mulkets : but
that for all this, they were fometimes furrounded
with multitudes, and in great danger from their ar-
rows ; till at laft they found the way to make them-
felves large targets of wood, which they covered
with fkins of wild beafts, whofe names they knew
not ; and thefe covered them from the arrows of the
favages ; that, notwithftanding thefe, they were
fometimes in great danger, and were once five of
them knocked down together, with the clubs of the
favages, which was the time when one of them was
taken prifoner, that is to fay, the Spaniard whom I
had relieved : That at .firft they thought he had been
killed, but when afterwards they heard he was taken
prifoner, they were under the greateft grief imagi-
nable, and would willingly have all ventured their
lives to have refcued him.
Th^y
128 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
They told me, that when they were fo knocked
down, the reft of their company refcued them, and
ftood over them fighting, till they were come to them-
felves, all but he who they thought had been dead ;
and then they made their way with their halberts and
pieces, ftanding clofe together in a line, through a
body of above a thoufand favages, beating down all
that came in their way, got the viftory over their
enemies, but to their great forrow, becaufe it was
with the lofs of their friend ; whom the other party,
finding him alive, carried off with fome others, as
I gave an account in my former.
They defcribed moft affedionately, how they were
furprifed with joy at the return of their friend and
companion in mifery, who they thought had been de-
voured by wild beafts of the worft of kind, viz. by
wild men ; and, yet how more and more they were
furprifed with the account he gave them of his er-
rand, and that there was a Chrijiian in a place near,
much more one that was able, and had humanity
enough to contribute to their deliverance.
They defcribed how they were aftonifhed at the
fight of the relief I fent them, and at the appear-
ance of loaves of bread, things they had not feen
fmce their coming to that miferable place ; how often
they crofled it, and bleffed it as bread fent from
Heaven ; and what a reviving cordial it was to their
fpirits to tafte it ; as alfo, of the other things .1 had
fent for their fupply. And, after all, they would
have told me fomething of the joy they were in at
the fight of a boat and pilots to carry them away to
the perfon and place, from whence all thefe new
comforts came j but they told me, it was impoffible
to
OP ROBINSON CRUSOS. Il^
to €xprefs it by words ; for their exceffive joy driv-
ing them to unbecoming extravagancies, they had
no way to defcribe them, but by telling me, that
they bordered upon lunacy, having no way to give
vent to their paffion, fuitable to the fenfe that was
upon them ; that in fome it worked one way, and
in fome s^nother ; and that fome of them, through a
furprife of joy, would burft out into tears ; others be
half mad, ?ind others immediately faint. This dif-
courfe extremely affedled me, and called to my mind
Frida/s extacy, when he met his father, and the
poor people's extacy, when I took them up at fea,
after their fliip was on fire ; the mate of the fhip's
joy, when he found himfelf delivered in the place
where he expefted to perifh ; and my own joy, when
after twenty-eight years' captivity, I found a good
Ihip ready to carry me to my own country : All
thefe things made me more fenfible of the relatio^i %
of thefe poor men, and more affeSed with it.
Having thus given a view of the ftate of
as I found them, I muft relate the heads of wh^^]^^
did for thefe people, and the condition in whi^i^
left them. It was their opinion, and mine too, tbat-vf
they would be troubled no more with the favages ; 9^;*
that, if they were, they would be able to cut theq; '
off, if they were twice as many as before ; fo th^tt
they had no concern about that. Then I entered »
into a ferious difcourfe with the Spaniard^ whom I
called governor, about their flay in the ifland ; for^
as I was not come»to carry any of them off,, fo it
would not be juft to carry off fome, and leave others,
who perhaps would be unwilling to ftay if their
ftrength was diminifhed.
Vol. II K On
130 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
On the other hand, I told them, I came to efta-
blifh them there, not to remove them; and then
I let them know, that I had brought with me re-
lief of fundry kinds for them : That I had been
at a great charge to fupply them with all things ne-
ceffary, as well for their convenience, as their de-
fence ; and that I had fuch particular perfons with
me, as well to increafe and recruit their number, as
by the particular neceflary employments which they
were bred to, being artificers, to affift them in thofe
things, in which, at prefent, they were to feek.
They were all together when I talked thus to them ;
and before I delivered to them the ftores I had
brought, I afked them, one by one, if they had en*
tirely forgot and buried the firll animofities that had
been among them, and could (hake hands with one
another, and engage in a ftrid friendfhip, and union
of intereft, fo that there might be no more n;iifun-
derfttndings or jealoufies.
William Atkins^ with abundance of franknefs and
gbod-humour, faid, They had met with affliftions
enough to make them ail fober, and enemies enough
to make them all friends : That, for his part, he
would live and die with them ; and was fo far from
difigning any thing againft the Spaniardsy that, he
owned, they had done nothing to him but what his
own bad humour made neceffary, and what he would
have done, and, perhaps, much worfe, in thdr cafe ;
and that he would a(k them pardon, if I defired it,
for the foolifli and brutifh things he had done to
them ; and was very willing and defirous of living
on terms of entire friendfliip and union with them;
and would do anything that lay in his power to con-
vince
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 131
vince them of it : and as for going to England^
he cared not if he did not go thither thefe twenty-
years.
The Spaniards faid, they had, indeed, at firft,
difarmed and excluded William Atkins^ and his two
countrymen, for their ill conduft, as they had let
me know : And they appealed to me, for the ne.
ceffity they were under to do fo ; h\\t.i\i3X William
Atkins had behaved himfelf fo bravely in the great
fight they had with the favages, and on feveral occa-
fions fince, and had (hewed himfelf fo faithful to,
and concerned for the general interefl: of them all,
that they had forgotten all that was paft, and thought
he merited as much to be trufted with arms, and
fupplied with neceflaries, as any of them ; and that
they had teftified their fatisfaftion in him, by com-
mitting the command to him, next to the governor
himfelf; and as they had an entire confidence in
him, and all his countrymen, fo they acknowledged,
they had merited that confidence, by all the methods
that honeft men could merit to be valued and trufted :
and they moft heartily embraced the occafion of
giving me this affurance, that they would never have
any intereft feparate from one another.
Upon thefe frank and open declarations of frietfd-
fliip, we appointed the next day to dine all together;
and indeed, we made a fplendid feaft : I caufed the
Ihip's cook and his mate to come on fhore, and drefs
our dinner ; and the old cook's mate we had on
Ihore, affifted. We brought on fhore fix pieces of
good beef, and four pieces of pork, out of the
Ihip's provifion, with our punch bowl, and mate-
" K 2 rials
132 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
rials to fill it ; and, in particular, I gave them ten
bottles of French claret, and ten bottles of Englijb
beer ; things that neither the Spaniards j or the
Englijhmeny had tafted for many years ; and which,
it may be fuppofed^ they were exceeding glad
of.
The Spaniards added to our feafl: five whole kids,
which the cooks roafted ; and three of them were
fent, covered up clofe, on board our fhip to the fea-
men, that they might feaft on frefli meat from on
ihore, as we did with their fait meat from on
board.
After this feaft, at which we were very innocently
merry, I brought out my cargo of goods^ wherein,
that there might be no difpute about dividing, I
fhewed them that there was fufficient for them all ;
and defired, that they might all take an equal quan-
tity of the goods that were for wearing ; that is to
fay, equal when made up. As firft, I diftributed
linen fufficient to make every one of them four
ihirts; and, at the Spaniard's requeft, afterwards
made them up fix ; thefe were exceeding comforta-
ble to them, having been what, as I may fay, they
had long fince forgot the ufe of, or what it was to
wear them.
I allotted the thin Englijh fluffs, which I mentioned
before, to make every one a light coat, like a frock,
which I judged fitteft for the heat of the feafon, cool
and loofe ; and ordered, that whenever they de*
cayed, they fhould make more, as they thought
fit : The like for pumps, flioes, ftockings, and
hats, &^^.
I cannot
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I33
I cannot exprefs what pleafure, what fatisfadion,
fat upon the countenances of all thefe poor men^
when they faw the care I had taken of them, and
how well I had fumiflied them : they told me, I was
a father to them ; and that, having fuch a corref-
pondent as I was, in fo remote a part of the world,
it would make them forget that they were leit in a
defolate place ; and they all voluntarily engaged
to me, not to leave the place without my con-
fent.
Then I prefented to them the people I had brought
with me ; particularly the taylor, the fmithi and the
two carpenters, all of them mod neceffary people ;
but above alj, my general artificer, than whom they
could not name any thing that was more needful to
them ; and the taylor, to fhew his .concern for them,
went to work immediately, and with my leave, made
them every one a fhirt the firft thing he did ; and,
which was ftill more, he taught the women not only
how to fow and flitch, and ufe the needle, but made
them affift to make the fhirts for their hulbands^ and
for all the reft.
As for tl>e carpenters, I fcarce need mention how
ufeful they were, for they took in pieces all my clumr
fy, unhandy .things, and made them clever, cpnver
nient tables, ftools, bedfteads, cupboards, lockers,
flielves, and every thing they wanted of that kind. »
But, to let them fee ,how nature made artificers a)L
firft, I carried the carpenters to fee William Jtkim'^
balket-houfe, as I called it ; and they both owned,
they never faw an inftance of fuch natural ingenuity
Jbefore j nor any thing fo regular, and fo handily
K 3 built,
134 J'IPE AND ADVENTURES
built, at lead of its kind : and one of them, when
he faw it, after mufing a good while, turning about
tome, I am fure, fays he, that man has no need of
us ; you need do nothing but give him tools.
Then I brought them out all my (lore of tools,
and gave every man a digging fpade, a fhovel, and
a rake, for we had no harrows or ploughs ; and, to
every feparate place, a pick-axe, a crow, a broad-axe,
^nd a faw ; always appointing, that as often as any
were broken, or worn out, they fliould be fupplied,
without grudging, out of the general ftores that I left
behind.
Nails, ftaples, hinges, hammers, chifTels, knives,
fciifars, and all forts of tools and iron- work, they
had without tale, as they required ; for no man
«vould care to take more than they wanted ; and he
mud be a fool that would vv afte or fpoil them, on any
account whatever : And for the ufe of the fmith, I
left two jtons of unwrought iron for a fupply.
My magazine of powder and arms, which I brought
them, was fuch even to profufion, that they could
not but rejoice at thenl ; for now they could march
as I ufed to do, with a mufket upon each fhoulder,
if there was occafion ; and were able to fight looo
favages, if they had but fome little advantages of
fituation; which alfo they could not mifs of, if they
had occafion^
' I carried on fliore with me the young man whofe
mother was ftarved to death, and the maid alfo ; fhe
was a fober, well-educated, religious young woman,
and behaved fo inbffenfively, that every one gave her a
good word :^ She had, indeed, an unhappy life with
us,' there being no woman in the Ihip but herfelf ;
but
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I35
but {he bore it with patience. After a while, feeing
things fo well ordered, and in fo fine a way of thriv-
ing upon my ifland, and confidering that they had
neither bulinefs or acquaintaBce in the Eajl Indies^
or reafon for taking fo long a voyage; I fay, con-
fidering all this, both of them came to me, andde-
fired I would give them leave to remain on the
ifland, and be entered among my family, as they
called it.
I agreed to it readily ; and they had a little plot
of ground allotted to them^ w here they had three
tents or houfes fet up, furrounded with a baflcet-
work, palifaded Uke Atkins" %^ and adjoining to his
plantation ; their tents xvere contrived fo, that they
had each of them a room, a part to lodge in, and a
middle tent, like a great ftore-houfe, to lay all their
goods in, and to eat and drink in: And now the
other two Englijhmen moved their habitation to the
fame place ; and fo^ the ifland was divided into three
colonies, and no more ; viz. The Spaniards^ with
old Friday^ and the firfl fervants, at my old habita-
tion under the hill, which was, in a word, the ca-
pital city, and where they had fo enlarged and ex-
tended their works, as well under as on the out-fide
of the hill, that they livedo though perfeftly conceal-
ed, yet full at large. Never was there fuch a little
city in a wood, and fo hid, I believe, in any part of
the world : For, I verily believe, looo men might
have ranged the ifland a month, and^ if they had
not known there was fuch a thing, and looked on
purpofe for it, they would not have found it ; for
the trees flood fo thick, and fo clofe, and .grew fo
fafl matted into one another, that nothing but cutting
K 4 them
il^riHiis ; iKit, 2s I 2m here under your pcnniilioa,
and in your fimiiy, I 2m boiind in jufUce to your
kiniLaeii, as 'k ell 2^ in decency and good manners,
to be under your govemmait ; and therefore I
fv .!! not, 'Siiiho-t your leave, enter into any debates
on the polnis of religion, in iirhlcli we may not
agree, farther thzn you Culi give me leave*
I tcld hirri, his carriage \;^a5 fc modell, that I could
not but achnoTvIedge it ; that it was true, we were
fuch peopk as they call heredcs ; but that he was
not the firit Caihoiic that I hsd converfed with, widi-
out falling into any inconvenienclcs, or carrying the
queftions to any height in debate ; that he (hould not
find himfelf the worfe ufed for being of a diflferent
opinion from us ; and if we did not converfc with-
out any diCike on either fide, upon that fcore, it
would be his fault, not ours.
He replied. That he thought our converfation
might be eafily feparated from difputes ; that it was
not his bufinefs to cap principles with every man he
difcourfed with ; and that he rather defired me to
converfe with him as a gentleman^ than as a religieux ;
that if I would give him leave, at any time, to dif-
courfe upon religious fubjefts, he would readily
comply with it ; and that then he did not doubt but
I would allow him alfo to defend his own opinions,
as well as he could : but that, without my leave, he
would not break in upon me with any fuch thing.
. He told me farther, that he would not ceafe'^to do
all that became him in his office, as a prieft, as well
as a private Chriftian, to procure the goods of the
fliip, and the fafety of all that was in her ; and
though, perhaps, we would not join with him, and
he
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I39
he could not pray with us, he hoped he might pray
for us, which he would do upon all occafions. In
this manner we converfed ; and, as he was of a moft
obliging gentleman-like behaviour, fo he was, if I
may be allowed to fay fo, a man of good fenfe,
and, as I believe, of great learning.
He gave me a moft diverting account of his life,
and of the many extraordinary events of it; of
many adventures which had befallen him in the few
years that he had been abroad in the world, and par-
ticularly this was very remarkable ; viz. That during
the voyage he was now engaged in, he had the mis-
fortune to be five times fhipped and unlhipped, and
never to go to the place whither any of the Ihips he
was in Were at firft defigned : That his firft intent
was, to have gone to Martinico ; and that he went
on board a fhip bound thither at St. Makes ; but
being forced into Lijbon in bad weather, the fliip
received fome damage, by running aground in the
mouth of the river Tagusy and was obliged to un-
load her cargo there : That finding 2i Portuguefe fhip
there, bound to the Madeiras^ and ready to fail, and
fuppofing he fhould eafily meet with a veffel there
bound to Martinico^ he went on board, in order to
fail to the Madeiras ; but the matter of the Poriu^
guefe Ihip, being but an indifferent mariner, had
been out in his reckoning, and they drove to iv^/;
where, however, he happened to find a very good
market for his cargo, which was corn ; and there-
fore refolded not to go to the Madeiras^ but to load
fait at the IJle of May^ to go away to Newfoundland :
He had no remedy in the exigence, but to go with
.the Ihip J and had a pretty good voyage as far as the
Banks ^
140 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
Banks J (fo they call the place where they catch the
fifti) where meeting with a French fhip bound from
France to ^ebec^ in the river of Canada^ and from
thence to MartinicOj to carry provifions, he thought
he fhould have an opportunity to complete his firft
defign : But when he came to ^ebec^ the mafter of
the (hip died, and the fhip proceeded no farther : So
the next voyage he (hipped himfelf for France^ in the
fliip that was burnt, when we took them up at fea,
and then fhipped them with us for the Ea/i Indie^y
as I have already faid. Thus he had ' been difap-
pointed in five voyages, all, as I may call it, in one
voyage, befides what I (hall have occafion to men-
tion farther of the fame perfon.
But I fhall not make digreffions into other men's
(lories, which have no relation to my own. I return
to what concerns our affair in the ifland : He came
to me one morning, for he lodged among us all the
while we were upon the ifland ; and it happened to
be juft when I was going to vifit the Englijhmen^^ co^
lony, at the fartheft part of the ifland ; I fay, he
came to me, and told me, with a very grave coun-
tenance, that he had, for two or three days, defired
an opportunity of fome difcourfe with me, which,
he hoped, would not be difpleafing to me, becaufe
he thought it might, in fome meafure, correfpond
with my general defign, which was the profperity
of my new colony ; and, perhaps, might put it, at
leafl:, more than he yet thought it was, in the way
of GoD^s bleffing.
I looked a little furprized at the lafl part of his
difcourfe ; and turning a little (hort. How, Sir, faid
J, can it be faid, that we are not in the way of God*s
blefling,
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* I4I
bleffing, after fuch vifible affiftances, and wonderful
deliverances, as we have feen here, and of which I
have given you a large account ?
If you had pleafed. Sir, faid he, (with a world
of modefty, and yet with great readinefs) to have
heard me, you would have, found no room to have
been difpleafed, much lefs to think fo hard of me
that I fhould fuggeft, that you have not had won-
derful affiftances and deliverances : And, I hope, on
your behalf, that you arc in the way of God's
bleffing, and your defign is exceeding good, and will
profper. But^ Sir, faid he, though it were more fo,
than is even poffible to you, yet there maybe fome
among you that are not equally right in their adions:
And you know, that in the ftory of Ifrael^ one
Achan^ in the camp, removed God's bleffing from
them, and turned his hand fo againft them, that
thirty-fix of them, though not concerned in the
crime, were the objefts of divine vengeance, and
bore the weight of that punifliment.
I was fenfibly touched with this difcourfe ; and
told him his inference was fo juft, and the whole
defign feemed fo fincere, and was really fo religious
in its own nature, that I was very forry I had inter-
rupted him ; and begged him to go on : And, in the
mean time, becaufe it feemed, that what we had both
to fay, might take up fome time, I told him I was
going to the Englijhman^ plantation, and aflced him
to go with me, and we might difcourfe of it by the
way : He told me, he would more willingly wait on
me thither, becaufe there, partly, the thing was
afted, which he <lefired to fpeak to me about : So
we
142 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
we walked on, and I preffed him to be free and
plain with me, in what he had to fay.
Why then. Sir, fays he, be pleafed to give me
leave to lay down a few propofitions, as the founda-
tion of what I have to fay, that we may not differ In
the general principles, though we may be of fome
differing opinions in the praftice of particulars. Firft,
Sir, though we differ in fome of the doftrinal articles
of religion, and it is very unhappy that it is fo, ef-
pecially in the cafe before us, as I fhall fhew after-
wards ; yet, there are fome general principles in
which we both agree; viz. Firft, that there is a
God; and that this God, having given us fonve dated
general rules for our fervice and obedience, we ought
not willingly and knowingly to offend him, either
by neglefting to do what he has commanded, or by
doing what he has exprefsly forbidden ; and let our
different religions be what they will, this general
principle is readily owned by us all ; That the blef-
fing of God does not ordinarily follow a prefumptu-
ous finning againfl his command ; and every good
Chriflan will be affedionately concerned to prevent
any that are under his care, living in a total neglefl:
of God and his commands. It is not your men be-
ing Proteflants, whatever my opinion may be of
fuch, that difcharges me from being concerned for
their fouls, and from endeavouring, if it lies before
me, that they fhould live in as little diflance from,
and enmity with their Maker as poffible ; efpecially
. if you give me leave to meddle fo far in your cir.
cuit.
I could
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. ' I43
I could not yet imagine what he aimed at, and told
him I granted all he had faid j and thanked him,
that he would fo far concern himfelf for us ; and
begged he would explain the particulars of what he
had obferved, that, like ^ojlma^ (to tak^ his own
parable) I might put away the accurfed thing from
us.
Why then, Sir, fays he, I will take the liberty
you give me ; and there are three things, which, if
I am right, muft (land in the way of God's bleffing
upon your endeavours here, and which I fhould re-
joice, for your fake, and their own, to fee removed.
And, Sir, fays he, -I promife myfelf that you will
fully agree with me in them all, as foon as I name
them ; efpecially, vbecaufe I ftiall convince you, that
every one of them may, with great eafe, and very
much to your fatisfaftion, be remedied.
He gave me no leave to put in any more civilities,
but went on. Firft, Sir, fays he, you have here four
EngUjhmen^ who have fetched women from among
the favages, and have taken them as their wives, and
have had many children by them all, and yet are not
married to them after any dated legal manher, as
tKe laws of God and man require ; and therefore
are yet, in the fenfe of both, no lefs than adulterers,
and living in adultery. To this, Sir, fays he, I
know you will objed, that there was no clergyman,
or priefl of any kind, or of any profeffion, to per-
form the ceremony ; nor any pen and ink, or paper,
to write down a contraQ: of marriage, and have it
figned between them. And I know alfo. Sir, what
Jthe 5/^«/^r^ governor has told you ; Lmean, of the
agreement
J
144 ^IPB AND ADVENTURES
agreement that he obliged them to make when they
took thefe women, viz. That they fhould chufe them
out by confent, and keep feparately to them;
which, by the way, is nothing of a marriage, no
agreement with the women as wives, but only an
agreement among themfelves, to keep them from
quarrelling. , _
But, Sir, the effenee of the facrament of matri-
mony (fo he called it, being a Roman) confifts not
only in the mutual confent of the parties to take one
another as man and wife, buj; in the formal and legal
obligation that, there is in the contraft, to compel the
man and woman, at all times, to own and acknow-
ledge each other; obliging the man to abftain from
all other women, to engage in no other contraft
while thefe fubfift ; and on all occafions, as ability
allows, to provide honeftly for them, and their chil-
dren ; and to oblige the women to the fame, or like
conditions, mutatis mutandis , on their fide.
Now, Sir, fays he, thefe men may, when they
pleafe, or when occafion prefents, abandon thefe
women, difown their children, leave them to perifh,
and take other women, and marry them whilfl: thefe
are living. And here he added, with lome warmth,
How, Sir, is God honoured in this unlawful liberty ?
And hoAv Ihall a bleffing fucceed your endeavours in
this place, however good in themfelves, and however
fincere in your defign, while thefe men, who at pre-
fent are your fubjefts, under your abfolute govern-
ment and dominion, are allowed by you to live in
open adultery ?
I confefs, I was. ftruck at the thing itfelf, but
much more with the convincing arguments he fup-
ported
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I45
ported It with : for it was certainly true, that though
they had no clergyman on the fpot, yet a formal con-
trad on both fides, made before witneffes, and con-
firmed by any token, which they had all agreed to
be bound by, though it had been but the breaking a
ftick between them, engaging the men to own thefe
women for their wives upon all occafions, and never
to abandon them or their children, and the womea
to the fame with their hufbands, had been an effec-
tual lawful marriage in the fight of God j and it
was a great neglefl: that it was not done.
But I thought to have gotten off with my young
prieft, by telling him, that all that part was done
when I was not here ; and they had lived fo many
years with them now, that if it was adultery, it was
pafl remedy ; they could do nothing in it now.
Sir, fays he, afking your pardon for fuch freedom,
you are right in this ; that it being done in your ab-
fence, you could not be charged with that part of the
crime. But I befeech you, flatter not yourfelf, that
you are not therefore under an obligation to do your
uttermoft now to put an end to it : How can you
think, but that, let the time paft lie on whom it will,
all the guift, for the future, will lie entirely upon
you ? Becaufe it is certainly in your power now to
put an end to it; and in nobody^s power but your's.
I was fo dull ftill,' that I did not take him right ;
but I imagined, that, by putting an end to it, he
meant, that I fhould part them, and not fuffer then^
to live together any longer ; and I faid to him, I
could not do that by any means, for that it would
put the whole ifland in confufion. He feemed fur-
VoL, II. L prifed
14^ LIFE AND ADVENTURfiS
prifed that I fliould fo far miftake him. No, Sir,
. fays he, I do not mean that you fhould feparate them,
but legally and efFedually marry them now : And,
Sir, as my way of marrying may not be fo eafy to
reconcile them to, though it will be as effeftual, even
by your own laws ; fo your way may be as well be-
fore God, and as valid among men ; I mean, by a
written contraft, figned by both man and woman,
and by all the witneffes prefent ; which all the laws
of Europe would decree to be valid.
I was amazed to fee fo much true piety, and fo
much fincerity of zeal, befides the unuflial impar-
tiality in his difcourfe, as to his own party or church,
and fuch a true warmth for the preferving people
that he had no knowledge of, or relation to; I fay,
for preferving them from tranfgreffing the laws of
God ; the like of which, I had, indeed, not met
with any where. But recolleOiing what he had faid
of marrying them by a written contraft, which I
knew would ftand too, I returned it back upon him,
and told him, I granted all that he had faid to be
juft, and, on his part, very kind ; that I would dif-
courfe with the men upon the point now, when I
came to them. And I knew no reafon why they
Ihould fcruple to let him marry them all j which I
knew well enough would be granted to be as authentic
and valid in England^ as if they were married by one
of our own clergymen. What was ^afterwafds done
in this matter, I fhall fpeak of by itfelf.
I then preffed him to tell me, what was the fecond
complaint which he had to make ; aicknowledging,
f hat I was very much his debtor for the firft ; and
I thanked
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 1^47
thanked him heartily for it. He told me he would
ufe the fame freedom and plainnefs in the fecond ;
and hoped I would take it as well : and this was,
that notwithftanding thefe Englijh fubjefts of mine,
as he called them, had lived with thefe women for
almoft feven years, and had taught them to fpeak
Englijh^ and even to read it ; and that they were,
as he perceived, women of tolerable underftanding,
and capable of inftruftion ; yet they had not to this
hour taught them any thing of the Chriftian religion ;
no, not fo much as to know that there was a God,
or a worfhip, or in what manner God was to be
ferved ; or that their own idolatry, and worlhipping
they knew not who, was falfe and abfurd.
This, he faid, was an unaccoimtable negled, and
what God would certainly call them to an account
for ; and, perhaps, at laft take the work out of their
hands. He fpoke this very afFedlionately and warm-
ly. I am perfuaded, fays he, had thofe men lived
in the favage country, whence their wives came, the
favages would have taken more pains to have brought
them to be idolators, and to worfliip the devil, than
any of thefe men, fo far as I can fee, has taken with
them, to teach them the knowledge of the true God,
Now, Sir, faid he, though I do not acknowledge
your religion, or you mine, yet we fliould be all glad
to fee the devil's fervants, and the fubjefts of his
kingdom, taught to know the general principles of
the Chriftian religion ; that they might at leaft hear^
of God, and of a Redeemer, and of the refurrec-
tion, and of a future ftate, things which we all be-
lieve J they had at leaft been fo much nearer coming
L z into
it4^ LIFE AND ADVENTURES
into the bofom of the true church, than they are
now, in the public profeflion of idolatry, and devil-
worfhip.
I could hold no longer ; 1 took him in my arms,
and embraced him with an excefs of paffion : How
far, faid I to him, have I been from underftanding
the moll effential part of a Chriftian, viz. to love
the intereft of the Chriftian church, and the good of
other men's fouls ! I fcarce have known what belongs
to being a Chriftian. O, Sir, do not fay fo, replied
he ; this thing is not your fault. No, faid I, but
why did I never lay it to heart as well as you ? It is
not too late yet, faid he ; be not too forward to con-
demn yourfelf. But what can be done now ? faid I j
you fee I am going away. Will you give me leave,
faid he, to talk with thefe poor men about it ? Yes,
with all my heart, faid I ; and I will oblige them to
give heed to what you fay too. As to that, faid he, we
muft leave them to the mercy of Chrift ; but it is
our bufinefs to aflift them, encourage them, and in-
ftrufl: them ; and, if you will give me leave, and
God his blefling, I do not doubt but the poor ig-
norant fouls fhall be brought home into the great
circle of Chriftianity, if not into the particular faith
that we all embrace ; and that even while you ftay
here. Upon this I faid, I fhall not. only give you
leave, but give you a thoufand thanks for it. What
followed on this account I fhall mention alfo again
in its place.
I now preffed him for the third article in which we
were to blame : Why really, fays he, it is of the
' fame nature, and I will proceed (afking your leave)
4 with
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 149
vith the fame plainnefs as before : Jt is about your poor
favages yonder, who are (as I may fay) your conquered
fubjeds. It is a maxim, Sir, that is, or ought to be re-
ceived among all Chriftians, of what church, or pre-
tended church foever, viz. that Chriftian knowledge
ought to be propagated by all poffible means, and on
all poffible occafions. It is on this principle that our
church fends miffionaries into Perfta^ Indian and China;
and that our clergy, even of the fuperior fort, wil-
lingly engage in the moft hazardous voyages, and
the moft dangerous refidence, among murderers and
barbarians, to teach them the knowledge of the true
God, and to bring them over to embrace the Chrif-
tian faith. Now, Sir, you have an opportunity here,
to have fix or feven-and-thirty poor favages brought
over from idolatry to the knowledge of God, their
Maker arid Redeemer, that I wonder how you
can pafs by fuch an occafion of doing good ; which
is really worth the expence of a man^s whole life.
I was now ftruck dumb indeed, and had not one
word to fay: I had here a fpirit of true Chriftian
zeal for God and religion before me, let his parti-
cular principles be of what kind foever : As for me,
I had notfo much as entertained a thought of this in
my heart before ; and, I believe, ftiould not have
thought of it ; for I looked upon thefe favages a^
flaves, and people, whom, had we any work for
them to do, we would have ufed as fuch, or would
have been glad to have tranfported them to any other
part of the world ; for our bufinefs was to get rid
of them ; and we would all have been fatisfied, if
they had been fent to any country, fo they had ne-
ver feeu their own. But, to the cafe : I fay, I was
L 3 confounded
1^0 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
confounded at his difcourfe, and knew not what aft
fwer to make him. He looked earneftly at me, feeing
me in fome diforder : Sir, faid he, I fliall be very
forry, if what I have faid gives you any offence.
No, no, faid I, I am offended with nobody but my-
felf ; but I am perfedlly confounded, not only to
think that I fhould never take any notice of this be-
fore, but with reflefting what notice I am able to
take of it now. You know, Sir, faid I, what cir-
cumftances I am in ; I am bound to the Eajl Indies^
in a fhip freighted by. merchants, and to whom it
would be an infufferable piece of injuftice to detain
their fhip here, the men lying all this while at vic-
tuals and wages upon the owner's account : it is
true, I agreed to be allowed twelve days here; and
if I (lay more, I muft pay 3I. fterling per diem de-
murrage ; nor can I flay upon demurrage above
eight days more; and I have been here thirteen
days already : So that I am perfeftly unable to engage
•in this work, unlefs I would fuffer myfelf to be left
behind here again ; in which cafe, if this fingle fhip
Ihould mifcarry in any part of her voyage, I fhould
be jufl in the fame condition that I was left in here
at firfl ; and from which I have been fo wonderfully
delivered.
He owned the cafe was very hard upon me as to
my voyage ; but laid it home upon my confcience,
whether the bleffing of faving'feven-and-thirty fouls,
was not worth my venturing all I had in the world
for ? I was not fo fenfible of that as he was : and I
returned upon him thus : Why, Sir, , it is a valuable
thing indeed, to be an inftrument in God^^s hand, to
convert
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. l^X
convert feven-and-thirty heathens to the knowledge of
Chrift ; but as you are an ecclefiaftic, and are given
over to that work, fo that it feems naturally to fall
into the way^of your profeflion, how is it then, that
you do not rather offer yourfelf to undertake it, than
prefs me to it ?
Upon this he faced about, juft before me, as he
walked along, and, putting me to a full flop, made
me a very low bow : I mod heartily thank God, and
you. Sir, fays he, for giving me fo evident a call to
fo bleffed a work ; and if you think yourfelf dif-
charged from it, and defire me to undertake it, I
will moft readily do it, and think it a happy reward
for all the hazards and difficulties of fuch a
broken, difappointed vopge as I have met with,
that I have dropped at laft into fo glorious a
work.
I difcovered a kind of rapture in his face, while
he fpoke this to me j his eyes fparkled like fire, his
face glowed, and his colour came and went, as if he
had been falling into fits : in a word, he was fired
with the joy of being embarked in fuch a work. I
paufed a confiderable while before I could tell what
to fay to him j for I was really furprifed to find a
man of fuch fihcerity and zeal, and carried out in
his zeal beyond the ordinary rate of men, not of his
profeffion only, but even of any profeffion whatfo-
ever : but, after I had confidered it a while, I afked
him ferioufly, if he was in earned, and that he would
venture on the fingle confideration of an attempt on
thofe poor people, to be locked up in an unplanted ifland
for, perhaps, his life ; and at laft, might not know
L 4 whether
152 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
whether he ffiould be able to do them any good or
not ?
He turned fhort upon me, and afked me, what I
called a venture ? Pray, Sir, faid he, what do you
think I confented to go in your fhip to the Eajl In^
dies for ? Nay, faid I, that I know not, unlefs it was
to preach to the Indians. Doubtlefs it was, faid he ;
and do you think, if I can convert thefe feven-and-
thirty men to the faith of Chrift, it is not worth
my time, though I fhould never be fetched off the
ifland again ? Nay, is it not infinitely of more worth
to favc fo many fouls, than my life is, or the life of
twenty more of the fame profeflion ? Yes, Sir, fays
he, I would give Chrift and the Bleffed Virgin thanks
all my days, if I ciould be made the leaft happy in-
Jlrument of faving the fouls of thefe poor men,
though I was never to fet my foot off this ifland, or
fee my native country any more ; But fince you will
honour me, fays he, with putting me into this work,
(for which I will pray for you all the days of my life)
I have one humble petition to you, faid he, befides.
What is that? faid I. Why, fays he, it is, that
you will leave your man Friday with me, to be my
interpreter to them, and to aflift me ; for, without
fome help, I cannot fpeak to them, or they to me.
I was fenfibly troubled at his requefting Friday^
becaufe I could not think of parting with him, and
that for many reafons : He had been the conipanion
of my travels ; he was not only faithful to me, but
fmcerely affeftionate to the laft degree ; and I had
refolved to do fomething confiderable for him, if he
out-lived me, as it was probable he would : then I
knew, that as I had bred Friday up to be a Proteftant,
it
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I55
It would quite confound him, to bring him to em-
brace another profeflion ; and he would never, while
his eyes were open, believe that his old mafter was
an heretic, :>nd would be damned ; and this might
in the end ruin the poor fellow^s principles, and fo
turn him back again to his firft idolatry.
However, a fudden thought relieved me in this
ilrait, and it was this : I told him, I could not fay
that I was willing to part with Friday on any account
whatever ; though a work, that to him was of more
value than his life, ought to me to be of much more
value than the keeping or parting with a fervant.
But, on the other hand, I was perfuaded, that
Friday would by no means confent to part with me ;
and then to force him to it, without his confent^
would be manifeft injuftice ; becaufe I had promifed
I would never put him away ; and he had promifed
and engaged to me that he would never leave me,
unlefs I put him away.
He feemed very much concerned at it ; for he had
no rational accefs to thefe poor people, feeing he did
not underftand one word of their language, nor
they one word of his. To remove this difficulty, I
told him, Friday^ father had learned Spanijh^ which
I found he alfo underftood ; and he fhould ferve him
for aix interpreter : fo he was much better fatisfied,
and nothing could perfuade him but he would flay
to endeavour to convert them ; but Providence gave
another and very happy turn to all this.
I come back now to the firft part of his objedibns.
When we came to the Englijhmen^ I fent for them
all together j and after fome accounts given them of
what
154 i^IFE AKD ADVENTURES
what I had done for them, viz. what neceffary thingi
I had provided for them, and how they were diftri-
buted, which they were fenfible of, and very thank-
ful for ; I began to talk to them of the fcandaloua life
they led, and gave them a full account of the notice
the clergyman had already taken 6f it; and, ar-
guing how unchriftian and irreligious a life it was, I
firft afked them, if they were married men or bache-
lors ? Th«y foon explained their condition to me,
and fliewed me that two of them were widowers, and
the other three were fmgle men or bachelors : I a(ked
them, with what confcience they could take thefe
women, and lie with them, as they had done, call
them their wives, and have fo many children by them,
and not be married lawfully to them ?
They all gave me the anfwer that I expefted, viz.
that there was nobody to marry them ; that they
agreed before the governor to keep them as their
wives ; and to keep them, and own them, as their
wives J and they thought, as things flood with them,
they were as legally married as if they had been
married by a parlbn, and with all the formalities in
the world.
I told them, that no doubt they were married in
the fight of God, and were bound in confcience to
keep them as their wives ; but that the laws of men
being otherwife, they yiiight pretend they were not
married, and fo defert the poor women and children
hereafter ; and that their wives, being poor defolate
women, friendlefs and moneylefs, would have no way
to help themfelves : I therefore told them, that unlefs
I was affured of their honefl intent, I could do no-
thing
OF ROBINSON CRUSOfi. t^g
thing for them ; but would take eare, that what I
did Ihould be for the women and children^- without
them ; and that unlefs they would give fome affur-
ances that they would marry the women, I could
not think it was convenient they Ihould continue to-
gether as man and wife ; for that it was both fcan-
dalous to men, and ofFenfive to God, who they could
not think would blefs them, if they went on thus.
AH this paffed as I expeded ; and they tpld me,
efpecially Will Atkins^ who feemed now to fpeak for
the reft, that they loved their wives as well as if they
had been born in their own native country, and
would not leave them upon any account whatever ;
and they did verily believe their wives were as vir-
tuous and as modeft, and did, to the utmoft of their
fkill, as much for them, and for their children, as
any women could poifibly do ; and they would not
part with them on any account : And Will Atkins^
for his own particular, added, if any man would
take him away, and offer to carry him home to
England^ and to make him captain of the beft man
of war in the navy, he would not go with him, if
he might not carry his wife and children with him ;
and if there was a clergyman in the fhip, he would
be married to her now, with all his heart.
This was juft as I would have it ; the prieft was
not with me at that moment, but was not far off:
So, to try him farther, I told him I had a clergyman
with me, and, if he was fincere, I would have him
married the next morning ; and bade him confider
of it, and talk with the reft : He faid, as for him-
felf.
156 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
felf, he need not confider of it at all ; for he was very
ready to do it, and was glad I had a minifter with
me ; and he believed they would be all willing alfo.
1 then told him, that my friend, the minifter, was
a Frenchman, and could not fpeak Englijh ; but that
I would a£k the clerk between them. He never fo
much as alked me whether he was a Papift or Pro-
teftant ; which was indeed what I was afraid of.
But, I fay, they never enquired about it. So we
parted : I went back to my clergyman ; and Will
Atkins went in to talk with his companions. I de-
fired the French gentleman not to fay any thing to
them, till the bufmefs was thorough ripe ; and I
told him what anfwer the men had given me.
Before I went from their quarter, they all came
to me, and told me, they had been confidering what
I had faid ; that they were very glad to hear I had
a clergyman in my company ; and they were very
willing to give me. the fatisfaftion I defired, and to
be formally married as foon as I pleafed ; for they
were far from defiring to part from their wives ; and
that they meant nothing but what was very honeft,
when they chofe them : fo I appointed them to meet
me the next morning ; and that, in the mean time,
they fhould let their wives know the meaning of the
marriage law ; and that it was not only to prevent
any fcandal, but alfo to oblige them, that they
fhould not forfake them, whatever might happen.
The women were eafily made fenfible of the mean-
ing of the thing, and were very well fatisfied with
it, as, indeed, they had reafon to be ; fo they failed
not to attend all together, at my apartment, the
next
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I57
next morning, where I brought out my clergyman :
and though he had not on a minifter's gown, after
the manner of England^ or the habit of a prieft,
after the manner of France ; yet having a black
veft, fomething likjC a caflbck, with a fafli round it,
he did not look very unlike a mihifter j and as for
his language, I was interpreter.
But the ferioufnefs of his behavioiir to them, and
the fcruples he made of marrying the women, be-
caufe they were not baptized, and profeffed Chrif-
tians, gave them an exceeding reverence for his
perfon ; and there was no need after that to enquire
whether he was a clergyman or no.
Indeed I was afraid his fcriiple would have been
carried fo far, as that he would not have married
them at all: nay, notwithftanding all I Was able to
fay to him, he refitted me, though modeftly, yet
very fteadily ; and at laft, refufed abfolutely to
marry them, unlefs he had firft talked with the men,
and the women too ; and though at firft I was a little
backward to it, yet at laft I agreed to it with a
good will, perceiving the fincerity of his defign.
When he came to them, he let them know that
I had acquainted him with their circumftances, and
.wdth the prefent defign ; that he was very willing to
perform that part of his funftion, and marry them,
as I had defired ; but that, before he could do it, he
muft take the liberty to talk with them ; he told
them, that in the fight of all different men, and in
the fenfe of the laws of fociety, they had lived all
this while in an open adultery ; and that it was true,
that nothing but the confenting to marry, or effec-
tually
158 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
tually feparating them from one another now, could
put an end to it ; but there was a difficulty in it too,
with refpeft to the laws of Chriftian matrimony,
which he was not fully fatisfied about, viz. That of
marrying one that is a profeffed Chriftian, to a fa-
\age, an idolater and an heathen, one that is not
baptized ; and yet that he did not fee, that there
was time left for it, to endeavour to perfuade the
women to be baptized, or to profefs the name of
Chrift, whom they had, he doubted, heard no-
thing of, and without which they could not be
baptized.
He told me, he . doubted they were bjit indifferent
Chriftians theitifelves ; that they had but little know-
ledge of God, or his ways ; and therefore he could
not expeQ:, that they had faid much to their wives on
that head yet; but that unlefs they would pro-
mife him to ufe their endeavours with their wives,
to perfuade them to become Chriftians, and would
as well as they could inftruQ: them in the knowledge
and belief of God that made them, and to worfhip
Jefus Chrift that redeemed them, he could not marry
them J for he would have no hand in joining Chrif-
tians with favages ; nor was it confiftent with the
principles of the Chriftian religion j and was, indeed,
exprefsly forbidden in God's' law.
They heard all this very attentively, and I deli-
vered it very faithfully to them, from his mouth, as
near his own words as I could, only fometimes adding
fomethingof my own, to convince them how juft it
wa^, and how I was of his mind : And I always very
faithfully diftinguiih^d between what I faid from
- xnyfelf.
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 159
tnyfelf, and what were the clergyman's words. They
told me, it was very true what the gentleman had
faid, that they were but very indifferent Chriftians
themfelves, and that they had never talked to their
wives about religion : Lord, Sir, fays Will Atkins^
how Ihould we teach them religion ? Why, we know
nothing' ourfelves ; and befides, Sir, faid he, fhould
we go to talk to them of God, and Jefus Chrift, and
heaven and hell, it would be to make them laugh at
us, and alk us, what we believe ourfelves ? And if
we fhould tell them, we believe all the things that •
we fpeak of to them, fuch as of good people going
to heaven, and wicked people to the devil, they
would alk us, where we intended to go ourfelves,
who believe all this, and yet are fuch wicked fel-
lows,^ as we indeed are: Why, Sir, faid Will^ 'tis
enough to give them a furfeit of religion, at firfl:
hearing : folks muft have fome religion themfelves^
before they pretend to teach other people. — Will
Atkins J faid I to him, though I am afraid what you
fay has too much truth in it, yet can you not tell
your wife, that flie is in the wrong ? that there is a
<jod, and a religion better than her own ; that her
gods are idols ; that they can neither hear nor fpeak;
that there is a great Being that made all things, and
that can deftroy all that he has made ; that he re-
wards the good, and punifhes the bad ; * that we are
to be judged by him, at laft, for all we do here : you
are not fo ignorant, but even nature itfelf will teach
you, that all this is true ; and I am fatisfied you know
it all to be true, and believe it yourfelf.
That's
l6o X.IF£ AND ADVENTURES
That's true. Sir, faid Atkins ; but vnxh what face
can I fay any thing to my wife of all this, when Ihe
will tell me immediately, it cannot be true ?
Not true! faid I, — ^what do you mean by that?
Why, Sir, faid he, (he will tell me it cannot be true,
that this God (I (hall tell her of) can be juft, or can
punifh or reward, fmce I am not pimifhed, and fent
to the devil, that have been fuch a wicked crea-
ture as (he knows I have been, even to her, and to
every body elfe ; and that I (hould be fuffered to
live, that have been always adting fo contrary to what
I muft tell her is good, and to what I ought to
have done.
Why truly, Atkins, faid I, I am afraid thou fpeakeft
too much truth : and with that I let the clergyman
know what Atkins had faid ; for he was impatient to
know : O ! faid the prieft, tell him there is one
thing will make him the bell minifter in the world
to his wife, and that is repentance ; for none teach
repentance like true penitents : He wants nothing
but to repent, and then he will be fo much the bet-
ter qualified to inftrud his wife j he will thfen be
able to tell her, that there is not only a God, and
that he is the juft rewarder of good and evil ; but
that he is a merciful Being, and, with infinite good-
nefs and long fuflfering, forbears to punilh thofe that
offend ; waiting to be gracious, and willing not the
death of a finner, but rather that he Ihould return
and live ; that he often fuffcrs wicked men to go on
a longtime, and even referves damnation to the ge-
neral day of retribution : that it is a clear evidence
of God, and of a future (late, that righteous men
receive
OJ? ROBIKSON CRUSOE. l6t
ireceive not their reward, or wicked men their pu-
nifhment, till they come into another world ; and
this will lead him to teach his wife the doftrine of
the refurre£tion, and of the laft judgment : let him
but repent for himfelf, he will be an excellent preacher
of repentance to his wife.
I repeated all this to Atkins^ who looked very fe-
rious all the while, and who, we could eafily per-
ceive, was more than ordinarily affefted with it:
when being eager, and hardly fuffering me to make
an end — I knew, all this, mafter, fays he, and a
great deal more ; but I han't the impudence to talk
thus to my wife : when God, and my own con*
fcience knows, and my wife will be an undeniable
evidence againft me, that I have lived as if I had
never heard of God, or a future ftate, or any thing
about it J and to talk of my repenting, alas! (and
with that he fetched a deep figh ; and I could fee
^that tears flood in his eyes) *tis paft all that with me.
it! Atkins y faid I: What doft thou mean by
!^ I know well enough what I mean. Sir, fays
he ; J^ean 'tis too late ; and that is too true.
I tolckmy clergyman word for word what he faid :
the poo^ealous prieft (I muft call him fo ; for be
his opinio^ what it will, he had certainly a mdft
Angular af^^dion for the good of other men's fouls ;
and it wouI| be hard to think he had not the like for
his own ; I my, this zealous, affeftionate man) could
not refrain ^ars alfo : But recovering himfelf, he
faid to me, |\{k him but one queftion : Is he eafy
that it is toJlate, or is he troubled, and wifhes it
were not fo| I put the queftion hirly to Atkins ;
Vol. II. f M and
l62 JLIFE AND ADVEMTCftEff
and he anfwered with a great deal of paffion,- How
could any man be eafy in a condition that certainly
muft end in eternal deftrudion ? That he was far
from being eafy ; but that, on the contrary, he be-
lieved it would one time or the other ruin him.
What do you mean by that ? faid I. Why, he
faid, ha believed he fhould, one time or another,
cut his own throat, to put an end to the terror
of it.
The clergyman fhook hi» head, with a great con-
cern in his face, when I told him all this ; but,
turning quick to me. upon ^ it, faid, If that be his
cafe^ you may affure him it is not too late ; Chrift
will give him repentance : But pray, fays he, ex-
plain this to him. That as no man is faved but by
Chrift, and the merit of his paffion, procuring di-
vine mercy for him:, how can it be too late for any
man to receive mercy I Does be think he is able to
fin beyond the power or reach of divine mercy ? Pray
tell him. There may be a time when provoked mercy
will no longer ftrive, and when God may refufe to
bear ; but that *tis never too late for men to afk
mercy ;. and we that are Chriil's fervants are com-
manded to preach mercy at all times, in the name of
Jefus Chrift, to all thofe that fincerely jrepent : fo
that 'tis never too late to repent.^
I told Atkins all this, and he heard xioe with great
earneftnefs j but it feemed as if he turned off the
difcourfe to the reft; for he faid to me, he would
go and have fome talk with his wife : fo he went out
awhile, and we talked to the reft. I perceived they
were all ftupidly ignorant, as to nxatters of religion;
much
bF kOBINSON CRtlSO^* 163
ihiich as I was when I went rambling away from
my father : and yet that there were none of them
backward to hear what had been faid ; and all of
them ferioufly promifed, that they would talk with
their wives about it, and do their endeavour to
perfuade them to turn Chriftians.
The clergyman fmiled upon me, when 1 reported
what anfwer they gave, but faid nothing a good while j
but, at laft, {baking his head. We that are Chrift's
fervants, fays he, can go nd farther than to exhort
and inftru£t ; and when men comply, fubmit to the
reproof, and promife what we aflc, *tis all we can dc ;
we are bound to accept their good words ; but, be-
lieve me. Sir, faid he, whatever you may have knov/n
of the life of that man you call William Atkins y I
believe he is the only fmcere convert among them ; I
take that man to be a true penitent ; I won't defpair
of the reft j but that man is perfedly ftruck with
the fenfe of his paft life ; and I doubt not, but when
he comes to talk of religion to his wife, he will
talk himfelf effeftually into it; for attempting to
teach others is fometimes the beft way of teaching
ourfelves. I knew a man, added he, who, having
nothing but a fummary notion of religion himfelf-,
and being wicked and profligate, to the laft degree,
in his life, made a thorough reformation in himfelf,
by labouring to convert a Jew : And if that poor ^/.
kins begins but once to talk ferioufly of Jefus Chrift
to his wife, my life for it, he talks himfelf into a
thorough convert, makes himfelf a penitent : and
who knows what may follow ?
Upon this difcourfe, however, and their promifmg,
as above, to endeavour to perfuade their wives to
^ : M 2 embrace
164 X'IFE AND ADVENTURES
embrace Chriftianity, he married the other three
couple ; but Will Atkins and his wife were not yet
come in. After' this, my clergyman, waiting a while,
was curious to know where Atkins was gone ; and,
turning to me, fays he, I intreat you. Sir, let u»
walk out of your labyrinth here, and look ; I dare
fay we Ihall find this poor man fome where or other,
talking ferioufly with his wife, and teaching her al-
ready fomething of religion. I began to be of the
fame mind j fo we went out together ; and I carried
him a way which none knew but myfelf, and where
the trees were fo thick fet, as that it was not eafy to
fee through the thicket of leaves, and far harder to
fee in, than to fee out ; when coming to the edge of
the wood, I faw Atkins j and his tawny favage wife,
fitting under the (hade of a bufli, very eager in dif*
courfe : I ftoppped fhort, till my clergyman came up
to me ; and then, having fhewed him where they
were, we flood and looked very fteadily at them a
good while.
We obferved him very earneft with her, pointiag
up to the fun, and to every quarter of the heavens ;
then down to the earth, then out to the fea, then to
himfelf, then to her, to the woods, to the trees.
Now, fays my clergyman, you fee my words are
made good ; the man preaches to her ; mark himj
now he is telling her that our God has made him,
and her, and the heavens, the earth, the fea, the
woods, the trees, &c. I believe he is, faid L* Im-
mediately we perceived Will Atkins ftart up upon his
feet, fall down upon his knees,and liftupbothhishands;
we fuppofed he faid fomething, but we could not
hear him : it was too far off for that : he did not
continue
OF kOBINSON CRUSOE. ^b^
continue kneeling half a minute, but comes and fits
down again by his wife, and talks to her again. We
perceived theii the woman very attentive ; but whe-
ther (he faid any thing or no, we could not tell.
While the poor fellow was upon his knees, I could
feie the tears run plentifully down my clergyman's
cheeks ; and I could hardly forbear myfelf ; but it
was a great affliftion to us both, that we were not
near enough to hear any tiling that paffed between
them.
Well, however, we could come no nearer, for
fear of difturbing them : fo we refolved to fee an end
of this piece of ftill converfation ; and it fpoke loud
.enough to us, without the help of voice. He fat
4own again, as I have faid, clofe by her, and talked
again earneftly to her ; and two or three times we
could fee him embrace her paffionately ; another time
we faw him take out his handkerchief, and wipe her
eyes, and then kifs her again, with a kind of tranf-
port very unufual ; and after feveral of thefe things,
we faw him on a fudden jump up again, and lend
her his hand to help her up ; when immediately lead-
ing her by the hand a ftep or two, they both kneeled
down together, and continued fo about two mi-
nutes.
My friend could bear It no longer, but cries out
aloud, St. Paul^ St. Paul ! behold he prayeth !-—
I was afraid Atkins would hear him ; therefore I in-
treated him to withhold himfelf awhile, that we
might fee an end of the fcene, which to me, I muft
confefs, was the moft aflfeifting, and yet the mofl
agreeable, that ever I faw in my life. Well, h^
ftrove with himfelf, and contained himfelf for a
M 3 while.
l66 LIFIE AND AOVENTURIS
while, but was in fuch raptures of joy to think that
the poor heatheiii woman was become a Chriflian^
that he was not able to contain himfelf ; he wept
feveral times: then throwing up his hands, and
crofSng his breaft, faid over feveral things ejacula-
tory, and by way of giving God thanks for fo mir
raculous a teftimony of the fuccefs of our endea-?
vours: fome he fpoke foftly, and I could not well
hear J others audibly ; fome in Latin^ fome in French ;
then t\yo or three times the tears of joy would inter-
rupt him, that he could not fpeak at all. But I
begged that he would compofe himfelf, and let u^
more narrowly and fully obferve what was before us,
which he did for a time, and the fcene was not end-
ed there yet ; for, after the poor man and his wife
were rifen again from their knees', we obferved he
flood talking ftill eagerly to her j and we obferved
by her motion that fhe was greatly afFefted with what
he faid, by her frequent lifting up her hands, laying
her hj^nd to her breaft, and fuch other poftures, a<?
iifually exprefs the greateft ferioufnefs and attention :
This continued about half a quarter of an hour, and
then they walked away too ; fo that we could fee
no more of them in that fituation.
I took this interval to talk with my clergyman :
and firft, I told him, I was glad to fee the particu-
lars we had both been witneffes to ; that though I
was hard enough of belief in fuch cafes, yet that I
began to think it was all very fmcere here, both in
the man and his wife, however ignorant they botl)
might be ; and I hoped fuch a beginning would have
yet a more happy end : and who knows, faid I,
])\xt thefe two may in time, by inftruftion and exr
3 ampicji
fiF ROBINSOK CRUSOE. 167
ample, work upon fonie of the others ? Some of
them ! faid he, turning quick upon me, ay, upon
all of them : depend upon it, if thofe two favages
(for he has been but little better^ as you relate it)
Ihould embrace Jefus Chrift, they wijil never leave
till they work upon all the reft ; for 'true religion is
naturally communicative j and he that is once made
a Chriftian will never leave a pagan behind him, if
he can help it. I owned it was a moft Chriftian
principle to think fo, and a teftimony of a true zeal,
as well as a generous heart in him. But, my friend,
faid I, will you give me liberty to ftart one difficulty
here ? I cannot tell how to objeft the leaft thing
againft that affedionate concern which you fliew fpr
the turning the poor people from their paganifin to
the Chriftian religion ; but how does this comfort
you, while thefe people are^ in your account, out
of the pale of the Catholic church, without which,
you believe, there is no falvation .; fo that you efteem
thefe but heretics ftill ; and, for pther reafons, as ef-
^ftually loft as the pagans themfelves ?
To this he anfwered with abundance of candour
^nd Chriftian charity^ thus ; Sir, I am ^ Catholic of
the Roman church, and a prieft of the order of St.
Benedi^^ and I embrace all the principles of the Ro^
► man faith : But yet, if you will believe me, and this
J do not Ipeak in compliment to you, or in refpeft
to my circumftances, ^nd your civilities ; I fay, ne-
verthelefs, I do not look upon you, who call yourfelves
reformed, without fome charity : I dare not fay^
tho' I know it is our opinion in general ; yet I dare
Aiot fay, that you cannot be faved ; I will by no means
limit the mercy of Chrift, fo fsir .<is to think that he
M 4 .cannot
1 68 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
cannot receive you into the bofom of his church, ill
a manner, to us, imperceivable, and which, it is
impoffible for us to know ; and I hope you have the
fame charity for us : I pray daily for your being all
reftored to Chrift's church, by whatfoever methods
he, who is all wife, is pleafed to direO:. In the
mean time, fure, you will allow it to confift with
me, as a Romany to diftinguifh far between a Pro,
teftant and a Pagan : between him that calls on Jefus
Chrift, though in a way which I do not think is ac«
cording to the true faith j and a favage, a barbarian,
that knows no Goo, no Chrift, no Redeemer at all:
And if you are not within the pale of the Catholic
church, we hope you are nearer being reftored to
it, than thofe that know nothing at all of God, or
his church. I rejoice, therefore, when I fee this poor
man, who, you fay, has been a profligate, and al-
moft a murderer, kneel down and pray to Jefus
Chrift, as we fuppofe he did, though not fully en-
lightened ; believing that God, from whom every
fuch work proceeds, will fenfibly touch his heart,
and bring him to the further knowledge of the truth
in his own time: and if God (hall influence this
poor man to convert and inftrufl: the ignorant fa-
' vage his wife, I can never believe that he fhall be
caft away himfelf : and have I not reafon then to
rejoice, the nearer any are brought to the knowledge
of Chrift, though they may not be brought quite
home into the bofom of the Catholic church, juft at
the time when I may defire it ; leaving it to the
goodnefs of Chrift to perfefl: his work in his own
time, and his own way? Certainly I would rejoice,
if all the favages in America were brought, like this
poor
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. J 69
poor woman, to pray to God, though they were to
be all Proteftants at firft, rather than they fhould con-^
tinue pagans and heathens ; firmly believing, that
he who had beftowed that firft light upon them,
would farther illuminate them with a beam of his
heavenly grace, and bring them into the pale of his
ichurch, when he fliould fee good.
. I was aftoniflied at the fmcerity and temper of this
truly pious Papift, as much as I was oppreffed by the
power of his reafoning : and itprefently occurred to
my thoughts, that if fuch a temper was univerfal,
we might be all Catholic Chriftians, whatever
church or particular profeffion we joined to, or
joined in ; that a fpirit of charity would foon work
us all up into right principles; and, in a word, as
he thought that the like charity would make us all
Catholics, fo I told him, I believed, had all the
members of his church the like moderation, they
would foon be all Proteftants: And there we left
that part, for we never difputed at all.
However, I talked to him another way; and,
taking him by the hand. My friend, faid I, I wifh
all the qlergy of the Roman church were bleiTed with
fuch moderation, and an equal ftiare of your cha-
rity : I am entirely of your opinion ; but I muft
tell you, that if you fliould preach fuch doftrine
in Spain or Italy^ they would put you into the in-
quifition.
It may be fo, faid he ; I know not what they might'
do in Spain and Italy ; but I will not fay they would
be the better Chriftians for that feverity ; for I
am fure there is no herefy in too much charity.
Wen,
fjO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
Well, as Will Atkins and his wife were gone,
our bufmefs there was over : fo we went back oui"
own way ; and when we came back, we found thent
waiting to be called in. Obferving this, I aiked
my clergyman if we fhould difcover to him that
we had feen him under the bulh, or no ; and it was
his opinion we fliould not ; but that we fliould talk
to him firft, and hear what he would fay to us : fo
we called him in alone, nobody being in the place
but ourfelves ; and I began with him thus :
Will Atkins^ faid I, prithee what education had
you ? What was your father ?
W. A. A better man, than ever I fliall be. Sir,
my father was a clergyman.
R. C. What education did he give you ?
W. A. He would have taught me well. Sir ; but
I defpifed all education, inftrudlion, or corredlion,
like a beaft as I was.
R. C. It is true, Solomon fays '^ hie that defpifeth
** reproof is brutifli.**
W. A. Ay, Sir, I was brutifli indeed ; I mur-
dered my father : for God's fake, Sir, talk no more
about that. Sir ; I murdered my poor father.
Prieji. Ha ? a murderer !
[Here the prleft ftarted (fcr I interpreted every word
as he fpoke it) and looked pale : It feems he believed
that Will had really killed his own father.]
R. C. No, no. Sir, I do not underftand him fo.
Will Atkins i explain yourfelf : you did not kill your
father, did you, with your own hands ?
W. A^ No, Sir ; I did not cut his throat ; but I
cut the thread of all his comforts, ^nd ftiortened
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, I7I
his days ; I broke his heart by the moft ungrate*
ful, unnatural return, for the moft tender, aflfedion-*
ate treatment that ever father gave, or child could
receive.
R. C. Well, I did not afk you about your father, to
extort this confeffion ; I pray God give you repent-
ance for it, and forgive you that, and all your other
fins : but I alked you, becaufe I fee that though yo^
have not much learning, yet you are not fo ignorant
^s fome are, in things that are good ; that you have
known more of religion a great deal than you have
praftifed,
W. A. Though you, Sir, did not extort the con*,
feflion that I make about my father, confcience does;
and whenever we come to look back upon our lives,
4the fins againft our indulgent parents are certainly
the firft that touch us ; the wounds they make lie
4eepeft ; and the weight they leave will lie heavieft
upon the mind of all the fins we can commit.
R. C. You talk too feelingly and fenfible for me,
Atkins ; I cannot bear it.
W. A. Tou bear it, mafter ! I dare fay you know
nothing of it.
R. C. Yes, Atkins ; every fhore, every hill, nay,
I may fay, every tree in this ifland, is witnefs to the
^nguilh of my fqul, for my ingratitude,^ and bafe
lafage of a good tender father ; a father much like
your's, by your defcription ; and I murdered my
father as well as you, Wili Atkins ; but think, for
all that, my repentance is fhort of your's too, by a
great deal,
[I would have faid more, if I could have reftrained my
paflions •, but I thought thig ppor man's repentance
was
172 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
was fo much finccrcr than mine ; that I was going t»
leave oflF the difcourfc, and rctirfe, for I was fur-
prifcd with what he faid ; and thought that inftead
of my going about to teach and inftruft him, the
man was made a teacher and inftruftor to me, in a
moft furprifing and unexpefted manner.3
I laid all this before the young clergyman, who
was greatly afFeded with it, and faid to me. Did I
not fay. Sir, that when this man was converted,' he
would preach to us all ? I tell you. Sir, if this one
man be made a true penitent, here will be no need
of me ; he will make Chriftians of all in the ifland.
But having a little compofed myfelf, I renewed my
difcourfe with Will Atkins.
But, Willy faid I, how comes the feinfe of this
matter to touch you juft now ?
W. A. Sir, you have fet me about a work that
bas ftruck a dart through my very foul ; I have been
talking about God and religion to my wife, in order,
^ you direded me, to make a Chriftian of her ; and
Ihe has preached fuch a fermon to me as I fhall never
forget while I live.
R. C. No, no ; it is not your wife has preached
to you : but when you were moving religious argu-
ments to her, confcience has flimg them back upon
you.
W. A. Ay, Sir, with fuch a force as is not to
be refifted.
R. C. Pray, Will^ let us know what paffed be-
tween you and your wife j for I know fomething of
it already. ^.
W. A. Sir, it is impoffible to give you a full ac-
count of it : I am too full to hold it, and yet have
no
t)F ROBINSON CRUSOE. IJ^j
!M) tongue to exprefs it : but let her have faid what
fhe will, and though I cannot give you an account
of it, this I can tell you of it, that I refolve to
amend and reform my life.
R. C But tell us fome of it. How did you be-
gin, Will? For this has been an extraordinary cafe,
that is certain j fhe has preached a fermon, indeed,
if fhe has wrought this upon you.
W. A. Why, I firfl told her the nature of our
laws about marriage, and what the reafons were that
men and women were obliged to enter into fuch
compads, as it was neither in the power of one or
other to break ; that otherwife, order and juftice
could not be maintained, and men would run from
their wives, and abandon their children, mix con-
fufedly with one another, and neither families be
kept entire, or inheritances be fettled by a legal de-
fcent.
R. C You talk like a civilian, WilU Could you
make her underftand what you meant by inheri-
tante and families ? They know no fuch thing
among the favages, but marry any how, without
any regard to relation, confanguinity, or family ;
brother and fifler, nay, as I have been told, even
the father and daughter, and the fon and the mo*
ther.
W. A. I believe. Sir, you are mifinformed ;— »
my wife aflures me of the contrary, and that they
abhor it. Perhaps, for any further relations, they
may not be fo exaft as we are ; but fhe tells me they
never touch one another in the neaa: relations you
ipeak of,
R. C. Well^
t74 ^1^2 AND Adventure^
jR. C. Well, what did fhe fay to what you told
her? •
W. A. She faid flie liked it very well ; and it was
much better than in her country.
R. C. But did you tell her what marriage was ?
W. A. Ay, ay, there began all our dialogue. \
alked her. If fhe would be married to me our way ?
She afked me. What way that was ? I told her mar-
riage W2[s appointed of God ; and here we had a
ftrange talk together indeed, as ever man and wife
had, I believe.
[N. B. This dialogue between W. Atkins and his wife,
as I took it down in writing, juft: after he told it me,
was as follows :
Wife. Appointed by your God ! Why, have you
a God in your country ?
W. A. Yes, my dear, God is in every country ?
Wife. No your God in my country ; my country
have the great old Benamuckee God.
W. A. ChiM, I am very unfit to Ihew you who
God is; God is in heaven, and made the heaven
and the earth, the fea, and all that in them is.
Wife. No makee de earth ; no you God makec
de earth ; no make my country.
[W, A. laughed a little at her expreffion of God not
making her country.]
Wife. No laugh : Why laugh me ? This no ting
to laugh.
[He was juftly reproved by his wife; for (he w^s more
fcrious than he at firft.}
W. A. That's
i i
>i/£r^H<i*v^
f^y^-avi^ ^y^,</l.*,t./
'■hU-U/I'k ru/j' /i */poiy ZS/^c/cc^/e. f/t^M^t/fy
OF ROBINSON CRUSOEt 1 75
W. A. That's true Indeed ; I will not laugh any
more, my dear.
Wife. Why you fay, you God make all ?
W. A. Yes, child, our God made the whole
world, and you, and me, and all things ; for he is
the only true God. J there is no God but he j he lives
for ever in heaven.
Wife. Why you no tell me long ago ?
' W. A. That's true indeed; but J have been a
wicked wretch, and have not only forgotten to ac-
quaint thee withi any thing before, but have lived
without God in the world, myfelf.
Wife. What have you de great God in your coun-
try, you no know him? No fay O to him ? No do
good ting for him ? That no impofTiblef
W. A. It is too true though, for all that : we live
as if there was no God in heaven, or that he had no
power on earth.
Wife. But why God let you do fo ? Why he no
makee you good live ?
W. A. It is all our own fault.
Wife. But you fay me, he is great, mUch grcat>
have much great power ; can make kill when he
will : why he no makee kill whenyou.no ferve him?
No fay O to him' ? No be good mans ?
W. A. That is true ; ,he might flrike me dead,
and I ought to expeft it ; for I have been a wicked
wretch, that is true : but God is merciful, and does
not deal with us as we deferve.
Wife. But then, do not you tell God tankee for
that too?
' W. A. No, indeed; I have not thanked God for
his mercy, any more than I have feared God for his
power.
Wife.
17$ Ll¥B AND ADVENTURES
Wife. Then you God no God ; me no think. Be-
Keve he be fuch one, great much power, ftrong;
no makee kill you, though you makee him much
angry?
fT. jf. What ! will my wicked life hinder yoir
from believing in God! What a dreadful creature
am I ! And what a fad truth is it, that the horrid
Eves of Chriftians hinder the converfion of heathens!
Wife. How me tink you have great much God up
there, (^Jhe points up to heaven^) and yet no do we|I,
no do good ting ? Can he tell ? Sure he no tell what
you do.
W. A. Yes, yes, he knows and fees all things ; he
hears us fpeak, fees what we do, knows what we
think, though we do not fpeak.
Wife. What ! he no hear you fwear, curfe, fpeak
the great damn ?
W. A. Yes, yes, he hears it all.
Wife. Where be then the muchee great power
ftrong ?
W. A. He is merciful ; that is all we can fay for
it ; and this proyes him to be the true God : He is
God, and not man j and therefore we are not con-
fumed.
CHere Will Atkins told us, he Mras ftruck with horror
to think how he could tell his wife fo cleairly, that
God fees, and hears, and knows the fecret thoughts
of the heart, and all that we do; and yet that he
had dared to do all the vile things he had done.J
Wife. Merciful ! what you call dat ?
W. A. He is our father and maker j and he pities
and fpares us.
{
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I77
Wife. So then he never makee kill, nevef angry
when you do wicked j then he nd good himfelf, or
ho great able.
Wi A. Yes, yes, my dear ; he is infinitely good,
and infinitely great, and able to punifli too; and
fonietimes to fhew his juftice and vengeance, he lets
fly his anger to deftroy finners, and make examples ;
many are cut oflF in their fins.
Wife. But no makee kill you yet ; then he tell
you, may be, that he no makee you kill, fo you
make de bargain with him, you do bad ting, he
no be angry at you, when he be angry at other
mans ?
W* A. No, indeed, my fins are all prefumptions
upon his goodnefs ; and he would be infinitely juft,
if he deilroyed nie, as he has done other men.
Wife. Well, and yet no kill, no makee you dead !
What you fay to him for that ? You no tell him
tankee for all that too !
W^ A. I am an unthankful, ungrateful dog, that
is true.
Wife. Why he no makee you much good better ?
You fay he makee you.
W. A. He made me as he made all the world j
'tis I have deformed myfelf, and abufed his goodnefs,
and have made myfelf an abominable wretch.
Wife. I wifli you makee God know me j I no
makee him angry ; I no do bad wicked ting.
[Here Will Atkins faid his heart funk within him, to
hear a poor, untaught creature, defire to be taught
to know God5 and he fuch a wicked wretch, that
he could not fay one word to her about God^ but
what the reproach of his own carriage would make
VoL.IL N moft
178 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
moft irrational to her to believe ; nay, that already
fhc could not believe in God, becaufe he that Vv^as fo
wicked was not deftroyed.]
W. A. My dear, you mean you wifh I could teach
you to know God, not God to know you ; for he
knows you already, and every thought in your
heart.
Wife. Why then he know what I faw to you now ;
he know me wifh to know him ; how Ihall me know
who makee me ?
W. A. Poor creature, he muft teach thee, I can-
not teach thee ; I'll pray to him to teach thee to know
him ; and to forgive me, that I am unworthy to
teach thee.
[The poor fellow was in fuch an agony at her defiring
him to make her know God, and her wifliing to
know him, that, he faid, he fell down on his knees
before her, and prayed to God to enlighten her
mind with the faving knowledge of Jefus Chriftj
and to pardon his fins, and accept of his being the
unworthy inftrument of inftru^liing her in the prin-
ciples of religion j after which he fat down by her
again, and their dialogue went on.]
N. B. This was the time when we faw him kneel down
and lift up his hands.
Wife. What you put dowii the knee for ? What
you hold up the hand for ? What you fay ? Who
you fpeak to ? What is that ?
W. A. My dear, I bow my knees in token of my
fubmiifion to him that made me : I faid O to him,
as you call it, and as you fay your old men do to
their idol Benamiickee ; that is, I prayed to him.
Wife.
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 1 79
Wife. What you fay O to him for ?
W. A. I prayed to him to open your eyes and
your underftanding, that you may know him, and
be accepted by him. .
Wife. Can he do that too ?
W* A. Yes, he can ; he can do all things.
Wife. But he no hear what you fay ?
W. A. Yes, he has bid us pray to him j and pro-
mifed to hear us.
Wife. Bid you pray ? When he bid you ? How he
bid you ? What you hear him fpeak ?
W. A. No, we do not hear him fpeak ; but he
has revealed himfelf many ways to us.
[Here he was at a great lofs to make her underftand
that God had revealed himfelf to us by his wordj
and what his word was 5 but at laft he told it her thus :
W. A. God has fpoken to fome good men in for-
mer days, even from heaven, by plain words ; and
God has infpired good men, by his Spirit 5 and they
hiave written all his laws down in a book.
Wife. Me no uniierftand that ; where is book ?
W. A. Alas ! my poor creature, I have not this
book ; but I hope I fhall, one time or other, get it
for you to read it.
[Here he embraced her with great afFeftion 5 but with
inexpreffible grief, that he had not a bible.]
Wife. But how you makee me know, that God
teachee them to write that book ?
W. A. By the fame rule that we know him to be
God.
Wife. What rule ; what way you know ?
N2 W.A.^^
l8to LIFE ANDT ADVENTURES
W. A. Becaufe he teaches and commands nothihg:
but what is good, righteous, and holy ; and tends
to rtiake us perfeftly good, as well as perfeflly happy ;
and becaufe he forbids, and commands?!^ to avoid
all that is wicked, that is evilinitfel^ o^^ its
confequences. : ' r >
Wife. That ;m:ei: would underftand, that me fain
fee J if he. reward all good thing, punifli all wicked
thing, he teachee all good thing, forbid all wicked;
thing, he makee all thing, he give all thing}, he
hear me when I fay O to him, as you go to do juft
now ; he makee me good, if I wifli be good j he
fpare me, no makee kill me, when I no be good ; all
this you fay he do ; yes, he be great God j me take,
think, believe,, him be great God j me fay O to him
too, with you, my dear..
Here the poor man faid he could forbear no
longer ;. but raifing her up, made her kneel by him ;
and he prayed to God aloud, to inftruft her in the
knowledge of himfelf, by his Spirit ; and that by
fome good providence, if poffible, fhe might fome
time or other x:ome to have a bibje, that fhe might
read the word of (Jod, anid b^^^ by him to
know hiiiii^ -* '^ ' - : ^
[This.Vaitte iW rfiat weTaAv Kim lift Her up by the
hand, and fawhirn kneel down by her, as above.}
They had feyeral other 4ifcourfes, it feems, after
this, too long to f(^» ..down here j and particularly
fhe .made him promife^ that fince hf confeflfed his
own life had been a wicked, abominable ,courfe of
provocation againft God, that he would reform it,
and not make God angry any more, lefl he fhould
2 make
OF ROBINSGFN GRUStOE:. l$l
malce him dead, as fhe called it, and then fhe fhouid
Jbe left alone, and never be taught to know this God
better; and left he fhould be imferabk, .as he Kad
told her wicked menr Aould be after deaih.'J^r: .
This was a ftrange account, and very iafff^ting: to
us both, but particularly the young clergyiriaia, : he
was indeed wonderfully fiarprifed with it y but imider
the greateft afflidion imaginable, that he could not
talk to her ; that he ceuld nat fpeak Englijh to make
her underftand him; and as flie fpoke but very
broken Englijh^ he could not underftand her. How-
ever, he turned himfelf to me, and told me, that
he believed there muft be more to do with this wo-
man than to marry her ; I did not underftand him
at firft ; but at length he esLplained himfelf; viz*
That fhe ought to be baptized.
I agreed with him in that part readily, ajid was for
going about it prefently : No, no ; hold. Sir, faid
he, though I would have her baptized by all means,
yet I muft obferve, that Will Jtkinsj her hufl^and, has
indeed brought her, in a wonderful manner, to be
willing to embrace a religious life ; and has given
her juft ideas of the being of a God, of his. power,
juflice, and mercy ; yet Tdefire to know of him, if
he has faid any thing to her of Jefus Chrift, and of
the falvation of finners ; of the nature of faith in
him ; and the redemption by him ; of the holy Spi-
rit, the xefurreftion, the laft judgment, and a fu-
ture ftate.
I called Will Atkins again, an4 alked him ; but the
poor fellow fell immediately into tears, and told us,
be had faid fomething to her of all thofe thmgs, hut
ijtiat he was himfelf fo wicked a creature, and J^is
* N 3 . -<wa
l82 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
own confcience fo reproached him with his horrid,
ungodly life, that he trembled at the apprehenfions,
that her knowledge of him fhould leflen the attention
(he fhould give to thofe things, and make her ratha:
contemn religion, than receive it : but he was af-
fured, he faid, that her mind was fo difpofed to re-
ceive due impreffions of all thofe things, that if I
would but difcourfe with her, fhe would make it
appear to my fatisfadion, that my labour would not
be loft upon her.
Accordingly I called her in, and placing myfelf
as interpreter, between my religious prieft and the
woman, I entreated hinl to begin with her : but fure
fuch a fermon was never preached by a popifh prieft
in thefe latter ages of the world ; and, as I told him,
I thought he had all the zeal, all the knowledge, all
the fmcerity of a Chriftian, without the errors of a
Roman Catholic ; and that I took him to be fuch a
clergyman as the Roman bifliops were, before the
church of Rome afTumed fpiritual fovereignty over
the confciences of men.
In a word, he brought the poor woman to em-
brace the knowledge of Chrift, and of redemption
by him, not with wonder and aftonifhment only, as
ihe did the firft notions of a God, but with joy and
faith, with an affedlion, and a furprifing degree of
underftanding, fcarce to be imagined, much lefs to
be expreffed ; and at her own requeft flie was bap»
tized.
When he was preparing to baptize her, I en-
treated him, that he would perform that ofEce'with
fome caution, that the man might not perceive he
\vas of the Roman church, if poflible j becaufe of
other
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 183
Other ill confequences which might attend a difference
among us in that very religion which we were in-
ftrufting the other in. He told me, that as he had
no confecrated chapel, nor proper things for the
office, I fliould fee he would do it in a manner, that
I fhould not know by it that he was a Roman Ca-
tholic myfelf, if I had not known it before : and
fo IiQ did ; for faying only fome words over to him-
felf in L^3://«, which I could not underftand, he poured
a whole difh full of water upon the woman's head,
pronouncing in French very loud, Mary ; which was
the name her hufband defired me to give her, for I
was her god-father, / baptize thee in the name of
the Father^ and of the Son^ and of the Holy Ghojl ;
fo that none could know, any thing by it, what reli-
gion he was of: he gave-thq beiledi£kion afterwards
in Latin ; but either Will Atki)fs did not know but it
was in French^ or elfe did, not take notice of it at
that time.
As foon as this was over, he married them; and
after the marriage was over, he turned himfelf to
Will Atkins^ and in a very affeftionate manner ex-
horted him not only to perfevere in that good difpo-
fition he was in, but to fiipport the conviftions that
were upon him, by a refolution to reform his life :
told him, it was in vain to fay he repented, if he
did not forfal^e his crimes ; reprefented to him, how
God had honoured him v/ith being the inftrument
of bringing his wife to the knowledge of the Chrif-
tian religion ; and that he fliould be careful he did
not diflionour the grace of God ; and that, if he
did, he would fee the heathen a better Chriftian thaln
N 4 himfelf J
184 I-IFE AND ADVENTURES
himfelf ; the favage converted, and the inftrument
caft away !
He faid a great many good things to them both,
and then recommended them, in a few words, to
God's goodnefs ; gave them the benedi£lion again,
I repeating every thing to them in Englijh : And thus
ended the ceremony. I think it was the moft plea?
fant, agreeable day to me, that ever I paffed in my
whole life.
But my clergyman had not done yet ; his thoughts
hung continually upon the converfion of the 37 fa-
vages ? and fain he would have ftaid upon the ifland
to have undertaken it : but I convinced him, Firft,
that his undertaking was imprafticable in itfelf ; and
fecondly, that, perhaps, I could put it into a way of
being done, in his abfe|ice, to his fatisfaftion ; of
which by and by.
Having thus brought the affair of the ifland to a
narrow compafs, I was preparing to go on board the
fliip, when the young man, whom I had taken out
of the famiflied fliip's company, came to me, and
told me, he underftood I had a clergyman with me,
and that I had caufed the Englijhmen to be married to
the favages, whom they called wives j that he had a
match too, which he defired might be finifhed before
I went, between two Chriftians ; which . he hoped
would not be difagreeable to me.
I knew this muft be the young woman who was
his mother's fervant, for there was no other Chriftian
woman on the ifland j fo I began - to perfuade him
not to do any thing of that kind raflily, or becaufe
he found himfelf in this folitary circumfliance : I re-
prefented, that he had fonie confiderable fubftance in
the
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 1 85
the world, and good friends, as I underftood by him*
felf, and by his maid alfo ; that the maid was not only
poor, and a fervant, but was unequal to him, fhe
being twenty-fix or twenty-feven years old, and he
not above fev^nteen or eighteen; that he might very
probably, with my affiftance, make a remove from
this wildernefs, and come into his own country again;
and that then it would be a thoufand to one but he,
would repent his choice; and the diflike of that cir-
cumftance might be difadvantageous to both. I was
going to fay more, but he interrupted me, fmiling^;
and told me, with a great deal of modefty, that I
piiftook in my gueffes ; , that he had nothing of
that kind in his thoughts, his prefent circum-
ftances being melancholy and difconfolate enough ;
jind he was very glad to hear, that I had fome
thoughts of putting them in a way to fee their
own country again ; and that nothing fhould have
fet him upon flaying there, but that the voyage I
"jvas going was fo exceeding long and hazardous, and
would carry him quite out of the reach of all his
friends ; that he had nothing to defire of me, but
that I would fettle him in fome little property in the
ifland where he was ; give him a fervant or two, and
fome few neceffaries, and he would fettle himfelf
here like a planter, waiting the good time when, if
ever I returned to England^ I would redeem him,
qjid hoped I would not be unmindful of him when I
came to England ; that he would give me fome letters
to his friends in London^ to let them know how good
I had been to him, and what part of the world, and
what circumftances I had left him in ; and he pro-
xnifed me^ that whenever I redeemed him j the plan-
tation,
l86 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
tation, and all the improvements he had made upon
it, let the value be what it would, fhould be wholly
mine.
His difcourfe was very prettily delivered, confi-
deiing his youth ; and was the more agreeable to
me, becaufe he told me pofitively the match was not
for himfelf. I gave him all pofnble affurances, that
if I lived to come fafe to England^ I would deliver
his letters, and do his bufmefs effeftually ; and that
he inight depend I would never forget the circum-
ftances I left him in ; but ftill I was impatient to
know who was the perfon to be married : Upon
which he told me it was my jack of all Trades, and
his maid Sufan.
I was moft agreeably furprifed when he named
the match ; for indeed I had thought it very fuita-
ble. The charafter of that man I have given al-
ready ; and as for the maid, fhe was a very honed,
modeft, fober, and religious young woman ; had a
very good fhare of fenfe ; was agreeable enough in
her perfon ; fpoke very handfomely, and to the pur-
pofe ; always with decency and good manners, and
not backward to fpeak when any thing required it,
or impertinently forward to fpeak when it was not
her bufinefs; very handy and houfewifely in any
thing that was before her ; an excellent manager,
and fit indeed to have been governefs to the whole
ifland ; fhe knew very well how to behave herfelf to
all kind of folks {he had about her, and to better, if
fhe had found any there.
The match being propofed in this manner, we
married them the fame day ; and, as I was father
at the altar, as I may fay, and gave her away, fo I
gave
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I87
gave her a portion ; for I appointed her and her huf-
band a handfome large fpace of ground for their
plantation ; and, indeed, this match, and the pro-
pofal the young gentleman made to me, to give him
a fmall property in the ifland, put me upon parcel-
ling it out among them, that they might not quarre^
afterwards about their fituation.
This fharing out the land to them I left to Will
Atkins^ who, indeed, was now grov/n a moft fober,
grave, managing fellow ; perfectly reformed, exceed-
ing pious and religious ; and, as far as I may be al-
lowed to fpeak pofitively in fuch a cafe, I verily be-
lieve, was a true lincere penitent.
He divided things fo juftly, and fo much to every
one's fatisfaftion, that they only defired one general
writing under my hand for the whole ; which I caufed
to be drawn up, and figned and fealed to them, fet-
ting out the bounds and fituation of every man's
plantation, and teffifying, that I gave them thereby,
feverally, a right to the whole pofTeffion and inhe-
ritance of the refpedlive plantations or farms, with
their improvements, to them and their heirs; re-
ferving all the reft of the ifland as my own property,
and a certain rent for every particular plantation,
after eleven years, if I, or any one from me, or in
my name, came to demand it, producing an attefted
copy of the fame writing.
As to the government and laws among them, I
told them, I was not capable of giving them better
rules than they were able to give themfelves ; only
made them promife me, to live in love and good
neighbourhood with one another : And fo I prepared
to leave them.
One
190 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
viour Jefus Chrift ; and they likewife promifed m,
that they would never have any differences or dif-
putes, one with another, about religion.
When I came to Will Atkinses houfe (I may call it
fo ; for fuch a houfe, or fuch a piece of bafket-work,
I believe was not (landing in the world again !) I fay,
when I came thither, I found the young woman I
have mentioned above, and William Atkins's wife,
were become intimates ; and this prudent, religious
young woman, had perfeded the work Will Atkins
had begun ; and though it was not above four days
after what I have related, yet the new-baptized fa-
vage woman was made fuch a Chriftian, as I have
feldoni heatd of any like her, in all my obfervation
or converfation in the world.
It came, next into my mind, in the morning, be-
fore I went to them, that among all the needful
things I had to leave with them, I had not left a
bible 'y in which I fliewed myfelf lefs conlidering for
them, than my good friend the widow was for me,
when ibe fent me the cargo of lool. from Lijbon^
where fhe packed up three bibles and a prayer-book*
However, the good woman's charity had a greater
extent than ever {he imagined ; for they were re-
ferved for the comfort and inftruclion of thofe that
made much better ufe of them than I had done.
I took one of the bibles in my pocket, and when
I came to Willia?n Atkinses tent, or houfe, I found the
young woman, and Atkins's baptized wife, had been
difcourfing of religion together ; f for William Atkins
told it me, with a greal deal of joy.) I afked, if they
were together now ? And he faid yes ; fo I went
into the houfe, and he with me, and we found them
together,
4
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. igi
together, very earneft in difcourfe : O, Sir, fays Wil^
Uatn Atkins^ when God has finners to reconcile
to himfelf, and aliens to bring home, he ne-
ver wants a meffenger : My wife has got a new
inftruftor ; I knew I was unworthy, as I was incapa-
ble of that work; that young woman has been Tent
hither from Heaven ; fhe is enough to convert a
whole ifland of favages. The young woman blufhed,
and rofe up to go away, but I defired her to fit ftill ;
I told her flie had a good work upon her hands, and
I hoped God would blefs her in it.
We talked a little, and I did not perceive they
had any book among them, though I did not afk ;
but I put my hand in my pocket, and pulled out my
bible ; Here, faid I to Atkins^ I have brought you
an affiftant, that, perhaps, you had not before. The
man was fo confounded, that he was not able to
fpeak for fome time ; but recovering himfelf, he
takes it with both* hands, and, turning to his wife.
Here, my dear, fays he, did not I tell you, our
God, though he lives above, could hear what we
faid ? Here is the book I prayed for, when you and
I kneeled down under the bufh ; now God has heard
us and fent it. When he had faid thus, the man
fell into fucK tranfports of a paffionate joy, that be-
tween the jdy of having it, and giving God thanks
for it, the tears ran down his face like a child that
was crying.
The woman was furprized, and was like to have
run into a miftake, that none of us were aware of;
for fhe firmly believed God had fent the book upon
her hufband's petition : It is true, that providentially
it was fo, and might be taken fo in a confequent
fenfe ;
tgi LIFE AND ADVENTURED
fenfe ; but I believed it would have been no difficult
matter, at that time, to have perfuaded the poor
woman to have believed, that an exprefs meflenger
came from heaven, on purpofe to bring that indivi-
dual book ; but it was too ferious a matter to fuffer
any delufion to take place : So I turned to the
young woman, and told her, we did not defire to
hnpofe upon the new convert, in her firfl and more
ignorant underftanding of things ; and begged her
to explain to her, that God may be very properly
faid to anfwer our petitions, when in the courfe of
his Providence, fuch things are, in a particular
manner, brought to pafs, as we petitioned for ; but *
we do not expeft returns from Heaven, in a miracu-
lous and particular manner j and that it is our mercy
it is not fo.
This the young woman did afterwards effedually ;
fo that there was, I affure you, no prieftcraft ufed
here ; and I fliould have thought it one of the moft
unjuftifiable frauds in the world, to have had it fo :
but the furprize of joy upon Will Atkins ^ is really
not to be expreffed ; and there, we may be fure, was
no delufion. Sure no man was ever more thankful
in the world for any thing of its kind, than he was
for this bible ; and I believe, never any man was
glad of a bible from a better principle ; and though
he had been a moft profligate creature, defperate,
headftrong, outrageous, furious, and wicked to a
great degree ; yet this man is a ftanding rule to us
all, for the well inftrufting children ; viz. That pa-
rents fhould never give over to teach and inftruft, or
ever defpair of the fuccefs of their endeavours, let
th® children be ever fo obftinate, refraftory, or, to
appear-
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I93
appearance, infenfible of inftruftion ; for if ever
God in his Providence touches the confciences of
fuch, the force of their education returns upon them,
and the early inftruftron of parents is not loft,
though it may have been many years laid afleep j
but, fome time or other, they may find the benefit
of it.
Thus it was with this poor man. However igno-
rant he was, or diverted of religion and Chriftian
knowledge, he found he had fome to do with now more
ignorant than himfelf; and that the leaft part of the
inftruftion of his good father, that could now come
to his mind, was of ufe to him.
Among the reft it occurred to him, he faid, how
his father ufed to infift much upon the inexpreflible
value of the bible ; the privilege and blefling of it
to nations, families, and perfons ; but he never en-
tertained the leaft notion o(the worth of it till now ;
when, being to talk to heathens, favages, and bar-
barians, he wanted the help of the written oracle for
his afliftance.
The young woman was very glad of it alfo, for
the prefent occafion, though fhe had one ; and fo
had the youth on board our ftiip, among the goods
which were not yet brought on fliore. And now,
having faid fo many things of this young woman, I
cannot omit telling one ftory more of her and my-
felf, which has fomething in it very informing r^nd
remarkable.
I have related to what extremity the poor young
woman was reduced j how her miftrefs was
ftarved to death, and did die, on board that un-
happy ftiip we met at fea ; and how the whole fhip's
Vol. II. O company
194 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
company being reduced to the lafl extremity, the
gentlewoman, and her fon, and this maid, were firft
hardly ufed, as to provifions j and, at laft, totally
neglefted and ftarved j that is to fay, brought to
the lafl extremity of hunger,.
One day, being difcourfing with her upon the ex-
tremities they fuffered, I afked her, if fhe could de-
fcribe, by what Ihe felt, what it wastoftarve, and
how it appeared? She told me, Ihe believed flie
could ; and fhe told her tale very diftinftly thus :
Firft, Sir, faid' fhe, we had for fome days fared
exceeding hard, and fulFered very great hunger ; but
now, at lafl, we were wholly without food of any
kind, except fugar,^ and a little wine, and a little
water. The firft day after I had received no food
at all, I found myfelf, towards evening, firft empty
and fickifh at my ftomach ; and nearer night, migh-
tily inclined to yawning, and fleepy ; I laid down
on a couch in the great cabin, to fleep ; and flept
about three hours-, and awaked a little refrefhed^
having taken a glafs of wine when I lay down : after
bejng about three hours awake, it being: about five
o'clock in the morning, I found myfelf empty, and
my ftomach fickifh again, and lai(^ down again ; but
could not fleep at all, being very faint and ill : and
thus I continued all the fecond day, with a ftrange
variety ; firft hungry, then fick again, with reachings
to vomit : the fecond' night, being obliged to go to
bed again, without any food more than a draught of
fair water, and being afleep, I dreamed I was at
Barbadoes^ and that the market was mightily ftocked
with provifions ; that I bought fome for my miftrefs,
and went and dined very heartily*
2 I thought
OF kOBINSON CRUSOE. I95
I thought my ftomach was full after this, as it
would have been after, or at, a good dinner ; but
when I waked, I was exceedingly ftink in my fpirits
to find myfelf in the extremity of famine : the lad
glafs of wine we had, I drank, and put fugar into
k, becaufe of its having fome fpirit to fupply ndu-
rifliment ; but there being no fubftance in the fto-
mach for the digefting ofBce to work upon, I found
the only effefl: of the wine was, to raife difagreeable
fumes from the ftomach into the head; and I lay,
as they told me, ftupid and fenfelefs, as one drunk,
for fome time.
The third day in the morning, after a night of
ftrange and confufed inconfiftent dreams, and rather
dozing than fleepingj I awaked, ravenous and fu-
rious with hunger ; and I queftion, had not my un-
derftanding returned, and conquered it ; I fay, I
queftion whether, if I had been a mother, and had
had a little child with me, its life would have been
fafe or no.
This lafted about three hours ; during which time
I was twice raging mad, as any creature in Bedlam^
as my young mafter told me, arid as he can now in-
form you.
In one of thefe fits of lunacy, or diftraftion, whe-
ther by the motion of the fhip, or fome flip of my
foot, I know not j I fell down, and ftruck my face
againft the corner of a pallet-bed, in which my mif-
trefs lay ; and with the blow the blood guflied out
of my nofe ; and the cabin-boy bringing me a little
bafon, I fat down and bled into it a great deal ; and
as the blood ran from me, I came to myfelf; and the
O 2 violence
196 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
violence of the flame, or the fever I was in, abated,
and fo did the ravenous part of the hunger.
Then I grew fick, and reached to vomit, but could
not ; for I had nothing in my ftomach to bring up :
after I had bled fome time, I fwooned, and they all
believed I was dead ; but I came to myfelf foon af-
ter, and then had a moft dreadful pain in my fto-
mach, not to be defcribed ; not like the cholic, but a
gnawing eager pain for food ; and, towards night,
it went off with a kind of earneft wifhing or longing
for food ; fomething like, as I fuppofe, the long-
ing of a woman with child. I took another draught
of water, with fugar in it, but my ftomach loathed
the fugar, and brought it all up again : Then 1 took
a draught of water, without fugar, and that ftayed
with me ; and I laid me down upon the bed, pray-
ing moft heartily, that it would pleafe God to take
me away ; and compofing my mind in hopes of it, I
ilumbered awhile j and then waking, thought my-
felf dying, being light with vapours from an empty
ftomach : I recommended my foul to God, and ear-
neftly wifhed that fomebody would throw me into
the fea.
All this while my miftrefs lay by me, juft, as I
thought, expiring ; but bore it with much more pa-
tience than I, and gave the laft bit of bread flie had
to her child, my young mafter, who would not have
taken it, but fhe obliged him to eat it j and, I believe,
it faved his life.
Towards the morning, I flept again ; and firft,
when I awaked, I fell into a violent paflion of cry-
ing ; and after that, had a fecond fit of violent hun-
ger, fo that I got up ravenous, and in a moft dread-
I ful
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, I97
ful condition : Had my miftrefs been dead, as much
as I loved her, I am certain I fhould have eaten a
piece of her flefli with as much relifli, and as uncon-
cerned, as ever I did the flefh of any creature ap-
pointed for food ; and once or twice I was going to
bite my own arm. At laft, I faw the bafon, in
which was the blood I had bled at my nofe the day
before ; I ran to it, and fwallowed it with fuch haftej^
and fuch a greedy appetite, as if I had wondered
nobody had taken it before, and afraid it fliould be
taken from me now.
Though after it was down the thoughts of it filled
me with horror, yet it checked the fit of hunger j
and I drank a draught of fair water, and was compofed
and refrefhed for fome hours after it. This was the
fourth day ; and thus I held it till towards night,
when, within the compafs of three hours, I had all
thefe feveral circumftances over again, one after ano-
ther ; viz* fick, fleepy, eagerly hungry, pain in the
ftomach, then ravenous again, then fick again, then
lunatic, then crying, then ravenous again, and fo
every quarter of an hour ; and my ftrength wafted
exceedingly. At night I laid me down, having no
comfort, but in the hope that I fhould die before
morning.
All this night I had no fleep, but the hunger was
now turned into a difeafe ; and I had a terrible cho-
lic and griping ; wind, inftead of food, having found
its way into the bowels ; and in this condition I lay
till morning, when I was furprized a little with
the cries and lamentations of my young mafter, who
called out to me, that his mother was dead. 1 lifted
O 3 myfelf
198 MFE AND ADVENTURES
myfelf up a little, for I had not ftrength to rife, but
found fhe was not dead, though {he was able to give
very little figns of life.
1 had then fuch convulfions in my ftomaeh, for
want of fome fuftenance, that I cannot defcribe them;
with fuch frequent throes and pangs of appetite, that
nothing but the tortures of death can imitate ; and
this condition I was in, when I heard the feameii
above cry out, A fail ! a fail ! and halloo and jump
about as if they were diftrafted.
I was not able to get off from the bed, and my
miftrefs much lefs ; and my mafter was fo lick, that
I thought he had been expiring ; fo we could not
open the cabin door, or get any account what it
was that occafioned fuch a combuftion ; nor had we
any converfation with the fliip's company for two
days, they having told us they had not a mouthful
of any thing to eat in the fliip ; and they told us
afterwards, they thought we had been dead.
It was this dreadful condition we were in when
you were fent to fave our lives ; and how you found
us. Sir, you know as well as I, and better too.
This was her own relation, and is fuch a diftincl:
account of ftarving to death, as, Iconfefs, I never
met with, and was exceeding entertaining to me :
I am the rather apt to believe it to be a true account,
becaufe the youth gave me an account of a good part
of it ; though I mud own, not fo diftind, and fo
feelingly as his maid ; and the rather, becaufe, it
feems, his mother fed him at the price of her oun
life: but the poor maid, though her conftiturion
being ftronger than that of her miftrefs, who was in
years.
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. I99
years, and a weakly woman too, fhe might ftruggk
harder with it ; I fay, the poor maid might be fup-
pofed to feel the extremity fomething fooner than
lier miftrefs, who might be allowed to keep the lafl:
bits fomething longer than fhe parted with any to
Telieve the maid. No queftion, as the cafe is here
•related, if our fhip, or fome other, had not fo provi-
dentially met them, a few days more would have
ended all their lives, unlefs they had prevented it by
eating one another ; and even that, as their cafe
flood, would have fcrved them but a little while,
they being 500 leagues from any land, or any poffi-
bility of relief, other than in the miraculous manner
it happened. — But this is by the way ; I return to my
:difpofition of things among the people.
And firft, it is to be obferved here, that for many
reafons, I did not think fit to let them know any
thing of the floop I had framed, and which I thought of
fetting up among them ; for I found, at leaft at my
firft coming, fuch feeds of divifion among them?
that I faw it plainly, had I fet up the floop, and left
it among them, they would, upon very light difguft,
have feparated, and gone away from one another ;
or perhaps have turned pirates, and fo made the
ifland a den of thieves, Inftead of a plantation of fo-
ber and religious people, as I intended it to be ; nor
did I leave the two pieces of brafs cannon that I had
on board, or the two quarter deck guns, that my
nephew took extraordinary, for the fame reafon : I
thought they had enough to qualify them for a de-
fenfive war, againft any that fhould invade them ; but
I was not to fet them up for an offenfive war, or to
4 encourage
aOO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
encourage them to go abroad to attack others, which,
in the end, would only bring ruin and deftruftion
upon themfelves and all their undertakings : I re-
ferved the floop, therefore, and the guns, for their
fervice another way, as I fhall obferve in its place.
I have now done with the ifland : I left them all
in good circumftances, and in a flourilhing condi-
tion, and went on board my fhip again the fifth day
of Mayy having been five-and-twenty days among
them ; and, as they were all refolved to flay upon
the ifland till I came to remove them, I promifed to
fend fome further relief from the Brafils^ if I could
poflibly find an opportunity ; and particularly I pro-
mifed to fend them fome cattle ; fuch as fheep, hogs,
and cows ; for as to the two cows and calves which
I brought from England^ we had been obliged,. by
the length of our voyage, to kill them at fea, for
want of hay to feed them.
The jiext day, giving them a falute of five guns
at parting, we fet fail, and arrived at the bay of All
Saints^ in the Brajils^ in about twenty-two days;
meeting nothing remarkable in our paflage but this.
That about three days after we failed, being becalmed,
and the current fetting ftrong to the N. N. E. run-
ning, as it were, into a bay or gulph, on the land-
fide, we were driven fomething out of our courfe j
and once or twice our men cried Land, to the weft-
ward ; but whether it was the continent, or iflands,
we could not tell by any means.
But the third day, towards evening, the fea fmooth
and the weather calm, we faw the fea, as it were,
covered, towards the land, with fomething very
black,
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 2or
black, not being able to difcover what it was ; but,
after fome time, our chief mate going up the main
fhrouds a little way, and looking at them with a per-
fpeftive, cried out, it was an army. I could not
imagine what he meant by an army, and fpoke a little
haftily, calling the fellow a fool, or fome fuch word ;
Nay, Sir, fays he, don't be angry, for it is an army,
and a fleet too ; for I believe there are a thoufand
canoes, and you may fee them paddle along, and
they are coming towards us too apace, and full of
men.
I was a little furprifed then, indeed, and fo was
my nephew the captain ; for he had heard fuch ter-
rible (lories of them in the ifland, and having never
been in thofe feas before, that he could not tell what
to think of it, but faid two or three times, we fhould
all be. devoured. I muft confefs, confidering we
were becalmed, and the current fet ftrong towards the
fliore, I liked it the worfe ; however, I bade him not
be afraid, but bring the fliip' to an anchor, as foon
as we came fo near as to know that we muft engage
them.
The weather continued calm, and they came on
apace towards us ; fo I gave orders to come to an an- '
chor, and furl all our fails. As for the favages,
I told them they had nothing to fear from thetn but
fire ; and therefore they fhould get their boats out,
and faften them, one clofe by the head, and the other
by the ftern, and man them both well, and wait the
iffue in that pofture : this I did, that the men in the
boats might be ready, with fheet and buckets, to put
out
•203 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
out any fire thefe favages might endeavour to fix upon
the outfide of the fhip.
In this pofture we lay by for them, and in a Kttle
while they came up with us^ but never was fuch a
horrid fight ff^en by Chriftians : My mate was much
jniftaken in his calculation of their number, I mean
of a thoufand canoes ; the mod we could make of
them when they came up, bein^ about 126; and a
great many of them too ; for fome of them had fif-
teen orfeventeen men in them, fome more, and the
ieafl fix or feven.
When they came nearer to us, they feemed to be
ftruck with wonder and aftonifhment, as at a fight
which they had, doubtlefs, never feeh before; nor
could they, at firft, as we afterwards underftood,'
know what to make of us. They came boldly up
however, very near to us, and feemed to go about
to row round us ; but we called to our men in the
boats, not to let them come too near them.
This very order brought us to an engagement with
^em, without our defigning it ; for five or fix of
their large canoes came fo near our long»boat, that
our men beckoned with their hands to them to keep
back ; which they underftood very well, and went
back ; but at their retreat about 500 arrows came on
board us from thofe boats ; and one of our men in
the long-boat was very much wounded. '
However, I called to them not to fire by any means ;
but we handed down fome deal boards into the boat,
and the carpenter prefently let up a kind of a fence,
like wafte boards, to cover them from the arrows of
the favages, if they fhould (hoot again.
About
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 2Q^
About half an hour afterwards they came all up in a
body aftern of us, and pretty near, fo near that we
could eafily difcern what they were, though we could
not tell their defign. I eafily found they were fome
of my old friends, the fame fort of favages that I
had be^n ufed to. engage with ; and in a little time
more they rowed f^ewhat farther out to fea, till
ihey came direftly troadfide with us, and then rowed
down ftraight upon us, till they came fo near,
that they could hear us fpeak : Upon this, I ordered
all my men to keep clofe, left they Ihould fhoot any
more arrows, and make all oiir guns ready; but
being fo near as to be within hearing, I made Friday
go out upon the deck, and call out aloud to them
in his language,' to know what they meant; which
accordingly he did : whether they underftood him
or not, that I know not ; but, as foon as he had
called to them, fix of them, who were in the fore-
moft, or nigheft boat to us, turned their canoes from
]us ; and, (looping down, fliewed us their naked
backfires ; juft as if, in Englijh^ (faving your pre?
fence) they had bid us kifs . Whether
this was a defiance or challenge, we know not ; or
'^Vhether it was done in mere contempt, or a fignal
to the reft ; but immediately Friday cried out. They
were going to flioot ; and unhappily for him (poor
fellow) they let fly about 300 of their arrows ; and,
to my inexpreffible grief, killed poor Friday^ no other
man. being in their fight. The poor fellow was (hot
with no lefs than three arrows, and about three more
fell very nigh him ; fuch unlucky markfmen they
were !
I was
204 J^II'E AND ADVENTURES
I was fo enraged with the lofs of my old fervant,
the companion of all my forrows and folitudes, that
I immediately ordered five guns to be loaded with
fmall Ihot, and four with great ; and gave them fuch .
a broadfide as they had never had in their lives be-
fore, to be fure.
They were not above half a cable's length off
when we fired ; and our gunners took their aim fo
well, that three or four of their canoes were over-
fet, as we had reafon to believe, by one Ihot only.
The ill manners of turning up their bare backfides
to us, gave us no great offence ; neither did I know
for certain whether that, which would pafs for the
greateft contempt among us, might be underftood fo
by them or not j therefore in return, I had only re-
folved to have fired four or five guns with powder
only, which I knew would fright them fufficiently :
but when they fliot at us direftly with all the fury they
were capable of, and efpecially as they had killed my
poor Friday y whom I fo entirely loved and valued,
and who, indeed, fo well deferved it ; I not only had
been juftified before God and man, but would have
been very glad, if I could; to have overfet every
canoe there, and drowned every one of them.
I can neither tell how many we killed, or how
many we wounded, at this broadfide ; but fure fuch
a fright and hurry never was feen among fuch a
multitude : there were thirteen or fourteen of their
canoes fplit, and overfet, in all ; and the men all fet
a fwimming ; the reft, frighted out of their wits,
fcoured away as faft as they could, taking but little
care to fave thofe whofe boats were fplit or fpoiled
with our fhot : fo I fuppofe that they were many of
them
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 20^
them loft ; and our men took up one poor fellow
fwimming for his life, above an hour after they were
all gone.
. Our fmall (hot from our cannon muft needs kill
and wound a great many ; but, in fhort, we never
knew any thing how it went with them ; for they
fled fo faft, that, in three hours, or thereabouts, we
could not fee above three or four ftraggling canoes ;
nor did we ever fee the reft any more ; for a breeze
of wind fpringing up the fame evening, we weighed
and fet fail for the Brajils.
We had a prifoner indeed, but the creature was
fo fullen, that he would neither eat or fpeak ; and
we all fancied he would ftarve himfelf to death ; but
I took a way to cure him ; for I made them take
him, and turn him into the long-boat, and make him
believe they would tofs him into the fea again, and
fo leave him where they foimd him, if he would not
fpeak : nor would that do, but they really did throw
him into the fea, and came away from him ; and then
he followed them, for he fwam like a cork, and
called to them in his tongue, though they knew not
one word of what he faid. However, at laft, they
took him in again, and then he began to be more
tradable j nor did I ever defign they ftiould drown
him.
We were now under fail again ; but I was the moft
difconfolate creature alive, for want of my man
Friday J and would have been very glad to have gone
back to the ifland, to have taken one of the reft
from thence for ray occafion, but it could not be ;
fo we went on. We had one prifoner, as I have faid ;
and it was a long while before we could make him
underftand
106 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
underftand any thing ; but, in time, our men taught
him fome Englijh^ and he began to be a little trada-
ble : Afterwards we enquired what country he came
from, but could make nothing of what he faid ; for
his fpeech was fo odd, all gutturals, and fpoken m
the throat, in fuch an hollow and odd manner, that
we could never form a word from him ; and we were
all of opinion that they niight fpeak that language
as well, if they were gagged, as otherwife ; nor
could we perceive that they had any occafion either
for teeth, tongue, lips, or palate ; but formed their
words juft as a hunting-horn forms a tune, with an
open throat : He told us, however, fome time after,
when we had taught him to fpeak a little EngUjhi
that they were going, with their kings, to fight a
great battle. When he faid kings y we alked him,
how many kings ? He faid, there were five nation,
(we could not make him underftand the plural s.)
and that they all joined to go againft two nation.
We afked him. What made them come up to us ?
He faid. To makee te great wonder look — Where it
is to be obferved, that all thofe natives, as alfo thofe
of Africa^ when they learn Englijby they ajtways add
two ^'s at the end of the words where we ufe one,
and place the accent upon the laft of them ; as
makee J takee^ and the likej and we could not break
them of it ; nay, I could hardly make Friday leave
it off, thought at laft he did.
And now I name the poor fellow once more, I
muft take my laft leave of him ; poor honeft Friday!
We buried him with all decency and folenmity pofli-
ble, by putting him into a coffin, and throwing him
into the fea ; and I caufed them to fire eleven guns
for
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 207
for him t and fo ended the life of the moft grateful,
faithful, honeft, and moft aflfeftionate fervant that
ever man had.
We now went away with a fair wind for Brajil^
and, in about twelve days time, we made land in the
latitude of five degrees fouth of the line, being the
north-eaftermoft land of all that part of AmericL
We kept on S. by E. in fight of the fliore four days,
when we made the Cape S/. Augujiine^ and in three
days came to an anchor off the bay of All Saints^
the old place of my deliverance, from whence came
both my good and evil fate.
Never did a Ihip come to this part that had lefs
bufmefs than I had \ and yet it was with great diffi-
culty that we were admitted to hold the leaft corref-
pondence on fliore. Not my partner himfelf, who
was alive, and made a great figure among them,
not my two merchant truftees, nor the fame of my
wonderful prefervation in the ifland, could obtain
me that favour : but my partner, remembering that
I had given five hundred moidores to the prior of
the monaftery of the Augujlines^ and three hundred
and feventy-two to the poor, went to the monaftery,
and obliged the prior that then was, to go to the go*
vernor, and beg leave for me prefently, with the
captain, and one more, befides eight feamen, to come
on fliore, and no more ; and this upon condition •
abfolutely capitulated for, that we fliould not offer
to land any goods out of the ftiip, or to carry any
perfon away without licence.
They were fo ftrifl: with us, as to landing any
goods, that it was with extreme difficulty that I got
on fliore three bales of Englijh goods, fuch as fine
broad
208 JLIFE AND ADVENTURES
broad cloths, ftufFs, and fome linen, which I had
brought for a prefent to my partner.
He was a very generous, broad-hearted man,
though (like me) he came from little at firft ; and
though he knew not that I had the leaft defign of
giving him any thing, he fent me on board a pre-
fent of frefh provifions, wine, and fweetmeats, worth
above thirty moidores, including fome tobacco, and
three or four fine medals in gold. But I was even
with him in my prefent, which, as I haye faid, con-
fifted of fine broad cloth, Englijh ftuifs, lace, and fine
Hollands. Alfo, I delivered him about the value of
I col. fterling, in the fame goods, for other ufes;
and I obliged him to fet up the floop which. I had
brought with me from England^ as I have faid, for
the ufe, of my colony, in order to fend the refrefh-
ments I intended to my plantation.
Accordingly he got hands, and finiftied the floop
in a very few days, for flie was already framed ; and
I gave the mafter of her fuch inftruftions as he could
not mifs the place ; nor did he mifs it, as I had an
account from my partner afterwards. I got him
foon loaded with the fmall cargo I had fent them ;
and one of our feamen, that had been on fhore with
me there, offered to go with the floop, and fettle
there, upon my letter to the governor Spaniard^ to
allot him a fufficlent quantity of laiid for a planta-
tion ; and giving him fome clothes, and tools for his
planting work, which he faid he underftood, having
been an old planter in Maryland^ and a buccaneer
into the bargain.
I encouraged the fellow by granting all he de-
fired J and, as an addition, I gave him the favage
which
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 20^
"which we had taken prifoner of war, to be his flave^
and ordered the governor Spaniard to give him his
Ihare of every thing he wanted, with the reft.
When we came to fit this man out, my old part-
ner told me, there was a certain very honeft fellow,
a Braftl planter of his acquaintance, who had fallen
into the difpleafure of the church : I know not what
the matter is with him, fays he, but, on my con-
fcience, I think he is an heretic in his heart ; and he
bas been obliged to conceal himfelf for fear of the
inquifition ; that he would be very glad of fuch an
opportunity to make his efcape, with his wife and
two daughters ; and if I would let them go to the
ifland, and allot them a plantation, he would give
them a fmall ftock to begin with ; for the officers
of the inquifition had feized all his effefts and eftate,
and he had nothing left but a little houfhold ftufF,
and two flaves ; and, adds he, though I hate his
principles, yet I would not have him fall into their
hands, for he will alfuredly be burnt alive if he
does.
I granted this prefently, and joined my Engli/h-^
man with them ; and we concealed the man, and his
wife and daughters, on board our fhip, till the floop
put out to go to fea ; and then (having put all theif
goods on board the floop fome time before) we put
them onboard the floop, after flie was got out of^thebay.
Our feaman was mightily pleafed with this new
partner; and their ftock, indeed, was much alike
rich in tools, and in preparations, for a farm ; but
nothing to begin with, but as above* However, they
carried over with them (which was worth all the reft)
fome materials for planting fugar canes, with fome
Vol. II4 P plants
2IO LIFE AND ADVENTURES -
plants of canes ; which he (I mean the Portugal
man) underftood very well.
Among the reft of the fupplies fent my tenants
in the ifland, I fent them, by this floop, three milch
cows and five calves, about twenty-two bogs among
them, three fows big with pig, two mares, and a
ftone-horfe.
For my Spaniards^ according to my promife, I
engaged three Portugal women to go ; and recom-
mended it to them to marry them, and ufe them
kindly. I could have procured more women, but I
remembered that the poor perfecuted man had two
daughters, and there were but five of the Spaniards
that wanted ;' the reft had wives of their own, the'
in another country-
All this cargo arrived fafe, and as you may cafily
fuppofe, very welcome to my old inhabitants, who
were now (with this addition) between fixty and fe-
venty people, befides little children ; of which there
were a great many : I found letters at London from
them all, by way of Lijbon, when I came back to Eng-
land^ being fent back to the Brajtls by this Hoop ; of
which I fliall take fome notice in its place.
I have now done with my ifland, and all manner
of difcourfe about it j and whoever reads the reft
of my memorandums, would do well to turn bis
thoughts entirely from it, and expefl: to read only of
the follies of an old man, not warned by his own harms, '
much lefs by thofe of other men, to beware of the like j
not cooled by almoft forty years mifery and difap-
pointments ; not fatisfied with profperity beyond
expeftation ; not made cautious by affUftion and dif-
trefs beyond imitation.
I had
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 211
I had no more bufinefs to go to theEq^ Indies, than
a man at full liberty, and having committed no
crime, has to go to the turn-key at Newgate, and
defire him to lock him up among the prifoners there,
and ftarve him. Had I taken a fmall veffel from
England, and went difedlly to the ifland ; had I
loaded her, as I did the other veffel, with all the ne-
ceflkries for the plantation, and for my people; took
a patent from the government here, to have fecured
my property, in fubjeSion only to that of England,
which, to be fure, I might have obtained ; had I
carried over cannon and ammunition, fervants, and
people to plant, and, taking poffeffion of the place,
fortified and ftrengthened it in the name of England,
andincreafed it with people, as I might eafilyhave done j
had I then fettled myfelf there, and fent the fliip back,
loaded with good rice, as I might alfo have done in
fix months time, and ordered my friends to have
fitted her out again for our fupply ; had I done this,
and flayed there myfelf, I had, at leaft, aded like a
man of common fenfe ; but I was poffeffed with
a wandering fpirit, fcorned all advantages, pleafed
myfelf with being the patron of thefe people I had
placed there, and doing for them in a kind of haughty
majeftic way, like an old patriarchal monarch ; pro-
viding for them, as if I had been father of the whole
family, as well as of the plantation : but I never fo
much as pretended to plant in the name of any go-
vernnient or natiqn, or to acknowledge any prince,
or to call my people fubjeds to any one nation more
than another J nay, I never fo much as gave the
place a name ; but left it as I found it, belonging to
no man j and the people under no difcipline or go-
P % vemment
212 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
vernment but my own ; who, though I had an ii^
fluence over them as father and benefaftor, had no
authority or power to a6l or command one way or
other, farther than voluntary confent moved them to
com.ply : yet even this, had I ftaid there, would have
done well enough ; but as I rambled from them, and
came thither nb more, the lad letters I had from any
of them, were by my partner's means, who after-
wards fent another floop to the place ; and who fent
me word, though^ I had not the letter till five years
after it v/as written, that they went on but poorly, were
malecontent with their long (lay there ; that Wilt
Jtkins was dead ; that five of the Spaniards were
come away ; and that though they had not been
much molefled by the favages, yet they had had fome
ikirmifhes with them ; that they begged of him to
write to me, to think of the promife I had made to
fetch them away, that they might fee their own
country again before they died.
But I was gone a wild-goofe chafe indeed ; and
they who will have any more of me, muft be content to
follow me through a new variety of follies, hard-^
fnips, and wild adventures ; wherein the juftice of
Providence may be duly obferved, and we may fee
how eafily Heaven can. gorge us with our own de-
fires, make the ftrongeft of our wifhes to be our af-
fliftion, and punifh us moft feverely with thofe very
things which we think it would be our utmoft happi-
riefs to be allowed in.
Let no wife man flatter himfelf with the ftrengtfif
of his own judgment, as if he was able to chufe any
particular ftation of life for himfelf. Man is a fliort.
fighted creature, fees but a very little way before
him J
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 213
Mm ; and as his paffions are none of his beft friends,
fo his particular affeftions are generally his word
counfellors.
I fay this with refpefl: to the impetuous defire I
had from a youth, to wander into the world ; and
how evident it now was, that this principle was pre-
ferred in me for my punifhment. How it ^ came on,
the manner, the circumftance, and the conclufion
of it, it is eafy to give you hiftorically, and with its
utmoft variety of particulars. But the fecret ends
of Divine Providence, in thus permitting us to be
hurried down the ftream of our own defires, are only to
be underftood of thofe who can lillen to the voice of
Providence, and draw religious confequences from
Cod's juftice, and their own miftakes.
Be it, had I bufinefs, or no bufinefs, away i went;
it is no time now to enlarge any farther upon the
Teafon or abfurdity of my own condu£l; but to
come to the hiftory; I was embarked for the voy-
age, and the voyage I went.
I (hall only add here, that my honeft and truly
pious clergymari left nie here j a ihip being ready to
go to Li/borij he afked me leave to go thither ; being
ftill, as he obferved, bound never to finifli any voyage
he began. How happy had it been for me, if I had
gone with him !
But it was too late now ; all things Heaven ap-
points are bed : had I gone with him, I had never
had fo many things to be thankful for, and you had
never heard of the fecond part of the Travels and Ad-
ventures of Robin/on Critf^e; fo I muft leave here the
fruitlefsexclaimingat myfelf,andgoon withmy voyage.
P 3 From
214 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
From the BrafiU vjz made dlredly away over the
Atlantic fea, to the Cape de Bonne Efperance^ or, as
we call it, the Cape of Good Hope ; and had a tole-
rable good voyage, our courfe generally fouth-eaft ;
now and then a ftorm, and fome contrary winds.
But my difafters at fea were at an end ; my future
rubs and crofs events were to befal me on fhore ; that
it might appear, the land was as well prepared to be
our fcourge as the fea, when Heaven, who direfts
the circumftances of things, pleafes to appoint it to
be fo.
Our (hip was on a trading voyage, and had a fu-
per-cargo on board, who was to diredt all her mo-
tions, after (he arrived at the Cape ; only being li-
mitted to a certain number of days for ftay, by char-
ter-party, at the feveral ports fhe was to go to : this
was none of x^^ bufmefs, neither did I meddle with
it at all ; my nephew, the captain, and the fuper-
cargo, adjufting all thofe things between them as
they thought fit.
We made no ftay at the Cape^ longer than was
needful to take in frefli water, but made the beft of
our way for the coaft of Coromande ; we were
indeed informed that a French man of war of
fifty guns, and two large merchant fhips, were gone
for the Indies ; and, as I knew we were at war with
France^ I had fome apprehenfions of them ; but they
went their own way, and we heard no more of
them.
1 fhall not pefter my account, or the reader, with
defcriptions of places, journals of our voyages, va-
riations of the compafs, latitudes, meridian diftances,
trade winds, fituation of ports, and the like ; fuch
as
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 215
as almoft all the hiftories of long navigation are full
of, and which make the reading tirefome enough ;
and are perfeftly unprofitable to all that read, ex-
cept only to thofe who are to go to thofe places
themfelves.
It is enough to name the ports and places which
we touched at j and what occurred to us upon our
paffing from one to another. We touched firft at
the ifland of Madagafcar^ where, though the peo-
ple are fierce and treacherous, and, in particular,
very well armed with lances and bows, which they
ufe with inconceivable dexterity, yet we fared very
well with them awhile ; they treated us very civilly ;
and for fome trifles which we gave them, fuch as
knives, fciffars, &c. they brought us eleven good fat
bullocks, middling in fize, but very good in flefh ;
which we took in, partly for frefli provifions for our
prefent fpending, and the reft to fait for the Ihip's
ufe.
We were obliged to ftay here for fome time, after
we had furniflied ourfelves with provifions; and I,
that was always too curious to look into every nook
of the world wherever I came, was for going on fhore
as often as I could. It was on the eaft fide of the
ifland that we went on fliore one evening ; and the
people, who, by the way, are very numerous, came
thronging about us, and ftood gazing at us at a dis-
tance J as we had traded freely with them, and had
been kindly ufed, we thought ourfelves in no dan-
ger : but when we faw the people, we cut three
boughs out of a tree, and ftuck them up at a diftance
from us, which, it feems, is a mark in the country,
not only of truce and friendfliip, but when it is ac-
P 4 cepted.
2l6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
cepted, the other fide fet up three poles, or bought,
alfo ; which is a fignal that they accept the truce too j
but then this is a known condition of the truce, that
you are not to pafs beyond their three poles towards
them, nor they come paft your three poles or boughs
towards you ; fo that you are perfeftly fecure within
the three poles ; and all the fpace between your poles
and their*s, is allowed like a market, for free con-
verfe, traffick, and commerce. When you go thi-
ther, you muft not carry your weapons with you;
and if they come into that fpace, they fiick up their
javelins and launces, all at the firft poles, and come
on unarmed ; but if any violence is oftered them,
and the truce thereby broken, away they run to the
poles, and lay hold of their weapons, and then the
truce is at an end.
It happened one evening, when we went on fhore,
that a greater number of their people came dawn
than ufual, but was all very friendly and civil. They
brought with them feveral kinds of provifions, for
which we fatisfied them with fuch toys as v/e had ;
their v/omen alfo brought us milk and roots, and
feveral things very acceptable to us, and all was
quiet ; and we made us a little tent, or hut, of fome
boughs of trees, and lay on ftiore all that night.
I know not what was the occafion, but I was not
fo well fatisfied to lie on fhore as the reft ; and the
boat lying at an anchor about a ftone's caft from the
land, with two men in her to take care of her, I
made one of them come on fhore ; and getting fome
boughs of trees to cover us alfo in the boat, I fpread
the fail on the bottom of the boat, and Uy on board,
2 under
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 217
nnder the cover of the branches of the trees, all
night.
About two o'clock in the morning we heard one of
our men make a terrible noife oh the fhore, calling
out for GoD*s fake to bring the boat in, and come and
help them, for they were all like to be murdered ;
at the fame time I heard the firing of five mufquets,
which was the number of the guns they had, and
that three times over ; for, it feems, the natives here
were not fo eafily frighted with guns as the favages
were in America^ where I had to do with them.
All this while I knew not what was the matter ;
but roufing immediately from fleep with the noife, I
caufed the boat to be thruft in, and refolved, with
three fufils we had on board, to land and aflift our
men.
We got the boat foon to the fhore ; but our men
were in too much hafte ; for, being come to the
fhore, they plunged into the water, to get to the
boat with all the expedition they could, being pur-
fued by between three and four hundred men. Our
men were but nine in all, and only five of them had
fufils with them ; the refl, indeed, had piftols and
fwords, but they were of fmall ufe to them.
We took up feven of our men, and with difficulty
enough too, three of them being very ill wounded;
^nd that which was flill worfe, was, that while we
flood in the boat to take our men in, we were in as
much danger as they were in on fhore ; for they
poured their arrows in upon us fo thick, that we
were fain to barricade the fide of the boat up with
the benches, and two or three loofe boards, which,
to
XI 8 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
to our great fatisfaftion, we had, by mere accident,
or providence rather, in the boat.
And yet, had it been day-light, they are, it fecms^
fuch exaft markfmen, that if they could have fcen
but the leaft part of any of us, they would have
been fure of us : we had, by the light of the moon,
a little fight of them, as they flood pelting us from
the fliore with darts and arrows; and, having got
ready our fire-arms, we gave them a volley; and
we could bear by the cries of fome of them, that we
had wounded feveral ; however they ftood thus in
battle array on the fhore till break of day, which
we fuppofe was, that they might fee the better to
take their aim at us.
In this condition we lay, and could not tell how
to wei^h our anchor, or fet up our fail, becaufe wc
muft iieeds ftand up in the boat, and they were as
fure to hit us, as we were to hit a bird in a tree with
fmall fhot : we made fignals of diflrefs to the fliip,
which though fhe rode a league off, yet my nephew,
the captain, hearing our firing, and by glaffes per-
ceiving the pofture we lay in, and that we fired to*
wards the fliore, pretty well underftood us ; and>
weighing anchor with all fpeed, he ftood as near the
fiiore as he durft with the fliip, and then fent another
boat, with ten hands in her, to affift us ; but we
called to them not to come too near, telling them
what condition we were in : however, they ftood in
nearer to us ; and one of the men, taking the end
of a tow-line in his hand, and keeping our boat be^
tween him and the enemy, fo that they could not
perfedly fee him, fwam on board us, and made the line
faft to the boat j upon which we flipt. our little cable,
I and
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, 2I9
and leaving our anchor behind, they towed us out
of the reach of the arrows ; we all the while lying
clofe behind the barricade we had made.
As foon as we were got from between the fhip and
the Ihore, that (he could lay her fide to the fliore, w^
ran along juft by theni, and we poured in a broad-?
fide among them, loaded with pieces of iron and
lead, fmall bullets, and fuch fluff, befides the great
Ihot, which- made a terrible havock among them.
When we were got on board, and out of danger,
we had time to examine into the occafion of this
fray ; and, indeed, our fupercargo, who hcd been
often in thofe parts, put me upon it ; for he faid he
was fure the inhabitants would not have touched us
after we had made a truce, if we had not doie fome-
thing to provoke them to it : At lepgth it c;ime out,
viz. That an old woman, who had come :o fell us
forae milk, had brought it within our poles, with a
young woman with her, who alfo brought fome
roots or herbs ; and while the old woman ^whether
ihe was mother to the young woman or no, they
could not tell) was felling us the milk, one of our
men offered fome rudenefs to the wench that was
with her ; at which the old woman made a great
noife. However, thp feaman would not quit his
prize, but carried her out of the old woman's fight,
among the trees, it being almoft dark ; the old wo-
man went away without her ; and^ as we fuppofe,
made an outcry among the people fhe came from ;
who, upon notice, raifed this great army upon us in
three or four hours ; 'and it was great odds but we
had been all deftroyed.
One
220 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
One of our men was killed with a lance that was
thrown at him, juft at the beginning of the attack,
as he fallied out of the tent we had made ; the reft
came off free, all but the fellow who was the occafion
of all the mifchief, who paid dear enough for his
black miftrefs, for we could not hear what became
of him a great while. We lay upon the fhore two
days after, though the wind prefented, and made fig-
nals for him ; made our boat fail up fhore, and down
fliore, feveral leagues, but in vain ; fo we were
obliged to give him over ; and if he alone had fuf-
fered for it, the lofs had been the lefs.
I cou d not fatisfy myfelf, however, without ven-
turing oil fhore once more, to try if I could learn any
thing of him or them ; it was the third night after the
aftlon, that I had a great mind to learn, if I could
by any means, what mifchief we had done, and how
the game flood on the Indian fide : I was careful to
do it in :he dark, left we fhould be attacked again ;
but I ought indeed to have been fure, that the men
I went with had been under my command, before I
engaged in a thing fo hazardous and mifchievous^
as I was brought into it without my knowledge or
defire.
We took twenty ftout fellows with us as any in
the fhip, befides the fupercargo and myfelf ; and we
landed two hours before midnight, at the fame place
where the Indians ftood drawn up the evening befc^e :
I landed here, becaufe my defign, as I have faid, was
chiefly to fee if they had quitted the field, and if they
had left any marks behind them, or of the mifchief
we had done them ; and I thought, if we could fur-
prife
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 221
pirife one or two of them, perhaps we might get our
man again, by way of exchange.
We landed without any noife, and divided our
men into two companies, whereof the boatfvyain com-
manded one, and I the other : We neither could hear
nor fee any body ftir when we landed ; fo we marched
up, one body at a diftance from the other, to the
field of battle : At firft we could fee nothing, it be-
ing very dark j but by and by, our boatfwain, that
led the firft party, ftumbled and fell over a dead bo-
dy : This made them halt there awhile ; for knowing
by the circumftances, that they were at the place
where the Indians had ftood, they waited for my
coming up : Here we concluded to halt till the moon
began to rife, which we knew would be in lefs than
an hour ; and then we could eafily difcern the havock
we had made among them : We told two-and-thirty
bodies upon the ground, whereof two were not quite
dead. Some had an arm, and fome a leg, fhot off;
and one his head : Thofe that were wounded, we
fuppofed they had carried away.
"VJhen we had made, as I thought, a full difcovery
of all we could come at the knowledge of, I was for
going on board again ; but the boatfwain and his
party often fent me word, that they were refolved to
make a vifit to the Indian town, where thefe dogs,
as they called them, dwelt ; and defired me to go
slong with them ; and if they could find them, as
they ftill fancied they fhould, they did not doubt,
they faid, getting a good booty j and it might be,
they might find Thomas Jeffrys there : that was the
^nan^s name we had loft.
Had
^24 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
Had they fent to alk my leave to go, I knew well
enough what anfwer to have given them ; for I would
have commanded them inftantly on board, knowing
it was not a hazard fit for us to run, who had a
fiiip, and a fliip^s loadirlg in our charge, and a voyage
to make, which depended very m^bch upon the lives
of the men j but as they fent me word they were
refolved to go, and only afked me and my com-
pany to go along wi^h them, I pofitively refufed it,
and rofe up (for I was fitting on the ground) in or-
der to go to the boat. One or two of the men began
to importune me to go j and, when I ftill refufed
pofitively, began to grumble, and fay they were not
under my command, and they would go. Come,
jfacky fays one of the men, will you go with me ?
I will go for one. Jack faid he would; and ano*
ther followed, and then another ; and, in a word,
they all left me but one, whom, with much difficulty
too, I perfuaded to flay : fo the fupercargo and I,
with one man, went back to the boat, ^vhere, I told
them, we would ftay for them, and take care to take
in as many of them as fhould be left ; for I told
them, it was a mad thing they were going about,
and fuppofed moft of them would run the fate of
TAomas Jeffrys.
They told me, like feamen, theyM warrant it they
would come off again ; and they would take care,
&c. So away they went. I intreated them to coa-
fider the ftiip, and the voyage ; that their lives were
not their ownj and that they were intrufted with
the voyage, in fome meafure ; that if they mifcar-
ried, the fliip might be loft for want of their help ;
and
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 223
and that they could not anfwer it to GoD and man.
I faid a great deal more to them on that head, but I
might as well have talked to the main-maft of the
fliip ; they were mad upon their journey ; only they
gave me good words, and begged I would not be
angry ; faid they would be very cautious, and they
did not doubt but they would be back again in
about an hour, at fartheft ; for the Indian town, they
laid, was not above half a mile off; though they
found it above two miles before they got to it.
Well, they all went away, as above ; and though
the attempt was defperate, and fuch as none but mad-
men would have gone about, yet, to give them their
due, they went about it warily, as well as boldly.
They were gallantly armed, that is true ; for they
had every man a fufil or mufquet, a bayonet, and
every man a piftol ; fome of them had broad cut-
laffes, fome of them hangers ; and the boatfwain,
and two more, had pole-axes : befides all which, they
had among them thirteen hand-grenadoes. Bolder
fellows, and better provided, never went about any
wicked work in the world.
When they went out, their chief defign was
plunder ; and they were in mighty hopes of finding
gold there ; but a circumftance, which none of them
were aware of, fet them on fire with revenge, and
made devils of them all : When they came to the
few Indian houfes, which they thought had been the
town, which were not above half a mile off, they
were under a great difappointment ; for there were
not above twelve or thirteen houfes ; and where the
town was, or how big, they knew not : They con-
fulted
a24 LI^E AND ADVENTURER
fulted therefore what to do, and were fome time be^
fore they could refolve : for if they fell upon thefe,
they muft cut all their throats ; and it was ten to
one but fome of them might efcape, it being in the
night, though the moon was up ; and if one efcaped,
he would run away, and raife all the town, fo they
Ihould have a whole army upon them. Again, on
the other hand, if they went away, and left thofe
untouched (for the people were all afleep) they could
not tell which way to look for the town.
However, the lafl wa« the beft advice 5 fo they re-
folved to leave thofe houfes, and look for the town as
well as they could : They went on a little way, and
found a cow tied to a tree : this they prefently con-
cluded would be a good guide to them ; for they
faid the cov/ certainly belonged to the town before
them, or the town behind them ; and if they untied
her, they -fliould fee which way fhe went : if flie went
back, they had nothing tc fay to her ; but if fhe
went forward, they had nothing to do but to fol-
low her ; fo they cut the cord, which was made of
twifled flags, and the cow went on before them : In
a word, the cow led them direftly to the town, which,
as they reported, confifted of above 200 houfes, or
huts ; and in fome of thefe. they found feveral fa-
milies living together.
Here they found all filent ; as profoundly fecure,
as fleep and a coijaitry that had never feen an enemy
of that kind, could make them. Upon this they
called another council, to confider what they had to
do ; and, in a word, they refolved to divide theni-
felves into three bodies, and to fet three houfes on
fire
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE* 225
fire in three parts of the town ; and as the men came
out, to feize them, and bind them j if any refilled,
they need not be alked what to do then ; and fo to
fearch the reft of the houfes for plunder ; but re-
folved to march filently firft through the town, and
fee what dimenfions it was of, and confider if they
might venture upon it, or no.
They did fo, and defperately refolved that they
would venture upon them ; but while they were ani-
tnating one another to the work, three of them, that
were a little before the reft, called out aloud, and
told them they had found Thovias Jeffrys ; they all
ran up to the place, and fo it was indeed, for there
they found the poor fellow, hanged up naked by one
arm, and his throat cut : There was an Indian houfe
juft by the tree, where they found fixteen or feven-
teen of the principal Indians yV/ho had been con-
cerned in the fray with us before, and two or three
of them wounded with our fhot ; and our men found
they were awake, and talking one to another in that
houfe, but knew not their number.
The fight of their poor mangled comrade fo en*
raged them, as before, that they fwore to one ano-
ther they would be revenged, and that not an Indian
who came into their hands fliould have quarter ; and
to work they went immediately; and yet not fo madly
as by the rage and fury they were in might be expefiked.
Their firft care was to get fomething that would foon
take fire ; but after a little fearch, they found that
would be to no purpofe, for moft of the houfes were
low, and thatched with flags or rufhes, of which the
country is full j fo they prefently made fome wild
Vol. II. C^ fire.
226 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
fire, as we call it, by wetting a little powder in the
palms of their hands j and, in a quarter of an hour,
they fet the towrt on fire in four or five places ; and
particularly that houfc where the Indians were not
gone to bed. As Joon as the fire began t& blaze,
the poor frighted creatures began to rufh out to fave
their lives ; but met with their fate in the attempt,
and efpecially at the door, where they drove them
back, the boatfwain himfelf killing one or two with
his pole-axe ; the houfe being large, and many in it,
lie did not care to go in, but called for an hand gre-
nado, and threw it among theiti, which, at firft,
frighted them ; but when it burft, made fuch havock
among them, that they cried out in a hideous
manner.
In fhort, moft of the Indians who were in the open
part of the houfe, were killed or hurt with the gre-
nado, except two or three more, who preffed to the
door, which the boatfwain and two more kept with
the bayonets in the muzzles of their pieces, and dif-
patched all who came that way. But there was ano-
ther apartment in the houfe, where the prince, or
king, or whatfoever he was, and feveral others, were;
anfi they kept in, till the houfe, which was by this
time all of a light flam^, fell in upon them, and they
were fmothered, or burnt together.
All this while they fired not a gun, becaufe they
would not waken the people fafter than they could
mafter them j but the fire began to waken them
fad enough, and our fellows were glad to keep a
little together in bodies ; for the fire grew fo raging,
all the houfes being made of light combuftible ftuff,
that they could hardly bear the fl:reet between them ;
and
O? ROBINSON GRUSOEi ^2J
and their bufinefs was to follow the fire for the furer
* Execution : As faft as the fire either forced the peo-
ple out of thofe houfes which were burnings or
frighted them out of others, our people were ready
at their doors to knock them on the head, flill calling
and hallooing to one another to remember Thomas
Jeffrys.
While this was doiiig, I mufl coftfefs I was Very
uneafy, and efpecially, wheA I faw the flames of the
town, which, it being night, feemed to be jufl by
me.
My nephew> the captain, who wag roufed by his
men too, feeing fuch a fire, was very uneafy, not
knowing what the matter was, or what danger I
was in ; efpecially hearing the guns too ; for by this
time they began to ufe their fire-arms : A thoufand
thoughts oppfcffed his mind concerning me and the
fupercargo, what fhould become of us : and at laft,
though he could ill fpare any more men, yet, not
jknowirtg what exigence we might be in, he takes
another boat, and with thirteen men and himfelf
comes on ihore to me.
He was furprifed to fee me and the fupercargo in
the boat, with. no more than two men, for one had
been left to keep the boat ; and though he was glad
that we were well ; yet he was in the fame impa-
tience with us to know what was doing 5 for the noife
continued, and the flame increafed : I confefs it was
hext to an impoffibility for any men in the world to
reftrain their curiolity of knowing what had happen-
ed. Or their concern for the fafety of the men. In a
word, the captain told me, he would go and help his
C^2 men,
228 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
men, let what would come. I argued with him, as
I did before with the men, the fatety of the fhip, and
the danger of the voyage, the intereft x>{ the owners
and merchants, &c. and told him I would go, and the
two men, and only fee if we could, at a diftance,
karn what was like to be the event, and come back
and tell him.
It was all one to talk to my nephew, as it was to
talk to the reft before ; he would go, he faid, and
he only wifhed he had left but ten men in the Ihip ;
for he could not think of having his men loft for
want of help : he had rather, he faid, lofe the fhip,
the voyage, and his life, and all : And fo away
went he.
Nor was I any more able to ftay behind now, than
I was to perfuade them not to go before ; lb, in
Ihort, the captain ordered two men to row back the
pinnace, and fetch ^welve men more from the fhip,
leaving the long-boat at an anchor ; and that when
they-came back, fix men fhould keep the two boats,
and fix more come after us ; fo that he left only fix*
teen men in the fhip ; for the whole fhip's company
confifted of 6^ men, whereof two were loft i'a the firft
quarrel which brought this mifchief on.
Being now on the march, you may be fure we
felt little of the ground we trod on ; and being
guided by the fire, we kept no path, but went di-
reftly to the place of the flame. If the noife of the
guns were furprifing to us before, the cries of the poor
people were now quite of another nature, and fill d us
with horror. I muft confefs I never was at the facking
of a city, or at the takijig of a town by ftorm ; I have
heard
f
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 2Xg
heard of Oliver Cromwell tdking Drogheda, in Ireland^
and killing man, woman, and child ; and I had read of
Count Tilly, facking the city of Magdebourg^ and
cutting the throats of 22000 of both fexes ; but I
never had an idea of the thing itfelf before ; nor is
it poflible to defcribe it, or the horror which was up-
on our minds at hearing it.
However we went on, and, at length, came to the
town, though there was no entering the ft;-eets of it
for the fire. The firft objedk we met with was the
ruins of a hut or houfe, or rather the aihes of it,
for the houfe was confumed ; and juft before it,
plain now to be feen by the light of the fire, lay four
men and three women killed ; and, as we thought,
one or two more lay in the heap among the fire. In
fhort, thefe were fuch inftances of a rage altogether
barbarous, and of a fury fomething beyond what
was human, that we thought it impoflible our men
could be guilty of it ; or, if they were the authors
of it, we thought that every one of them ought to
be put to the word of deaths : But this was not all ;
we faw the fire increafed forward, and the cry went
on juft as the fire went on, fo that we were in the
utmoft confufion. We advanced a little way far-
ther; and beheld, to our aftonifliment, three women
naked, crying in a moft dreadful manner, and flying
as if they had, indeed, had wings, and after them
fixteen qr feventeen men, natives, in the fame terror
and confternation, with three of our Englijh hntcYitrs^
(for I can call them no better) in the rear ; who,
when they could not overtake them, fired in among
them, arid one that was killed by their Ihot, fell
down in our fight j when the reft faw us, believing
0.3 ^^.
fltJO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
US to be their enemies, and that we would murder
them, as well as thofe that purfued them, theyfet
up a mod dreadful ftiriek, efpecially the women;
and two of them fell down as if already dead with
the fright.
My very foul fhrunk within me, and my blood
rj^n chill in my veins when I faw this ; and I believe,
had the three Englijh failors that purfued them come
on, I had made our men kill them all. However,
we took fome ways to let the poor flying creatures
know that we would not hurt them ; and immedi-
ately they came up to us, and kneeling down, with
their hands lifted up, made piteous lamentations to
us to fave them, which we let them know we would
do ; whereupon they kept all together in a huddle,
clofe behind us, for protedion. I left my men drawn
up together, and charged them to hurt nobody, but,
if poffible, to get at fome of our people, and fee
what devil it was poflefTed them, and what they in-
tended to do ; and, in a word, to command them
off; alTuring them, that if they ftaid till day-light,
they would have a hundred thoufand men about their
cars ; I fay, I left them, and went among thofe Ayr
ing people, taking only two of our men with me :
and there was, indeed, a piteous fpedacle among
them : Some of them had their feet terribly burnt
with trampling and running through the fire ; others
their hands burnt ; one of the women had fallen
down in the fire, and was almoft burnt to death be.
fore fhe could get out again ; two or three of the
men had cuts in their backs and thighs, from our
men purfuing ; and another was fhot through the
body, and died while I was there,
I woul4
OF ROBIKSON CRUSOE. 231
T would fain have learned what the occafion of all
this was, but I could not underftand one word they
faid, ;though by figns I perceived that fome of them
knew not what was the occafion themfelves. I was
fo terrified in my thoughts at this outrageous attempt,
that I could not ftay there, but went back to my
own njien : I told them myxefolution, and commands
ed them to follow me, when in the very moment
came four of our men, with the boatfwain at their
head, running over the heaps of bodies they had
killed, all covered with blood and duft, as if they
wanted more people to mafTacre ; when our men
hallooed to them a.8 Ipud as they could halloo ; and,
with much ado, one of them made them hear;
fo that they knew who we were^ and came up to
As foon as the boatfwajin faw us, he fet up a hal.
Ipo, like a fhout of triumph, for having, as he
thought, more help come ; and without bearing to
hear me, CJaptain, fays he, noble captain, I am glad
you are come ; we have not half done yet : Vilr
Jains ! hell-hound dogs !• I will kill as many of them
as poor Tom has hairs upon his head. We have
fworn to fpare none of them ; we will root out the
very name of them from the earth : and thus he ran
on, out of breath too with adion, and would i^ot
give us leave to fpeak a word.
At laft, raifing my voice that I might filence him
a little : Barbarous dog ! faid I, what are you doing ?
I won't have one creature touched more, upon pain
of death. I charge you, upon your life, to flop
your hands, and ftand ftill here, or you are a dead
man this minute,
q.4 Why,
232 JL1F£ AND ADVENTURES
Why, Sir, fays he, do you know what you do,
or what they have done ? If you want a reafon for
what we have done, come hither ; and with that he
Ihewed me the poor fellow hanging upon a tree, with
his throat cut.
I confefs I was urged then myfelf, and at ano-
ther time fhould have been forward enough ; but I
thought they h*id carried their rage too far, and
thought of JacoF^ words to his fons Simeon and Levi^
^^ Curfed be their rniger^ for it was fierce ; and their
*V wrath J for it wai cruelJ"^ But I had now a new
tafk upon my hands ; for when the men I carried
with me faw the fight, as I had done, I had as much
to do to reffrain them, as I ftiould have had with the
others ; nay, my nephew himfelf fell in with them,
and told me, in their hearing, that he was only con-
cerned for fear of the men being overpowered ; for,
as to the people, he thought not one of them ought
to live ; for they had all glutted themfelves with the
murder of the poor man, and that they ought to be
ufed like murderers : upon thefe words, away ran
eight of my men with the boatfwain and his crew,
to complete their bloody work : and I, feeing it quite
out of my power to reftrain them, came away pen-
five and fad ; for I could not bear the fight, much
lefs the horrible noife and cries of the poor wretches
that fell into their hands.
I got nobody to come back with me but the fuper-
cargo and two men, and with thefe I walked back to
the boats. It was a very great piece of folly in me,
I confefs, to venture back as it were alone ; for as
it began now to be almoft day, and the alarm had
rua over the country, there flood about forty men,
4 armed
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 233
armed with lances and bows, at the little place where
the twelve or thirteen houfes ftood, mentioned be-
fore; but by accident I miffed the place, and eame
direftly to the fea-fide ; and by that time I got to
the fea-fide, it was broad day : immediately I took
the pinnace, and went aboard, and fent her back to
iiflift the men in what might happen.
I obferved, that about the time I came to the boat-
fide, the fire was pretty well out, and the noife abated;
but in about half an hour after I got on board, I
heard a volley of our men's fire arms, and faw a
great fmoke ; this, as I underftood afterwards, was
our men falling upon the forty men, who, as I faid,
ftood at the few houfes on the way ; of whom they
killed fixteen or feventeeii, and fet all thofe houfes
on fire, but did not meddle with the women or
children.
By that time the men got to the fhore again with
the pinnace, our men began to appear ; they came
dropping in, fome and fome ; not in two bodies, and
in form, as they went out, but all in heaps, fliraggling
here and there in fuch manner, that a fmall force
of refolute men might have cut them all off*
But the dread of them was upon the whole coun«-
try : The people were amazed and furprifed, and fo
frighted, that, I believe, an hundred of them would
have fled at the fight of but five of our men. Nor
in all this terrible aftion was there a man who made
any confiderable defence ; they were fo furprized be-
tween the terror of the fire, and the fudden attack
of our men in the dark, that they knew not which
way to turn themfelves ; for if they fled one way,
they were met by one party j if back again, by ano-
ther J
^34 ^'^2 ^ND ADVENTURES
ther ; fo that they were every where knocked down.
Nor did any of our men receive the leaft hurt, ex-
cept one who ftrained his foot, and another had one
of his hands very much burnt.
I was very angry with my nephew, the captain>
and, indeed, with ail the men, in my mind, but with
him in particular ; as well for his afting fo out of
his duty, as commander of the fhip, and having the
charge of the voyage upon him, as in his prompting,
rather than cooling, the rage of his men, in fo bloody
and cruel an enterprife : My nephew anfwered me
very refpeftfully ; but told ftie that when he faw the
body of the poor feaman, whom they had murdered in
fuch a cruel and barbarous manner, he was not matter
of himfelf, neither could he govern his paffion ; he
owned, he fhould not have done fo, as he was comman-
der of the fhip; but, as he was a man, and nature moved
him, he could not bear it. As for the reft of the
men, they were not fubjeft to me at all ; and they
knew it well enough, fo they took no notice of my
diflike.
The next day we fet fail ; fo we never heard any
more of it. Our men differed in the account of the
number they killed; feme faid one thing, fome
another : But, according to the beft of their ac-^
counts put all together, they hailed, or dciilroyed,
about 1 50 people, men, women, and children, and
left not a houfe flanding in the town.
As for the poor fellow Thomas Jeffrys^ as he was
quite dead, for his throat was fo cut that his head
was half off, it would do him no fervice to bring
him away ; fo they left him where they found him,
<xily
OF Robinson crusoe^ 2^^
only took him down from the tree where he was
hanged by one hand.
However juft our men thought this aftion to be, I
was againft them in it ; and I always, after that time,
told them God would blaft the voyage ; for I looked
upon the blood they fhed that night to be murder in
them : for though it is true that they killed Thomas
y^ffrys, yet it was as true that Jeffrys was the aggreflbr,
had broken the truce, and had violated or debauched
^ young woman of their's, who came. to our camp
innocently, and on the faith of their capitulation.
• The boatfwain defended this quarrel when we were
afterwards on board. He faid, it was true that we
feemed to break the truce, but really had not ; and
that the war was begun the night before by the na-
tives themfelves, who had fhot at us, and killed one
of our men without any jufl provocation ; fo that,
as we were'in a capacity to fight them, we might alfo
be in a capacity to do ourfelves juftice upon them in
an extraordinary manner ; that though the poor
man had taken liberty with a wench, he ought not to
have been murdered, and that in fuch a villainous
manner ; and that they did nothing but what was
juft, and that the laws of God allowed to be done to
murderers.
One would think this fliould have been enough
to have warned us againft going on fliore among
heathens and barbarians ; but it is impoflible to
make mankind wife, but at their own experience ;
and their experience feems to be always of moft ufe
to them, when it is deareft bought.
We were now boimd to the gulph of Perfia, and
from thence to the coaft of Coromandely only to touch
at
-236 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
at Surat; but the chief of the fupercargo's defign
lay at the bay of Bengal^ where, if he miffed of the
bufmcfs outward-bound, he was to go up to Chinay
and return to the coaft as he came home.
The firft difafter that befel us was in the gulph of
Perjia^ where five of our men, venturing on fliore on
the Arabian fide of the gulph, were furrounded by
tht Arabs y and either all killed, or carried away into
flavery ; the reft of the boat's crew were not able to
refcue them, and had but juft time to get off their
boat : I began to upbraid them with the juft retribu-
tion of Heaven in this cafe ; but the boatfwain very
warmly told me, he thought I went farther in my
cenfures than I could fhew any warrant for in fcrip-
ture, and referred to the thirteenth of St. Luke^ ver. 4.
where our Saviour intimates, that thofe men, on
whom the Tower of Siloam fell, were not finners
above all the Galileans ; but that which, indeed, put
me to filence in this cafe, was, that none of thefe
five men, who were now loft, were of the number of
thofe who went on fliore to the maffacre of Madagaf-
car (fo I always called it, though our men could not
bear the word majfacre with any patience) : and, in-
deed, this laft circumftance, as I have faid, put me
to filence for the prefent.
But my frequent preaching to them on this fubjefl:
had worfe confequences than I expedted; and the
boatfwain, who had been the head of the attempt,
came up boldly to me one time, and told me, he
found that I continually brought that affair upon the
ftage J that I made unjuft refledions upon it, and had
ufed
d>
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 237
ufed the men very ill on that account, and himfelf in
particular ; that as I was but a paffenger, and had no
command in the fliip, or concern in the voyage, they
were not obliged to bear it ; that they did not know
but I might have fome ill defign in my head, and,
perhaps, call them to an account for it, when they
came to England ; and that therefore, unlefs I would
refolve to have done with it, and alfo not to concern
myfelf farther with him, or any of his affairs, he
would leave the fhip ; for he did not think it was fafe
to fail with me among them.
I heard him patiently enough till he had done, and
then told him, that I did confefs I had all along op-
pofed the maffacre of Madagafcar^ for fuch I would
always call it j and that I had on all occafions fpoken
fny mind freely about it, though not more upon him
than any of the reft ; that as to my having no com-
mand in the fhip, that was true, nor did I exercife
any authority, only took the liberty of fpeaking my
j:^ind in things which publickly concerned us all j as
toT what concern I had in the voyage, that was none
of \his bufmefs ; I was a confiderable owner of the
{hip, and in that claim I conceived I had a right to
fpeak, even farther than I had yet done, and would
not be accountable to him, or any one elfe ; and be-
gan to be a little warm with him : he made but little
reply to me at that time, and I thought that affair had
been over. We were at this time in the road to BeU"
gal; and, being willing to fee the place, I went on
fhore with the fupercargo, in the fbip's boat, to di-
vert myfelf; and towards evening was preparing to
go on board, when one of the men came to me, and
told
^^8 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
told me, he would not have me trouble myfelf to
come down to the boat, for they had orders not to
carry me on board. Any one may guefs what a fur-»
prife I was in at fo infolent a meffage ; and I alked the
man, who bade him deliver that errand to me ? He
told me the cockfwain. I faid no more to the fel-
low, but bid him let them know he had delivered
his meffage, and that I had given him no anfwer
to it.
I immediately went, and 'found out the fupercargOj
and told him the (lory, adding, what I prefently fore-'
faw, mz. that there would certainly be a mutiny in
the ihip ; and intreated hini to go immediately oir
board the Ihip iju an Indian boat^ and acquaint the
capiain of it : but I might have fpared this intelli-
gence, for, before I had fpoken to him on fhore, the
matter was effeded on board: the boatfwain, the
gunner, the carpenter, and in a word, all the inferior
officers, as foon as I was gone off in the boat, cani^
up to the quarter-deck^ and defired to fpeak v/ith tl\a
captain; and there the boatfwain, making a lo^g
harangue (for the fellow talked very well), and re^
peating all he had faid to me, told the captain in a
few words, that as I was now gone peaceably -on
Ihore, they were loth to ufe any violence with me ;
which, if I had not gone on fhore, they would other-
wife have done, to oblige me to have gone. They
therefore thought fit to tell him, that as they (hipped
themfelves to ferve in the (hip under his command,
they would perform it faithfully : but if I would not
quit the (hip, or the captain oblige me to quit it, they
would ^11 leave the (hip, and fail no farther with him :
and at that word ALL, he turned his face about
towards
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* 239
towards the main-maft, which was, it feems, the fig,
nal agreed on between them ; at which all the fea-
men being got together, they cried out, ©ne and
ALL, One and ALL !
My nephew, the captain, was a man of fpirit, and
of great prefence of mind, and though he .was fur-
prifed, you may be fure, at the thing, yet he told
them calmly he would confider of the matter ; but
that he could do nothing in it till he had fpoken to
me about it : he ufed foj^ ^Yguments with them, to
Ihew them the unreafonablenefs and injuftice of the
thing ; but it was all in vain ; they fwore, and fliook
hands round, before his face, that they would go all
on fhore, unlefs he would engage to them not to fufFer
me to come on board the fhip.
This was an hard article upon him, who knew his
obligation to me, and did not know how I might
take it ; fo he began to talk cavalierly to them j
told them that I was a very confiderable owner of the
fhip, and that in juftice he could not put me out of
my own houfe ; that this was next door to ferving
me as the famous pirate Kid had done, who made
the mutiny in the Ihip, fet the captain on fhore in an
uninhabited ifland, and ran away with the fhip ; that
let them go into what fhip they would, if ever they
came' to England zgdin^ it would coft them dear; that
the fhip was mine, and that he would not put me out
of it ; and that he would rather lofe the fhip, and
the voyage too, than difoblige me fo much ; fo they
might do as they pleafed. However, he would go on
ihore, and talk with me there ; and invited the boat.
fwain to go with hirn, and perhaps they might ac-
commodate the matter with me.
2 But
240 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
But they all rejefted the propofal j and faid, they
would have nothing to do with me any more, neither
onboard, or on Ihore ; and if I came on board, they
would go on fhore. Well, faid the captain, if you
are all of this mind, let me go on fhore, and talk with
him : fo away he came to me with this account, a
little after the meffage had been brought to me from
the cockfwain.
I was very glad to fee my nephew, I muft confefs ;
for I was not without apprehenfions that they would
confine him by violence, fet fail, and run away with
the fliip ; and then I had been ftript naked, in a remote
country, and nothing to help myfelf : in fhort, I had
been in a worfe cafe than when I was all alone in the
ifland.
But they had not come to that length, it feems, to
my great fatisfaftion ; and when my nephew told me
what they had faid to him, and how they had fwom,
and fhook hands, that they would one and all leave
the fhip, if I was fuffered to come on board, I told
him, he fhould not be concerned at it at all, for I
would flay on fhore : I only defired he would take
care and fend me all my neceffary things on fhore,
and leave me a fufEcient fum of money, and I would
find my way to England as well as I could.
This was a heavy piece of news to my nephew ; but
there was no way to help it^ but to comply with it.
So in fhort, he went on board the fhip again, and fa-
tisfied the men, that his uncle had yielded to their
importunity, and had fent for his goods from on
board the fliip. So the matter was over in a very few
hours : the men returned to their duty, and I begun
to confider what courfe I fliould fleer.
I was
0^ ROBINSON CRUSOE. 24 1
I was now alone in the remoteft part of the world^
as I think I may call it ; for I was near three thou-
fand leagues, by fea, farther off from England than
I was at my ifland ; only, it is true, I might travel
here by land, over the Great Mogul^s country to
Suraty might go from thence to Baflbra by fea, up
the gulph of Perjia^ and from thence might take the
way of the caravans, over the deferts of Arabia to
Aleppo and Scanderoon ; and from thence by fea again
to Italy ^ and fo over land into France ; and this, put
together, might be, at leaft, a full diameter of the
globe ; but, if it were to be meafured, I fuppofe it
would appear to be a great deal more.
I had another way before me, which was to wait
for fome Englijh fhips, which were coming to Bengal^
from Achin^ on the ifland of Sumatra^ and get paf-
fage on board them for England : but as I came
hither without any concern with the Englijh Eaji-
India Company, fo it would be difBcult to go from
hence without their licence, unlefs with great favour
of the captains of the fhips, or of the company's fac-
tors J and to both I was an utter ftranger.
Here I had the particular pleafiire, fpeaking by
contrarieties, to fee the fhip fet fail without me ; a
treatment, I think, a man in my circumftances fcarce
ever met with, except from pirates running away with
a fhip, and fetting thofe that would not agree with
their villainy on fhore : indeed, this was the next
door to it, both ways. However, my nephew left
me two fervants, or rather, one companion, and one
fervant : the firft was clerk to the purfer, whom he
engaged to go with me j and the other was his own
fervant. I took me alfo a good lodging in the houfe
Vol. II. R of
242 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
of an Englijh woman, where feveral merchants lodged,
fome French^ two Italians^ or rather "Jews^ and one
EngUj}oman. Here I was handfomely enough enter-
tained ; and, that I might not be faid to run raflily
upon any thing, I ftayed here above nine months,
confidering what courfe to take, and how to manage
myfelf. I had fome Englijb goods with me of value,
and a confiderable fum of money ; my nephew fur-
nifhing me with a thoufand pieces of eight, and a
letter of credit for more, if I had occafion, that I
might not be ftraitened, whatever might happen.
I quickly difpofed of my goods, and to advan-
tage too ; and, as I originally intended, I bought
here fome very good diamonds, which, of all other
things, was the moft proper for me, in my circum-
ftances, becaufe I might always carry my whole eftate
about me.
After a long ftay here, and many propofals- made
for my return to England^ but none falling to my
niind, the Englijh merchant, who lodged with me,
and with whom I had contradled an intimate ac-
quaintance, came to me one morning : Country-
man, fays he, I have a projed to communicate to you,
which, as it fuits with my thoughts, may, for aught
I know, fuit with your's alfo, when you fhall have
thoroughly confidered it.
Here we are pofted, fays he, you by accident, and
I by my own choice, in a part of the world very re-
mote from our own country ; but it is in a country
where, by us who underftand trade and bufmefs, a
great deal of money is to be got: if you will put a
thoufand pounds to my thoufand pounds, we will
hire a fliip here, the firft we can get to our minds,
you
OF ROBINSOl^ CRUSOE^ 243
you- fhall be captain. Til be merchant, and we
will go a trading voyage to China : for what fhould
we fland ftill for ? . The whole world is in motion,
rolling round and round ; all the creatures of God^
heavenly bodies and earthly, are bufy and dili.
gent : why fhould we be idle ? There are no drones,
fays he, living in the world but men : why fhould
we be of that number ?
I liked this propofal very well ; and the more, be-
caufe it feemed to be expreffed with fo much good
will, and in fo friendly a manner. I will not fay,
but that I might, by my loofe and unhinged cir-
cumftances, be the fitter to embrace a propofal for
trade, and, indeed, for any thing elfe ; or other-
wife, trade was none of my element : however, I
might, perhaps, fay, with fome truth, that if trade
was not my element, rambling was ; and no propo-
fal for feeing any part of the world, which I had
never feen before, could poflibly come amifs to
me.
It was, however, fome time before we could get a
Ihip to our mind ; and when we got a veffel, it was
not eafy to get Englijh failors ; that is to fay, fo many
as were neceffary to govern the voyage, and manage
the failors which we fhould pick up there. After
fome time we got a mate, a boatfwain, and a gunner,
Englijh ; a Dutch carpenter, and three Portuguefe^
foremaft men ; with thefe, we found we could do
well enough, having Indian feamen, fuch as they are,
to make up.
There are fo many travellers who have written the
hiflory of their voyages and travels this way, that it
would be but very little diverfion to any body, to
R 2 give
244 ^IFE AND ADVENTURE3
give a long account of the places we went to, and the
people v^ho inhabit there : thofe things I leave to
others, and refer the reader to thofe journals and
travels of Englijhmen^ many of which, I find, are
publifhed, and more promifed every day. It is
enough for me to tell you, that we made the voyage
to AchiUj in the ifland of Sumatra^ firft ; and from
thence to Siam^ where we e;^changed fome of our
wares for opium, and for fome arrack ; the firft, a
commodity which bears a great price among the
Chinefe^ and which, at that time, was very much
wanted there : in a word, we went up to Sujham ;
made a very great voyage ; were eight months out ;
and returned to Bengal : and I was very well fatisfied
with, my adventure. I obferve, that our people in
England^ often admire how the officers, which the
Company fend into India, and the merchants which
generally flay there, get fuch very good eftates as
they do, and fometimes come home worth fixty,
feventy, and an hundred thoufand pounds at a
time.
But it is no wonder, or, at leafl, we fhall fee fo
much farther into it, when we confider the innume-
rable ports and places where they have a free com-
merce, that it will then be no wonder ; and much lefs
will it be fo, when we confider, that all thofe places and
ports where the Englijh (hips come, there is fo much,
and fuch conftant demand for the growth of all other
countries, that there is a certain vent for the re-
turn, as well as a market abroad for the goods car-
ried out.
In Ihort, we made a very good voyage, and I got
fo much money by the firft adventure, and fuch an
infight
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 245
infight Into the method of getting more, that, had I
been twenty years younger, I fhould have beea
tempted to have flayed here, and fought no farther
for making my fortune : but what was all this to a
man on the wrong fide of threefcore, that was rich
enough, and came abroad more in obedience to a
reftlefs delire of feeing the world, than a covetous
defire of getting in it ? And, indeed, I think, it is
with great juftice that I now call it a reftlefs defire ;
for it was fo : when I was at home, I was reftlefs to
go abroad ; and now I was abroad, I was reftlefs to
be at home. I fay, what was this gain to me ? I
was rich enough already ; nor had I any uneafy de-
fires about getting more money ; and therefore, the
profits of the voyage to me, were things of no great
force to me, for the prompting me forward to far-
ther undertakings : hence I thought, that by this
voyage I had made no progrefs at all ; becaufe I was
come back, as I might call it, to the place from
whence I came, as to an home ; whereas my eye,
which, like that which Solomon fpeaks of, was
never fatisfied with feeing, was ftill more defirous of
•wandering and feeing. I was come into a part of the
world which I never was in before ; and that part in
particular, which I had heard much of; and was
refolved to fee as much of it as I could ; and then I
thought, I might fay, I had feen all the world that
was worjh feeing.
But my fellow-traveller and I had different notions :
I do not name this to infift upon my own, for I ac-
knowledge his was moft juft, and the moft fuited to
the end of a naerchant's life > who,, when he is
R 3 abroad
246 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
abroad upon adventures, it is his wifdom to flick to
that, as the bed thing for him^ which he is like to
get the moft money by. My new friend kept himfelf
to the nature of the thing, and would have been con-
tent to have gone, like a carrier's horfe, always to
the fame inn, backward and forward, provided he
could, as he called it, find his account in it : on the
other hand, mine, as old as I was, was the notion of
a mad rambling boy, that never cares to fee a thing
twice over.
But this was not all : I had a kind of impatience
upon me to be nearer home, and yet the moft un-
fettled refolution imaginable, which way to go. In
the interval of thefe confultations, my friend, who
was always upon the fearch for bufinefs, propofed
another voyage to me, viz. among the Spice Iflands ;
and to bring home a load of cloves from the Manillasy
or thereabouts ; places where, indeed, the Dutch do
trade, but the iflands belong partly to the Spaniards ;
though we went not fo far, but to fome other, where
they have not the whole power as they have at Bata*
via, Ceylon, &c. We were not long in preparing for
this voyage ; the chief difficulty was in bringing me
to come into it ; however, at laft, nothing clfe offering,
and finding that really ftirring about and trading, the
profit being fo great, and, as I may fay, certain,
had more pleafure in it, and more fatisfaftion to the
mind, than fitting ftill ; which, to me efpecially,
was the unhappieft part of life, I refolved on this
voyage too : which we made very fuccefsfully, touch-
ing at Borneo, and feveral iflands, whofe names I do
not remember, and came home in about five months.
We fold our fpice, which was chiefly cloves, and
4 fome
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 247
fome nutmegs, to the Perjian merchants, who car-
ried them away for the Gulph ; and, making near five
of one, we really got a great deal of money.
My friend, when we made up this account, fmiled
at me : Well now, faid he, with a fort of an agreeable
infult upon my indolent temper, is not this better
than walking about here, like a man of nothing to
do, and fpending our time in flaring at the nonfenfe
and ignorance of the Pagans ? Why truly, faid I,
my friend, I think it is ; and I begin to be a convert
to the principles of merchandizing. But I muft tell
you, faid I, by the way, you do not know what I
am doing ; for if once I conquer my backwardnefs,
and embark heartily, as old as I am, I fliall harrafs
you up and down the world till I tire you j for
I fhall purfue it fo eagerly, I fliall never let you
lieftill.
But to be fliort with my fpeculations : a little while
after tliis, there came in a Dutch fhip from Batavia ;
fhe was a coafler, not an European trader, and of
about two hundred tons burden : the men, as they
pretended, having been fo fickly, that the captain
had not men enough to go to fea with, he lay by at
Bengal ; and, as if having got money enough, or
being willing, for other reafons, to go for Europe^
he gave public notice, that he would fell his fliip :
this came to my ears before my new partner heard of
it ; ftnd I had a great mind to buy it. So I went
home to him, and told him of it : he confidered
awhile, for he was no rafh man neither ; but mufmg
fome time, he replied. She is a little too big j but,
however, we will have her. Accordingly we bought
thefliipi and, agreeing with the mafler, we paid
R 4 for
248 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
for her, and took poffeflion ; when we had done fo,
we refolved J:o entertain the men, if we could, to
join them with thofe we had, for the purfuing our
bufmefs ; but on a fudden, they not having received
their wages, but their fhare of the money, as we af-
terwards learnt, not one of them was to be found.
We enquired much about them, and at length were
told, that they were all gone together, by land, to
jigra, the great city of the MoguFs refidence ; and
from thence were to travel to Surat^ and fo by fea to
the gulph of Perjia.
Nothing had fo heartily troubled me a good while,
as that I miffed the opportunity of going with them ;
for fuch a ramble, I thought, and in fuch company
as would both have guarded me, and diverted me,
would have fuited mightily with my great defign ;
and I fliould both have feen the world, and gone
homewards too ; but I was much better fatisfied a
few days after, when I came to know what fort of
fellows they were ; for, in Ihort, their hiftory was,
that this man they called captain was the gunner only,
not the commander ; that they had been a trading
voyage, in which they Were attacked on fliore by
fome of the Malaccans^ who had killed the captain
and three of his men \ and that after the captain
was killed, thefe men, eleven in number, had re-
folved to run away with the (hip, which they did ;
and had brought her in at the bay of Bengal^ leav-
ing the mate and five men more on fhore ; of whom
w^e fhall hear farther.
' Well ; let them come by the (hip how they would,
we Came honeftly by her, as we thought ; though
we did not, I confefs, examine into things fo ex-
aaiy
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 249
aSly as we ought ; for we never enquired any-
thing of the feamen, who, if we had examined,
would certainly have faultered in their accounts,
contradidted one another, and perhaps have contra-
diQ:ed * themfelves ; or, one how or other, we
fliould have feen reafon to have fufpefted them : but
the man fhewed us a bill of fale for the fhip, to one
Emanuel Clojlerjhoven, or fonie fuch name (for I fup-
pofe it was all a forgery) and called himfelf by that
name j and we could not contradift him ; and being
withal a little too unwary, or at leaft, having no
fufpicion of the thing, we went through with our
bargain.
However we picked up fome Englijh feamen here
after this, and fome Dutch' ; and we now refolved
for a fecond voyage to the fouth-eaft, for cloves, &c«
that is to fay, among the Philippine and Malacca
ifles ; and, in fliort, not to fill this part of my ftory
with trifles, when what is yet to come is fo remark-
able, I fpent, from firfl to laft, fix years in this coun-
try, trading from port to port, backward and for-
ward, and with very good fuccefs ; and was
now the laft year with my partner, going in the
(hip above-mentioned, on a voyage to China; but
defigning firft to go to Siam^ to buy rice.
In. this voyage, being by contrary winds obliged
to beat up and down a great while in the ftraits of
Malacca^ and among the iflands, we were no fooner
got clear of thofe difficult feas, but we found our
fhip had fprung a leak, and we were not able, by all
our induftry, to find out where it was. This forced
us to make for fome port ; and, my partner, who
knew the country better than I did, direded the
captain to put into the river of Cambodia ; for I
had
2SO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
had made the Englijh mate, one Mr. Thompfon^ cap-
tain, not being willing to take the charge of the
Ihip upon myfelf : This river lies on the north fide
of the great bay or gulph, which goes up to Siam.
While we were here, and going often on Ihore
for refrelhment, there comes to me one day an £«^-
lijhman^ and he was, it feems, a gunner's mate on
board an Englijh Eaji India ftiip, which rode in the
fame river^ up at, or near the city of Cdimbodia:
what brought him hither we knew not ; but he comes
up to me, and, fpeaking Englijh^ Sir, fa^^^-li^ you
are a ftranger to me, and I to you ; but I hav^
fomething to tell you, that very nearly concerns
you.
I looked ftedfaftly at him a good while, and he
thought at firft I had known him, but I did not : If
it very nearly concerns me, faid I, and not your-
felf, what moves you to tell it me ? I am moved,
fays he, by the imminent danger you are in ; and for
aught I fee, you have no loiowledge of it. I know
no danger I am in, faid I, but that my fhip is leaky,
and I cannot find it out ; but I propofe to lay her
aground to-morrow, to fee if I can find it. But, Sir,
fays he, leaky or not leaky, find it or not find it,
you will be wifer than to lay your fhip on fhore
to-morrow, when you hear what I have to fay to you :
Do you know, Sir, faid he, the town of Cambodia
lies about fifteen leagues up this river ? And there
are two large Englijh (hips about five leagues on this
fide, and three Dutch. Well faid I, and what is
that to me ? Why, Sir, fays he, is it for a man that
is upon fuch adventures as you are, to come into a
port, and not examine firft what (hips there are there,
and
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 2^1
and whether he is able to deal with them ? I fuppofe
you do not think you are a match for them ? I was
amufed very much at his difcourfe, but riot amazed
at it; for I could not conceive what he meant ; and
I turned fliort upon him, and faid, Sir, I wifh you
,would explain yourfelf ; 1 cannot imagine what rea-
fon I have to be afraid of any of the Company's
fhips, or Dutch Ihips ; I am no interloper ; what can
they have to fay to me ?
He looked like a man half angry, half pleafed ;
and, paufmg awhile, but fmiling, Well, Sir, fays
he, if you think yourfelf fecure, you muft take your
chance ; I am forry your fate fhould blind you againft
good advice ; but afTure yourfelf, if you do not put
to fea immediately, you will the very next tide bo
attacked by five long-boats full of men ; and, per-
haps if you are taken, you will be hanged for a pi-
rate, and the particulars be examined into after-
wards : I thought. Sir, added he, I fhould have
met with a better reception than this, for doing you
a piece of fervice of fuch importance. I can never
be ungrateful, faid I, for any fervice, or to any man
that offers me any kindnefs ; but it is pad my com-
prehenfion, faid I, what they fhould have fuch a de-
iign upon me for : However, fince you fay there is
no time to be lofl, and that there is fome villainous
defign in hand againfl me, I will go on board this
minute, and put to fea immediately, if my men can
flop the' leak, or if we can fwim without flopping it:
But, Sir, faid I, fhall I go away ignorant of the rea-
fon of all this ? Can you give me no farther light
into it?
I can
ft5* I-IFE AND ADVENTURES
I can tell you but part of the ftory, Sir, fays he ; but
I have a Dutch feaman here with me, and, I believe,
I could perfuade him to tell you the reft ; but there
is fcarce time for it : But the fliort of the ftory is
this, the firft part of which, I fuppofe, you know
well enough, viz. That you were with this fhip at Sa-
matra ; that there your captain was murdered by
the Malaccans^ with three of his men ; and that
you, or fome of thofe that were on board with you, ran
away with the fhip, and are fince turned PIRATES.
This is the fum of the ftory, and you will all be feized
as pirates, I can aflure you, and executed vsath very
Kttle ceremony ; for you know merchant fliips fliew
but little law to pirates, if they get them iu their
powet.
Now you fpeak plain Englijh^ faid I^ and I thank
you ; and though I know nothing that we have done,
like what you talk of, but I am fure we came honeft*
ly and fairly by the fhip ; yet feeing fuch work is a
doing, as you fay, and that you feem to mean ho-
neftly, I will be upon my guard. Nay, Sir, fays
he, do not talk of being upon your guard ; the beft
defence is to be out of the danger ; if you have any
regard to your life, and the lives of all your men,
put out to fea without fail at high- water j and as
you have a whole tide before you, you will be gone
too far out before they can come down ; for they will
come away at high water ; and as they have twenty
miles to come, you'll get near two hours of them
by the difference of the tide, not reckoning the length
of the way : Befides, as they are only boats, and
not fhips, they will not venture to follow you far out
to fea, efpecially if it blows.
Well,
OF ROfilNSON CRUSOE, 253
■ Well, faid I, you have been very kind in this *
What Ihall I do for you to make you amends ? Sir^
fays he, you may not be fo wiUing to make me
amends, becaufe you may not be convinced of the
truth of it : I will make an offer to you ; I have
nineteen months pay due to me on board the fliip
, which I came out of England in ; and the
Dutchman^ that is with me, has feven months pay
due to him ; if you will make good our^pay to us,
we will go along with you : If you find nothing
more in it, we will defire no more ; but if we do
convince you, that we have faved your life, and the
fhip, and the lives of all the men in her, we will leave
the reft to you,
I confented to this readily ; and went immediately
on board, and the two men with me. As foon as I
came to the fhip's fide, my partner, who was on
board, came on the quarter-deck, and called to me
with a great deal of joy, O ho! O ho! we have
ftopped the leak ! Say you fo, faid I, thank God ;
but weigh the anchor then immediately : Weigh !
fays he, what do you mean by that ? What is the
matter ? fays he. Afk no queftions, faid I, but all
hands to work, and weigh without lofing a minute.
He was furprifed : But, however, he called the cap-
tain, and he immediately ordered the anchor to be
got up ; and though the tide was not quite done, yet
a little land-breeze blowing, we fliood out to fea ;
then I called him Into the cabin, and told him the
ftory at large ; and we called in the men, and they
told us the reft of it : but as . it took us up a great
deal of time, fo before » we had done, a feaman
comes to the cabin-door, and calls out to us, that
the
I
254 ^IP2 -^ND ApVENTURES
the captain bade him tell us, we were chafed :
Chafed, faid I, by whom, and by What ? By five
floops, or boats, faid the fellow, full of men. Very
well, faid I ; then it is apparent there is fomething
in it. In the next place, I ordered all our men to
be called up : and told them, that there was a de-
fign to feize the Ihip, and to take us for pirates ;
and afked them, if they would ftand by us, and by
one another ? The men anfwered, chearfuUy, one
and all, that they would live and die with us. Then •
I afked the captain, what way he thought befl for
us to manage a fight with them : For refift them I
refolved we would, and that to the lafl drop. He
faid, readily, that the way was to keep them off"
with our great fhot, as long as we could, and then
to fire at -them with our fmall arms, to keep them
from boarding us ; but when neither of thefe would
do any longer, we fhould retire to our clofe quar-
ters ; perhaps they had not materials to break open
our bulk-heads, or get in upon us.
The gunner had, in the mean time, orders to bring
two guns to bear fore and aft, out.of thefleerage, to
clear the deck, and load them with mufquet-bullets,
and fmall pieces of old iron, and what next came to
hand ; and thus we made ready for fight ; but all
this while kept out to fea, with wind enough, and
could fee the boats at a diftance, being five large
long-boats following us, with all the fail they could
make.
Two of thefe boats, which, by out glaffes, we
could fee were Englijh^ had out-failed the reft, were
near two leagues a-head of them, and gained upon
us confiderably J lo that we found they would come
up
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. CL^^
up with US : upon which we fired a gun without a
Ihot, to intimate that they fhould bring to ; and we
put out a flag of truce, as a fignal for palley ; but
they kept crowding after us, till they came within
fhot : upon this we took in our white flag, they
having made no anfwer to it, hung out the red flag,
and fired at them with fhot : Notwithflanding this,
they came on till they were near enough to call to
them with a fpeaking trumpet, which we had on
board ; fo we called to them, and bade them keep
off at their peril.
It was all one, they crowded after us, and en-
deavoured to come under" our ftern, fo to board us
on our quarter : Upon which, feeing they were re-
folute for mifchief, and depended upon the flrength
that followed them, I ordered to bring the fliip to,
fo that they lay upon our broadfide, when immedi-
ately we fired five guns at them ; one of them had
been levelled fo true, as to carry away the ftern of
the hindermoft boat, and bring them to the neceflity
of taking down their fail, and running all to the
head of the boat to keep herf from finking ; fo fhe
lay by, and had enough of it ; but feeing the fore-
moft boat ftill crowd on after us, we made ready to
fire at her in particular.
While this was doing, one of the three boats that
was behind, being forwarder than the other two,
made up to the boat which we had difabled, to re-
lieve her, and we could afterwards fee her take out
the men : we called again to the foremoft boat, and
offered a truce to parley again, and to know what
was her bufinefs with us ; but had no anfwer : only
Ihe crowded clofe under our ftern. Upon this our
gunner
^56 I^IFE AND ADVENTURES
gunner, who was a very dexterous fellow, run oof
his two chace guns, and fired at her ; but the fhot
miffing, the men in the boat fhouted, waved their
caps, and came on ; but the gunner, getting quickly
ready again, fired among them a fecond time ; one
fliot of which, though it miffed the boat itfelf, yet
fell in among the men, and we could eafily fee had
done a great deal of mifchief among them ; but we,
taking no notice of that, weared the fhip again, and
brought our quarter to bear upon them ; and, firing
three guns more, we found the boat was fplit almoft
to pieces ; in particular, her rudder, and a piece of
her ftern, were {hot quite away ; fo they handed
their fail immediately, and were in great diforder :
but, to compleat their misfortune, our gunner let
fly two guns at them again ; where he hit them we
could not tell, but we found the boat was finking,
and fome of the men already in the water : —
Upon this I immediately manned out our pinnace,
which we had kept clofe by our fide, with orders to
pick up fome of the men, if they could, and fave
them from drowning, and imediately to come on
board with them ; becaufe we faw the reft of the
boats began to come up. Our men in the pinnace
followed their orders, and took up three men ; one
of which was juft drowning, and it was a good while
before we could recover him. As foon as they were
on board, we crowded all the fail we could make,
and ftood farther out to fea ; and we found, that
when the other three boats came up to the firft two,
they gave over their chace^
Being
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. • 257
Being thus ddivered from a danger, which tho'
I knew not the reafon of it, yet feemed to be much
greater than I apprehended, I took care that we fhould
change our courfe, and not let any one imagine whi-
ther we were going ; fo we flood out to lea eaftward,
quite out of the courfe of all European fhips, whe-
ther they were bound to China^ or any where elfe,
within the commerce of the European nations.
When we were now at fea, we began to confult
with the two feamen, and enquire firft, what the
meaning of all this fliould be ? The Dutchman let us
into the fecret of it at once; telling us, that the fel-
low that fold us the ftiip, as we faid, was no more
than a thief that had run away with her. Then he
told us how the captain, whofe name too he men-
tioned, though I do not remember it now, was
treacheroufly murdered by the natives on the coaft of
Malacca^ with three of his men ; and that he, this
Dutchman^ and four more, got into the woods, where
they wandered about a great while ; till at length,^he,
in particular, in a miraculous manner, made his
efcape, and fwam off to a Dutch (hip, which failing
near the fhore, in its wdLj {torn China, had fent their
boat on fliore for frefh water; that he durft not
come to that part of the (hore where the boat was,
but made (hift in the night to take in the water
farther off, and fwimming a great while, at laft the
ftip's boat took him up.
He then told us^ that he went to Batavia, where
two of the feamen belonging to thefhip had arrived,
having deferted the reft in their travels ; and gave
an account, that the fellow who had run away with
the fliip, fold her at Bengal to a fet of pirates, which
Vol. II. S were
258 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
were gone a cruifing in her ; and that they had al-
ready taken an Englijh Ihip, and two Dutch (hips,
very richly laden.
This latter part we found to concern us direftly ;
and though we knew it to be falfe, yet, as my part-
ner faid very well, if we had fallen into their hands,
and they had fuch a prepoffeflion againfl us before-
hand, it had been in vain for us to have defended
ourfelves, or to hope for any good quarters at their
hands ; efpecially confidering that our accufers had
been our judges, and that we could have expefted
nothing from them but what rage would have dic-
tated, and ungoverned paflion have executed ; and
therefore it was his opinion, we fhould go direftly
back to Bengal^ from whence we came, without put-
ting in at any port whatever ; becaufe there we could
give an account of ourfelves, and could prove where
we were when the (hip put in, whom we beught her
of, and the like ; and, which was more than all the
Teft, if we were put to the necefTity of bringing it
before the proper judges, we (hould be fure to have
fome juftice ; and not be hanged (irft, and judged
afterwards.
I was fome time of my partner^s opinion; but
after a little more ferious thinking, I told him, I
thought it was a very great hazard for us to attempt
returning to Bengal^ for that we were on the wrong
fide of the (traits of Malacca; and that if the
alarm was given, we (hould be fure to be way-laid on
every fide, as well by the Dutch of Batavia^ as the
Englijh elfewhere ; that if we (hould be taken, as it
were, running away, we (hould even condemn our-
felves, and there would want no more evidence to
deftroy
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 259
deftroy us. I alfo afted the Englijh failor's opinion,
who faid, he was of my mind, and that we fliould
certainly be taken.
This danger a little ftartled my partner, and all
the fhip's company ; and we immediately refolved to
go away to the coaft of Tonquirij and fo on to China ;
and from thence purfuing the firft defign, as to trade,
find fome way or other to difpofe of the fhip, and
come back in fome of the veflels of the country,
fuch as we could get. This was approved of as the
beft method for our fecurity ; and accordingly we
(leered away N. N. E. keeping above fifty leagues off
from the ufual courfe to the eaftward.
. This, however, put us to fome inconveniencies ;
for firft the 'winds, when we came to that diftance
from the fhore, feemed to be more fteadily againft
us, blowing almoft trade, as we call it, from the eaft
^nd E. N. E. fo that we were a long while upon our
voyage ; arid we Were but ill provided with viduals
for fo long a run ; and, which was ftill worfe, there
was fome danger, that thofe Englijh and Dutch fhips,
whofe boats purfued us, whereof fome were bound
that way, might be got in before us ; and if not,
fome other fhip, bound to China^ might have infor-
mation of us from them, and purfue us with the
fame vigour.
I muft confefs, I was now very uneafy, and thought
myfelf, including the late efcape from the long-boats,
to have been in the moft dangerous condition that
ever I was in through all my paft life ; for, whatever
-illcircumftances I had been in, I was never purfued
for a thief before ; nor had I ever done any thing
S 2 that
fl6o LIFE AND ADVENTURES
that merited the name of diflionefl: or fraudulent,
much lefs thievifli. I had chiefly been mine own
enemy ; or, as I may rightly fay, I had been no-
body's enemy but my own. But now I was embar-
rafled in the worfl: condition imaginable ; for though
I wasperfedly innocent, I was in no condition to
make t^ innocence appear. And if I had been
taken, it had been under a fuppofed guilt of the
word kind ; at leaft, a crime efteemed fo among the
people I had to do with.
This made me very amdous to make an efcape,
though which way to do it, I knew not j or what
port or place we Ihould go to. My partner, feeing
me thus dejefted, though he was the moft con-
cerned at firft, began to encourage me; and de-
fcribing to me the feveral ports of that coaft, told
me, he would put in on the coaft of Cochinchina^ or
the bay of Tonquin ; intending to go afterwards to
Macao^ a town once in the poffeflion of the PortU"
guefe^ and where ftill a great many European families
refided, and particularly the miflionary prieft ufually
went thither, in order to their going forward to
China.
Hither we then refolved to go ; and accordingly,
though after a tedious and irregular courfe, and very
miich ftraitened for provifions, we came within light
of the coaft very early in the morning j and, upon
refledion upon the paft circumftances we were in,
and the danger, if we had not efcaped, we refolved
to put into afmall river, which, however, had depth
enough of water for us, and to fee if we could, ei-
ther over land or by the ilaip's pinnace, come to
I know
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 26 1
know what (hips were in any port thereabouts. This
happy ftep was, indeed, our deliverance; for tho*
we did not immediately fee any European Ihips in the
bay of Tonquirij yet, the next morning, there came
into the bay two Dutch fhips, and a third without
any colours fpread out, but which we believed to be
a Dutchman^ paffed by at about two leagues diftance,
fleering for the coaft of China ; and in the after-
noon went by two Englijh Ihips, fleering the fame
courfe ; and thus, we thought, we faw ourfelves
befet with enemies, both one way and the other.
The place we were in was wild and barbarous, the
people thieves, even by occupation or profeffioh;
and though, it is true, we had not much to feek of
them, and except getting a few provifions, cared not
how little we had to do with them ; yet it was with
much difficulty that we kept ourfelves from being iii-
fulted by them feveral ways.
We were in a fmall river of this country, within
a few leagues of its utmoft limits northward ; and by
our boat we coafted north-eaft to the point of land
which opens to the great bay of Tonquln ; and it
was in this beating up along the fliore, that we dif-
covered as above, that in a word, we were furrounded
with enemies. The people we were among were
the moft barbarous of all the inhabitants of the
coaft ; having no correfpondence with any other na-
tion, and dealing only in fifh and oil, and fuch grofs
commodities ; and it may be particularly feen, that
they are, as 1 faid, the moft barbarous of any of
the inhabitants, viz. that among other cuftoms they
have this one, that if any veffel had the misfortune
S3 to
262 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
to be fhipwrecked upon their coaft, they prcfently
make the men all prifoners ; that is to fay, flaves ;
land it was not long before we found a fpice of their
kindnefs this way, on the occafion following :
I have obferved above, that our fhip fprung a
leak at fea, and that we could not find it out ; and
however it happened, that, as I have faid, it was
flopped unexpededly, in the happy minute of our
being to be feized by the Dutch and EngHJh (hips,
near the bay of Siam ; yet, as we did not find the
Ihip fo perfedly tight and found as we defired, we
refolved, while we were in this place, to lay her
on fhore, take out what heavy things we had on
board, which were not many, and to wafli and clean
her bottom ; and if poflible, to find out where the
leaks were.
Accordingly, having lightened the fliip, and brought
all our guns, and other moveable things, to one
fide, we tried to bring her down, that we might
come at her bottom ; for, on fecond thoughts, we
did not care to lay her dry a-ground, neither could
we find out a proper place for it.
The inhabitants, who had never been acquainted
with fuch a fight, came wondering down to the
Ihore to look at us ; and feeing the fhip lie down on
one fide in fuch a manner, and heeling towards the
fliore, and not feeing our men, who were at work
on her bottom, with flages, and with their boats on
the oflf fide, they prefently concluded that the fhip
was caft away, and lay fo very faft on the ground.
On this fuppofition they came all about us in two
or three hours time, with ten or twelve large boats,
4 having
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 26^
having fome of them eight, fome ten men in a boat,
intending, no doubt, to have come on board and
plundered the Ihip ; and if they had found us there,
to have carried us away for flaves to their king, or
whatever they call him, for we knew not who was
their governor.
When they came up to the fhip, and began to row
round her, they difcovered us all hard at word, on
the outfide of the fhip*s bottom and fide, waftiing
and graving, and flopping, as every feafaring man
knows how.
They ftood for a while gazing at us, and we, who
were a little furprized, could not imagine what their
defign was ; but, being willing to be fure, we took
this opportunity to get fome of us into the fhip, and
others to hand down arms and ammunition, to thofe
that were at work to defend themfelves with, if there
fhould be occafion ; and it was no more than need ;
for, in lefs than a. quarter of an hour's confultation,
they agreed, it feems, that the fhip was really a
wreck ; that we were all at work, endeavouring to
fave her, or to fave our lives by the help of our
boats ; and when we handed our arms into the boats,
they concluded, by that motion, that we^ere endea-
vouring to fave fome of our goods. Upon this they
took it for granted they all belonged to them ;
and away they came diredly upon our men, as if it
had been in aline of battle.
Our men, fipeing fo many of them, began to be
frighted ; for we lay but in an ill poflure to fight, and
cried out to us to know what they fhould do ? I im-
mediately called to the men who worked upon the
S 4 flages,
264 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
ftages, to flip them down, and get up the fide into
the Ihip ; and bade thofe in the boat to row round
and come on board : and thofe few of us who were
on board, worked with all the flrength and hands
we had, to bring the fhip to rights ; but however,
* neithqr the men upon the ftage, nor thofe in the
boats, could do as they were ordered, before the
Cochinchinefe were upon them j and, with two of
their boats boarded our long-boat, and began to lay-
hold of the men as their prifoners.
The firft man they laid hold of was an Englijh
feaman, a ftout ftrong fellow, who having a muf-
quet in his hand, never offered to fire it, but laid it
down in the boat, like a fool, as I thought. But he
underftood his bufmefs better than I could teach him;
for he grappled the pagan, and dragged him by main
force out of their own boat into ours ; where, tak-
ing him by the two ears, he beat his head fo againft
the boat's gunnel, that the fellow died inftantly in
his hands ; and in the mean time, a Dutchman^ who
flood next, took up the mufquet, and with the butt-
end of it, fo laid about him, that he knocked down
five of them, who attempted to enter the boat : but
this was little towards refitting thirty or forty men,
who fearlefs, becaufe ignorant of their danger, be-
gan to throw theraifelves into the long-boat, where
we had but five men to defend it: but one accident
gave our men a complete vidor)'-, which deferved
our laughter rather than any thing elfe ; and that
was this :— -
Our carpenter being prepared to grave the out-
fide of the fbip, as well as to pay the feams where
he
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 26$
he had caulked her, to flop the leaks, had got two
kettles juft let down into the boat ; one filled with
boiling pitch, and the other with rofm, tallow, and
oil, and fuch fluff as the fliipwrights ufed for that
work } and the man that tended the carpenter had
a great iron ladle in his hand, with which he fup-
plied the men that were at work with that hot fluff:
two of the enemy's men entered the boat jufl where
this fellow flood, being in the fore-fheets ; he imme-
diately faluted them with a ladleful of the fluff, boiL
ing hot, which fo burnt and fcalded them, being
half naked, that they roared out like two bulls, and
enraged with the fire, leaped both into the fca. The
carpenter faw it, and cried out. Well done, Jack^
give them fome more of it ; when flepping forward
liimfelf, he takes one of their mops, and dipping it
in the pitch pot, he and his man threw it among
them fo plentifully, that, in fhort, of all the men
in three boats, there wais not one that was not
fcalded and burnt with it in a mofl frightful pi-
tiful manner, and made fuch an howling and crying,
that I never heard a worfe noife, and, indeed, no-
thing like it : for it was worth obferving, that tho*
pain naturally makes all people cry out, yet every
nation have a particular way of exclamation, and
make noifes as different from one another as their
fpeech. I cannot give the noife thefe creatures made
a better name than howling, nor a name more pro-
per to the tone of it ; for I never heard any thing
more like the noife of the wolves, which, as I have
faid, I heard howl in the forefl on the frontiers of
Languedoc.
I was
2$6 LIFE AND ADVEKTURES
I was never pleafed with a vidory better in my life;
not only as it was a perfeft furprife to me, and that
our danger was imminent before j but as we got this
viftory without any bloodflied, except of that man
the fellow killed with his naked hands, and which I
was very much concerned at j for I was fick of killing
fuch poor favage wretches, even though it was in my
own defence, knowing they came on errands which
they thought juft, and knew no better : and that
though it may be a juft thing, becaufe neceflary, for
there is no neceffary wickednefs in nature j yet I
thought it was a fad life, when we muft be always
obliged to be killing our fellow-creatures to preferve
ourfelves ; and, indeed, Ithinkfoftill; and I would,
even now, fuffer a great deal, rather than I would
take away the life even of the worft perfon injuring
me, I believe alfo, all confidering people, who know
the value of life, would be of my opinion, if they en*
tered ferioufly into the confideration of it.
But to return to my ftory : All the while this was do-
ing, my partner and I, who managed the reft of the
men on board, had, with great dexterity, brought
the Ihip almoft to rights ; and, having gotten the guns
into their places again, the gunner called to me, to
bid our boat get out of the way, for he would let fly
among them. I called back again to him, and bid
him not offer to fire, for the carpenter would do the
work without him ; but bade him heat another pitch
kettle ; which our cook, who was on board, took
care of. But the enemy was fo terrified with what
they met with in their fir ft attack, that they would
not come on again ; and fome of them, that were
fartheft off, feeing the Ihip fwim, as it were, upright,
' began
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 567
began, as we fuppofed, to fee their miftake, and
gave over the enterprife, finding it was not as they
expeded- Thus we got clear of this merry fight 5
and, having gotten fome rice, and fome roots and
bread, with about fixteen good big hogs, on board,
two days before, we refolved to ftay here no longer,
but go forward, whatever came of it ; for we made
no doubt but we fhould be furrounded the next day
with rogues enough, perhaps more than our pitch-
kettle would difpofe of for us-
We, therefore, got all our things on board the
fame' evening, and the next morning were ready to
fail. In the mean time, lying at an anchor fome
diftance from the fliore, we were not fo much con-
cerned, being now in a fighting pofture, as well as
in a failing pofture, if any enemy had prefented. The
next day, having finifhed our work within board*
and finding our fhip was perfedly healed of all her
leaks, we fet fail : we would have gone into the bay
of Tonquirij for we wanted to inform ourfelves of what
was to be known concerning the Dutch Ihips that
had been there ; but we durft not ftand in there, be-
caufe we had feen feveral fhips go in, as we fuppofed,
but a little before ; fo vve kept on N. E.^ towards the
ifle of Formofa^ as much afraid of being feen by a
Dutch or Englifh merchant Ihip, as a Dutch or EngUjh
merchant fhip in the Mediterranean is of an Algerine
man of war.
When we were thus got to fea, we kept on N. E.
as if we would go to the Manillas or the Philippine
iflands, and this we did, that we might not fall into
the way of any of the European fliips; and then we
fleered north again, till we came to the latitude
of
a68 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
of 22 deg. ao min. by which means we made the
ifland of Formofa direftly, where we came to an an-
thor, in order to get water and frefh provifions,
which the people there, who are very courteous and
dvil in their manners, fupplied us with willingly,
and dealt very feirly and punftually with, us in all
thdr agreements and bargains ; which is what we
did not find among other people ; and may be owing
to the remains of Chriftianity, which was once
planted here by a I)utch mifTionary of proteftants,
and is a teftimony of what I have often obferved, viz.
That the Chriflian religion always civilizes the peo-
ple, and reforms their manners, where it is received,
whether it works faving effefts upon them or not.
From hence we failed ftill north, keeping the coaft
of China at an equal diftance, till we knew we were
beyond all the ports of China^ where our European
fiiips ufually come ; but being refolved, if poffible,
not to fall into any of their hands, efpecially in this
country, where, as our circumftances were, we could
not fail of being entirely ruined ; nay, fo great was
my fear in particular, as to my being taken by them,
that I believe firmly I would much rather have chofen
to fall into the hands of the Spanijh inquifition.
Being now come to the latitude of 30 degrees, we
refolved to put into the firft trading port we fliould
come at ; and (landing in for the fhore, a boat came
oflF two leagues to us, with an old Portuguefe pilot on
board, who, knowing us to be an European fhip,
came to offer his fervice, which, indeed, we were
very glad of, and took him on board j upon which,
without afking us whither we would go, he difmiifed
the boat he came in, and fent it back.
I thought
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. a6g
I thought it was now fo much in our choice to make
the old man carry us whither we would, that I began
to talk with him about carrying us to the Gulp/j of
Nanquirij which is the moft northern part of the
coaft of China. The old man faid he knew the
Gulpb of Nanquin very well j but fmiling, afked us
what we would do there ?
I told him we would fell our cargo, and purchafe
China wares, callicoes, raw filks, tea, wrought filks,
&c. and fo would return by the fame courfe we came.
He told us our beft port had been to have put in at
Mcuao^ where we could not fail of a market for our
opium, to our fatisfadion, and might, for our money,
have purchafed all forts of China goods, as cheap as
we could at Nanquin.
Not being able to put the old man out of his talk,
of which he was very opiniated, or conceited, I told
him, we were gentlemen as well as merchants ; and
that we had a mind to go and fee the great city of
Pekiny and the famous court of the monarch of
China. Why then, fays the old man, you fhould
go to NingpOy where, by the river that runs into the ,
fea there, you may go up within five leagues of the
great canal. This canal is a navigable made ftream,
which goes through the heart of all that vafl empire
of China^ crofles all the rivers, pafles fome confide-
rable hills by the help of fluices and gates, and goes
up to the city of Pekin^ being in length near 270,
leagues.
Well, faid I, Seignior Portuguefe^ but that is not
our bufinefs now : the great queftion is. If you can
carry us up to the city of Nanquin^ from whence we
can travel to Pekin afterwards? Yes, he faid, he
could
jyO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
could do fo very well, and there was a great JDtdch
fliip gone up that way juft before. This gave me a
little (hock ; a Dutch fhip was now our terror, and
we had much rather have met the devil, at leaft if he
had not come in too frightful a figure : we depended
upon it, that a Dutch fhip would be our deftruftion,
for we were in no condition to fight them ; all the
fhips they trade with in thofe parts being of great
burden, and of much greater force than we were.
The old man found me a little confiifed, and under
fome concern, when he named a Dutch fhip ; and
faid to me. Sir, you need be under no apprehenfion
of the Dutch, I fuppofe they are npt now at war with
your nation. No, faid I, that's true ; but I know
not what liberties men may take, when they are
out. of the reach of the laws of their country. Why,
faid he, you are no pirates, what need you fear ?
They will not meddle with peaceable merchants,
fure.
If I had any blood in my body that did not fly up
into my face at that word, it was hindered by fome
flop in the velTels appointed by nature to circulate it ;
for it put me into the greateft diforder and confu-
fion imaginable ; nor was it poffible for me to con-
ceal it fo, but that the old man eafily perceived it.
Sir, faid he, I find you are in fome diforder in
your thoughts at my talk : pray be pleafed to go
which way you think fit ; and depend upon it. Til
do you all the fervice I can. Why, Seignior, faid
I, it is true, I am a little unfettled in my refolution
at this time, whither to go in particular ; and I am
fomething more fo, for what you faid about pirates ;
I hope there are no pirates in thefe feas j we are but
in
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 27 1
in an ill condition to meet with them ; for yau fee we
have but ^ fmall force, and but very weakly manned.
O, Sir, f^d he, do not be concerned ; I do not
know that there have been any pirates in thefe feas
thefe fifteen years, except one, which w^s feen, as I
hear, in the bay of Siam^ about a month fince; but
you may be affured fhe is gone to the fouthward ;
nor was Ihe a Ihip of any great force, or fit for the
work : fhe was not built for a privateer, but was run
away with by a reprobate crew that were on board,
after the captain and fome of his men had been
murdered by the Malaccans^ at or near the ifland of
Sumatra.
What ! faid I, feeming to " know nothing of the
matter, did ihey murder the captain ? No, fsdd he,
I do not underfland that they murdered him ; but, as
they afterwards jran away with the fliip, it is gene-
rally believed they betrayed him into the hands of
the Malaccans^ who did murder him ; and, perhaps,
they procured them to do it. Why then, faid I,
they deferved death, as much as if they had done it
themfelves. Nay, faid the old man, they do deferve
it ; and they will certainly have it if they light upon
any EngUfh or Dutch fhip ; for they have all agreed
together, that if they meet that rogue, they will
give him no quarter.
But, faid I to him, you fay the pirate is gone out
of thefe feas ; how can they meet with him then ?
Why, that is true, faid he, they do fay fo ; but he was,
as I tell you, in the bay of Sianij in the river Cambodia^
and was difcovered there by fome Dutchmen^ who
belonged to the fhip, and who were left on fhore
when
272 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
vrhen they run away with her ; and fome Englijb
and Dutch traders being in the river, they were with-
in a little of taking him. Nay, faid he, if the fore-
mofl boats had been well feconded by the reft, they
had certainly taken him ; but he, finding only two
boats within reach of him, tacked about, and fired at
thefe two, and difabled them before the others came
up ; and then Handing off" to fea, the others were
not able to follow him, and fo he got away. But
they have all fo exa£t a defcription of the ihip, that
they will be fure to know him ; and wherever they
find him, they have vowed to give no quarter to
dther the captain or the feamen, but to hang them
all up at the yard-arm.
What! faid I, will they ex^ute them right or
wrong ; hang them firft, and judge them afterwards ?
O, Sir ! faid the old pilot, there is no need to make
a formal bufinefs of it with fuch rogues as thofe ;
let them tie them back to back, and fet them a div-
ing ; it is no more than they rightly deferve.
I knew I had my old man faft aboard, and that
he could do me no harm ; fo I turned fhort upon
hhn: Well, Seignior, faid I, and this is the very
reafon why I would have you carry us to Nanquin^
and not to put back to Macao^ or to any other part
of the country, where the Englijh or Dutch fhips
came ; for, be it known to you. Seignior, thofe cap-
tains of the Englifo and Dutch fhips, are a parcel of
rafh, proud, infolent fellows, that neither know
what belongs to juftice, or how to behave them^
felves, as the laws of God and nature direct ; but
being proud of their offices, and not underftanding
their power, they would a6t the murderers to puniffi
robbers ;
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 1273
rbbbers ; would take upon them to infult men falfe-
ly accufed, and determine them guihy without due
enquiry ; and perhaps I may live to call fome of them
to an account for it, where they may be taught how
juftice is to be executed ; and that no man ought to
be treated as a criminal till fome evidence may be
had of the crime, and that he is the man.
With this I told him, that this was the very fhip
they had attacked ; and gave him a full account of
the fkirmifh we had with their boats, and how fool-
ifhly and coward-like they had behaved. I told
him all the ftory .of bur buying the fhip, and how
the Dutchmen ferved us. I told him the reafons I
had to believe that this ftory of killing the mafter
by the Malaccans was not true ; as alfo the running
away with the fhip ; but that it was all a fidiori of
their own, to fuggeft that the men were turned pi-
i^ates ; and they ought to have been fure it was fo,
before they had ventured to attack us by furprife,
and oblige us to refift them j adding, that they
Would have the blood of thofe men, who were killed
there, in our juft defence, to anfwer for.
The old man was amazed at this relation ; and told
lis, we were very much in the right to go away to the
north ; and that if he might advife us, it fhouldbeto
fell the fhip in China^ which we might very well do>
and buy or build another in the country : and, faid
he, though you will not get fo good a fhip, yet you
may get' one able enough to carry you and all your
goods back again to Bengal^ or any where elfe.
I told him I would take his advice, when I came to
any port where I could find a fhip for my turn, or get
any cuftomer to buy this. He replied, I fhould
Vol. IL T meet
474 ^^^^ ^^^ ADVENTURES
meet with cuftomers enough for the Ihip at Nanquln,
and that a Chine/e ]\xnk would ferve mc very well to go
back again ; and that he would procure me people
both to buy one, and fell the other.
Well, but, Seignior, fays I, as you fay they know
the fliip fo well, I may, perhaps, if I follow your
meafures, be inftrumental to bring fome honeft inno-
cent men into a terrible broil, and, perhaps, be mur-
dered in cold blood ; for wherever they find the
fliip they will prove the guilt upon the men, by prov-
ing this was the fhip ; and fo innocent men may pro-
bably be overpowered and murdered. Why, faid
the old man. Til find out a way to prevent that alfo ;
for as I know all thofe commanders you fpeak of very
well, and fhall fe^ them all as they pafs by, 1 will be
fure to fet them to rights in the thing, and let them
know that they had been fo much in the wrong ; that
though the people who were on board at firft might
run .away with the fhip, yet it was not true that they
had ,|^rne4jpiratea; and that in particular thofe were
not the men that firft went off with the Ihip, but inno-
cently bought her for their trade : and I am per-
fuaded they will fo far believe me, as, at leaft, to afl:
more cautioufly for the time to come. Well, faid I,
and will you deliver one meffage to them from me ?
Yes, I will, fays he, if you will give it under your
hand, in writing, that I may be able to prove it came
from you, and not out of my own head. I anfwered,
that I would readily give it him under my hand. So
I took a pen and ink, and paper, and wrote at large
the ftory of affaulting me with the long-boats, &c.
the pretended reafon of it, and the unjuft cruel defign
of it i and concluded to the commanders, that they
had
OF ROBINSON CRUSOEi , a^J
had done what they not only fliould have been
afhamed of, but alfo, that if ever they came to
England^ and I lived to fee them there, they fliould
all pay dearly for it, if the laws of my country were
not grown out of ufe before I arrived there^
My old pilot read this over and over again, and
alked me feveral times, if I would ftand to it. I
anfwered, I would ftand to it as long as I had any
thing left in the world ; being fenfible that I fliould,
one time or other, find an opportunity to put it home
to them. But we had no occafion ever to let the
pilot carry this letter ; for he never went back again.
While thofe things were pafllng between us, by way
of difcourfe, we went forward direftly for Nanqidhj
and, in about thirteen days fail, came to anchor at
the fouth-weft point of the great gulph of Nanquin ;
where, by the way, I came by accident to under-
ftand, that the two Dutch fliips were gone that length
before me, and that I fliould certainly fall into their
hands, I confulted my partner again in Jthis co-
gency, and he was as much at a lofs as I wa|, and
would very gladly have been fafe on fliore al-
moft any where. However, I was not in fuch per-
plexity neither, but I afked the old pilot if there was
no creek, or harbour, which I might put into, and
purfue my bufiinefs with the Chinefe privately, and be
in no danger of the enemy ? He told me, if I would
fail to the fouthward about two and forty leagues,
there was a little port called ^inchang^ where the
fathers of the miflion ufually landed from Macao^ on
their progrefs to teach' the Chriftian religion to the
Chinefe^ and where no European fliips ever put in j
and, if I thought proper to put in there, I might con-
T 2 fid^r
2y6 LIFE AlfTD ADVE^rTURES
fider what farther courfe to take when I was on fkorA
He confeffed, he faid, it was not a place for mer-
chants, except that at fome certain times they had a
kind of a faii^ there, when the merchants from
Japa?! came over thither to buy the CTnnefe mer-
chandizes*
We all agreed to go back to this place : the name
6f the port, as he called it, I may, perhaps fpell
wrong ; for I do not particularly remember it, having
loft this, together with the names of many other
places fet down in a little pocket-book, which was
fpoiled by the water, on an accident which I iliall
relate in its ord^r ; but this I remember, that the
Cbinefe or Japanefe merchants we correfpond with
call it by a different name from that which our For-
tuguefe pilot gave it, and pronounced it as above,
As we were unanimous in our refolutions to go to
this place, we weighed the next day, having only
gone twice on Ihore, where we were to get frefh water;
on both which occafions the people of the comitry
were very civil to uSj and brotfght us abundanee of
things to fell to us ; I mean of provifions, plants,
roots, tea, rice, and fome fowls j but nothing with-
out money.
We came to the other port (the wind being con-
trary) not till five days j but it was very much to our
fatisfadkion ; and I was joyful, and, I may fay,
thankful, when I fet my foot fafe on fhore j refolving^
and my partner too, that if it was pojSible to difpofe
of ourfelves and effefts any other way, though not
every way to our fatisfaftion, we would never fet one
foot onboard that unhappy veffel again : and indeed,
I mull
/OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. ' 277
*1 mufl: acknowledge, that of all the circumftances of
4ife that ever I had any .experience of, nothing makes
mankind fo completely miferable as that of being, in
.^onftant fear. Well does the fcripture fay, * The
fear of man brings a fnare ;' it is a life of death ; and
the mind is fo entirely fuppreffed by it, that it is ca-
pable of no relief; the animal fpirits fink, and all
.the vigour of nature, which ufually fupports men
tunder other affliftions, and is prefent io them in the
^eateft exigencies, fails them here.
Nor did it fail of its ufual operations upon the fancy,
:by heightening every danger ; reprefenting the En-
glijh and Dutch ^captains to be men incapable of hear-
ing reafon, or diftinguifliing between honefl men and
Togues; or between a ftory calculated for our own
,turn, made out of nothing, on purpofe to deceive, and
a true genuine accountof our whole voyage, progrefs,
,and defign ; for we might many ways have convinced
any reafonable creature that we were not pirates ; the
goods we had on boards -the courfe we (leered, our
frankly (hewing ourfelves, and entering into fuch and
fuch ports ; even our very manner, the force we had,
thenumber of men, the few arms, little ammunition,
and (hort provifions ; all thefe would hav€ ferved to
convince any man that we were no pirates. The
jopium, and other goods we had on board, would
make it appear the (hip had been at Bengal ; the
Dutchmen J who, it was fald, had th^e names of all the
^en that were in the (liip, might eafily fee that we
were a mixture of Englijh^ Portuguefe^ and Indians^
and but two Dutchnmi on board. Thefe, and many
rOther particular circumftances, might have made it
j^yide^t to die underftanding of any commander, ,
T 3 whofe
578 LIFE AND ADVENTURES '
whofe hands we might fall into, that we were no
pirates.
But fear, that blind ufelefs paffion, worked another
way, and threw us into the vapours ; it bewildered
our underftandings, and fet the imagination at work,
to form a thoufand terrible things, that, perhaps,
might never happen. We firfl fuppofed, as indeed
every body had related to us, that the feamen on board
the Englijh and Dutch fliips, but efpecially the Dutch^
were fo enraged at the name of a pirate, and efpecially
at our beating off their boats, and efcaping, that they
would not give themfelves leave to enquire whether we
were pirates or no j but would execute us off-hand,
as we call it, without giving us any room for a de-
fence. We refledted that there was really fo much
apparent evidence before them, that they would fcarce
enquire after any more : as, firft, that the fhip was
certainly the fame, and that fome of the feamen
among them knew her, and had been on board her;
and, fecondly, that when we' had intelligence at the
l-iver Cambodia^ that they were coniing down to ex-
amine us, we fought their boats, and fled: So that we
made no doubt but they were as fully fatisfied of our
being pirates, as we were fatisfied of the contrary ;
and I often faid, I knew not but I fhould have been
apt to have taken the little circumftances for evidence,
if the tables were turned, and my T:afe was theirs ;
and have made no fcruple of cutting all the crew
to pieces, without believing, or perhaps confider-
ing, what they might have to oflfer in their de-
fence.
But let that be how it will, thofe were our appre-
. henfions ; and both my partner and I too, fcarce flept
a night
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE^ 279
a night Without dreaming of halters and yard-arms;
that is to fay, gibbets ; of fighting, and being taken ;
of killing, and being killed ; and one night I was in
fiich a fury in my dream, fancying the Dutchmen had
boarded us, and I was knocking one of their feamen
down, that I ftruck my double fift againft the fide of
the cabin I lay in, with fuch a force as wounded my
hand moft grievoufly, broke my knuckles, ^nd cut
and bruifed the flefh, fo that it not only waked me out
of my fleep, but I was once afraid I fhould have loft
two of my fingers.
Another apprehenfion I had, was, of the cruel
ufage we fhould meet with from them, if we fell into
their hands: then the ftory of Amboyna came into my
head, and how the Dutch might, perhaps, torture us,
as they did our countrymen there ; and make fome
of our men, by extremity of torture, confefs thofe
crimes they never were guilty of; own themfelves,
and all of us, to be pirates ; and fo they would put us
to death, with a formal appearance of juftice; and
that they might be tempted to do this, for the gain of
our fhip and carga, which was worth four or five
thoufand pounds, put all together.
Thefi? things tormented me, and my partner toe,
night and day ; nor did we confider that the captains
of fhips have no authority to a£t thus ; and if we had
furrendered prifoners to them, they could not anfwer
the deflroying us, or torturing us, but would be ac-
countable for it when they came into their own coun-
try. This, I fay, gave me no fatisfaftion ; for, if
they will aft thus with us, what advantage would it
be to us that they would be called to an account for
it ; or, if we were firft to be murdered, what fatif- -
T4 faftion
aSo I-IFE AND ADVENTURES
faftion would it be to us to have them punifhed when
they came home ?
I cannot refrain taking notice here what reflexions
I now had upon the paft variety of my particular cir-
cumftances ; how hard I thought it was, that I, who
had fpent forty years in a life of continued difEcultieSj
and was, at laft, come, as it were, at the port or
haven which all men drive at, viz. to have reft and
plenty, fhould be a volunteer in new forrows, by my
own unhappy choice ; and that I, who had efcaped fa
many dangers in my youth, fhould now come to be
hanged in my old age, and in fo remote a place, for
a crime I was not in the leaft inclined to, much lefs
guilty of ; and in a place and circumftance, where
innocence was not Uke to be any proteftion at all to
me*
After thefe thoughts, fomething of religion would
come in ; and I would be confidering that this feemed
to me to be a difpofition of immediate Providence; and
I ought to look upon it, and fubmit to it, as fuch :
that although I was innocent as to men, I was far from
being innocent a^ to my Maker ; and I ought to look
in, and examine what other crimes in my life were
moft obvious to me, and for which Providence might
juftly inflift this punifliment as a retribution ; an4
that I ought to fubmit to this, juft as I would to a fliip-
wreck, if it had pleafed God to have brought fuch a
difafter upon me.
In its turn, natural courage would fometimcs take
its place ; and then I would be talking myfelf up to
vigorous refolution, that I would not be taken to be
^ barbaroufly ufed by a parcel of mercilefs wretches in
pold blood J that it was much better to have fallen
2 into
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, 28 1
into die hands of the favages, who were meu-eaters^
and who, I was fure, would feaft upon me, when they
had taken me, than by thofe, who would, perhaps^
glut their rage upon me by inhuman tortures and
barbarities : that, in the cafe of the favages, I always
refolved to die fighting, tq the laft gafp ; and why
fliould I not do fo now, feeing it was much more
dreadful, to me at leaft, to think of failing into thefe
men's hands, than eyer it was to think of being eaten
by men : for the favages, give them their due, would
not eat a man till he was dead ; and killed him firft,
;as we do a bullock ; but that thefe men had many
arts beyond the cruelty of death. Whenever thefe
thoughts prevailed, I was fure to put myfelf into a
kind of fever, with the agitations of a fuppofed fight j
my blood would boil, and my eyes fparkljg, as if I
was engaged ; and I always refolved that I would take
no quarter at their hands ; but even at laft, if I
could refift no longer, I would blow up the fhip, and
all that was in her, and leave them but little booty to
boaft pf.
But by how much the greater weightthe anxieties and
perplexities of thofe things were to our thoughts while
we were at fea, by fo much the greater ^yas our f^tif-
faftion, when we f^w ourfelves on fhore ; and my
partner told me, he dreamed, that he had a very heavy
load upon his back, which he was to carry up an hill,
and found that he was not able to ftand long under it ;
but the Portuguejy jnlot came, and took it o£F his
back, and the hill difaj^peared, the ground before him
fhewing all fmooth and plain : And truly it was fo ;
we were all like n^en who had a load taken off their
J^acks,
Fot
282 LIFE AND ADVENTURE*
For my part, I had a weight taken off from my
heart, that I was npt able any longer to bear; and, as
I faid above, we refolved to go no more to fea in that
fhip. When we came on fhore, the old pilot, who
was now our friend, got us a lodging, and a ware-
houfe for our goods, which, by the way, was much
the fame : it was a little houfe or hut, with a large
houfe joining to it, all built with canes, and palifadoed
round with large canes, to keep out pilfering thieves,
of which it feems there were not a few in the country.
However, thd magiftrates allowed us all a little guard,
and we had a foldier with a kind of halbert, or half
pike, who flood fentinel at our door ; to whom we
allowed a pint of rice, and a little piece of money,
about the value of three -pence per day : fo that our
goods were kept very fafe..
The fair or mart, ufually kept in this place, had
been over fome time ; however, we found that there
were three or four junks in the river, and two yapan^
Tiers ^ I mean, (hips from Japan^ with goods which
they had bought in China^ and were not gone awayj
having Japanefe merchants on fliore.
The firft thing our old Portuguefe pilot did for us,
was, to bring us acquainted with three miflionary
Rom'tjh priefts, who were in the town, and who had
been there fome time, converting the people to
Chriftianity ; but we thought they made but poor
work of it; and made them but forry Chriftians
when they had done. However, that was not our
bufinefs. One of thefe was a Frenchman^ whom they
called father Simon ; he was a jolly well-conditioned
man, very free in his converfation, not feeming fo
ferious and grave as the other two did, one of whom
was
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE/ ^83
isras a Portuguefe^ and the other a Genoefe ; but father
Simon was courteous, eafy in his manner, and very
agreeable company ; the other two were more re-
ferved, feemed rigid and auftere, and applied ferioufly
to the work they came about, viz. to talk with, and
infmuate themfelves among the inhabitants, where-
ever they- had opportunity : we often eat and drank
with thofe men : and though I mufl confefs, the con-
verfion, as they call it, of the Chinefe to Chriftianity,
is fo far from the true converfion required to bring
heathen people to the faith of Christ, that it feems
to amount toiittle more than letting them know the
name of Christ, fay fome prayers to the Virgin Mary^
and her Son, in a tongue which they underftand
not, and to crofs themfelves, and the like; yet itmuft
be confeffed, that thefe religious, whom we call Mif- .
fionaries, have a firm belief that thefe people Ihould
be faved, and that they are the inftrument of it; and,
on this account, they undergo not only the fatigue of
jhe voyage, and hazards of living in fuch places, but
oftentimes death itfelf, with the moft violent tortures^
for the fake of this work : and it would be a great
want of charity in us, whatever opinion we have of
the work itfelf, and the manner of their doing it, if
we fhould not have a good opinion of their zeal, who
undertake it with fo many hazards, and who have
no profpeft of the leafl temporal advantage to them-
felves.
But, to return to my ftory : This French prieft,
father Sinion^ was appointed, it feems, by order of
the chief of the miffion, to go up to Pekin^ the royal
feat of the Chinefe emperor ; and waited only for ano-
tjh^r prieft, who was ordered to come to him from
Macao^
^84 JLIFE AN9 ADVENTURES
J^acao^ to go along with him ; and we fcarce ev^
met together, but he was inviting me to go that joutr
ney with him, telling me, how he would Ihew me all
the glorious things of that mighty empire ; and among
ihe reft, the greateft eity in the world ; a city, faid he,
that your London^ and our Paris^ put together, can-
pot be equal to^ This was the city of Peking which,
I confefs, is very great, and infinitely full of people j
but, as I looked on thofe things with .different eyes
from other men, fo Ilhall give my opinion ofthemiij
few words, when I come, in the courfe of my travels,
to fpeak more particularly of them.
But firft, I come to my friar or miffionary :' Dining
.with him one day, and being very merry together,
J fhewed fome little inclination to go with him j and
he preffed me and my partner very hard, and with a
great many perfuafions to confent. Why, father
Swion^ fays my partner, why fliould you defire-our
.company fo much ? You know we are heretics, and
you do not love us, jior can keep us company with
;any pleafure^ O ! fays he, you may, perhaps, be
good catholics ia time j my bufmefs here is to con-
cert heathens ; and who knows but I may convert you
too ? Very well, father, faid I^ fo ypu will preach to
|us all the way. I won't be troublefome to you, faid
he ; our religion does not diveft us of good manners;
befides, faid he, we are all here like countrymen;
and fo we are, compared to the place we are in ; and
if you are hugonots, and I a catholic, we may be all
Chriflians at laft; at lead:, faid he, we are all gentle-
jn(^n, and we may converfe fo, without being uneafy
to one another. I liked that part of his difcourfe
very well, and it began tp put mp in mind of my
prieft
6f ROBINSON CRUSOE. 285
^rieft that I had left in the Brafils ; but this father
Simon did not come up to his charafter by a great
deal ; for though father Smon had no appearance of
a criminal levity in him neither, yet he had not that
fund of Chriftian zeal, ftrift jnety, and fincere af-f
fedion to religion, that my other good ecclefiaftic
had, of whom I have faid fo much.
But to leave him a little, though he never left usy
nor foliciting us to go with him, but we had fome-
f hirig elfe before us at that time ; for we had^ all this
while, our fliip and our merchandize to difpofe of ;•
and we began to.be very doubtful what we fliould do,
for we were now in a place of very little bufmefs ;
and once I was about to venture to fail for the river
of Kilam^ and the city oi Nanquin : But Providence
feemed now more vifibly, as I thought, than ever, ta
Concern itfelf in our affairs ; and I was encouraged
from this very time to think I fhould, one way ot
other, get out of this eritangled circumftance, and be
brought home to my own country again ; though I
had not the leaft view of the manner ; and when I
began fometimes to think of it, could not imagine by
what method it was to be done. Providence, I fay^
began here to clear up our way a little ; and the firft
thing that offered was, that our old Portuguefe pilot
brought a Japan merchant to us, who began to en-
quire what goods we had ; and, in the firft place, he
bought all our opium, and gave us a very good price
for it, paying us in gold by weight, fome in fmall
pieces of their own coin, and fome in fmall wedges,
of about ten or eleven ounces each* While we were
dealing with him for our opium, it came into my head
that he might, perhaps, deal with us for the fliip
too ;
2S6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
too ; and I ordered the interpreter to propofe it to
him. He fhrunk up his fhoulders at it, when it was
firfl: propofed to him ; but, in a few days after, he
came to me, with one of the mifEonary priefts for his
interpreter, and told me, he had a propofal to make
to me, and that was this : He had bought a great
quantity of goods of us when he had no thoughts (or
propofals made to him) of buying the fhip j and that,
therefore, he had not money enough to pay for the
fhip ; but if I would let the fame men who were in the
fhip navigate her, he would hire the fhip to go to
yapariy and would fend them from thence to the
Philippine iflands with another loading, which he
would pay the freight of, before they went from
Japan ; and that, at their return, he would buy the
fhip* I began to liften to this propofal ; and fo eager
did my head ftill run upon rambling, that I could not
but begin to entertain a notion myfelf of going with
him, and fo to fail from the Philippine iflands away
to the South Seas; and accordingly I aflted the
yapane/e merchant, if he would not hire us to the
Philippijie iflands, and difcharge us there. He faid,
no, he could not do that ; for then he could not have
the return of his cargo ; but he would difcharge us in
Japany he faid, at the fliip's return. Well, ftill I
was for taking him at that propofal, and going my-
felf; but my partner, wifer than myfelf, perfuaded
me from it, reprefenting the dangers, as well of the
feas, as of the yapane/e ^ who are a falfe, cruel, and
treacherous people ; and then of the Spaniards at the
Philippines ; more falfe, more cruel, more treacherous
than they.
But
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. ^87
. But, to bring this long turn of our affairs to a con-
clufion : the firft thing we had to do^ was to confult
with the captain of the fhip, and with the men, and
know if they were willing to go Xo "Japan; and, while-
I was doing this, the young man, whom, as I faid,
my nephew had left with me as my companion for my
travels, came to me and told me, that he thought that
voyage promlfed very fair, and that there was a great
profpect of advantage, and he would be very glad if I
undertook it ; but that if 1 would not, and would give
him leave, he would go as a merchant, or how I
pleafed to order him ; that if ever he came to England y
and I was there, and alive, he would render me a
faithful account of his fuccefs, and it Ihould be as
much mine as I pleafed^
I was really loth to part tvith him ; but, confidering
the profpedt of advantage, N-jhich was really confider-
able, and that he was a young fellow as likely to do
well in it as any I knew, I inclined to let him go ;
but firft I told him I would confult my partner, and
give him an anfwer the next day. My partner and I
difcourfed about it ; and my partner made a moft
generous offer : he told me, you know it has been an
unlucky fhip, and we both refolve not to go to fea in
it again ; if your fteward (fo he called my man) will
venture the voyage. Til leave my fhare of the velTel
to him, and let him make the beft of it ; and if we
live to meet in England^ and he meets with fuccefs
abroad, he fhall account for one half of the pro-
fits of the fhip's freight to us, the other fhall be
his own.
If my partner, who was no way concerned with my
young man, made him fuch an offer, I could do no
3 lefs
288 LIFE Ai^D AEiVENTUREd
kfs than offer him the fame ; and all the fhip's com*
pany being willing to go with him, we made over haK
the fhip to him in property, and took a Writing froiii
him, obliging him to account for the other ; and away
he went to yapam The Japan merchant proved a
very punftual honeft man to him, protefted him at
yapan^ and got him a licence to come on fhore, which
the Europeans in general have not lately obtained;
paid him his freight very punftually, fent him to the
Philippines^ loaded him with Japan and China wares,
and a fupercargo of their own, who trafficking with
the Spaniards J brought back European goods again,
and a great quantity of cloves, and other fpice; and
there he was not only paid his freight very well, and
at a very good price, but being not willing to fell the
Ihip then, the merchant furnifhed him with goods on
his own account ; that, for fome money, and feme
fpices of his own, which he brought with him, he
went back to the Manillas^ to the Spaniards^ where
he fold his cargo very well. Here, having gotten a
good acquaintance at Manilla^ he got his fhip made a
free fhip ; and the governor of Manilla hired him to
go to Acapulco in America^ on the coafl of Mexico;
and gate him a licence to land there, and trayel to
Mexico; and to pafs in any Spanijh fhip to Europe y
with all his meii.
He made the voyage to Acapulco very happily, and
there he fold his fhip j and having there alfo obtained
allowance to travel by land to Porto Belloy he found
means, fome how or other, to go to Jamaica with ali
his treafiire ; and about eight years after, came to Eng*
landy exceeding rich j of which I fhall take notice in
its
OF kOBINSON CRUSOE. 289
Its place J in the mean time, I return to bur particular
affairs.
Being now to part with the fhip, and fliip's com*
pany, it came before us, of courfe, to confider what
recompence we fliould give to the two men, that
gave us fuch timely notice of the defign againfl us in
the river of Cambodia. The truth was, they had done
«s a confiderable fervice, and deferv^d well at our
hands ; though, by the way, they were a couple of
rogues too : for, as they believed the ftory of our
being pirates, and that we had really run away with
the fhip, they came down to us, not only to betray the
defign that was formed againfl us, but to go to fea
with us as pirates ; and one of them confeffed after-
wards, that nothing elfe but the hopes of going a
roguing brought him to do it. However, the fer-
vice they did us was not the lefs ; and therefore, as I
had promifed to be grateful to them, I firft ordered
the money to be paid to them, which they faid was
due to them on board their refpeftive fhips ; that is
to fay, the Englijhman nineteen months pay, and to
the Dutchman feven; and, over and above that, I
gave each of them a fmall fum of money in gold,
which contented them very well : then I made the
Englijhman gunner of the Ihip, the gunner being now
made fecond mate and purfer ; the Dutchman I made
boatfwain : fo they were both very well pleafed, and
proved very ferviceable, being both able feamen, and
very flout fellows.
We were now on fliore in China. If I thought
myfelf banifhed, and remote from my own country
at Bengal^ where I had many ways to get home for
my money, what could I think of myfelf now, when
^ Vol. IL U I was
ago LIFE AND ADVENTURES
I was gotten about a thoufand leagues farther off
from home, and perfeftly deftitute of all manner of
profpedk of return !
All we had for it was this ; that in about four
months time there was to be another fair at that
place where we were, and then we might be able
to purchafe all forts of the manufaftures of the coun-
try, and withal might poffibly find fome Chineje
junks or veffels from Nanquin, that would be to be
fold, and would carry us and our goods whither we
pleafed* This I liked very well, and refolved to
wait ; befides, as our particular perfons were not
obnoxious, fa if any Englijh or Dutch Ihips came
thither, perhaps we might have an opportunity to
load our goods, and get paflage to fome other place
in India nearer home.
Upon thefe hopes we refolved to continue here ;
but, to divert ourfelves, we took two or three jour-
nies into the country ; firft, we went ten days jour-
ney to fee the city of Nanquirij a city well worth
feeing indeed : they fay it has a million of people in
it ; which, however, I do not believe : It is regularly
built, the ftreets all exactly ftrait, and gofs one
another in direft lines, which gives ti^^^ftco, of it
great advantage.
But when I came to compare the miferabFe people
of thefe countries with our^s ; their fabrics, their
manner of living, their government, their religionj
their wealth, and their glory (as fome call it), I muft
confefs, I do not fo much as think it worth naming,
or worth my while to write of, or any that jQiall come
after me to read*
It
01? ROBINSON CRUSOE, 29 1
It IS very obfervable, that we wonder at the gran-
deur, the riches, the pomp, the ceremonies, the go-
vernment, the manufadures, the commerce, and the
condud of thefe people ; not that they are to be won-
dered at, or, indeed, in the leaft to be regarded ;
but becaufe, having firft a notion of the barbarity of
thofe countries, the rudenefs, and the ignorance that
prevail there, we do not expefl: to find any fuch
things fo far off.
Otherwife, what are their builings to the palaces
and royal buildings of Europe ? What their trade to
the univerfal commerce of England^ Holland^ France j
and Spain ? What their cities to our's, for wealth,
ftrength, gaiety of apparel, rich furniture, and an
infinite variety ? What are their ports, fupplied with a
few junks and barks, to our navigation, our mer-
chants fleets, our large and powerful navies ? Our
city of London has more trade than all their mighty
empire. One Englijh^ or Dutch^ or French man of
war of 80 guns, would fight with and deftroyall
the Ihipping of China. But the greatnefs of their
wealth, their trade, the power of their government,
and ftrenglh of their armies are furprizing to us,
becaufe, as I have faid, confidering them as a -bar-
barous nation of pagans, little better than favages,
we did not expe£t fuch things among them ; and
this, indeed, is the advantage with which all their
greatnefs and power is reprefented to us : otherwife,
it is in itfelf nothing at all ; for, as I have faid of
their fhips, fo it may be faid of their armies and
troops ; all the forces of their empire, though they
were to bring two millions of men into the field to-
ll 2 gether.
-j^a i-IFE AND ADVBNTURES
gethcr, would be able to do nothing but ruin the
country, and ftarve themfelves. If they were to
befiege a ftrong town in Flanders j or to fight a dif-
ciplined army, one line of German cuirafliers, or of
French cavalry, would overthrow all the horfe of
China ; a million of their foot could not fland be-
fore one embattled body of our infantry, ported fo
as not to be furrounded, though they were not to be
one to twenty in number : nay, I do not boaflif Ifay,
that 30,000 German or EngUjh foot, and 10,000
French horfe, would fairly beat all the forces of
China. And fo of our fortified towns, and of the
art of our engineers, in affaulring and defending
towns ; there is not a fortified town in China could
hold out one month againft the batteries and attacks
of an European army ; and at the fame time, all the
armies of China could never take fuch a town as
Dunkirk^ provided it was not ftarved ; no, not in ten
years fiege. They have fire-arms^ it is true, but
they are awkward, clumfy, and uncertain in going
off; they have powder, but it is of no ftrength;
they have neither difcipline in the field, exercife in
their arms, (kill to attack, or temper to retreat:
and therefore I muft confefs it feemed flrange to mc
when I came home, and heard our people fay fuch
fine things of the power, riches, glory, magnifi-
cence, and trad£ of the Chinefe^ becaufe I faw and
knew that they were a contemptible herd or croud of
ignorant, fordid flaves, fubjedted to a government
qualified only to rule fuch a people ; and, in a word,
for I am now launched quite befide my defign, I fay,
in a word, were not its diftance inconceivably great
from Mufcovy^ and were not the Mtyiovite empire
almoft
Of ROBINSON CRUSOE. 293
almofl as rude, impotent, and ill-governed a croud
of flaves as they, the czar of Mufcovy might, with
much eafe, drive them all out of their country, and
conquer them in one campaign ; and had the czar,
who I lince hear is a growing prince, and begins to
appear formidable in the world, fallen this way, in*
ftead of attacking the warlike Swedes^ in which at-
tempt none of the powers of Europe would have
envied or interrupted him ; he might, by this time,
have been emperor of China j inftead of being beaten
by the king of Sweden at Narua^ when the latter
was not one to fix in number. As their ftrength and
their grandeur, fo their navigation, commerce, and
hufbandry, is imperfeft and impotent, compared to
the fame things in Europe. Alfo, in their knowledge,
their learning, their ikill in the fciences ; they have
globes and fpheres, and a fmatch of the knowledge
of the mathematics ; but when you come to enquire
into their knowledge, how Ihort-fighted are the wifeft
of their ftudents ! They know nothing of the mo-
tion of the heavenly bodies ; and fo grofsly, abfurd*
ly ignorant, that when the fun is eclipfed, they
think it is a great dragon has affaulted and run away
with it ; and they fall a clattering with all the drums
and- kettles in the country, to fright the monfter
away, juft as we do to hive a fwarm of bees.
As this is the only ei^curlion of tjiis kind which I
have made in all the account I have given of my
travels, fo I fhall make no more defcriptions of
countries and people : it is none of my bufinefs, or
any part of my defign ; but giving an account of my
own adventures, through a life of infinite wander-
ings, and a long variety of changes, which, perhaps,
U 3 few
^94 LI^E AND ADVENTURES
few have heard the like of, I fliall fay nothing of the
mighty places, defart countries, and numerous peo-
ple, I have yet to pafs through, more than relates
to my own ftory, and which my concern among
them wdll make necefTary. I was now, as near as I
can compute, in the heart of China^ about the lati-r
tude of thirty degrees north of the line, for we
were returned from Nanquin ; I had indeed a mind
to fee the city of Pekin^ which I had heard fo much
of, and father Simon importuned me daily to do it :
at length his time of going away being fet, and the
other miflionary, who was to go with him, being ar-
rived from Macaoj it was neceflary that wefliould re-
folve either to go, or not to go ; fo I referred him to
my partner, and left it wholly to his choice ; who,
at length, refolved it in the affirmative ; and we pre-
pared for our journey. We fet out with very good
advantage, as to finding the way j for we got leave
to travel in the retinue of one of their mandarins,
a kind of viceroy, or principal magiftrate, in the
province where they refide, and who take great ftate
upon them, travelling with great attendance, and
with great homage from the people, who are fome-
times greatly impoverifhed by them, becaufe all the
countries they pafs through are obliged to furnifh
provifions for them, and all their attendants. That
which I particularly obferved, as to our travelling
with his baggage, was this ; that though we received
fufficient provifions, both for ourfelves and our horfes,
from the country, as belonging to the mandarin, yet we
were obliged to pay for every thing we had after the
market-price of the . country, and the mandarin's
fteward, or commiiTary of the provifions, collefted
it
CW ROBINSON CRUSOE* 295
It duly From us ; fo that our travelling in the retinue
of *the mandarin, though it was a very great kind-
nefs to us, was not fuch a mighty favour in him, but
was, indeed, a great advantage to him, confidering
there were about thirty other people travelling in the
fame manner befides us, under the proteQ:ion of his
retinue, or, as we may call it, under his convoy.
TThis, I fay, was a great advantage to him ; for the
country furnifhed all the provifions for nothing, and
he took all our money for them.
We were five^-and-twenty days travelling to Pekin^
through a country infinitely populous, but miferably
cultivated j the hufbandry, ceconomy, and the way
of living, all very miferable, though they boaft fo
much of the induftry of the people : I fay mifera*-
ble ; and fo it is ; if we, who underftand how to
live, were to endure it, or to compare it with our
own ; but not fo to thefe poor wretches, who know
no other. The pride of thefe people is infinitely
great, and exceeded by nothing but their poverty^
livhich adds to that which I call their mifery. I muft
needs think the naked favages of America live much
more happy, becaufe, as they have nothing, fo they
defire nothing ; whereas thefe are proud and info-
lent, and, in the niain, are mere beggars and drudges ;
their oftentation is inexpreffible, and is chiefly fhewed
in their clothes and buildings, and in the keeping
multitudes of fervants or flaves, and, which is to
the lad degree ridiculous, their contempt of all the
world but themfelves.
I muft confefs, I travelled more pleafantly after-
wards, in the defarts and vaft wildernefTes of Grand
Tartary^ than here ; and yet the roads here are well
U 4 paved.
Ct,g6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
paved, and well kept, and very convenient for tra-
vellers : but nothing was more awkward to me, than
to fee fuch an haughty, imperious, infolent people,
in the midft of the groffeft fimplicity and ignorance;
for all their famed ingenuity is no more. My friend,
father Simon^ and I, ufed to be very merry upon thefe
occafions, to fee the beggarly pride of thofe people:
for example, coming by the houfe of a country gen-
tleman, as father Simon called him, about ten leagues
off from the city of ^anquin^ we had, firft of all,
the honour to ride with the matter of the houfe about
two miles ; the ftate he rode in was a perfeft Don
^lixotifniy being a mixture of pomp and poverty.
The habit of this greafy Don was very proper for
a fcaramouch, or merry-andrew ; being a dirty ca-
lico, with all the tawdry trappings of a fool's coat,
fuch as hanging fleeves, taffety, and cuts and flaflies
almoft on every fide: it covered a rich taffety veil,
as greafy as a butcher, and which teftified, that his
honour muft needs be a moft exquifite floven.
His horfe was a poor, lean, ftarved, hobbling crea-
ture, fuch as in England might fell for about
thirty or forty fhillings j and he had two flaves
followed him on foot, to drive the poor creature
along : he had a whip in his hand, and he bela-
boured the bead as fafl about the head as his flaves
did about the tail; and thus he rode by us with
^bout ten or twelve fervant^ ; and we were told he
was going from the city to his country feat, about
half a league before us. We travelled on gently,
but this figure of a gentleman rode away before us ;
and as wp flopped at a village about an hour to re.
frefh us, when we came by the couixtry feat of tl\is
great
OF ROBINSON CRUSdE. 297
great man, we faw him in a little place before his
door, eating his repaft ; it was a kind of a garden*
but he wa« eafy to be feen ; and we were given to
underftand, that the more we looked on him, the
better he would be pleafed.
He fat under a tree, fomething like the palmetto-
tree, which efFeftually (haded him over the head,
and on the fouth fide; but under the tree alfo was
placed a large umbrella, which made that part look
well enough : he fat lolling back in a great elbow-
chair, being a heavy corpulent man, and his meat
being brought him by two women flaves, he had two
more, whofe office, I think, few gentlemen in Eu»
rope would accept of their fervice in, viz. one fed
the 'fquire with a fpoon, and the other held the difh
with one hand, and fcraped off what he let fall upon
his worftiip's beard and taffety veft, with the other ;
while the great fat brute thought it below him to em-
ploy his own hands in any of thofe familiar offices,
which kings and monarchs would rather do than be
troubled with the clumfy fingers of their fervants,
I took this time to think what pain men's pride
puts them to, and how troublefome a haughty tem*
per, thus ill-managed, muft be to a man of common
fenfe ; and, leaving the poor wretch to pleafe him-
felf with our looking at him, as if we admired his
pomp, whereas we really pitied and contemned him,
we purfued our journey ; only father Simon had the
curiofity to flay to inform himfelf what dainties the
country juflice had to feed on, in all his (late ; which
he faid he had the honour to tafte of, and which was,
I think, a dofe that an Englijh hound would fcarce
J^ave eaten^ if it had been offered him, viz. a mefs
of
2i)9 X-IFE AND ADVENfURES
of boiled rice, with a great piecfi of garlick in it,
and a little bag filled ;with green pepper, and ano-
ther plant which they have there, fomething like
our ginger, but fmelling like mufk, and tafling like
muftard j all this was put together, and a fmall lump
or piece of lean mutton boiled in it ; and this wa^
his worfliip's repaft, four or five fervants more at-
tending at a diftance. If he fed them meaner than
he was fed himfelf, the fpice excepted, they muft fare
verycoarfely indeed.
As for our mandarin with whom we travelled, he
was refpeded like a king ; furrounded always with
his gentlemen, and attended in all his appearances
with fuch pomp, that I faw little of him but at a dif-
tance ; but this I obferved, that there was not a
horfe in his retinue, but that our carriers pack-horfes
in England {eem to me to look much better ; but they
were fo covered with equipage, mantles, trappings,
and fuch like trumpery, that you cannot fee whether
they are fat or lean. In a word, we could fcarce fee
any thing but their feet and their heads.
I was now light-hearted, and all my trouble and
perplexity that I had given an account of being over,
I had no anxious thoughts about me ; which made
this journey much the pleafanter to me; nor had I
any ill accident attended me, only in the pafling or
fording a fmall river, my horfe fell, and made me
free of the country, as they call it ; that is to fay>
threw me in ; the place was not deep, but it wetted
me all over : I mention it, becaufe it foiled my
pocket-book, wherein I had fet down the names of
feveral people and places which I had occafion to re-
2 member,
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 299
member, and which not taking due care of, the
leaves rotted, and the words were never after to be
read, to my great lofs, as to the names of fome
places which I touched at in this voyage.
At length we arrived at Pekin : I had nobody
with me but the youth, whom my nephew the cap-
tain had given me to attend me as a fervant, and
who proved very trufty and diligent ; and my part-
ner had nobody with him but one fervant, who was
a kinfman. As for the Portuguefe pilot, he being
defirous to fee the court, we gave him his paffage,
that is to fay, bore his charges for his company ; and
toufe.him as an interpreter, for he underftood the
language of the country, and fpoke good French
and a little Englijh ; and, indeed, this old man was a
pioft ufeful implement to us every where ; for we had
not been above a week at Pekin^ when he came laugh-
ing : Ah, Seignior Inglefe^ faid he, I have fomething
to tell you, will make your heart glad. My heart
glad ! faid I : What can that be ? I don't know any
thing in this country can either give me joy or grief,
to any great degree. Yes, yes, faid the old man, in
broken Englijh^ make you glad, me forrow ; forry he
would have faid. This made me more inquifitive.
Why, faid I, will it make you forry ? Becaufe, faid
he, you have brought me here twenty-five days
journey, and will leave me to go back alone ; and
which way ihall I get to my port afterwards, without
a Ihip, without ^ hprfe, without ^^^«w^ .^ So he called
money ; being his broken Latin j of which he had
abundance to make us merry with.
In fhort, he told us there was a great caravan of
Mufcovy and Polijh merchants in the city, and that they
W(2re
300 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
\vere preparing lo fet out on their journey, by land,
to Mufcovy^ within four or five weeks, and he was
fure we would take the opportunity to go with them,
and leave him behind to go back alone. I confefs I
was furprifed with this news : a fecret joy fpread it-
felf over my whole foul, which I cannot defcribe,
and never felt before, or fince ; and I had no power,
for a good while, to fpeak a word to the old man ;
but at lad I turned to him : How do you know this ?
faid I : are you fure it is true ? Yes, he faid, I met
this morning, in the ftreet, an old acquaintance qf
mine, an Armenian^ or one you call a Grecian^ who
is among them; he came laft from Ajiracan, zxA
was defigning to go to Tonquitiy where I formerly
knew him, but has altered his mind, and is now re-
folved to go back with the caravan to Mo/cow^ and
fo down the river of Wolga to Ajiracan. Well, Seig-
nior, >faid I, do not be uneafy about being left to go
back alone ; if this be a method for my return to
Engla7id^ it fhall be your fault if you go back to
Macao at all. We then went to confult together
what was to be done, and alked my partner what he
thought of the pilot's news, and whether it would
fuit with his affairs : he told me he would do juft as
I would ; for he had fettled all his affairs fo well at
Bengal^ and left his effefts in fuch good hands, that
as we made a good voyage here, if he could veft it
in China filks, wrought and raw, fuch as might be
worth the carriage, he would be content to go to
England^ and then ipiake his voyage back to Bengaly
by the company's fhips.
Having refolved upon this, we agreed, that if our
Portuguefe pilot would go with us, wq would bear his
3 charges
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 30!
charges to Mo/cow^ or to England^ If he" pleafed ;
nor, indeed, were we to be efteemed over generous
in that part neither, if we had not rewarded him
farther ; for the fervice he had done us was really worth
all that, and more ; for he had not only been a pilot
to us at fea, but he had been alfo'like a broker for us
on Ihore; and his procuring for us the y apart mer-
chant, was fortie hundreds of pounds in our pockets.
So we confulted together about it; and, being
willing to gratify him, which was, indeed, but doing
him juftice, and very willing alfo to have him with us
befides, for he was a moll neceffary man on all oc-
cafions, we agreed to give him a quantity of coined
gold, which) as I compute it, came to about 175
pounds fterling between us, and to bear his charges,
both for himfelf and horfe, except only a horfe to
carry his goods.
Having fettled this among ourfelves, we called
him to let him know what we had refolved : I told
him, he had complained of our being like to let him
go back alone, and I was now to tell him we were
refolved he fliould not go back at all : that as we had
refolved to go to Europe with the caravan, we re-
folved alfo he fhould go with us, and that we called
him to know his mind. He' Ihook his head, and
laid it was a long journey, and he had no pecune to
carry him thither, nor to fubfift himfelf when he
came thither. We told him, we believed it was fo,
and therefore we had refolved to do fomething for
him, that fhould let him fee how fenfible we were of
the fervice he had done us ; and alfo how agreeable
he was to us : and then I told him what we had
refolved to give him here, which he might lay out as
we
302 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
we would do our own ; and that as for his charges, if
he would go with us, we would fet him fafe afliore^
(life and cafuahies excepted) either in Mufcovy or in
England^ which he would, at our own charge, except
only the carriage pf his goods.
He received the propofal like a man tranfported,
and told us, he would go w^th us over the whole
world ; and fo, in ihort, we all prepared ourfelves
for the journey. However, as it was with us, fo it
was with the other merchants, they had many things
to do ; and inftead of being ready in five weeks, it
was four months and fome odd days before all things
were got together.
It was the beginning of February^ our ftyle, when
we fet out from Pekin. My partner and the old pilot
had gone exprefs back to the port where we had firfl
put in, to difpofe of fome goods which we had left
there ; and I, with a Chinefe merchant, whom I had
fome knowledge of at Nanquiriy and who came to
Pekin on his own affairs, went to Nanquirij where I
bought ninety pieces of fine damalks, with about two
hundred pieces of other very fine filks, of feveral
forts, fome mixed with gold, and had all thefe brought
to Pekin againft my partner's return : befides this, we
bought a very large quantity of raw filk, and fome
other goods ; our cargo amounting, in thefe goods
only, to about three thoufand five hundred pounds
fterling, which, together with tea, and fome fine
callicoes, and three camel-loads of nutmegs and cloves,
loaded in all eighteen camels for our Ihare, befides
thofe we rode upon ; which, with two or three fpare
horfes, and two horfes loaded with provifions, made
"^ us.
OF ROBIKSON CRUSOE. 303
US, in fliort, twenty-fix camels and horfes in pur
retinue.
The company was very great, and, as near as I can
remember, made between three and four hundred
horfes and camels, and upward of an hundred and
twenty men, very well armed, and provided for all
events. For, as the eaftern caravans are fubjeft to
be attacked by the Arabs.^ fo are thefe by the Tar*
tars; but they are not altogether fo dangerous as the
Arabs J nor fo barbarous when they prevail.
The company confifted of people of feveral nations,
fuch as Mufcovites chiefly ; for there were about (ixty
of them who were merchants or inhabitants of Muf"
cow J though of them forae were Livonians ; and to
our particular fatisfadion, five of them were ScotSy
who appeared alfo to be men of great experience in
bufinefs, and very good fubftance.
When we had travelled one day's journey, the
guides, who were five in number, called all the gen-
tlemen and merchants; that is to fay, all the paflen-
gers, except the fervants, to a great council, as they
termed it. At this great council every one depofited
a certain quantity of money to a common ftock, for
the neceflary expence of buying forage on the way,
where it was not otherwife to be had, and for fatif-
fying the guides, getting horfes, and the like. And
here they conflituted the journey, as they called it,
i^/z. They named captains and ofl[icers to draw us all
up, and give the command in cafe of an attack, and
gave every one their turn of command. Nor was
this forming us into order any more than what we
found needful upon the way, as fhall be obferved in
its place.
The
304 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
The road all on this fide of the country is very po-
pulous, and IS full of potters and earth-makers ; that
is to fay, people that tempered the earth for the China
ware J and, as I was going along, our Portuguefe
pilot, who had always fomething or other to fay to
make us merry, came fneering to me, and told me>
he would fhew the greateft rarity in all the country ;
and that I fhould have this to fay of China ^ after all
the ill-humoured things I had faid of it, that I had
feen one thing which was not to be feen in all the
world befide. I was very importunate to know what
it was ; at laft he told me, it was a gentleman's houfe,
built all with China ware. Well, faid I, are not the
materials of their building the produd of their own
country ; and fo it is all Qhina ware, is it not ? No,
no, fays he, I mean, it is a houfe all made of China
ware, fuch as you call fo in England; or, as it is
called in our country, porcelain. Well, faid I, fuch
a thing may be : How big is it ; Can we carry it in
a box upon a camel ? If we can, we will buy it.
Upon a camel ! faid the old pilot, holding up both
his hands, why there is a family of thirty people
lives in it.
I was then curious, indeed, to fee it ; and when I
came to it, it was nothing but this : it was a timber
houfe, or a houfe built, as we call it in England^ with
lath and plaifter, but all the plaiftering was really
China ware, that is to fay, it was plaiftered witli the
earth that ma^es China ware.
The outfide, which the fun fhone hot upon, was
glazed, and looked very well, perfedly white, and^
painted with blue figures, as the large China ware
in England is painted, and hard, as if it had been
burnt*
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 305
burnt* As to the infide, all the walls^ inftead of
wainfcot, were lined with hardened and painted tiles,
like the little fquare tiles we call gaily tiles in England^
all made of the fined Chinay and the figures exceed-
ing fine indeed, with extraordinary variety of co-
lours, mixed with gold, many tiles making but one
figure, but joined fo artificially with mortar, being
made of the fame earth, that it was very hard to fee
where the tiles met. The floors of the rooms were
of the fame compofition^ and as hard as the earthen
floors we have in ufe in feveral parts of England^
efpecially Lincolnjhire^ Nottinghamjhire^ Leicejierjhire^
&c. as hard as fl:one, and fmooth, but not burnt
and painted, except fome fmaller rooms, like clofets,
which were all, as it were, paved with the fame tile ;
the cielings, and ih a word, all the plaiftering-work
in the whole houfe, were of the fame earth ; and,
after all, the rpof was covered with tiles of the
feme, but of a deep fliining black.
This was a China warehoufe indeed, truly and li-
terally to be called fo ; and, had I not been upon the
journey, I could have fl:aid fome days to fee and Ex-
amine the particulars of it. They told me there
were fountains and fifh-ponds in the garden, all
paved at the bottom and fides with the fame, and
fine fl:atues fet up in rows on the walks, entirely
formed of the porcelain earth, and burnt whole.
As this is one of the fingularities o£ China^ fo
they may be allowed to excel in it ; but I am very
fure, they excel in their accounts of it ; for they
told me fuch incredible things* of their perform-
ance in crockery-ware, for fuch it is, that I care
not to relate, as knowing it could not be true :— •
One told me, in particular, of a workman that made
Vol. II, X > •^^'^'j
306 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
a fhipy with all its tackle^ and mafts, and fails, iff
earthen-ware, big enough to carry fifty men. If he
had told me he launched it, and made a voyage to
Japan in it, I might have faid fomething to it indeed ;
but as it was, I knew the whole ftbry, which was,
in fhort, afldng pardon for the word, that the fellow
lied ; fo I fmiled, and faid nothing to it.
This odd fight kept me two hours behind the ca-
ravan, for which the leader of it for the day fined
me about the value of three fliillings ; and told me,
if it had been three days journey without the wall,
as it was three days within, he mufl have fined me
four times as much, and made me alk pardon the
next council day : fo I promifed to be more orderly?
for, indeed, I found afterwards the orders made for
keeping all together were abfolutely neceffary for our
common fafety.
In two days more we paifed flie great China wall,
made for a fortification againft the Tartars ; and a
very great work it is, going over hills arid moun*
tains in an endlefs track, where the rocks are impaffa-
ble, and the precipices fuch as no enemy could pot
fibly enter, or, indeed, climb up, or where, if they
did, no wall could hinder them. They tell us, its
length is near a thoufand Englijh miles, but that the
country is five hundred, in a ftraight meafured line,
which the wall bounds^ without meafuring the
windings and turnings it takes : *tis about four fa-
thom high, and as many thick in fome places.
I flood flill an hour, or thereabouts, without
trefpaffing on our orders, for fo long the caravan
was in paffing the gate ; I fay, I flood flill an hour
to look at it, on every fide, near, and far off, I
rneaUff
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE.
307
mean, what was within my view ; and the guide of
our caravan, who had been extolling it for the won-
der of the world, was mighty eager to hear my opi-
nion of it. Itold him it was a moft excellent thing
to keep off the Tartars^ which he happened not to
underftand as I meant it, and fo took it for a com-
pliment: but the old pilot laughed : O Seignior Inglefe^
faid he, you fpeak in colours. In colours ! faid I,
what do you mean by that ? Why you fpeak what
looks white this way, and black that way ; gay one
way, and dull another way : you tell him it is a
good wall to keep out Tartars ; you tell me, by that,
it is good for nothing but to keep out Tartars ; or,
wiil keep out none but Tartars : 1 underftand you.
Seignior Inglefe^ I underftand you, faid he, joking ;
but Seignior Chinefe underftand you his own way.
Well faid I, Seignior, do you think it would ftand
out an army of our country people, with a good
train of artillery; or our engineers, with two com-
panies of mmers^? Would they not batter it down
in ten days, that an army might enter in battalia, or
blow it up into the air, foundation and all, that there
fliould be no fign of it left ? Ay, ay, faid he, I know
that. The Chine/e wanted mightily to know what I
faid, and I gave him leave to tell him a few days after,
for we were then almoft out of their country, and
he was to leave us in a little time afterwards ; but
when he knew what I had faid, he was dumb all
the reft of the way, and we heard no more of his
fine ftory of the Chinefe power and greatnefs whila
he ftaid.
After we had pafled this mighty Nothing, called
a wall, fomething like the Pids wall, fo famous in ,
Northumberland^ and built by the Romans^ we begaa
X 2 x.^
2o8 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
to find the country thinly inhabited, and the people
rather confined to live in fortified towns and cities,
as being fubjed to -the inroads and depredations of
the Tartars^ who rob in great armies, and there-
fore are not to be refilled by the naked inhabitants
of an open country.
And here I began to find the neceffity of keeping
together in a caravan, as we travelled ; for we faw
feveral troops of Tartars roving about ; but when I
came to fee them diflindly, I wondered how that the
Chinefe empire could be conquered by fuch contempti-
ble fellows ; for they are a mere herd or crowd of
•wild fellows, keeping no order, and uhderftanding
no difcipline, or manner of fight.
Their horfes are poor, lean, ftarved creatures,
taught nothing, and are fit for nothing; and this
we found the firfl day we faw them, which was after
we entered the wilder part of the country, Our
leader for the day gave leave for about fixteen of us
to go a hunting, as they call it ; and what was this
but hunting of fheep! However, it may be called
hunting too ; for the creatures are the wildeft, and
fwiftefl of foot, that ever I faw of their kind ; only
they will not run a great way, and you are fure of
fport when you begin the chace ; for they appear ge-
nerally by thirty or forty in a flock, and, like tnie
flieep, always keep together when they fly.
In purfuit of this odd fort of game, it was, our
hap to meet with about forty Tartars : Whether they
were hunting mutton as we were, or whether they
looked for another kind of prey, I know not; but
' as foon as they faw us, one of them blew a kind of
horn very loud, but with a barbarous found that I
had
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, 309,
had never heard before ; and, by the way, never
care to hear again. We all fuppofed this was to call
their friends about them ; and fo it was ; for in lefs
than half a quarter of an hour, a troop of forty or
. fifty more appeared at about a mile diftance ; but
our work was over firft, as it happened.
One of the Scots merchants of Mo/cow happened
to be amongfl: us ; and as foon as he heard the horn,
he told us, in fhort, that we had nothing to do but
to charge them immediately, without lofs of time ;
and, drawing us up in a line, he alked. If we were
refolved ? We told him. We were ready to follow
him : So he rode direftly up to them. They flood
gazing at us, like a mere crowd, drawn up in no '
order, nor fhewing the face of any order at all ; but
as foon as they faw us advance, they let fly their ar-
rows ; which, however, mifled us very happily : It
feems they miftook not their aim, but their diftance ;
for their arrows all fell a little fhort of us, but with
fo true an aim, that had we been about twenty yards
nearer, we muft have had feveral men wounded, if
not killed.
Immediately we halted ; and though it was at a
great diftance, we fired, and fent them leaden bullets
for wooden arrows, following our fhot full gallop,
f efolving to fall in among them fword in hand ; for
fo our bold Scot that led us, direfted. He was, in-
deed, but a merchant, but he behaved with that vi-
gour and bravery on this occafion, and yet with fuch
a cool courage too, that I never faw any man in adlion
fitter for command. As foon as we came up to them,
we fired our piftols in their faces, and then* drew ; but
they fled in the greateft confufion imaginable ; the
X 3 only
3IO LIFE AND ADVENTURES
only ftand any of them made was on our right, where
three of them flood, and, by figns, called the reft
to come back to them, having a kind of fcymitar in
their hands, and their bows hanging at their backs.
Our brave commander, without afldng any body to
follow him, galloped up clofe to them, and with his
fufil knocked one of them off his horfe, killed the
fecond with his piftol, and the third ran away ; and
thus ended our fight ; but we had this misfortune
attending it, viz. That all our mutton that we had
in chace got away. We had not a man killed or
hurt ; but, as for the Tartars^ there were about five
of them killed ; how many were wounded, we knew
not ; but this we knew, that the other party wasfo
frighted with the noife of our guns, that they fled,
and never made any attempt upon us.
We were all this while in the Chinefe dominions,
and therefore the Tartars were not fo bold as after-
wards ; but in about five days we entered a vaft
great wild defart, which held us three days and
nights march ; and we were obliged to carry our
water with us in great leather bottles, and to encamp
all night, juft as I have heard they do in the defarts
of Arabia.
I a(ked our guides, whofe dominion this was in?
and they told me this was a kind of border that
might be called No Man's Land ; being part of the
Great Karakathy^ or Grand Tartary ; but that, how-
ever, it was reckoned to China ; that there was no
care taken here to preferve it from the inroads of
thieves ; and therefore it was reckoned the word defart
in the whole inarch, though we were to go over feme
much larger.
I In
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 311
In paffing this wildernefs, which, I confefs, was
at the firft view very frightful to me, we faw two
or three times little parties of the Tartars^ but they
feemed to be upon their own affairs, and to have no
defign upon us ; and fo, like the man who met the
devil, if they had nothing to fay to us, we had no-
thing to fay to them ; we let them go.
Once, however, a party of them came fo near as
to ftand and gaze at us ; whether it was to confider
what they Ihould do, viz. to attack us, or not at-
tack us, we knew not ; but when we were paffed at
fome diflance by them, we made a rear guard of forty
men, and flood ready for them, letting the caravan
pafs half a mile, or thereabouts, before us : After a
while they marched off, only we found they affaulted
us with five arrows at their parting ; one of which
wounded a horfe, fo that it difabled him ; and we
left him the next day, poor creature, in great need
of a good farrier. We fuppofe they might fhoot more
arrows, which might fall fhort of us ; but we faw no
more arrows, or Tartars^ at that time.
We travelled near a month after this, the ways
being not fo good as at firft, though ftill in the do-
minions of the Emperor of China ; but lay, for the
moft part, in villages, fome of which were fortified,
becaufe of the incurfions of the Tartars. When
we came to one of thefe towns (it was about two
days and a halPs journey before we were to come to
the city of Naum^J I wanted to buy a camel, of
which there are plenty to be fold all the way upon
that road, and of horfes alfo, fuch as they are, be-
caufe fo m'any caravans coming that way, they are
X 4 very
31 ft LIFE AND ADVEllTUllES
very often wanted. The perfon that I fpoke to
to get me a camel, would have gone and fetched it
for me ; but I, like a fool, muft be officious, and
go myfelf along with him. The place was about
two miles out of the village, where, it feems, they
kept the camels and horfes feeding under a guard.
I walked it on foot, with my old pilot in company,
and a Chinefe^ being defirous, forfooth, of a little va.
riety. When we came to this place, it was a low
marfhy ground, walled round with a ftone wall, piled
up dry, without mortar or earth among it, like a
park, with a little guard of Chinefe foldiers at the
doors : Having bought a camel, and agreed for the
price, I came away ; and the Chinefe man, that went
with me, led the camel, when on a fudden came up
five Tartars on horfeback ; two of them feized the
fellow, and took the camel from him, while the
other three ftepped up to me and my old pilot j feeing
us, as it were, unarmed, for I had no weapon about
me but my fword, which could but ill defend me
againft three horfemen. The firft that came up
flopped fhort upon my drawing my fword (for they
are arrant cowards \) but a fecond coming upon
my left, gave me a blow on the head, which I never
felt till afterwards, and wondered, when I came to
myfelf, what was the matter with me, and where I
was, for he laid me flat on the ground ; but my ne-
ver-failing old pilot, the Fortuguefe (fo providence,
unlooked for, direfts deliverances from dangers, which
to us are unforefeen,) had a piftol in his pocket,
which I knew nothing of, nor the Tartars neither ;
if they had, I fupppfe they would not have attacked
USl
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 313
US ; but. cowards are always boldeft when there is no
danger.
The old man, feeing me down, with a bold heart
ftepped up to the fellow that had ftruck me, and lay-
ing hold of his arm with one hand, and pulling him
down by main force a little towards him with the
other, he fhot him into the head, and laid him dead
on the fpot ; he then immediately ftepped up to him
who had ftopped us, as I faid, and before he could
come forward again (for it was all done as it were in
a moment) made a blow at him with a fcymitar,
which he always wore, but, miffing the man, cut
his horfe into the fide of his head, cut one of his
ears oflF by the root, and a great flice down the fide
of his face. The popr beaft, enraged with the
wounds, was no more to be governed by his rider,
though the fellow fat well enough too ; but away he
flew, and carried him quite out of the pilot's reach ;
and, at fome diftance, rifing upon his hind legs, threw
dpvinth^ Tartar J and fell upon him.
In this interval the poor Chinefe came in, who had
loft the camel, but he had no weapon ; however, fee-
ing the Tartar down, and his horfe fallen upon him,
he runs to him, and feizing upon an ugly ill-favoured
weapon he had by his fide, fomething like a pole-
axe, but not a pole-axe either, he wrenched it from
him, and made fhift to knock his Tartarian brains
out with it. But my old man had the thilrd Tartar
to deal with ftill ; and, feeing he did not fly as he
expedled, nor come on to fight him, as he appre-
hended, but flood ftock ftill, the old man ftood ftill
too, and falls to work with his tackle to charge his
piftol again: but as foon as the Tartar faw the
4 piftol.
314 ^^F^ AND ADVEKTURXS
piftol, whether he fupp.ofed it to be the fame or and*
ther, I know not ; but away he fcoured, and left
my pilot, my champion I called him afterwards, a
complete viftory.
By this time I was a little awake ; for I thought,
when I firft began to awake, that I had been in a
fweet fleep ; but, as I faid above, I wondered where
I was, how I came upon the ground, and what was
the matter : in a word, a few minutes after, as fenfc
returned, I felt pain, though I did not know where ;
I clapped my hand to my head, and took it away
bloody ; then I felt my head ache ; and then, in
another moment, memory returned, and every thing
was prefent to me again,
I jumped up upon my feet inftantly, and got hold
of my fword, but no enemies in view. I found a
Tartar lie dead, and his horfe Handing very quietly
by him ; and looking farther, I faw my champion
and deliverer, who had been to fee what the Chineje
had done, coming back with his hanger in his hand.
The old man, feeing me on my feet, came running to
me, and embraced me with a great deal of joy, being
afraid before that I had been killed ; and feeing me
bloody, would fee how I was hurt ; but it was not
much, only what we call a broken head ; neither
did I afterwards find any great inconvenience from
the blow, other than the place which was hurt, and
which was well again in two or three days.
We mad'e no great gain, however, by this vidory ;
for we loft a camel, and gained a horfe: but; that
which was remarkable, when we came back to the
village, the man demanded to be paid for the ca-
mel;
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 3x5
mel ; I difputed it, and it was brought to a hearing
before the CA/;2^ judge of the place; that is to fay,
in Englijh^ we went before a juftice of the peace.
Give him his due, he afted with a great deal of pru-
dence and impartiality ; and having heard both fides,
he gravely alked the Chinefe man that went with me
to buy the camel, whofe fervant he was ? 1 am no
fervant faid he, but went with the ftranger. At
whofe requeft ? faid the juftice. At the ftranger's
requeft, faid he. Why then, faid the juftice, you
were the ftranger's, fervant for the time ; and the
camel being delivered to his fervant, it was delivered
to him, and he muft pay for it.
I confefs the thing was fo clear, that I had
not a word to fay ; but admiring to fee fuch juft '
reafoning upon the confequence, and fo accurate
ftating the cafe, I paid willingly for the camel, and
fent for another ; but you may obferve, Ifent for it ;
I did not go to fetch it myfelf any more j I had
enough of that.
The city of l^aum is a frontier of the Chinefe em-
pire : they call it fortified, and fo it is, as fortifica-
tions go there ; for this I will venture to affirm, that
all the Tartars in Karakathay^ which, I believe, are
fome millions, could not batter down the walls with
their bows and arrows ; but to call it ftrong, if it
were attacked with cannon, would be to make thofe
who underftand it laugh at you.
We wanted, as I have faid, above two days jour-
ney of this city, when meffengers were fent exprefs
to every part of the road, to tell all travellers and
caravans to halt, till they had a guard fent to them ;
for
3l6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
for that an unufual body of Tartan^ making ten
thoufand in all, had appeared in the way, about
thirty miles beyond the city.
This was very bad news to travellers ; however,
it was carefully done of the governor, and we were
very glad to hear we fhould have a guard. Accord-
ingly, two days after, we had 200 foldiers fent us
from a garrifon of the Chinefe on our left, and three
hundred more from the city of Naum^ and with thofe
we advanced boldly : the three hundred foldiers from
Naufn marched in our front, the two hundred in our
rear, and our men on each fide of our camels with
our baggage, and the whole caravan in the centre :
in this order, and well prepared for battle, we thought
ourfelves a match for the whole ten thoufand Mogul
Tartars, if they had appeared ; but the next day,
when they did appear, it was quite another thing.
It was early in the morning, when marching from
a little well-fituated town, called Changu, we had a
river to pafs, where we were obliged to ferry ; and
had the Tartars had any intelligence, then had been
the time to have attacked us, when, the caravan
being over, the rear guard was behind : but they
did not appear there.
About three hours after, when we were entered upon
a defart of about fifteen or fixteen miles over, be-
hold, by a cloud of duft they raifed, we faw an
enemy was at hand ; and they were at hand indeed,
for they came on upon the fpur.
The Chinefe^ our guard on the front, wha had
talked fo big the day before, began to ftagger^ and
the foldiers frequently looked behind them ; which is
a certain figu in a foldier, that he is juft r^ady to run
away^
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 317
^\vay. My old pilot was of my mind ; and being
near me, he called out: Seignior Inglefej faid he,
thofe fellows muft be encouraged, or they will ruin
us all; for if the Tartars come on, they will never
fland it. I am of your mind, faid I : But what
courfe muft be done ? Done, faid he j let fifty of our
men advance, and flank them on each wing, and
encourage them, and they will fight like brave fel-
lows in brave company j but without it, they will
every man turn his back. Immediately I rode up to
our leader, and told him, who was exadbly of our
mind ; and accordingly fifty of us marched to the
right wing, and fifty to the left, and the reft made a
line of referve ; for fo we marched, leaving the laft
two hundred men to make another body to them-
felves, and to guard the camels ; only that, if need
were, they Ihould fend an hundred men to aflift the
laft fifty.
In a word, the Tartars came on, and an innume-
rable company they were ; how m^ny, we could not
tell, but ten thoufand we thought was the leaft. A
party of them came on firft, and viewed our pofture,
traverfing the ground in the front of our line ; and as
we found them within gun-lhot, our leader ordered
the two wings to advance fwiftly, and give them a
falvo on each wing with their fhot, which was done ;
but they went off, and I fuppofe went back to give
an account of the reception they were hke to meet
with ; and, indeed, that falute clogged their fto-
machs ; for they immediately halted, ftood awhile
to confider of it, and, wheeling off to the left, they
gave over the defign, and faid no more to us for
that time ; which was very agreeable to our circum-
ftances.
Jig LIFB AND ADVENTURES
ftances, which were but very indiflferent for a batde
with fuch a number.
Two days after this we came to the city of Naum^
or Naunm : We thanked the governor for his care for
us, and coUeded to the value of loo crowns, or
thereabouts, which we gave to the foldiers fent to
guard us; and here we refted one day. This is a
garrifon indeed, and there were nine hundred fol-
diers kept here ; but the reafon of it was, that for-
merly the Mufcovite frontiers lay nearer to them than
they do now, the Mufcovites having abandoned that
part of the country (which lies from the city weft,
for about two hundred miles) as defolate and unfit
for ufe ; and more efpecially, being fo very remote?
and fo difficult to fend troops hither for its defence ;
for we had yet above two thoufand miles to Mufcovy,
properly fo called.
After this we paffed feveral great rivers, and two
dreadful delarts, one of which we were lixteen days
paffing over, and which, as I faid, was to be called
No Marias Land ; and on the 13th of Aprils we came
to the frontiers of the Mufcovite dominions. I think
the firft city, or town, or fortrefs, whatever it might be
called, that belonged to the Czar of Mufcavy^ was
called Argun^ being on the weft fide of the river
Argun.
I could not but difcover an infinite fatisfa&Ion,
that I was now arrived in, as I called it, a Chriftian
country; or, at leaft, in a country governed by
Chriftians : for though the Mufcovites do, in my opi-
nion, but juft deferve the name of Chrifliians ; (yet
fuch they pretend to be, and are very devout in their
way);
0F ROBXNSON CRUSOE. 319
way) J It would certainly occur to any man who
travels the world as I have done, and who had any
power of refledHon j I fay, it would occur to him,
to reflefl:, what a bleffing it is to be brought into the
world where the name of God, and of a Redeemer,
is known, worfliipped, and adored — and not where
the people, given up by Heaven to ftrong delufions,
worfhip the devil, and proftrate themfelves to flocks
and ftonesj worihip monfters, elements, horrible
fliaped animals, and ftatues, or images of monfters.
Not a town or city we paffed through but had their
pagods, their idols, and their^ temples; and ignorant
people worfhipping even the works of their ownhands I
Now v/e came where, at leaft, a face of the
Chriftian worfhip appeared, where the knee was
bowed to Jesus; and whether ignorantly or not,
yet the Chriftian religion was owned, and the name
of the true God was called upon and adored ; and
it made the very receffes of my foul rejoice to fee it.
I faluted the brave Scotch merchant I mentioned
above, with my firft acknowledgment of this ; and,
taking him by the hand, I faid to him, Bleffed be
God, we are once again come among Chriftians t
He finiled, and anfwered. Do not rejoice too foon,
countryman; thefe Mufcovites are but an odd fort of
Chriftians ; and but for the name of it, you may fee
very little of the fubftance for fome months far-
ther of our journey.
Well, faid I, but ftill it is better than paganifm,
aad worfhipping of devils. Why, V\\ tell you, faid
he ; Except the Rujftan foldiers in garrifons, and a
few of the inhabitants of the cities upon the road,
all
320 LIFE AND ADVEKTURES
all the reft of this country, for above a thoufand
miles farther, is inhabited by the worft and moll
ignorant of pagans : and fo indeed we found it.
We were now launched into the greateft piece of
folid earth, if I underftand any thing of the furfece
of the globe, that is to be found in any part of the
world : we had at leaft twelve hundred miles to the
fea, eaftward ; we had at leaft two thoufand to the
bottom of the Balic fea, weftward ; and almoft three
thoufand miles, if we left that fea, and went on weft
to the Britijh and French channels ; we had full five
thoufand miles to the Indian or Perjtan fea, fouth; and
about eight hundred miles to the frozen fea, north:
nay, if fome people may be believed, there might be
no fea north-eaft till we came round the pole, and
confequently into the north-weft, and fo had a con-
tinent of land into America^ no mortal knows where;
though I could give fome reafons why I believe that
to be a miftake too.
As we entered into the Mufcovite dominions, a
good while before we came to any confiderable town,
we had nothing to obferve there but this : firft, that
all the rivers run to the eaft. As I underftood by the
charts which fome of our caravans had with them,
it was plain that all thofe rivers r?ui into the great
river Tamour^ or Gammour. This river, by the
natural courfe of it, muft run into the eaft fea, or
Chinefe ocean. The ftory they tell us, that the
mouth of this river is choaked up with bulrufhes of a
monftrous growth, viz. three feet about, and twenty
or thirty feet high, I muft be allowed to fay, I be-
lieve nothing of j but as its navigation is of no ufe,
becaufe
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 32I
becaufe there is no trade that way, the Tartars^ to
whom alone it belongs, dealing in nothing but cattle j
fo nobody that ever I heard of, has been curious
enough either to go down to the mouth of it in boats,
or to come up from the mouth of it in (hips; but
this is certain, that this river running due eaft, in
the latitude of 60 degrees, carries a vaft concourfe
of rivers along with it, and finds an ocean to empty
itfelfin that latitude; fo we are fure of fea there.
Some leagues to the north of this river there are
feveral confiderable rivers, whofe ftreams t"un as due
north as the Tumour runs eaft ; and thefe are all found
to join their waters with the great river Tartarus^
named fo from the northermoft nations of the Mogul
Tartars^ who, the Chinefe fay, were the firft Tartars
in the world ; and who, as our geographers alledge,
are the Gog and Magog mentioned in facred ftory.
Thefe rivers running all northward, as well as all
the other rivers I am yet to fpeak of, made it evident
that the northern ocean bounds the land alfo on that
fide ; fo that it does not feem rational in the leaft to
think that the land can extend itfelf to join with
America on that fide, or that there is not a commu-
nication between the northern and the eaftern ocean ;
but of this I Ihall fay no more ; it was my obfervation
at that time, and therefore I take notice of it in this
place. We now advanced from the river Arguna by
eafy and moderate journeys, and were very vifibly
obliged to the care the czar of Mufcovy has taken
to have cities and towns built in as many places as arc
poflible to place them, where his foldiers keep garri-
fbn, fomething like the ftationary foldiers placed
Vol. IL Y by
222 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
by the Romans in the remoteft countries of their
empire, fome of which 1 had read w.re particularly
placed in Britain for the fecurity of commerce, and
for th€ lodging of travellers ; and thus it was here j
for wherever we came, though at thefe towns and
ftations, the garrifons and governor were Rufftam
and profeffed mere pagans, facrifieing to idols, and
worfhipping the fun, moon, and ftars, or all the
hoft of heaven ; and not only fo, but were, of all
the heathens and pagans that ever I met with, the
moft barbarous, except only that they did not eat
man^s flefli, as our favages of America did.
Some inftances of this we met with in the
country between Arguna^ where we enter the Muf
covite dominions, and a city of Tartars and Rujians
together, called Nertzifijkay ; in which fpace is a
continued defart or foreft, which coft us twenty
days to travel over it. In a village, near the lafl
of thofe places, I had the curiofity to go and fee
their way of living ; which is moft brutifh and un-
fufferable : they had, I fuppofe, a great facrifice that
day J for there flood out upon an old ftump of a
tree, an idol made of wood, frightful as the devil ;,
at leaft as any thing we can think of to reprefent the
devil that can be made : It had an head certainly not
fo much as refembling any creature that the world
ever faw ; ears as big as goats horns, and as high ;
eyes as big as a crown piece ; and a nofe like a
crooked ram's horn, and a mouth extended four-
cornered, like that of a lion, with horrible teeth,
hooked like a parrot's under bill. It was drefled up
in the filthieft manner that you can fuppofe j its up-
2 per
bP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 323
per garment was of fheep-fkins, with the wool out-
ward ; a great Tartar bonnet on the head, with two
horns growing through it : it was about eight feet
high, yet had no feet or legs, or any other propor-
tion of parts.
This icarecrowwas fet upatthe outfideof thevillage ;
and when I eame near to it, there were fixteen or
feventeen creatures, whether men or women I could
not tell, for they make no diftinftion by their habits,
cither of body or head ; thefe lay all flat on the
ground, round this formidable block of fhapelefs
ViTood, I faw no motion among them any more than
if they had been logs of woods like their idol ; at
firfl I really thought they had been fo ; but when I
came a little nearer, they ftarted up upon their feet ;
and raifed an howling cry, as if it had been fo
many deep-mouthed hounds, and walked away as
if they were difpleafed at our difturbing them. A
iittle way off from this monfter, and at the door of
a tent or hut, made all of Iheep-lkins and cow^fkins,
dried, flood three butchers : I thought they were
fuch ; for when I came nearer to them, I found they
had long knives in their hands, and in the middle
of the tent appeared three flieep killed, and one
young bullock, or fteer. Thefe, it feems, were fa-
crifices to that fenfelefs log of an idol ; and thefe
three men priefts belonging to it ; and the fpventeen
proftrated wretches were the people who brought
the offering, and were making their prayers to that
flock.
I confefs I was more moved at their flupidity, and
this brutifh worfhip of an hobgoblin, than ever 1
Y 2 was
^24 L<P2 ^^^ ADV£NTURfiS
was at any thing in my life : to fee God's moft gIo«
rious and bed creature, to whom he had granted fo
many advantages, even by creation, above the reft
of the works of his hands, vefted with a reafonable
foul, and that foul adorned with faculties and capa-
cities adapted both to honour his Maker and be ho-
noured by him ; I fay, to fee it funk and degenerated
to a degree fo more than ftupid, as to proftrate itfelf
to a frightful nothing, a mere imaginary objeft dreffed
up by themfelves, and made terrible to themfelves
by their own contrivance, adorned only with clouts
and rags ; and that this fhould be the effe£t of mere
ignorance, wrought up into hellifh devotion by the
devil himfelf; who, envying his Maker the homage and
adoration of his creatures, had deluded them into
fuch grofs, furfeiting, fordid, and bruitifh things, as
one would think fhould fhock nature itfelf.
But what fignified all the aftonifhment and reflec-
tion of thoughts ? Thus it was, and I faw it before
my eyes ; and there was no room to wonder at it,
or think it impoflible. All my admiration turned to
ragb ; and I rode up to the image or monfter, call
it what you will, and with my fword cut the bonnet
that was on its head in two in the middle, fo that it
hung down by one of the horns ; and one of our
men that was *with me, took hold of the (heep-flda
that covered it, and pulled at it, when, behold, a moft
hideous outcry and howling ran through the village,
and two or three hundred people came about my
ears, fo that I was glad to fcour for it j for we faw
fome had bows and arrows j but I Tefolved from
that moment to vifit them again.
Our
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 325
Our caravan refted three nights at the town,
which was about four miles off, in order to provide
fome horfes, which they wanted, feveral of the
horfes having been lamed and jaded with the badnefs
of the way, and our long march over the laft de-
fart ; fo we had fome leifure here to put my defign
in execution. I communicated my projefl: to the
Scots merchant, of Mofcow^ of whofe courage I had
a fufEcient teftimony, as above. I told him what I
had feen, and with what indignation I had fince
thought, that human nature could be fo degenerate.
I told him, I was refolved, if I could get but four
or five men well armed to- go with me, to go and
deftroy that vile, abominable idol ; to let them fee,
that it had no power to help itfelf, and confequently
could not be an objeft of worfhip, or to be prayed
to, much lefs help them that offered facrifices to it.
He laughed at me : faid he. Your zeal may be
good; but what do you propofe to yourfelf by it ?
Propofe ! faid I ; to vindicate the honour of God,
which is infulted by this devil« worfhip. But how
will it vindicate the honour of God ? faid he, while
the people will not be able to know what you mean
by it, unlefs you could fpeak to them too, and
tell them fo ; and then they will fight you too, I will
affure you ; for they ^re defperate fellows, and that
efpecially in defence of their idolatry. Can we not,
faid I, do it in the night, and then leave them the
reafons in writing, in their own language ? Writing !
faid he, why there is not in five nations of them,
one man that knows any thing of a letter, or how
to read a word in any language, or in their own.
Y 3 Wretched
3^6 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
Wretched ignorance ! faid I to him ; however, 1
have a great mind to do it ; perhaps nature may
draw inferences from it to them, to let them fee how
brutifh they are to worfhip fuch horrid things. Look
you. Sir, faid he, if your zeal prompts you to it fo
warmly, you muft do it ; but, in the next place, I
would have you confider thefe wild nations of people
are fubjeded by force to the czar of Mufcovy^ do-
minions ; and if you do this, it is ten to one but
they will come by thoufands to the governor of
Nertzinjkay^ and complain, and demand fatisfaftion ;
and if he cannot give them fatisfadion, it is ten to
one but they revolt; and it wdll occafion a new
war with all ihc Tartars in the country.
This, I confefs, put new thoughts into my head
for a while ; but I harped upon the fame firing ftill ;
and all that day I was uneafy to put my projeQ: in
execution. Towards the evening, the Scots merchant
met me by accident in pur walk about the town,
and defired to fpeak with me : I believe, faid he,
I have put you off your good defign ; I have been
a little concerned about it fmce ; for 1 abhor the
idol and idolatry as much as you can do. Truly,
faid I, you have put it off a little as to the execution
of it, but you have not put it all out of my thoughts ;
and, I believe, I fhall do it ftill before I quit this
place, though I were to be delivered up to them for
fatisfaftion. No, no, faid he; God forbid they
fhould deliver you up to fuch a crew of monfters !
they fliall not do that neither ; that would be mur-
dering you indeed. Why, faid I, how would they
ufe me ? Ufe you ! faid he ; I'll tell you how they
ferved a poor Ruffian^ who affronted them' in their
worlhip
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 327
"troTlhip juft as you did, and whom they took pri-
foner, after they had lamed him with an arrow, that
he could not run away; they took him and ftripped
him ftark naked, and fet him upon the top of the
idol moufter, and flood all round him, and fhot as
many arrows into him as would flick over his whole
body ; and then they burnt him and all the arrows
Clicking in him, as a facrifice to the idol. And was
this the fame idol ? faid I. Yes, faid he, the very
fame. Well, faid I, I will tell you a flory : So I
related the flory of our men at Madagafcar^ and how
they burnt and facked the village there, and killed
man, woman, and child, for their murdering one of
our men, juft as it is related before ; and when I
had done, I added, that I thought we ought to do
fo to this village.
. He liftened very attentively to the flory ; but whea
i talked of doing fo to that village, faid he, you mif-
take very much ; it was not this village, it was al-
mofl an hundred miles from this place; but it was
the fame idol, for they carry him about in proceflion
all over the country. Well, faid I, then that idol
ought to be puniftied for it ; and it fhall, faid I, if I
live this night out.
In a word, finding me refolute, he liked the de-
fign, and told me, I Ihould not go alone, but he
would go with me ; but he would go firfl, and bring
a flout fellow, one of his countrymen, to go alfo
with us ; and one, faid he, as famous for his zeal
as you canr-defire any one to be againfl fuch devilifli
things as thefe. In a word, he brought me his com-
rade, a Scotfman^ whom he called Captain Richard-
Jon ; and I gave him a full account of what I had
Y 4 feen.
3a8 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
feen, and alfo of what I intended ; and he told me
readily, he would go with nje, if it coft him his life.
So we agreed to go, only we three. I had, indeed,
propofed it to my partner ; but he declined it. He
faid, he was ready to afSft me to the utmoft, and
upon all occafions, for my defence ; but that this
was an adventure quite out of his way : fo, I fay,
we refolved upon our work, only we three, and my
man-fervant, and to put it in execution that night
about midnight, with all the fecrecy imaginable.
However, upon fecond thoughts, we were willing
to delay it till the next night, becaufe the caravan
being to fet forward in the morning, we fuppofed the
governor could not pretend to give them any fatis-
faftion upon us when we were out oT his power.—
The Scots merchant, as fteady in his refolution to en-
terprize it as bold in executing, brought me a Tar-
tarus robe or gown of fheep-lkins, and a bonnet,
with a bow and arrows, and had provided the fame
for himfelf and his countryman, that the people, if
they faw us, Ihould not be able to determine who we
were.
All the firft night we fpent in mixing up feme
combuftible matter with aqua-vitae, gunpowder, and
fuch other materials as we could get ; and, having
a good quantity of tar in a little pot, about an hour
after night we fet out upon our expedition.
We came to the place about eleven o'clock at
night, and found that the people had not the lead
jealoufy of danger attending their idol ; the night
was cloudy ; yet the moon gave us light enough to
fee that the idol flood juft in the fame pofture and
place that it did before. The people feemed to be
I all
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 329
all at their reft y only, that in the great hut, or tent
as we called it, where we faw the three priefts, whom
we miftook for butchers, we faw a light, and, go-
ing up clofe to the door, we heard people talking,
as if there were five or fix of them ; we concluded
therefore, that if we fet wild-fire to the idol, thefe
men would come out immediately, and run up to the
place to refcue it from the deftruftion that we intended
for it ; and what to do with them we knew not. Once
we thought of carrying it away, and fetting fire to it
at a diftance ; but when we came to handle it, we
found it too bulky for our carriage ; fo we were at
a lofs again. The fecond Scot/man was for fetting
fire to the tent or hut, and knocking the creatures
that were there on the head, when they came out ;
but I could not join with that; I was againft killing
them, if it was poffible to be avoided. Well then,
faid the Scots merchant, I will tell you what we will
do ; we will try to make them prifoners, tie their
hands, and mals:e them ftand and fee their idol
deftroyed.
As it happened, we had twine or packthread
enough about us, which we ufed to tie our fire-
works together with ; fo we refolved to attack thefe
people firft, and with as little noife as we could.
The firft thing we did, we knocked . at the door,
when one of the priefts coming to it, we immediate-
ly feized upon him, flopped his mouth, and tied his
hands behind him and led him to the idpl, where we
gagged him that he might not make a noife ; tied
his feet alfo together, and left him on the ground.
Two of us then waited at the door, expeding that
another would come out to fee what the mattet
230 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
was ; but we waited fo long till the third man came
back to us; and then, nobody coining out, we
fcnocked again gently, and immediately out came
two more, and we ferved them juft in the fame man-
ner, but were obliged to go all with them, and lay
them down by the idol fome diftance from one
another ; %vhen, going back, we found two more
were come out to the door, and a third flood
behind them within the door. We feized the two,
and immediately tied them : when the third ftepping
back, and crying out, my Scots merchant went in
after him, and taking out a compofition we had
made, that would only fmoke and (link, he fet
fire to it, and threw it in among them : by that time
the other Scot/man and my man taking charge of the
two men already bound, and tied together alfo by
the arm, led them away to the idol, and left them
there, to fee if their idol would relieve them, making
hafte back to us.
When the furze we had thrown in had filled the
hut with fo much fmoke that they were almoft fuffo-
cated, we then threw in a fmall leather bag of
another kind, which flamed like a candle, and, fol-
lowing it in, we found there were but four people
left, who, it feems, were two men and two women,
and, as we fuppofed, had been about fome of their
diabolic facrifices. They appeared, in fhort, fright-
ed to death, at leaft fo as to fit trembling and ftupid,
and not able to fpeak neither, for the fmoke.
In a word, we took them, bound them as we had
the other, and all without any noife. I fhould have
faid, we brought them out of the houfe, or hut, firft ;
for, indeed, w'e were not able to bear the fmoke any
more
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 33I
more than they were. When we had done this, we
carried them altogether to the idol : when we came
there we fell to work with him ; and firft we daubed
him all over, and his robes alfo, with tar, and fuch
other ftuflF as we had, which was tallow mixed with
brimftone ; then we flopped his eyes, and ears, and
mouth full of gunpowder ; then we wrapped up a
great piece of wildfire in his bonnet ; and then flick-
ing all the combuftibles we had brought with us upon
him, we looked about to fee if we could find any
thing elfe to help to burn him ; when my Scot/man
remembered, that by the tent, or hut, where the
men were, there lay a heap of dry forage, whether
ftraw or rufhes I do not remember : away he and
the other Scotfman ran, and fetched their arms full of
that. When we had done this, we took all our pri-
foners, and brought them, having untied their feet,
.and ungagged their mouths, and made them fland
up, and fet them juft before their monftrous idol,
.and then fet fire to the whole.
We flayed by it a quarter of an hour, or there-
abouts, till the powder in the eyes, and mouth, and
ears of the idol blew up, and, as we could perceive,
had fplit and deformed the fhape of it ; and, in a
word, till we fa\y it burnt into a mere block or log
of wood J and then fetting the dry forage to it, wc
found it would be foon quite cdnfumed ; fo we began
to think of going away; but the Scotfman faid: No,
we mufl not go ; for thefe poor deluded wretches
will all throw themfelves into the fire, and burn
themfelves with the idol ; fo we refolved to flay till
the forage was burnt down too, and then we came
away and left them.
In
33* ^I^^ AND ADVENTURES
In the morning we appeared among our fellow
travellers, exceeding bufy in getting ready for our
journey ; nor could any man fuggeft that we had been
anywhere but in our beds, as travellers might be
fuppofed to be, to fit themfelves for the fatigues of
that day's journey.
But it did not end fo ; for the next day came a
great multitude of the country people, not only of
this village, but of an hundred more, for aught 1
know, to the town gates ; and, in a mofl outrageous
manner, demanded fatisfaftion of the Rtcffian gover-
nor, for the infulting their priefts, and burning their
great ChamXhi-Thaungu ; fuch an hard name they
gave the monftrous creature they worfhipped: the
people of Nertzinjkay were at firft in a great confler-
nation ; for, they faid, the Tartars were no lefs than
thirty thoufand, and that in a few days more, they
would be one hundred thoufand flronger.
The Rujftan governor fent out meffengers to ap-
peafe them, and gave them all the good words ima-
ginable. He affured them he knew nothing of it,
and that there had not a foul of his garrifon been
abroad ; that it could not be from any body there j
and if they would let him know who it was, they
fhould be exemplarily punifhed. They returned
haughtily. That all the country reverenced the
great Cham-Chi-Thaungu^ who dwelt in the fun, and
no mortal woulci have dared to offer violence to his
image, but fome Chrijiian mifcreant ; fo they called
them, it feems, and they therefore denounced war
againft him, and all the Ruffians^ who, they faid,
were mifcreants and Chri/iians.
The
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 333
The governor, ftill patient, and unwilling to
make a breach, or to have any caufe of war alledged
to be given by him, the czar having ftraightly charged
him to treat the conquered country with gentlenefs
and civility, gave them ftill all the good words he
could; at laft he told them, there was a caravan
gone towards Rujfia that morning, and perhaps it ^
was fome of them who had done them this injury;
and that, if they would be fatisfi^d with -that, he
would fend after them, to enquire into it. This
feemed to appeafe them a little; and accordingly
the governor fent after us, and gave us a particular
account how the thing was ; intimating, withal, that
if any in our caravan had done it, they fhould make
their efcape ; but that, whether they had done it or
no, we fhould make all the hafte forward that
was pofSble ; and that in the mean time, he would
keep them in play as long as he could.
This was very friendly in the governor. How-
ever, whgga it came to the caravan, there was no-
body knew any thing of the matter; and, as for us
that were guilty, we were the leaft of all fufpefted;
none fo much as aiked us the queftion ; however, the
captain of the caravan, for the time, took the hint
that the governor gave us, and we marched or tra-
velled two days and two nights without any confide-
rable ftop, and then we lay at a village called
Plothus ; nor did we make any long ftop here, but
haftened on towards Jarawena^ another of the czar
of Mtifcovy's colonies, and where we expefted we
fhould be fafe; but it is to be obferved, that here
we began, for two or three days march, to enter
upon a vaft namelefs defart, of which I fhall fay more
in
336 J^I^E AND ADVENTURES
who had injured them, for we were not the people ;
fo defired them not to iiiflurb us ; for if they did,
wc fhould defend ourfelves.
They were far from being fatisfied with this for an
anfwer, and a great crowd of them came down in
the morning, by br6ak of day, to our camp ; but,
feeing us in fuch an advantageous fituation, they
diirft come no farther than the brook in our front,
where they flood, and fliewed us fuch a number, as,
indeed, terrified us very much ; for thofe that fpoke
leaft of them, fpoke of ten thoufand. Here they
flood, and looked at us a while, and then fetting up
a great howl, they let fly a cloud of arrows among
us J but we were well enough fortified for that, for
we were fheltered under our baggage ; and I do not
remember that one man of us was hurt.
Some time after this, we faw them move a little
to our right, and expefted them on the rear, when
a cunning fellow, a Cojfack^ as they call them, of
Jarawena^ in the pay of the Mufcovites^ calling to
the leader of the caravan, faid to him, I will fend
all thefe people away to Sibeilka : This was a city four
or five days journey, at leaft to the fouth, and rather
behind us. So he takes his bow and arrows, and,
getting oahorfeback, he rides away from our rear
direftly, as it were, back to Nertzin^ay ; after this,
he takes a great circuit about, and comes to the army
of the Tartars y as if he had b'een fent exprefs to
tell them a long ftory, that the people who had
burnt their Cham-ChuThaungu were gone to Sibeilkdj
with a caravan of mifcreants, as he called them ;
that is to fay, Chriftians ; and that they were re-
folved
OF ROBINSON CRUSOBi ^^y^
Ibived to burn the god Seal Ifargj belonging to the
Tongufisi.
As this fellow was a mere Tartar j and perfectly
fpoke their language, he counterfeited fo well^ that
they all took it from Jiim, and away they drove, in
a moft violent hurry^ to Sibeilka^ which, it feems,
was five days journey to the fouth ; and in lefs than
three hours they were eiitirely out of our fight,
and we never heard any niore of them, nor ever
knew whether they went to that other place called
Sibeilka^ or no.
So we paffed fafely on td the city of Jarawena^
where there was a garrifon of Mufcovites ; and there
we refted five days, the caravan being exceedingly
fatigued with the lafl day*s march, and with want
of reft in the night.
From this city we had a frightful defart, which
held us three-and-twenty days march. We furniflied
ourfelves with fome tents here, for the better ac-
commodating ourfelves in the night ; and the leader
of the caravan procured fixteen carriages, or wag-
gons, of the country, for carrying our water and
provifions ; and thefe carriages were our defence
.every night round our little camp ; fo that had the
Tartars appeared, unlefs they had been very nume-
rous indeed, they would not have been able to hurt
us.
We may well be fuppofed to want reft again after
this long journey ; for in this defart we faw nei-
ther houfe or tree, or fcarce a bufh ; we faw, indeed,
abundance of the fable*hunters, as they called* them :
Thefe are all Tartars of the Mogul Tartary^ of which
thi^ country is a part ; and they frequently attack
Vql.II. Z fmall
238 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
fniall caravans ; but we faw no numbers of them to-
gether. I was curious to fee the fable-lkins they
catched ; but I could never fpeak with any of them;
for they durft not come near us ; neither durft we
ftraggle from our company to go near them.
After we had paffed this defart, we came into a
country pretty well inhabited; that is to fay, A?e
found towns and caftles fettled by the czar of Muf-
covy^ with garrifons of ftationary foldiers to proted
the caravans, and defend the country againft the
Tartars^ who would otherwife make it very dan-
gerous travelling ; and his czarifh majefty has given
fuch ftri£t orders for the well guarding the caravans
and merchants, that if there are any Tartars heard
of in the country, detachments of the garrifon are
always fent to fee travellers fafe from ftation to fta-
tion.
And thus the governor of Adtnjkoy^ whom I had
aa opportunity to make a vifit to, by means of the
Scots merchant, who was acquainted with him, of-
fered us a guard of fifty men, if we thought there
was any danger, to the next ftation.
I thought long' before this, that as we came nearer
to Europe^ we fhould find the country better peopled,
and the people more civilized ; but I found myfelf
miftaken in both, for we had yet the nation of the
Tonguefes to pafs through ; where we faw the fame
tokens of paganifm and barbarity, or worfe, than
before ; only as they were conquered by the Muf-
co'vites^ and entirely reduced, they v/ere not fo dan-
gerous ; but for the rudenefs of manners, idolatry,
and polytheifm, no people in the world ever went
beyond thern^ They are clothed all in fkins of
' * beafls,
OF ROBINSdK CRUSOEi 339
^'beafts, and their houfes are built of the famei
You know hot a man from a woman, neither by
the ruggednefs of their countenances, or their
clothes; and in the winter, w hen the ground is co-
vered with fnow, they live under ground, in houfes
like vaults, which have cavities or caves going from
one to another.
If the Tartan had their Cham-Cbi'Thaungu iox a
whole village, or country, thefe had idols in every
hut, and every cave; befides, they worfhip the
flars, the fun, the water, the fnow ; and, in a word^
every thing that they do not underftand, and they
underfland but very little ; fo that almofl every ele-*
ment, every uncommon thing, fets them a facri-*
ficing.
But I am no more to defcrlbe people than coun-
tries, any farther than my own ftory comes to be
concerned in them. I met with nothing peculiar
to myfelf in all this country, which, I reckon was,
from the defart which I fpoke of laft, at leaft four
hundred miles, half of it being another defart,
which took us up twelve days fevere travelling,
without houfe, tree or bufh ; but were obliged again
to carry our own provifions, as well water as bread.
After we were out of this defart, and had tra-
_ veiled two days, we came to Janezay^ a Mufco*
vite city or ftation, on the great river Janczay^
This river, they told us, parted Europe from Afia^
though our map-makers, as I am told, do not agree
to it ; however, it is certainly the eaftern boundary
of the antient Siberia^ which now makes a province
only of the vaft Mufcovite empire, but is itfelf equal
in bignefs to the whole empire of Germany.
Z 2 And
340 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
And yet here I obferved ignorance and paganifin
ftill prevailed, except in the Mufcovite garrifons:
All the country between the river Obyj and the river
Janezay^ is as entirely pagan, and the people as bar-
barous, as the remoteft of the Tartars ; nay, as
any nation, for aught I know, in Afta or America.
I alfo found, which I obferved to the Mufcovite go.
vernors, whom I had opportunity to converfe with,
that the pagans are not much the wifer, or the nearer
Chriftianity, for being under the Mufcovite go-
vernment; which they acknowledged was true
enough, but, they faid, it was none of their bu-
finefs ; that if the czar expedled ta convert his 5i-
berian^ or Tonguefs^ or Tartar fubjefts, h (hould be
done by fending clergymen among them, not fol.
diers ; and they added, with more fmcerity than I
expefted, that they found it was not fo much the con-
cern of their monarch to make the peopk Chriflians,
as it was to make them fubjefts*
From this river to the great river Ohy^ we croffed
a wild uncultivated country ; I cannot fay 'tis a bar-
barous fail \ *tis only barren of people, and wants good
management ; otherwife it is in itfelf a mofl
pleafant, fruitful, and agreeable country. What
inhabitants we found in it are all pagans, except
fuch as are fent among them from Ruffia ; for this
is the country, I mean on both fides the river Ohjy
v* hither the Mufcovite criminals, that are not put
to death, are banifhed, and from whence it is next
to impoflible they fliould ever come away.
I have nothing material to fay of my particular
affairs, till 1 came to Tobolfki^ the capital of Si-
beria^
OTF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 341
hfriay where I continued fome time on the following
occafion : —
We had been now almofl: feven months on our
journey, and winter began to come on apace;
whereupon my partner and I called a council about
our particular affairs, in which we found it proper,
confidering that we were bound for England^ and
not for Mafcviv, to confider how to difpofe of our-
felves. They told us of fledges and rein deer to
carry us over the fnow in the winter-time ; and, in-
deed, they have fuch things, as it would be incredi-
ble to relate the particulars of, by which means the
Ritffiam travel more in the winter than they can in
fummerj becaufe in thefe fledges they are able to
run night and day : the fnow being frozen, is one
univerfal covering to nature, by which the the hills,
the vales, the rivers, the lakes, are all fmooth, and
hard as a ftone ; and they run upon the furface,
without any regard to what is underneath.
Bdt I had no occafion to pufli at a winter journey
of this kind ; I was bound to England^ not to Mof-^
€ow^ and my route lay two v/ays : either i mufl: go
on as the caravan went, till I came to Jarijlaw^ and
then go off wefl: for Narva^ and the gulph of iv«-
hnd^ and fo either by fea or land to Dantzick^ where
I might poffibly fell my CJyina cargo to gopd advan-
tage, or I mufl: leave the caravan at a little town on
the Dwinaj from whence I had but fix days by wa-
t^r to Arch-Angel^ and from thence might be fure
of fliipping, either to England^ Hollandj or Ham-
burgh.
% 3 Now
34^ ^IFE AND ADVENTURES
Now to go any of thefe joumies in the winter
would have been prepofterous ; for as to Dantzicy the.
Baltic would be frozen up, and I could not get paffagej
and to go by land in thofe countries, was far lefs
fafe than among the Mogul Tartars ; likewifc to
Arch-Angdy in O^ober all the fhips would be gone
from thence, and even the merchants, who dwell
there in fummer, retire fouth to Mo/cow in the win-
ter, when the fliips are gone ; fo that I ftiould have
nothing but extremity of cold to encounter, with a
fcarcity of provifions, and muft lie there in an
empty town all the winter : fo that, upon the whole,
I thought it much my better way to let the caravan
go, and to make provifion to winter where I was,
viz. at Toboljkiy in Siberia^ in the latitude of fixty
degrees, where I was fure of three things to wear
out a cold winter with, viz. plenty of provifions,
fuch as the country aflForde^, a warm houfe, with
fuel enough, and excellent company ; of all which
I fhall give a full account in its place.
I was now in a quite different climate from my
beloved ifland, where I never felt cold, except when,
I, had my ague; on the contrary, I had much to do
to bear my clothes on my back, and never made any
fire but without doors, and my neeeffity, in dreffing
my food, &c. Now I made me three good vefts,
with large robes or gowns over them, to hang down
to the feet, and button clofe to the wrifts, and all
thefe lined with furs, to make them fufBciently
warm.
As to a warm houfe, I muft confefs, I greatly dif-^
like our way in England^ of, making fires in every
room
OP ROBINSON CRUSOE. 343
room in the houfe, in open chimnles, whi:h, when
the fire was out, alvifays kept the air in the room
cold as the climate. But taking an apartment in a
good houfe in the town, I ordered a chimney to be
built like a furnace, in the centre of fix feveral rooms,
like a ftove ; the funnel to carry the fmoke went up
one way, the door to come at the fire went in
another, and all the rooms were kept equally warm,
but no fire feen ; like as they heat the bagnios in
England.
By this means we had always the fame climate in
all the rooms, and an equal heat was preferved ; and
how cold foever it was without, it was always warm
within ; and yet we faw no fire, nor were ever in-
commoded with any fmoke.
The mod: wonderful thing of all was, that it (hould
be poffible to meet with good company here, in a
country fo barbarous as that of the moft northerly
parts of Europe, near the frozen ocean, and v/ithin
but a very few degrees of Nova Zembla.
But this beinej^ the countrv where the ftate crimi-
nals of Mufcovy, as I obferved before, are all baniflied ;
this city was full of noblemen, princes, gentlemen,
colonels, and^ in fhort, all degrees of the nobility,
gentry, foldiery, and courtiers of Mufcovy. Here
were the famous Prince Galilfken, or Galoffken, and
his fon ; the old general Robojiijhy, and feveral other
perfons of note, and fome ladies.
By means of my Scots merchant, whom, never -
thelefs, I parted with here, I made an acquaintance
with feveral of thefe gentlemen, and fome of them
of the firft rank ; and from thefe, in the long winter
nights, in which I ftaid here, I received feveral agree-
Z 4 able
344 L^f^ AND ADVENTURES
able vifitj. It was talking one night with a certain
prince, one of the baniflied minifters of ftate be-i
longing to the czar of Mufcovy^ that my talk of my
particular cafe began. He had been telling me abun-
dance of fine things, of the greatnefs, the magni-
ficence, and dominions, and the abfolute power of
the emperor of the Ruffians. I interrupted him, and
told him, I was a greater and more powerful prince
than ever the 3car of Mufcovy was, though my do-
minions were not fo large, or my people fo many.
The Ruffian grandee looked a little furprized, and
fixing his eyes fteadily upon me, began to wonder
what I meant.
I told him hjs wonder would ceafe when I had
explained myfelf. Firft, I told him, I had the ab-
folute difpofal of the lives and fortunes of all my
fubjefls : That notwithftanding my abfolute power,
I had not one perfpn difaffeded to my government
or to my perfon, in all my dominions. He Ihook
his head at that, and faid. There, indeed, I out-did
the czar of Mufcovy* I told him, that all the lands
in my kingdom were my own, and all my fubjefts
were not only my tenants, but tenants at will ; that
they would all fight for me to the laft drop ; and
that never tyrant, for fuch I acknowledged myfelf to
be, was ever fo univerfally beloved, and yet fo hor-»
ribly feared, by his fubjedts.
After amufing them with thefe riddles in go-
vernment for a while, I opened the cafe, and told
them the ftory at large of my living in the ifland,
and how I managed both myfelf and the people there
that were under me, juft as I have fince minuted it
down. They were exceedingly taken with the ftory,
and
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. , 345
and efpecially the prince, who told me with a figh,
that the true greatnefs of life was to be matter of
ourfelves ; that he would not have changed fuch a
ftate of life as mine, to have been czar of Mufcovy ;
and that he found more felicity in the retirement he
feemed to be baniflied to there, than ever he found
in the higheft authority he enjoyed in the court of
his matter the czar : that the heighth of human wif-
dom was to bring our tempers down to our circum-
ftances, and to make a calm within, under the
weight of the greateft ttorm without. When he
came firtt hither, he faid, he ufed to tear the hair
from his head, and the clothes from his back, as
others had done before him ; but a little time and
confideration had made him look into himfelf, as
well as round himfelf, to things without : that he
found the mind of man, if it was but once brought
to refleft upon the ttate of univerfal life, and how
little this world was concerned in its true felicity,
was perfedly capable of making a felicity for itfelf,
fully fatisfying to itfelf, and fuitable to its own beft
ends and defires, with but very little aflittance from
the world ; that air to breathe in, food to fuftain life,
clothes for warmth, and liberty for exercife, in order
to health, compleated, in his opinion, all that the
world could do for us : and though the greatnefs,
the authority, the riches, and the pleafures, which
feme enjoyed in the world, and which he had en-
joyed his fhare of, had much in them that was agree-
able to us, yet he obferved, that all thofe things
chiefly gratified the coarfeft of our affeftions ; fuch
as our ambition, our particular pride, our avarice,
pur vanity, and our fenfualityj all which were,
indeed.
346 LIFE ANP ADVENTURM
indeed, the mere produft of the worft part of inan^
were in themfelves crimes, and had in them the feeds
of all manner of crimes ; but neither were related to
or concerned with, any of thofe virtues- that confti-
tuted us wife men, or of thofe graces which diftin-
guiflied us as Chri/iians : that being now deprived of
all the fancied felicity, which he enjoyed in the full
exercife of all thofe vices, he faid, he was at leifure
to look upon the dark fide of them, where he found
all manner of deformity ; and was now convinced,
that virtue only makes a man truly wife, rich, and
great, and preferves him in the way to a fuperior
happinefs in a future ftate ; and in this, he faid,
they were more happy in their banilliment, than all
their enemies were, who had the full pofTeffion of all
the wealth and power that they (the baulfhed) had
left behind them.
. Nor, Sir, faid he, do I bring my mind to this
politically, by the neceffity of my circumftances^
which fome call miferable ; but, if I know any thing
of myfelf, I would not go back, no not though
my mafter, the czar, fhould call me, and offer to
reinftate me in all my former grandeur; I fay, I
would no more go back to it, than I believe my foul
when it fliall be delivered from this prifbn of the body
and has had a tafte of the glorious ftate beyond life>
would come back to the goal of fiefh and blood it is
now inclofed in, and leave heaven to deal in the dirt
and grime of human affairs.
He fpake this with fo much warmth in his temper,
fo much earneftnefs and motion of his fpirits, which
were apparent in his countenance, that it was evident
it was the true fenfe of his foul ; and, indeed, there
was no room to doubt his fincerity.
I told
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 347
I told him, i once thought myfelf a kind of a
monarch in my old ftaticn, of which I had given
him an account, but that I thought he was not a
monarch only, but a great conqueror ; for that he
that has got a viftory over his own exorbitant de-
fires, and has the abfolute dominion over himfelf,
and whofe reafon entirely governs his will, is cer-
tainly greater than he that conquers a city. But,
my lord, faid I, fhall I take the liberty to afk you a
queftion ? With all my heart, faid he. If the door
of your liberty was opened, faid I, would not you
take hold of it to deliver yourfelf from this exile ?
Hold, faid he, your queftion is fubtle, and re-
quires fome ferious juft diftinftions to give it a fincere
anfwer j and Pll give it you from the bottom of my
heart. Nothing that I know of in this world would
move me to deliver myfelf from the ftate of banilh-
ment, except thefe two : Firft, the enjoyment of my
relations j and, fecondly, a little warmer climate :
but I proteft to you, that to go back to the pomp of
the court, the glory, the power, the hurry of a mi-
nifter of ftate ; the wealth, the gaiety, and the plea-
fures, that is to fay, follies of a courtier ; if my maf-
ter fhould fend me word this moment, that he reftorcs
me to all he banifhed me from ; I proteft, if I know
myfelf at all, I would not leave this wildernefs, thefe
defarts, and thefe frozen lakes, for the palace of
Mo/cow.
But, my lord, faid I, perhaps you not only are
baniflied from the pleafures of the court, and from the
power, and authority, and wealth, you enjoyed be-
fore, but you may be abfent too from fome of the con-
yeniencies of life ; your eftate, perhaps, confiicated,
and
348 I-IFE AND ADVENTURES
and your effefts plundered ; and the fupplies left
you here may not be fuitable to the ordinary demands
of life.
Ay, faid he, that is as you fuppofe me to be, a lord,
or a prince, &c. So, indeed, I am ; but you are
novv to confider me ohly as a man, an human crea-
ture, not at all diftinguifhed from another \ and fo I
can fuffer no want, unlefs I fhould be vifited with
ficknefs and diftempers. However, to put the quef-
lion out of difpute ; you fee our manner ; we are in
this place five perfons of rank ; we live perfedly re-
tired, as fuited to a ftate of banifhment ; we have
fomething refcued from the fhipwreck of our fortunes
which keeps us from the mere neceflity of hunting
for our food ; but the poor foldiers who are here,
without that help, Kve in as much plenty as we.
They go into the woods, and catch fables and foxes ;
the labour of a month will maintain them a year ;
and as the way of living is not expenfive, fo it is not
hard to get fufficient to ourfelves : So that objeftion
is out of doors.
I have no room to give a full account of the moft
agreeable converfation I had with this truly great
man ; in all which he fhewed, that his mind was fo
mfpired with a fuperior knowledge of things, fo fup-
portecj by religion, as well as by a vaft fhare of wif-
dom, that his contempt of the world was really as
much as he had expreffed, and that he was always
the fame to the laft, as will appear in the ftory I am
going to tell.
I had been here eight months, and a dark dreadful
winter I thought it to be ; the cold was fo intenfe,
tha
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 349
that I couH not fo much as look abroad without
being wrapt in furs, and a malk of fur before my
face, or rather a hood, with only an hole for breath,
and two for fights The little day-light we had, was,
as we reckoned, for three months, not above fivt:
hours a day, and fix at mod ; only that the fnow
lying on the ground continually, and the weather
being clear, it was nevar quite dark. Our horfes were
kept (or rather ftarved) under-ground j and,, as, for
our fervants (for we hired fervants here to look after
our horfes and ourfelves), we had every now and then
their fingers and toes to thaw, and take care of, left
they (hould mortify and fall oiF.
It is true, within doors we were warm, the houfes
being clofe, the walls thick, the lights fmall, and the
glafs all double. Our food was chiefly the flelh of
deer, dried and cured in the feafon; good bread
enough, but baked as bifcuits ; dried fifh of feveral
forts, and fome flefh of mutton, and of buffaloes,
which is pretty good beef. All the flore of pro-
vifion for the winter are laid up in the fummer, and
well cured ; our drink was water mixed with aqua
vitae inftead of brandy ; and, for a treat, mead inllead
of wine j which, however, they have excellent gootJ*
The hunters, who ventured abroad all weathers, fre-
quently brought us in frefh venifon, very fat and
good } and fometimes bears flefli, but we did not
much care for the laft. We had a good ftock of tea,
with which we treated our friends as above; and, in
a word, we lived very chearfully and well, all things
confidered.
It was now Marchy and the days grown confider-
ably longer, and the weather at leaft tolerable ; fo
other
35<3 JLIFfi AND ADVENTURES
Other travellers began to prepare fledges to carry them
over the fnow, and to get things ready to be going •
but my meafures being fixed, as t have faid, for
Arch' Angel, and not for Mu/covy or the Baltick, I
made no motion, knowing very v/ell, th^t the Ihips
from the fouth do not fet out for that part of the
world till May or June ; and that if I was there at
the beginning of Aiiguji, it would be as foon as any
fliips would be ready to go away ; and therefore, I
fay, I made no hade to be gone, as others did ; in a
word, I faw a great many people, nay, all the tra-
vellers, go away before me. ' It feems, every year
they go from thence to Mofcow for trade ; viz. to
carry furs, and buy neceflaries with them, which
they bring back to furnifli their fliops ; alfo others
went on the fame errand to Arch-Angel ; but then
they alfo, being to come back again above eight
hundred miles, went all out before me.
In Ihort, about the latter end of May, I began to
make all ready to pack up ; and as I was doing this,
it occurred to me, that feeing all thefe people were
baniflied by the czar of Mu/covy to Siberia, and yet,
when they came there, were at liberty to go whither
they would ; why did they not then go away to any
part of the world wherever they thought fit ? and I
began to examine what fliould hinder them from
making fuch an attempt.
But my wonder was over, when I entered upon
that fubje£t with the perfon I have mentioned, who
anfwered me thus ; Confider, firft, - faid he, the
place where we are ; and, fecondly, the condition we
are in j efpecially, faid he, the generality of the
people
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, 35I
people who are banifhed hither. We arefurrounded,
faid he, with ftronger things than bars and bohs:
on the north fide is an unpavigable ocean, where fhip
never failed, and boat never fwam,; neither, if we
had both, could we know whither to go with them.
Every other way, faid he, we have above a ihoufand
miles to pafs through the czar's own dominions, and
by ways utterly impaflable, except by the roads made
by the government, and through the towns garrifoned
by his troops ; fo that we could neither pafs undif-
covered by the road, or fubfift any other way : fp
that it is in vain to attempt it.
I Was filencedj indeed, at once, and found that
they were in a prifon, every jot as fecure, as if they
had been locked up in the caftle of Mofcovj ; how.
ever, it came into my thoughts, that I might
certainly be made an inflrument to procure the efcape
of this excellent perfon, and that it was very eafy
for me to carry him away, there being'no guard over
him in the country ; and as I was not going to Mof^
cow^ but to Arch'Angel^ and that I went in the na-
ture of a caravan, by which 1 was not obliged to lie
in the flationary towns in the defart, but could en-
camp every night were I would, we might eafily.
pafs uninterrupted to Arch-Angel, where I could im-
mediately fecure him on board an Englijh or Dutch
fhip, and carry him off fafe along with me ; and
as to his fubfiftence, and other particulars, that
fhould be my care, till he fliould better fupply him-
felf.
He heard me very attentively, and looked earneftly
on me all the while Ifpoke ; nay, I could fee in his
very face, that what I faid put his fpirits into an ex-
3 ceeding
2S^ tIFE AND ADVENTURED
ceeding ferment ; his colour frequently chzngtij
his eyes looked red, and his heart fluttered, that it
might be even perceived in his countenance \ nor
could he immediately anfwer me when I had
done, and, as it were, expefted what he would fay to
it ; and after he had paufed a little, he embraced
me, and faid> How unhappy are we ! unguided crea-
tures as we are, that even our greateft afts of friend-
fhip are made ftiares to us, and we are made tempters
of one another I My dear friend, faidjie, your offer is
fo fincere, has fuch kindnefs in it, is fo difmterefted
in itftlf, and is fo calculated for my advantage, that
I mufl have very little knowledge of the world, if I
did not both wonder at it, and acknowledge the
obligation I have upon me to you for it: But did
you believe I was fincere in what I have fo often faid
to you of my contempt of the world ? Did you be-
lieve I fpoke my very foul to you, and that I had
really maintained that degree of felicity here, that
had placed me above all that the world could give
me, or do for me ? Did you believe I was fincere,
when I told you I would not go back, if I was re-
called even to be all that once I was in the court, and
with the favour of the czar my mafter ? Did you
believe me, my friend, to be an honeft man, or did
you think me to be a boading hypocrite ? — ^Here he
flopped, as if he would hear what I would fay ; but,
indeed, I foon after perceived, that he flopped be-
caufe his fpirits were in motion ; his heart was full
of flruggles, and he could not go on. I was, I con-
fefs, aflonifhed at the thing, as well as at the man,
and J ufed fome arguments with him to urge him to
fct hiinfelf free ; that he ought to look upon this as a
2 door
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE* ^^1^
door opened by Heaven for his deliverance, and a
fummons by Providence, who hasi the care and
good difpofition of all events, to do himfelf good,
and to render himfelf ufeful in the world.
He had by this time recovered himfelf. How do
you know. Sir, faid he, warmly, but that inftead of
a fummons from Heaven, it may be a feint of another
inftrument, reprefenting, in all the alluring colours,
to me, the fhew of felicity as a deliverance, which
may in itfelf be my fnare, and tend directly to my
ruin ? Here I am free from the temptation of return.
lAg to my former miferable greatnefs j there I am
not fure, but that all the feeds of pride, ambition,
avarice, and luxury, which I know remain in my
nature, may revive and take root, and, in a word,
again overwhelm me ; and then the happy prifoner,
whom you fee now mafter of his fouPs liberty, fhall
be the miferable Have of his own fenfes, in the full
pofleffion of all perfonal liberty. Dear Sir, let me
remain in this bleffed confinement, banifhed from the
crimes of life, rather than purchafe a fhow of free-
dom at the expence of the liberty of my reafon,
and at the expence of the ' future happinefs which
now I have in my view, but fhall then, I fear, quick-
ly lofe fight of; for I am but flelh, a man, a mere
man, have paffions and afFedions as likely to poffefs
and overthrow me as any man : O be not my friend
and my tempter both together !
If I was furprifed before, I was quite dumb now,
and flood filent, looking at him ; and, indeed, ad-
mired what I faw j the ftruggle in his foul was fo
Vol. II. A a great.
354 ^^^^ -^ND ADVENTURES
great) that though the weather was extremely cold,
it put him into a moft violent fweat, and I found he
wanted to give vent to his mind ; fo I faid a word or
two, that I would leave him to confider of it, and
wait on him again j and then I withdrew to my own
apartment.
About two hours after, I heard fomebody at or
near the door of the room, and I was going to open
the door ; but he had opened it, and come in : My
dear friend, faid he, you had almoft overfet me, but
I am recovered : do not take it ill that I do not clofe
with your oflFer ; I affure you, it is not for want of
a fenfe of the kindnefs of it in you ; and I come to
make,the moft fincere acknowledgement of it to you j
but, I hope, I have got the vidory over myfelf.
My lord, faid I, I. hope you are fully fatisfied, that
you did not refift the call of Heaven, Sir, faid he,*
if it had been from Heaven, the fame power would
have influenced me to accept it ; but I hope, and am
fully fatisfied, that it is from Heaven that I decline
it; and I have an infinite fatisfadion in the parting,
that you fhall leave me an honeft man ftill, though
not a free man,
I had nothing to do but to acquiefce, and make
profefEon to him of my having no end in it, but a
fincere defire to ferve him. He embraced me very
paflionately, and aflTured me, he was fenfible of that,
and fhould always acknowledge it ; and with that
he oflTered me a very fine prefent of fables, too much
indeed for me to accept from a man in his circum-
ftances; and I would have avoided them, but he
would not be refufed.
The
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 35^^
The next morning I fent my fervant to his lord-
fliip, with a fmall prefent of tea, two pieces of China
damafk, and four little wedges of japan gold, which
did not all weigh above fix ounces, or thereabouts ;
but were far fhort of the value of his fables, which
indeed, when I came to England^ I found worth near
two hundred pounds. He accepted the tea, and
one piece of the damaflc, and one of the pieces of
gold, which had a fine ftamp upon it, of the Japan
coinage, which I found he took for the rarity of it,
but would not take any more ; and fent word by my
fervant, that he defired to fpeak with me.
When I came to him, he told me, I knew what
had paffed between us, and hoped I would not move
him any more in that affair ; but that, fince I made
fuch a generous offer to him, he afked me, if I had
kindnefs enough to offer the fame to another perfon
that he would name to me, in whom he had a great
fliare of concern. I told him, that I could not fay I
inclined to do fo much for any one but himfelf, for
whom 1 had a particular value, and fhould have been
glad to have been the infttument of his deliverance :
however, if he would pleafe to name the perfon to me,
I would give him my anfwer, and hoped he would
not be difpleafed with me, if he was with my anfwer.
He told me, it was only his fon, who, though I had
not feen, yet was in the fame condition with himfelf,
and above two hundred miles from him, on the other
fide the Oby ; but that, if I confented, he would
fend for him.
I made no hefitation, but told him I would do it :
I made fome ceremony in letting him underftand
that it was wholly on his account j and that feeing I
A a 2 could
35^ I-IFE AND ADVENTURES
could not prevail on him, I would fhew my refpeS:
to him by my concern for his fon : but thefe things
^re too tedious to repeat here. He fent away the
next day for his fon, and in about twenty days he
came back with the meffenger, bringing fix or feven
horfes loaded with very rich furs, and which, in the
whole, amounted to a very great value.
His fervants brought the horfes into the town,
but left the young lord at a diftance till night, when
he came incognito into our apartment, and his
father prefented him to me ; and, in Ihort, we con-
certed there the manner of our travelling, and every ,
thing proper for the journey.
I had bought a confiderable quantity of fables,
black fox-fkins, fine ermins, and fuch other furs
that are very rich ; I fay, I had bought them in
that city for exchange for fome of the goods brought
from China ; in particular, for the cloves and nut-
megs, of which I fold the greateft part here ; and
the reft afterwards at Arch-Angel^ for a much better
price than I could have done at London ; and my
partner, who was fenfible of the profit, and whofe
bufmefs, more particularly than mine, was merchan-
dize, was mightily pleafed with our ftay, on account
of the traffic we made here.
It was in the beginning of June when I left this
remote place, a city, I believe, little heard of in the
world ; and, indeed, it is fo far out of the road of
commerce, that I know not how it Ihould be much
talked of. We were now come to a very fmall cara-
van, being only thirty- two horfes and camels in all,
and all of them paffed for mine, though my new
gueft was proprietor of eleven of them. It was moft
natural
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, 357
natural alfo, that I fhould take more fervants with
me than I had before, and the young lord paffed for
my fteward ; what great man I paffed for myfelf I
know not, neither did it concern me to enquire.
We had here the worft and the largeft defart to pafs •
over that we met with in all the journey ; indeed I
call it the worft, becaufe the way was very deep in
fome places, and very uneven in others ; the beft we
had to fay for it, was, that we thought we had no
troops of Tartars and robbers to fear, and that they
never came on this fide the river Oby^ or at leaft but
very feldom ; but we found it other wife, ^
My young lord had with him a faithful Mufcovite
fervant, or rather a Siberian fervant, who was per-
fedly acquainted with the country ; and who led us
by private roads, that we avoided coming into the
principal towns and cities upon the great road, fuch
as Tumen^ Soloy Kamajkoj^ and feveral others ; be-
caufe thcMicfcGvite garrifons, which are kept there, are
very curious and ftridt in their obfervation upon tra-
vellers, and fearching left any of the banifhed perfons
of note Ihould make their efcape that way into Mt^f-
covy ; but by this means, as we were kept out of the
cities, fo our whole journey was a defart, and we
were obliged to encamp and lie in our tents, when
we might have had good accommodation in the cities
on th€ way : this the young lord was fo fenfible of,
that he would not allow us to lie abroad, when we
came to feveral cities on the way ; but lay abroad
himfelf, with his fervant, in the woods, and met us
, always at the appointed places.
We were juft entered Europe^ having paffed the
river Kama^ which, in thefe parts, is the boundary
A a 3 between
358 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
between Europe and Afta ; and the firfl: city on the
European fide was called Soloy Kamojkoy^ which is as
much as to fay, the great city on the river Kama;
and here .we thought to have feen fome evident ahe-
ration in the people, their manners, their habit,
their religion, and their bufmefs ; but we were mif-
taken ; for as we had a vaft defart to pafs, which,
by relation, is near feven hundred miles long in fome
places, but not above two hundred miles over where
we paffed it ; fo, till we came pad that horrible
place, we found very little difference between that
country, and the Mogul Tartary ; the people moftly
Pagans^ and little better than the fi^vages of America;
their houfes and towns full of idols, and their way
of living wholly barbarous, except in the cities as
above, and the villages neat them ; where they
are Chrijiians^ as they call themfelves, of the Greek
church ; but even thefe have their religion mingled
with fo many reliques of fuperflition, that it is fcarce
to be known in fome places from mere forcery and
witchcraft.
In paffmg this foreft, I thought, indeed, we muft,
after all our dangers were, in our imagination, efca-
* ped, as before, have been plundered and robbed,
and perhaps murdered by a troop of thieves ; of what
country they were, whether the roving bands of the
OJliachi^ a kind of Tartars^ or wild people on the
banks of the Ohy^ had ranged thus far; or whether
they were the fable-hunters of Siberia^ I am yet at a
lofs to know; but they were all on horfeback,
carried bows and arrows, and were at firft about
five-and-forty in number; they came fo near to
2 u$
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 359
US as within about two mufquet fliot ; and, afking
no queftions, they furrounded us with their horfe>
and looked very eameftly upon us twice ; at length
they placed thenifelves juft in our way ; upon which
we drew up in a little line before our camels, being
not above fixteen men in all ; and being drawn up
thus, we halted, and fent out the Siberian fervant
who attended his lord, to fee who they were ; his
mafter was the more willing to let him go, becaufe
he was not a little apprehenfive that. they were a
Siberian troop fent out after him. The man came
up near them with a flag of truce, and called to
them ; but though he fpoke feveral of their languages,
or dialefts of languages rather, he could not under^
ftand a word they faid : however, after fome figns
to him not to come nearer to them at his peril, fo
he faid he underftood them to mean, offering to
flioot at him if he advanced, the fellow came back
no wifer than he went, only that by their drefs,
he faid, he believed them to be fome Tartars of
Kalmuck^ or of the CircaJJian hords ; ^nd that there
muft be more of them on the great defart, though
he never heard that ever any of them were feen fo
far north before.
This was fmall comfort to us; however, we
had no remedy: there was on our left hand, at
about a quarter of a mile^s diftance, a little grove
or clump of trees, which flood clofe together, and
very near the road; I immediately refolved we
would advance to thofe trees, ^nd fortify ourfelves
as well as we could there; for, firft, I confidered
that the trees' would in a great meafure cover us froni
their arrows ; and in the next place, they could not
A a 4 come
360 LIFE AND ADVENTURES
come to charge us in a body : it was, indeed, my
old Poriuguefe pilot who propofed it ; and who had
this excellency attending him, namely, that he was
always readieft and moft apt to direfl; and encourage
us in cafes of the moft danger. We advanced im-
mediately with what fpeed we could, and gained
that little wood, the Tartars^ or thieves, for we
knew not what to call them, keeping their ftand,
and not attempting to hinder us. When we came
thither, we found, to our great fatisfafliion, that it
was a fwampy, fpringy piece of ground, and, on
the other fide, a great fpring of water, which,
running out in a little rill or brook, was a little far-
ther joined by another of the like bignefs ; and was,
in fhort, the head, or fource of a confiderable river,
called afterwards the Wirtjka. The trees which grew
jibout this fpring, were not in all above two hundred,
but were very large, and ftood pretty thick ; fo that
as foon as we got in, we faw ourfelves perfectly fafe
from the enemy, unlefs they alighted and attacked
us on foot.
But to make t*his more difficult, our Portuguefey
w!th indefatigable applicatign, cut dow great arms
of the trees, and laid them hanging, not cut quite
off, from one tree to another j fo that he made a con^
tinued fence almoft round us.
We ftaid here, waiting the motion of the enemy
fome hours, without perceiving they made any offer
tQ ftir ; when about two hours before night, they
came down direftly upon us ; and, though we had
not perceived it, we found they had been joined by
fome more of the fame, fo that they were near four-
' fcor«
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 361
fcore horfe, whereof, however, we fancied fome were
women. They came in till they. >vere within half a
fliot of our little wood, when we fired one mufquet
without ball, and called to them in the Ruffian tongue,
to know what they wanted, and bid them keep off;
but, as if they knew nothing of whatwefaid, they
came on with a double fury direftly up to the wood-
fide, not imagining we were fo barricaded, that they
could not break in : our old pilot wa^ our captain,
as well as he had been our engineer ; and defired
of us, not to fire upon them till they came within
piftolfhot, that we might be fure to kill j and that
when we did fire, we fhould be fure to take good
aim. We bade him give the word of command j
which he delayed fo long, that they were, fome of
them, within two pikes length of us when we iired.
We aimed fo true (or Providence direfted our
fhot fo fure) that we killed fourteen of them at the
firft volley, and wounded feveral others, as alfo
feveral of their horfes ; for we had all of us ioaded our
pieces with two or three bullets a piece, at leaft.
'They were terribly furprifed with our fire, and
retreated immediately about one hundred rods from
us ; in which time we loaded our pieces again, and,
feeing them keep that diftance, we fallied out, and
caught four or five of their horfes, whofe riders,
we fuppofed, were killed ; and coming up to the
dead, we could eafily perceive they uere Tartars^
but knew not from what country, or how they came
to make an excurfion fuch an unufual length.
About an hour after, they made a motion to at-
tack us again, and rode round our little wood, to
fee where elfe they might break in j but finding us
always
362 V MFE AND ADV£NTyR|;S
always ready to face them, they went off again,
and we refolved not to ftir from the place for that
night.
We flept a little, you may be fure ; but fpent the
mod part of the night in ftrengthening our fituation,
and barricading the entrances into the wood ; and,
keeping a ftriiSt watch, we waited for day-light, and,
vhen it came, it gave us a very unwelcome difco-
¥ery indeed : for the enemy, who we thought were
difcouraged with the reception they had met with,
were now increafed to no lefs than three hundred,
and had fet up eleven or twelve huts and tents, as
if they were refolved to befiege us ; and this little
camp they had pitched, was upon the open plain, at
about three quarters of a mile from us. We were in-
deed furprized at this difcovery ; and now, I confefs, I
gave myfelf over for loft, and all that I had. The
lofs of my effedts did not lie fo near me (though
ihey were very confiderable) as the thoughts of
falling into the hands of fuch barbarians, at the
lattd- end of my journey, after fo many difficulties
and hazards as I had gone through ; and even in
fight of our port, where we expefted fafety and de-
liverance. As for my partner, he was raging: he
declaredj that to lofe his goods would be his ruin ;
and he would rather die than be ftarved j and he
was for fighting to the laft drop.
The young lord, as gallant as ever |lefh fhewed
itfelf, was for fighting to the laft alfo ; and my old
pilot was of the opinion wl were able to refift them
all, in the fituation we then were in : and thus we
fpent the day in debates of what we fliould do ;
but towards evening, we found that the number of
our
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 363
our enemies f^iU increafed : perhaps, as they were
abroad in feveral parties for prey, the firft had fent
out fcouts to call for help, and to acquaint them of
their booty ; and we did not know but by the morn-
ing they might ftill be a greater number ; fo I
began to enquire of thofe people we had brought
from Tobol^i J if there was no other, or more pri-
vate ways, by whitrh we might avoid them in the
night,- and perhaps, either retreat to fome town, or
get help to guard us over the defart.
The Siberian^ who was fervant to the young lord,
old us, if we defigned to avoid them, and not fight,
•he would engage to carry us off in the night to a
way that went north towards the yiwqt Petraz, by
which he made no doubt but we might get away,
and the Tartars never the wifer ;. but he faid, his lord
had tcld him he would not return, but would rather
chufe to fight. I told him, he miftook his lord ;
for that he was too wife a man to love fighting for
the fake of it ; that I knew his lord was brave enough
by what he had fhewed already ; but that his lord
knew better thaiii to defire to have feventeen or
eighteen men fight five hundred, unlefs an unavoida-
ble neceffity forced them to it ; and that if he thought
it poffible for us to efcape in the night, we had no-
thing elfe to do but to attempt it. He anfwered, if
his lord gave him fuch order, he would lofe his life
if he did not perform it. We foon brought his lord
to give that order, though privately, arid we imme-
diately prepared for the putting it in praftice.
And firft, as foon as it began to be dark, we
Jiindled a fire in our little camp, which we kept
burning.
3^4 JLIFE AND ADVENTURES
burning, and prepared fo as to r^i^^e It burn all
night, that the Tartars might conclude we were ftill
there j but, as foon as it was dark, that is to fay,
fo as we could fee the ftars, (for our guide would
not ftir before) having all our horfes and camels
ready loaded, we followed our new guide, who, I
foon found, fleered himfelf by the pole, or north
ftar, all the country being level for a long way.
After we had travelled two hours very hard, it
began to be lighter ftill ; not that it was quite dark
all night, but the moon began to rife, fo that, in
fhort, it was rather lighter than we wifhed it to be ;
but by fix o'clock next morning, we were gotten
near forty miles, though the truth is, we almoft
fpoiled our horfes. Here we found a Ruffian village,
named Kirmazinjkoy^ where we refted, and heaid
nothing of the Calmuck Tartars that day. About
two hours before night we fet out again, and tra-
velled till eight the next morning, though not quite
fo haftily as before ; and about feven o*clock we
pafled a little river, called Kirtza^ and came to a good
large town inhabited by RiiJJiansy and very popu-
lous, called Ozofnys : There we heard, that feveral
troops, or herds of Calmucks had been abroad upon
the defart, but that we were now completely out of
danger of them, which was to our great fatisfaffion,
you may be fure. Here we were obliged to get fome
frefh horfes, and having need enough^ of reft, we
ftaid five days ; and my partner and I agreed to give
the honeft Siberian^ who brought us hither, the va-
lue of ten piftoles for his conducing us.
In five days more we came to Vettffima^ upon the
river Witzo^da^ which running into the river Dwma^
we
OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. ^8$
we were there very happily near the end of our tra-
vels by land, that river being navigable in feven
days paflage to Arch- Angel : from hence we came to
Lawrenjkoy^ where the river joins, the third of y«/)^ ;
and provided ourfelves with two luggage-boats, and
a barge, for our convenience. We embarked the fe-
' venth, and arrived all fafe at Arch- Angel the eigh-
teenth, having been a year, five months, and three
days on the journey, including our ftay of eight
months and odd days at Toboljki.
We were obliged to ftay at this place fix weeks for
the arrival of the fhips, and muft have tarried longer,
had not a Hambiirgher come in above a month fooner
than any of the Englijh Ihips ; when, after fome con-
fideration, that the city of Hamburgh might happen
to be as good a market for our goods as London^ wc
all took freight with him ; and having put our goods
on board, it was moft natural for me to put my
fteward on board to take care of them ; by which
means my young lord had a fufficient opportunity to
conceal himfelf, never coming on fhore again iii
all the time we ftaid there ; and this he did, that he
might not be feen in the city, where fome of the
Mo/cow merchants would certainly have feen and
difcovered him.
We failed from Arch- Angel the twentieth of Au-
gujl the fame year ; and, after no extraordinary bad
voyage, arrived in the Elbe the thirteenth of Sep^
tember : here my partner and I found a very good
fale for our goods, as well thofe of China^zs the
fables, &c. of Siberia ; and dividing the produce of
our effefts, my (hare amounted to 3475I* 17s. 3d.
notwithftanding fo many lolTes we had fuftained, and
3 charges
366 LIFE AND ADVENTURE?, &C*
charges we had been at ; only remembering that I
had included, in this, about 600I. worth of diamonds,
which I had purchafed at Bengal.
Here the young lord took his leave of us, and
went up the Elbe^ in order to go to the court of
Vienna^ where he refolved to feek protedlion, and
where he could correfpond with thofe of his father's
friends who were left alive. He did not part with-
out all the teftimonies he could give, of grati-
tude for the fervice I had done him, and his fenfe
of my kindnefs to the prince his father."
To conclude : having ftaid near four months in
Hamburgh^ I came from thence over land to the
Hague J where I embarked in the packet, and arrived
in London the 10th of January ^ 1705, having been
gone from England ten years and nine months.
And here, refolving to harrafs myfelf no more, I
am preparing for a longer journey than all thefe, hav-
ing livied feventy-two years a life of infinite variety,
and learned fufEciently to know the value of re-
tirement, and the bleffing of ending our days in
peace*
END OF CRUSOE.
THE
ARY
^..^1
DAjyiEL DE Foe
^u/'li/hit S^-. /p^fT^o /t I. Stoc/ztLt^. Ticca^^Cc^/}' .
THE
L I F E
O P
DAN I EL D E FOE.
BT GEORGE CHALMERS, ES^
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY.
MDCCXC.
[Entered at Stationers HalL]
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE enfuing Life was written for
amtifement, during a period of conva-
lefcence in 1785; and publifhed anonymoufly
by Stockdale, before T^he Hifiory cf the Union ^
in 1 78 6, As the Author fears no reproach
for fuch amufement, during fuch a p?ripd, he
made no ftrong objeftions toStockdale's foli-
citations, that it might be annexed, with the
Author's name, to this fplendid edition of
RojBfNsoN Crusoe. The Reader will now
have the benefit of a few correflions,, with
feme additions, and a List of De Foe'$
Writings,
Voju. 11. B b
T HE
LIFE OF DE FOE.
TT is lamented by thofe who labour the fields of
A Britilh biography, that after being entangled in
briars they are often rewarded with the fcanty pro-
dudts of barrennefs. The lives of literary men are
generally paffed in the obfcurities of the clofet,
which conceal even from friendly inquiries the arti •
fices of ftudy, whereby each may have rifen to emi-
nence. And during the fame moment that the dili-
gent biographer fets out to a(k for information, with
regard to the origin, the modes of life, or the vari-
ous fortunes of writers who have amufed or in-
ftruded their country, the houfe-keeper, the daugh-
ter, or grand-child, that knew connexions and tra-
ditions, drop into the grave,
Thefe reflexions naturally arofe from my inquiries
about the life of the Author of The History of
THE Union of Great Britain ; and of The
Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Whether
he were born on the neighbouring continent, or in
this ifland ; in London, or in the country j was
equally uncertain-^ And whether his name were
Foe, or De Foe, was fomewhat doubtful. Like
B b 2 , Swift,
37» THE LIFE OF DE FOE#
Swift, he had perhaps reafons for concealing what
would have added little to his confequence. It is
at length known, with fufEcient certainty, that our
author was the fon of James Foe, of the parifhof
St. Giles's, Cripplegate, London, Citizen and But^
cher. The concluding fentiment of The True-horn
Englijhman^ we now fee, was then as natural as it
will ever be juft ;
Then, let us boaft of anceftors no more,
For, fame of families is all a cheat;
^Tis perfonal virtue only makes us great.
If we may credit the Gazette, Daniel Foe, or De
Foe, a$ he is faid by his enemies to have called
hinifelf, that he might not be thought an Englifli-'
man, was born in London*, about the year 1663.
His family were probably Diffenters f , among whom
he
* It IS at laft difcovered, by fearching The Chamberlain^ s books,
which have fmce been burnt, that our author was the fon of Jame?
Foe, of the parlfh of Cripplegate, London, Citizen and Butcher •
who was himfelfthe fon of Daniel Foe, of Elton, in the county
of Northampton, Yeoman ; and who obtained his Freedom by
ferving his apprentice fhip with John Levit, Citizen and Butcher,
Daniel Foe, the fon of James, was admitted to his Freedom by birthy
on the 26th of January, 1687-8. I was led to thefe difcoverics
by obferving that De Foe had voted at an eleftion for a Repre-
fentative of London ; whence I inferred, that he muft have been
a citizen either by birth or fervlce. But in the parifh T)ooks I
could find no notice of his baptifm ; as his parents were Dif-
fenters^
f In his Preface to « Mare Reformattoriy^' De Fo^ complains.
That feme Diffenters had reproached him, as if he had faijd,
** that the gallows and the gallies ought to be the penalty of go-
ing tp the conventicle ; forgetting, that I mufl defign to have my
father^ my w'tfe^ fix innocent children^ and myfel/y put into the fame
condition. To fuch Diffenters I can only regret/' fays he, " That
whea
Charles sd — george ad. ^73
he received no unlettered education ; at leaft it is
plain, from his Various writings, that he was 9,
zealous defender of their principles, and a ftrenuous
fupporter of their politics, before the liberality of
our rulers in church and ftate had freed this condudt
from danger. - He merits the praife which is due
to fincerity in manner of thinking, and to unifor-
mity in habits of afting, whatever obloquy may have
been caft on his name, by attributing writings to
him, which, as they belonged to others, he was
ftudious to difavow.
Our Author was educated at a diflenting academy,
which was kept at Newington- Green by Charles
Morton. He delights to praife " that learned gen-
tleman*,*' whofe inftruftive leffons he probably en-
joyed from 1675 ^^ 1680, as a mafter, who taught
nothing either in politics, or fcience, which was
dangerous to monarchial government, or which
was improper for a diligent fcholar to know.
Being in 1705 accufed by Tutchin of illiterature,
De Foe archly acknowledged, " I owe this juftice
to my ancient father, who is yet living, and in
whofe behalf I freely teftify, that if I am a blockhead,
it was nobody's fault but my own; he having
fpared nothing that might qualify me to match
the accurate Dr. B — — or the moft learned
Tutchinf/'
when I had dra^vn the pidlure, I did not, like the Dutchman
with his man ^nd bear, write under them — This is the man; and
tUsis the hearJ^ De Foeexprefsly admits, that he was a dis-
senter, though no independent^ ffth-monarchy many or leveller*
^De F. Works, edit. 1703. p. 326 — 448. * Works, 3d. edit.
ToL ii. p. 276.-— —t Review, vol. ii. p. 150.
B b 3 De
374 THE LIPE OF DE FOf,
De Foe was born a writer, as other men are boni
generals and ftatefmen: and when he was not twenty-
one, he publiflied, in 1683, a pamphlet againft a
very prevailing fentiment in favour of the Turks, as
oppofed to the Auftrians ; very juftly thinking, as
he avows in his riper age, that it was better the
Popifli Houfe of Auftria fhould ruin the Proteftants
in Hungary, than the infidel Houfe of Ottoman
Ihould ruin both Proteftants and Papifts, by over-
running Germany *. De Foe was a man who would
fight as well as write for his principles : and before
he was three-and-twenty he appeared in arms for
the Duke of Monmouth, in June 1685. Of this
exploit he boaftsf in his latter years, when it
was no longer dangerous to avow his participation
in that imprudent enterprife, with greater men of
fimilar principles.
Having efcaped from the dangers of battle, and
from the fangs of Jefferys, De Foe found complete
fecurity in the more gainful purfuits of peace. Yet,
he was prompted by his zeal to mingle in the con-
troverfies of the reign of James 2d, whom he efE-
cacioufly oppofed, by warning the DifTenters of the
fecret danger of the infidious tolerance, which was
offered by the monarch's bigotry, or by the minif-
ter's artifice. When our Auth3or calle£ted his writ-
ings, he did not think proper to republifli either his
trad againft the Turks, or his pamphlet againft the
King.
De Foe was admitted a Liveryman of London
on the 26th of January, 1687 — 8j when, being al-
lowed his freedom by birth, he was received a mem-
* Appeal, p. 51. t AppeaL
ber
CHARLES 2d— GEORGE ad. 375
ber of that eminent corporation. As he had en-
deavoured to promote the revolution by his pen and
his fword, he had the fatisfaftion of partaking,
ere long, in the pleafures and advantages of that great
event. During the hilarity of that moment, the Lord
Mayor of London aflked King William to partake of
the cityfeaft on the 29th of Odkober, 1689. Every
honour was paid the Sovereign of the people's choice.
A regiment of volunteers, compofed of the chief
citizens, and commanded by the celebrated Earl of
Peterborough, attended the King and Queen from
Whitehall to the Manfion Houfe. Among thefe
troopers, gallantly mounted, and richly accoutred,
was Daniel De Foe, if we may believe Oldmixon *•
While our author thus difplayed his zeal, and
courted notice, he is faid to have afted as a hofier
in Freeman's Yard, Cornhill : but the hofier f and
the poet are very irreconcileable charaSers. With
the ufual imprudence of fuperior genius, he was
carried by his vivacity into companies who were
gratified by his wit. He fpent thofe hours with a
fmall fociety for the cultivation of polite learning,
which he ought to have employed in the calculations
of the counting-houfe: and being obliged toabfcond
from his creditors in 1692, he naturally attri-
* Hift. vol. 11. p. 37. ,
t Being reproached by Tutchin in his Ohfervator with having
been bred an apprentice to a hofier, De Foe aflerts, in May 1705,
that he never was a hofier^ or an apprentice,, but admits that he
had been a Trader. [Review, vol. ii. p. 149.] Oldmixon, who
never fpeaks favourably of De Foe, allows that he had never been
a merchant otherwife than peddling a little to Portugal. Hift.
vol. ii. p. 519.— But, Peddling to Portugal mdkcs a Trader.
B b 4 buted
^y6 THE LIFE OF DE FOE^
buted thofc misfortunes to the war, which were pro-
bably owing to his own mifcondud. An angry
creditor took out a commiffion of bankrirptcy,
which was foon fuperfeded on thepetition of thofc
to whom he was moft indebted, who accepted a
compofition on his iingle bond. This he punSu-
ally paid by the efforts of unwearied diligence.
But fome of thofe* creditors, who had been thus
fatisfied, falling afterwards into diftrefs themfelves,
De Foe voiuntarily paid them their whole claims j
being then in rifing circumftances from King Wil-
liam*s favour *. This is fuch an example of ho-
nefty, as it would be unjuft to De Foe and to the
world to conceal. Being reproached in 1 705 by
Lord Haverfham with mercenarinefs, our author
feelingly mentions ; " How, with a numerous fa-
mily, and no helps but his own induftry, he had
forced his way with undifcouraged diligence, through
a fea^ of misfortunes, and reduced his debts, ex-
clufive of compofition, from feventeen thoufand to
lefs than five thoufand pounds f .*' He continued
to carry on the pan-tile works near Tilbury-fort ;
though probably with no great fuccefs. It was af-
terwards farcaftically faid, that he did not^ like the
Egyptians^ require bricks without Jiraw^ but, like the
Jewsy required bricks ^without paying his labourers.
He was born for other enterprifes, which, if they
did not gain him opulence, have conferred a renown,
that will defcend the ftream of time with the lan-
guage wherein his works are written.
While he was yet under thirty, and had mortified
no great man by his fatire, or offended any party
» TheMercator, No. loi. 1 Reply to Lord Haver(ham*$
Vindication.
by
CHAHtES 2d — GEORGE 2d* 377
by his pamphlets, he had acquired friends by his
powers of pleafing, who did not, with the ufual in-
ftability of friendfliips, defert him amidft his diftref-
fes. They offered to fettle him as a fador at Cadiz,
where, as a trader, he had fome previous correfpond-
ence. In this fituation he might have procured bu-
finefs by his care, and accumulated wealth without
a rifque : but, as he affures us in his old age. Pro-
vidence^ which had other work for him to do^ placed
afecret averjion in his mind to quitting England. He
had confidence enough in his own talents to think,
that on this field he could gather laurels, or at leall
gain a livelihood.
In a projeding age^ as our Author denominates
King William's reign, he was himfelf a projedor^
While he was yet young, De Foe was prompted by
a vigorous mind to think of many fchemes, and to
offer, what was mod pleafing to the ruling powers,
ways and means for carrying on the war. He wrote,
as he fays, many Jheets about the coin ; he propofed
a regifl:er for feamen, long before the a£l of Par Ha"
ment was thought of; he projected county banks aQd
factories for goods ; he mentioned 2. propofal for a
commiffion of inquiries into bankrupt* s ejiaies ; he con-
trived a penfton-office for the relief of the poor. At
length, in January 1696 — 7, he publiflied his PJfay
upon Projedls ; which he dedicated to Dalby Tho-
mas, not as a Commiffioner of glafs duties, under
whom he then ferved, or as a friend, to whom he
acknowledges obligations ; but as to the moft pro-
per judge on the fubjeft. It is always curious to
trace a thought, in order to fee where* it firft origi-
nated, or how it was afterwards expanded. Among
other projeds, which Ihew a wide range of know-
ledge.
378 THB LIFE OF DE FOB*
ledge, he fuggefts to King William the imitation of
Lewis 14th, in the eftabiifliment of a fociety ^^ for
encouraging polite learning, for refining the Eng-
lifli language, and for preventing barbarifms of
manners.*' Prior oflfered in 1700 the fame projed
to King William, in his Carmen Secvlare ; Swift
mentioned in 17 10 to Lord Oxford a propofal/or
improving the Englijh tongue ; and Tickell flatters
himfelf in his Profped of Peace y that our daring law
guage-^Jhall /port no more in arbitrary found. How-
ever his projects were taken, certain it is, that when
De Foe ceafed to be a trader^ he was, by the inter-
pofition of Dalby Thomas probably, appointed in
1695, accomptant to the Commiffioners for manag-
ing the duties on glafs ; who, with our Author
ceafed to aft, on the firft of Auguft, 1 699, when
the tax was fupprefTed by aft of Parliament *.
From projects of ways and means^ De Foe*s ar-
dour foon carried him into the thorny paths of fa-
tiric poetry; and his mufe produced, in January
1 700 — I , The True-bom Englijhman. Of the origin
of this fatire, which was the caufe of much good for-
tune, but of fome difafters, he gives himfelf the fol-
lowing account:- — " During this time came out
an abhorred pamphlet, in very ill verfe, written
by one Mr. Tutchin, and called The Foreigners : in
which the Author, who he was I then knew not,
fell perfonally upon the King, then upon the Dutch
nation, and, after having reproached his Majefty
with crimes that his worft enemies could not think
of without horror, he fums up all in the odious
name of Foreigner. This filled me with a kind
of rage againft the book, and gave birth to a trifle,
* lo-ii Win.III. ch. 18.
which
CHARLES 2d— ^GEORGE 2d. 379
v^hich I never could hope fhould have met with fo
general an acceptation." The fale was prodigious,
and probably unexampled; as Sacheverel's trial had
not then appeared. The True-born Englijhman was
anfwered, paragraph by paragraph, in February
1700 — I, by a writer, who brings hafte to apo-
logize for dulnefs. For this Defence of King
William and the Dutch, which was doubtlefs circu-
lated by detradion and by power, De Foe was
amply rewarded. " How this poem was the occa-
fion,** fays he, " of my being known to his Ma-
jefty; how I was afterwards received by him; how
employed abroad; and how, above my capacity of
deferving, rewarded, is no part of the prefent cafe/'
Of the particulars, which the Author thus declined
to tell, nothing now can be told. It is only certain,
that he was admitted to perfonal interviews with the
King, who was no reader of poetry ; and that for
the Royal favours De Foe was always grateful.
When *' the pen and ink war was raifed againft
a (landing army,*' fubfequent to the peace of Ryf-
wick, our Author publiflied An Argument, to
prove that a {landing army, with confent of Parlia-
ment, is not iuconfiftent with a free government.
*' Liberty and property," fays he, " are the glo-
rious attributes of the Englifh nation; and the
dearisr they are to us, the lefs danger we are in of
lofmg them : but I could never yet fee it proved,
that the danger of lofmg them by a fmall army was
fuch, as we fhould expofe ourfelves to all the world
for it. It is not the King of England alone, but
the fword of England in the hand of the King, that
gives laws of peace and war now to Europe : and
thofe who would thus wreft the fword out of
his hand in time of peace, bid the faired of all men
in
I
380 THE LIF£ OF DE FO^.
in the world to renew the war/' He, who is de-i
lirous of reading this treatife on an interefting topic,
will meet with ftrength of argument, conveyed in
elegant language.
When the nation flamed with faftion, the Grand
. Jury of ^ent prefented to the Commons, on the 8th
of May 1701, a petition, which defired them—-
*^ to mind the public bufmefs more, and their pri-
vate heats lefs ;'* and which contained a fentiment,
that there was a defign, as Burnet tells, other coun-
ties and the city of London fliould equally adopts
Meffrs, Culpeppers, Polhill, Hamilton, and Champ-
neys, who avowed this intrepid paper, were com-
mitted to the Gatehoufe, amid the applaufes of their
countrymen. It was on this occafion that De
Foe's genius diftated a Remonft ranee, vvhich was
ligned Legion^ and which has been recorded in hif-
tory for its bold truths and feditious petulance. De
Foe's zeal induced him to affume a woman's drefs,
while he delivered this faftious paper to Harley^
the Speaker, as he entered the Houfe of Commons*.
It was then alfo that our Author, who was tranfported
by an equal attachment to the country and the
* Mr. Polhill, of Cheapftead-place, in Kent, whofe father,
Mr. David Polhill, was committed to the Gatehoufe, and thereby
gained great popularity, was fo good as communicate to me
the curious anecdote of De Foe's dreffing himfelf in women's
clothe?, and prefenting the Legion Paper to the Speaker. De
Foe fays himfelf in his Original Power of the People^ p. 24:
** This is evident from the tenor and yet undifcovered original
of the Legion Paper ; the contents 6f which had fo much plain
truth of fa6l ; and which I could give a better hiflory 0/*, if it were
needfuV^ When De Foe repubhfhed his works in 1703, he
thought it prudent to expunge this paflage, that too plainly
pointed out the real hiflory oi the Legion Paper ^ which is not men-
tioned by the Commons journals*
court,
CHARLES 2d~GEORGE sd. 381
court, publlflied The Original Power of the colledive
Body of the People of England^ examined and ajferted.
This timeful treatife he dedicated to King William,
in a dignified ftrain of nervous eloquence. " It is
not the leaft of the extraordinaries of your Majefty's
charafker/' fays he, " that, as you are King of
your people, fo you are the people's King ; a title,
which, as it is the mod glorious, fo it is the moft
indifputable/* To the Lords and Commons he ad-
drefles himfelf in a fimilar tone : The vindication of
the original right of all men to the government of
themfelves, he tells them, is fo far from being a de-
rogation from, that it is a confirmation of their legal
authority. Every lover of liberty muft be pleafed
with the perufal of a treatife, which vies with Mr.
Locke's famous trad in powers of reafoning, and is
fuperior to it in the graces of ftyle.
At a time when ^' union and charity, the one
relating to our civil, and the other to our religious
concerns, were ftrangers in the land," De Foe pub-
lifhed The Freeholder's Plea againjl Stockjobbing Elec*
iions of Parliament Men^ " It is very rational to
fuppofe,^' fays our Author, " that they who will buy
will fell ; or, what feems more rational, they who
have bought muflfelW This is certainly aperfuafive
performance, though we may fuppofe, that many
voters ^ere influenced then by arguments ftill
more perfuafiye. And he concludes with afentiment,*
which has not been too often repeated. That nothing
can make us formidable to our neighbours, and
maintain the reputation of our nation, but union
among ourfelves.
How much foever King William may have been
pleafed with Ths %rue'born Englijfiman^ or with
other
382 THE LIFE OF DI FQEr
Other ferviccs, he was little gratified probably by our
Author's Reafons againji a War with France. This
argument, Jhewing that the French King's owning the
Prince of Wales as King of England^ is no fufficient
ground of a War^ is one of the fineft, becaufe it is
one of the moft ufeful, tradts in the Englilh lan-
guage. After remarking the univerfal cry of the peo-^
fie for warj our Author declares he is not againft
war with France, provided it be on juftifiable
grounds ; but, he hopes, England will never be fo
inconfiderable a nation, as to njiake ufe of difhoneft
pretences to bring to pafs any of her defigns : and
he wilhes that he who defires we fhould end the
war honourably^ ought to defire alfo, that we begin it
fairly. ** But if we muft have a war,*' our Author
hoped, " it might be wholly on the defenfive in
Flanders, in order to carry on hoftilities in remote
places, where the damage may be greater, by wound-
ing the Spaniard in fome weaker part ; fo as upon a
peace he fhall be glad to quit Flanders for an equi-
valent." Who at prefent does not wifh that Dc
Fpe's argument had been more ftudioufly read, and
more efficacioufly admitted ?
A fcene of forrow foon after opened, which pro-
bably embittered our Author's future life. The
death of King William deprived him of a proteftor,
who, he fays, trufted, efteemed, and much more
valued him than he deferved ; and who, as he flattered
himfelf amidft his later diftrefles, would never have
fuffered him to be treated as he had been in the
world. Of that monarch's memory, he fays, that
he never patiently heard it abufed, nor ever could
do fo : and in this gratitude to a Royal benefaftor
there is furely much to praife, but nothing to blame.
In
CHARLES ad — GEOROE ad. 383
In the midft of that furious conteft of party, civil
aad religious, which enfued on the acceffion of
Queen Anne, our Author was no unconcerned
fpeSaton He reprinted his Enquiry into the Occa^
Jional Conformity of Dijfenters^ which had been pub-
Kfhed in 1697, ^^^^ ^ dedication to Sir Humphrey-
Edwin, a Lord Mayor, who having carried the
Tegalia to a conventicle, gave rife to fome wit in
The Tale of a Tub^ and occafioned fome claufes in
an zSi of Parliament. De Foe now dedicated his
Enquiry to John How, a diffenting minifter, of whom
Anthony Wood fpeaks well. Mr. How did not
much care, fays Calamy *, to enter upon an argu-
ment of that nature with one of fo warm a temper as
the author of that Enquiry^ and contented himfelf
with publifliing fome Cotifiderations on the Preface of
an Enquiry concerning the -vccafional Conformity of
Diffenters. De Foe's pertinacity foon produced a
reply. He out-laughs and out-talks Mr. How, who
had provoked his antagonift's wrath by perfonal far-
cafms, and who now thought it hard that the old
fliould be fhoved off the ftage by the young. De
Foe reprobates, with the unforbearance of the
times, " this faft and loofe game of religion ;'* for
which he had never met with any confiderable ex-
cufe but this, '* that this is no conformity in point
of religion, but done as a civil adkion." He foon
after publifhed another Enquiry^ in order to fhew,
that the Diffenters are no ways concerned in occaftonal
conformity. The controverfy, which in thofe days
occafioned fuch vehement contefts between the two
Houfes of Parliament, is probably filenced for ever.
* Life of Mr. John How, p. 210.
*' During^
384 THE LIFE OF DE FOE.
" During the firft fury of high-flying," fays he,
** I fell a facrifice for writing againft the madiiefs
of that high party, and in the fervice of the Diflen"
ters." He alludes here to The Shortejl Way ; which
hepubliflied towards the end of the year 1702 ; and
which is a piece of exquifite irony, though there
are certainly paflages in it that might have fliewn
confiderate men how much the Author had been
in jeft. He complains how hard it was, that this
Jhould not have been perceived by all the town^ and that
not one man can fee it^ either churchman or dijjenter.
This is one of the ftrongeft proofs, how much the
minds of men were inflamed againft each other,
and how little the virtues of mutual forbearance
a»d perfonal kindnefs exifted amid the clamour of
contradidion, which then fliook the kingdom, and
gave rife to fome of the moft remarkable events in
our annals. The Commons fliewed their zeal, how-
ever they may have ftudied their dignity, by profe^
iCuting * feveral libelifts.
During the previous twenty years of his life, De
Foe had bufied himfelf unconfcioufly in charging a
mine, which now blev(r himfelf and his family into
air. He had fought for Monmouth ; he had op-
poled King James ; he had vindicated The Revolw
Hon ; he had panegyrized King William ; he had
defended the rights of the coUeflive body of the
* On the 25th of February 1702^^-3, a complaint was made m
the Houfe of Commons of a book entitled The Shortejl Way nmth
the Difenters : and the folios ii — 18 and 26 being read, Refohedy
That this book, being full of falfe and fcandalous refle6i:ions on
this Parliament, and tending to promote fedition, be burnt by
the hands of the common hangman, to-morrow, in New Palace^
Yard. 14 Journ. p. 207.
J people \
CHARLES ad—- GEORGE 2^. 385
Jpaople ; he had difpleafed the Treafurer and the Gene^
ral^ by objefting to the Flanders war ; he had bantered
Sir Edward Seymour, and Sir Chriftopher Mufgrave,
the Tory-leaders of the Commons ; he had juft ri-
diculed all the high-flyers in the kindom : and he
was at length obliged to feek for Ihelter from the
indignation of perfons and parties, thus overpower-
ing and refiftlefs.
A proclamation was iflfued in January, 17 02-— 3 *,
oflfering a reward of fifty pounds for difcovering
his retreat. De Foe was defcribed by the Gazette—
*' as a middle-fized fpare man, about forty years old,
of a brown complexion, and dark-brown hair,
though he wears a wig, having a hook nofe, a
ftiarp chin, grey eyes, and a large mole near his
mouth.*'
He foon publifhed An Explanation ; though he
'* wonders to find there fhould be any occafion for
it.'* " But fince ignorance," fays he, *' has led
* He who 18 defirous of reading the proclamation, may be gra*«
tified by the following copy from the London Gazette, No.
3879*
St. Jamc8*8, Jan. 10, 1702-3.
Whereas Daniel De Foe, aTtas De Fooe, is charged with writ-
ing a fcandalous and feditious pamphlet, entitled " The Shorteft
Way with the Diffenters :" he is a middle-fized fpare man, about
40 years old, of a brown complexion, and dark-brown coloured
hair, but wears a wig, a hooked nofe, a fharp chin, grey eyes,
and a large mole near his mouth j was borrt in London, and for
many years was a hofe^faftor, in Freeman's-yard, in Comhill,
and now is owner of the brick and pantile works near Tilbury-fort
in EiTex : whoever fhall difcover the faid Daniel De Foe, to one
of her Majefty's principal Secretaries of State, or any of her
Majefty's Juftices of Peace, fo as he may be apprehended, fhall
have a reward of £50, which her Majefty has ordered immedi-
ately to be paid upon fuch difcovery.
Vol. Ih C Q pioft
386 THt LIFE OF DE fOt.
moft men to a cenfure of the book, and fome petv
pie are like to come under the difpleafure of the Go-^
vernment for it ; in juftice to thofe who are in dan-
ger to fuflfer by it; in fubmiflien to the Parliament
and Council who may be offended at it ; and cour-
tefy to all miftaken people, who, it feems, have not
jjenetrated into the real defign ; the Author prefent^
the world with the genuine meaning of the paper^
which he hopes may allay the anger of Government^
or at leaft fatisfy the minds of fuch as imagine a
defign tQ inflame and divide us*" Neither his fub-
miflivenefs to the ruling powers, nor his generofity
to his printers,, was a fufficient fhield from the re-
fentment of his enemies. He was found guilty of a
tibel, fentenced to the pillory, and adjudged to be
fined and imprifoned. Thus, as he acknowledges',
was he a fecond time ruined ; and by this affair, as
he aflferts, he loft above ;C355o® fterling, which
eonfifted probably in his brick ivGrks and in the more
abundant produft of his pen.
When, by thefe means, immured in Newgate^ ovtv
Author eonfbled himfelf with the animating reflec-
tion, that having meant well he unjuftly fuffered.
He had a mind too aftive to be idle in the folitude
of a prifon which is feldom invaded by vifitors,.
And he wrote a hymn to the pUlory, that-—
Hieroglyphick ftate macbin.
Contrived to punilh fancy in*
In this ode the reader will find fatire, pointed by
his fufferings ; generous fentiments, arifmg from his
fituation ; and an unexpeded flow of eafy verfe»
For example :
The
CHAkLES 2d--^GE0RGE 2d, 387
The firfl: intent of laws
Was to corred the effeft, and check the caufe.
And all the ends of punifhment
Were only future mifchiefs to prevent :
But juftice is inverted, when
Thofe engines of the law,
, Inftead of pinching vicious men,
Keep honed ones in awe.
He employed this involuntary leifure in coff efting
for the prefs a collection of his writings, which,
nvith feveral things he had no hand in, had been al-
ready publiflied by a piratical printer. He thought
it a moft unaccountable boldnefs in him to print
that particular book called Ths Shorteji Way with the
Dijfentcrs^ while he lay under the public refentment
for the fame faft. In this coUeftion of 1703, there
are one-and-twenty treatifes in poetry and profe,
beginning with The True-born Englijhman^ and end-
ing with The Shorteji Way to Peace and Union* To
this volume there was prefixed the firft print of De
FoQ ; to which was afterwards added, the apt in-
fcription: Laudatur et a/get.
In the folitarinefs of a goal, the energy of De Foe
projeded 27?^ Review. This is a periodical paper
in quarto, which was firft publifhed on the 19th of
February,, 1703—4; and which was intended to
treat of news, foreign and domeftic ; of politics,
Britifh and European ; of trade, particular and uni-
verfal. But our Author forefaw, from the natural
averjion of the age to any tedious affair^ that however
profitable, the world would never read, if it' were
not diverting. With this defign, both inftruftive
and amufing, he IkilfuUy inftitutes a Scandal Club,
C c a which
388 THE Lif^ OF DE tOt4
which difcuffes queftions in divinity, morals, war,
trade, languagCj poetry, love, marriage, drunken-
nefs, and gaming. Thus, it is eafy to fee, that
Tbe Review pointed the way to the Tatlers, Spec-
tators, and Guardians, which may be allowed how-
ever to have treated thofe interefting topics with
more delicacy of humour, more terfenefs of ftyle,
and greater depth of learning : yet, has De Foe
many paffages, both of profe and poetry, which, for
refinement of wit, neatnefs of expreffion, and effi-
cacy of moral, would do honour to Steele or to
Addifon. Of all this was Johnfon unconfcious, whefi
he fpeaks of the Tatlers and Speftators as the firft
Englifh writers who had undertaken to reform either
the favagenefs of negleft, or the impertinence of
civility ; to fhew when to fpeak, or to be filent j how
to refufe, or how to comply. i
In the midfl of thefe labours ouf Aiithor publifh-
cd, in July 1704, The Storm ; or, a colledlion of
the moft remarkable cafualties, which happened in
the tempeft, on the 23d of November, 1703. In
explaining the natural caiifes of winds De Foe fhews
more faience, and in delivering the opinions of the an^
dents that this ifland was more fuhjeB to fiorms than
other parts of the worlds he difplays more literature,
than he has been generally fuppofed to poflefs.
Our Author is nwreover entitled to yet higher
praife. He feized that awful occafion to inculcate
the fundamental truths of religion ; the being of a
God, the fuperintendency of Providence, the cer-
tainty of heaven and hell, the one to reward, the
other to punifh.
While, as he tells himfelf, he lay friendlefs
ia the prifon of Newgate, his family ruined, and
himfelf
CHARLES 2d GEORGE 2d. 389
himfelf without hopes of deliverance, a meflage was
brought him from a perfon of honour, whom till
that time he had not the leaft knowledge of. This
was no lefs a perfon than Sir Robert Harley, the
Speaker of the Houfe of Commons. Harley ap-
proved probably of the principles and condufl: of
De Foe, and doubtlefs forefaw, that, during a fac**
tious age, fuch a genius could be converted to many
ufes. And he fent a verbal meffage to the prifoner,
defiring to knozu what he could do for him. Our Au-
thor readily wrote the ftory of the blind man in the
Gofpel; concluding— L^r^, that I may receive my
fight.
When the high-flyers were driven from the ftation
which enabled them to inflame rather than conciliate,
Harley became Secretary of State, in April 1704.
He had now frequent opportunities of reprefenting
the unmerited fuflferings of De Foe to the ^een and
to the Treafurer ; yet, our Author continued four
months longer in goal. The Queen, however, in-
quired into his circumfliances; and Lord Godol-
phin fent, as he thankfully acknowledges, a confi-
derable fum to his wife, and to him money to pay
his fine and the expence of his difcharge. Here is
the foundation, fays he, on which he built his firfl:
fenfe of duty to the Queen, and the indelible bond of
gratitude to \\\sfrji benefador. '^ Let any one fay,
then,*' he aflis, " what I could have done, lefs or
more than I have done for fuch a Queen and fuch a
benefactor ?" All this he manfully avowed to the
world *, when Queen Anne lay lifelefs and cold as
King William, his firfl: patron j and when Oxford,
By his Appeal in 17 15.
C c 3 ii»
390 THE LIFE OF DE FOE.
in the viciffitude of party, had been pcrfecuted by
fadion, and overpowered, though not conquered,
by violence.
Such was the high interpofition by which De Foe
was relieved from Newgate, in Auguft 1704. la
order to avoid the town-talk, he retired immediately
to St. Edmund's Bury : but his retreat did not pre-
vent perfecution. Dyer, the news*writer, propa-
gated that De Foe had fled from juftice. Fox, the
bookfeller, publifhed that he had deferted his
fecurity. Stephen, a ftate-meflfenger, every where
faid, that he had a, warrant for feizing him.
This I fuppofe was wit, during the witty age of
Anne. In our duller days of law, fuch out*
rages would be referred to the judgment of a Jury.
De Foe informed the Secretary of State where he
was, and when he would appear ; but he was told
not to fear, as he had not tranfgrefled. Notwkhftand^^
ing this vexation, our Author's mufe produced, on
the 29th of Auguft 1704, A Hy^nn to Victory ^ whei^
the fuccefsful fkill of Marlborough furnifhed our
poets with many occafions to publifli Gazettes in
Rhyme^
De Foe opened the year 1704 — 5 with his Double
welcome to the Duke of Marlborough ; difclaiming any
expeftation of place or penfion. His encomiaftic
ftrains, I fear, v/ere not heard while he wrote,
like an honed Englilhman, againfl the continuance
of the war-^a war indeed of perfonal glory, of na-
tional celebration, but of fruitlefs cxpence. De
Foe's aftivity, or hi$ needs, produced in March
1705, The Confolidator ; or. Memoirs of Sundry
Tranfaftions, from the world in the moon. It was
one of De Foe's felicities to catch the living manners
CHARLES ad — GEORCE 2d^ 3gi
€u ihey rof€y or one of his refources, to Jhoot folly as it
Jlew. In the lunar language he applies his fatiric
file to the prominences of every charafter : of the
poets, from Dryden to Durfy; of the wits, from Ad-
difon to Prior ; of the metaphyficians, from Mat-
branche to Hobbs ; of the free-thinkers, from Afgyl
to the Tale of a Tub- Our author continually com-
plains of the ill ufage of the world; but with all his
acutenefs he did not advert, that he who attacks the
world, will be by the world attacked* He makes the
lunar politicians debate the policy of Charles XII. in
purfuing the Saxons and Poles, while the Mufco..
vites ravaged bis own people. I doubt whether it
were on this occafion that the Swedifh Ambaffador
was fo ill-advifed as to complaLtj againft De Foe, for
merited ridicule of a futile warfare. They had not
then difcovered, that the beft defence againft the
ihaftS'Of fatire is to let them fly. Our Author's fen-
timent was expanded by Johnfon, in thofe energetic
lines, which thus conclude the charafter of the
Swedijh Charles ;
^' Who left the name, at which the world grew pale,
^' To point a moral, or adorn a tale.'*
De Foe was fo little difturbed by the appearance
of The Moon Calf^ or accurate refleftions on the
Oonfolidator,that he plunged into a corltroverfy with
Sir Humphrey Mackworth about his bill/^r employ
ing the poor. This had been pafled by the Com-
mons, with great applaufe, but received by the
jPeers with fuitable caution. De Foe, confidering
this plaufihle projed: as an indigejled chaos ^ reprefented
%t^ jthiough feveral reviews, as a plan which would
C c 4 ruin
395i THE LIFE OF DB FOE.
ruin the induftrious, and thereby augment the poon
Sir Humphrey endeavoured to fupport his work*
houfes, in every parifli, with a parochial capital
for carrying on parochial manufadure. This drew
from De Foe his admirable treatife, which he en-
titled Giving alms no charity. As an Englijb Free-
holder he claimed it as a right to addrefs his per-
formance to the Houfe of Commons, having a par*
ticular interefl in the common good ; but, confider-
ing the perfons before whom he appeared, he laid
down his archn^s, and affumed his dignity. He
maintained, with wonderful knowledge of fad and
power of argument, the following politions : ift. That
there is inEnglandmore labour than hands to perform
it ; and confequently a want of people, not of em-
ployment:-^— i2dly. No man in England, of found
limbs ^nd fenfes, can be poor merely for want of
work: — 3dly,All workhoufes for employing the
poor, as now they are employed, ferve to the ruin
of families and the increafe 6f the poor: — 4thly,
It .is a regulation of the poor that is wanted, not a
fetting them to work. Longer experience Ihews
this to be a difficult fubjeft, which increafes in dif-
ficulty with the effluxion of time.
De Foe had fcarcely difmiffed Sir Humphrey,
wher^ he introduced Lord Haverfham, a peer, who
is famous in our ftory, as a maker and publiflier of
fpeeches. His Lordfliip publiftied his fpeech on the
flate of the nation in 1705, which was cried about
the town with unufual earneftnefs. Our Author's
prudence induced him to give no anfwer to the
ipeech ; but a pamphlet, which was hawked about
the ftreets and fold for a penny, our Author's
ihrewdnefs confidered as a challenge to every reader.
He
CHARLES 2d GEORGE ^d. 393
He laughed and talked fo much, through feveral Re-
views, about this factious efFufion, as to provoke a
defence of topics, which his Lordfhip ought neither
to have printed nor fpoken, De Foe now publifhed
a Reply to Lord Haverjham's vindication of his Speech.
During fuch battles the town never fails to cheer the
fmaller combatant. Our Author, with an allufion
to the biography of both, fays farcaftically : ''But,
fate that makes footballs .of men, kicks fome up
ftairs, and fome down ; fome are advanced withoni
honour J others fupprejfed without infamy ; fome are
raifed without merits fome are crujioed without a crime ;
and no man knows by thie beginning of things, whe-
ther his courfe fhall iffue in a peerage or a pillory. ^^
In the midft of thefe difputes, either grave or lu-
dicrous, De Foe publifhed. -^^^/V^ to all Parties. He
ftrenuoufly recommends that moderation ^nd for-
bearance, which his opponents often remarked he
was not fo prone to praftice as to preach. While
he thus gave advice to all parties, he conveyed many
falutary leflbns to the Diflenters, whom he was
zealous to defend. In the Review, dated the 25th
of December 1705, he conjures them for God's
fake, if not for their own fake, to be content. " Are
there a few things more you could wifli were done
for you ? refolve thefe wifhes into two conclufions :
I ft. Wait till Providence, if it fhall be for your
good, fhall bring them to pafs; 2dly, Compare the
prefent with the paft circumftances, and you can-
not repine without the higheft ingratitude both to
God and man/*
De Foe found leifure, notwithftanding all thofe*
labours, perhaps a necefiity, to publifli in 1 705, A
SscondVolume of the Writings of the Author of the ^rue*
born
394 ^"E ^'^2 ^^ ^^ ^Q^-
iom Englijhman. The fame reafons which formerly
induced him to colled fome loofe pieces^ held good,
fays he, for proceeding to a fecond volume, '^ that
if I do not, fomcbody elfe will do it for me/' He
laments the fcandalous liberty of the prefs; whereby
piratic printers deprive an author of the native pro-
duft of his own thought, and the purity of his own
ftyle. It is faid, though perhaps without authority,
that the vigorous reraonftrances of De Foe procured
5r>&^* A61 for the encouragement of learnings by vejiing
the copies of printed books in the authors or their ajjigns.
The vanity of an adminiftration, which afFefted
to patronize the learned, concurring with the mu.
tual intereft of bookmakers and bookfellers, pro-
duced this falutary law, that our Author alone had
called for without fuccefs. De Foe's writings, thus
collected into volumes, were foon a third time
printed, with the addition of a key. The fatire be-
ing now pointed by the fpecification of charafters,
and obfcurities being illuminated by the annexation
of circumflances, a numerous clafs of readers were
induced, by their zeal of party, or delire of fcan^
dal, to look for gratification from our Author's
treatifes. He is ftudious to complain. That his writ^
ings had been moji negleded of theniy who at the fame
time have owned them ufefuL The fecond volume of
1705, containing eighteen treatifes in profe and
rhyme, begins with A new Difcovery of an old In-
trigue^ ^nd ends v,'ith Royal Religion.
The year 1705 was a year of difquiet to DeFoe,
jiot fo much from the oppreffions of ftate as from
the pv^rfecutions of party* When his bufxnefs, of
• 9 Anne, c. 19*
whatever
CHARLES 2d — GEORGE ad* 395
whatever nature, led him to Exeter, and other weft-
ern towns, in Auguft, September, and Oftober,
J 705, a projeft was formed to fend him as a foldier
to the army, at a time when footmen were taken
from the coaches as recruits : but confcious of hi*
being a Freeholder of England, and a Liveryman of
London, he knew that fuch charafters could not be
violated, in this nation, with impunity. When fome
of the Weftern Juftices, of more zeal of party than
fenfe of duty, heard from his opponents of De Foe's
journey, they determined to apprehend him as a
vagabond : but our Author, who, among other qua-
lities, had perfonal courage in a high degree, refle5:ed,
that to face danger is mod effeftually to prevent it.
In his abfence, real fuits were commenced againft
him for fiftitious debts : but De Foe advertifed, that
genuine claims he would fairly fatisfy. If all thefc
uncommon circumftances had not been publifhed
in The Review^ we fhould not have feen thiis ftriking
pifture of favage manners. So much more free are
we at prefent, that the Editor of a newfpaper, how-
ever obnoxious to any party, may travel peaceably
about his affairs over England, without fear of in-
terruption. Were a Juftice of Peace, from what-
ever motive, to oflFer him any obflruftion, fuch a
magiftrate would be overwhelmed by the public in*
dignation, and puniihed by the higher guardians of
our quiet and our laws.
De Foe began the year 1706 with A Hymn i9
Peace * ; occafioned by the two Houfes of Parlia-
ment joining in one addrefs to the Queen. On
the 4th of May he publiflied An EJfay at removing
* Publl/hed tlie ipth of January, 1705-6.
Natmal
396 THE LIFE OF DE FOB.
National Prejudices againjl an Union with Scotland^
A few weeks after he gave the world a fecond effay,
to foften rancour and defeat perverfity. But the
time was now come, when he was to perform what
he had often promifed : and his fruitfulnefs produced
in July 1706, Jure Divino^ a fatire againft tyranny
and paffive obedience, which had been delayed, for
fcar^ as he declares, of parliamentary cenfure. Of
this poem, it cannot be faid, as of Thomfon's L/-
berty^ that // was written to prove what no man ever
denied^ This fatire, fays the preface, had never
been publifhed, though fome of it has been a long
time in being, had not the world feemed to be go-
ing mad a fecond time with the error of pajjtve obedi-
ence^ and non^rejijiance. And becaufe fome men .
require, fays he, more explicit anfwers, I declare
my belief, that a monarchy, according to the pre-
feut conftitution, limited by Parliament, and depend^
ent upon law^ is not only the befl government in the
world, but alfo the befl for this nation in par-
ticular, moft fuitable to the genius of the pcoplcy
and the circumjlances of the whole body. Dryden
had given an example, a few years before, of ar-
gumentative poetry in his Hind and Panther;
, by which he endeavoured to defend the tenets of the
Church of Rome, Our author now reafoned in
rhyme, through twelve bobksj in defence of every
man^s birth-right by nature^ when all forts of liberty
were run down and oppofed* His purpofe is doubt-
lefs horiefter than Dryden's 5 and his argument, be^
ing in fupport of the better caufe^ is perhaps fuperior
in ftrength : but in the "Jure Divino we look in
vain for
The varying verfe, the full-refounding line.
The long majeftic march, and energy divine.
Our
CHARLES 2d— GEORGE 2(1. 397
Our author was foon after engaged in more im-
portant, becaufe much more ufeful, bufmefs. Lord
Godolphin, who knew how to difcriminate charac*«
ters, determined to employ him on an errand,
which, as he fays, was far from being unfit for a
Sovereign to direft, or an honeft man to perform.
By his Lordftiip he was carried to the Queen, who
faid to him, while he kiffed her hand*, that Jhe had
fuch fatisfa£lion in his former fervices^ that Jloe had
again appointed him for another affair^ which was
fomething nice, but the treafurer would tell him the
reji. In three days he was fent to Scotland. His
knowledge of commerce and revenue, his powers of
infmuation, and above all his readinefs of pen, were
deemed of no fmall utility in promoting the Union.
He arrived at Edinburgh, in Odober 1706. And
we fhall find him no inconfiderable aftor in the
performance of that greateft of all good works. He
attended the committees of Parliament, for whofe
ufe he made feveral of the calculations f on the fub-
jeft of trade and taxes. He complains |, however,
that when afterwards fome clamour was raifed upon
the inequality of the proportions, and the contrivers
began to be blamed, and a little threatened a-la-mobj
then it was D. F. § made it all, and he was to be
ftoned for it. He endeavoured to confute || all that
* Appeal, p. 16.
t See his Hiflory of the Union, p. 401. J Ibid. p. 379.
§ Daniel Foe. He had two names through life ; and even
when letters of adminiftration were granted on his perfonal
-eftate, fome time after his death, De Foe is added with an others
wife. We might thence infer, that his father's name was Foe^
If we had not now better evidence of thefaS,
II Ibid. 223.
was
^9$ , THE Lli^E OF DE tOts
was publlfhed by Webfter, and Hodges, and the otfief
writers in Scotland againft the Union : and he had
his (hare of danger, fince, as he fays, he was
watched by the mob ; had his chamber windows
infulted ; but, by the prudence of his friends, and
God's providence, he efcaped *. In the midft of
this great fcene of bufinefs and tumult, he collefted
the documents, which he afterwards publiflied for
the inftruftion of pofterity, with regard to one of
the moft difficult, and, at the fame time, the moft
fortunate, tranfaftions, in our annals*
During all thofe labours and rifques, De Foe pub*
Eflied, in December 1706, Caledonia, a Poem, in
honour of the Scots nation. This poetic effay,
which was intended to refcue Scotland from Jlander
in opinion^ Caledonia herfelf bade him dedicate to
the Duke of Queenfberry* Belide other benefac-
tions, the CommifSoner gave the author, whom he
calls Daniel De Foe, Efquire, an exclufive privilege
to fell his encomiaftic drains for feven years, with-
in the country of his celebration. Amidft our
Author's bufy occupations at. Edinburgh, he was
anxious to affure the world, that wherever the wri-
ter may be, the Reviews are written with his own
hand ; no perfon having, or ever had, any concern
in writing them, but the known author, D. F. On
the 1 6th of January, the a£t of Union was pafled
by the Scots Parliament ; and De Foe returned
to London, in February 1706-7. While he thus
a£ted importantly at Edinburgh, he formed con-
* Hiftory of the Union, p. 239.
nexions
CHARLES 2d— ^GEORGE 2d. J99
nexions with confiderable perfons, who were proud
of his future correfpondence, and profited from his
political inter efts *•
How our Author was rewarded by the minifters who
derived a benefit from thofe fervices, and from that
danger, as he does not tell, cannot now be known.
Before his departure for Scotland, indeed. Lord
Godolphin, as he acknowledges |, obtained for
him the continuance of an appointment, which her
Majefty, by the interpofition of his firft benefactor,
had beenpleafed to make him, in confideration of a
former fervice, in a foreign country^ wherein he run
as much rifque as a grenadier on the counter-fcarp.
As he was too prudent to difclofe \mfecret fervices^
they muft at prefent remain undifcovered. Yet is
there reafon to think that he had a pen/ton rather
than an office^ fince his name is not in the red book of
the Queen ; and he folemnly avers, in his Appeal,
that he had not intereft enough with Lord Oxford
• Lord Buchan was fo obliging as to communicate the fubjomed
cxti*a6l of a letter to his Lordfhip's grandfather, the Eari of
Buchan, froni De Foe, dated the 29th of May, 171 1 : — " The
perfon, with whom / endeavoured to plant the intereji of your Lord"
Jhip^s friend^ hzs been ftrangely taken up, fince I had that occa-
fion ; i)iz. firft, in fuffering the operation of the furgeons to heal
the wound of the afTaflin ; and fince, in accumulating honours
from ParH^ment, the Queen, and the people. On Thurfday^
evening her Majefty created him Earl Mortimer, Earl of Oxford,
and Lord Harleyof Wigmore : and we expedl that to-morrow in
council he will have the white ftaff given him by the Queen, and
be declared Lord High Treafurer. I wrote this yefterday ; and
this day. May the 29th, he is made Lord High Treafurer of
Great Britain, and carried the white JftafF before the Queen thi*
morning to chapel.
f Appeal, p. 16.
400 tHE Life oj^ de- foe*
to procure h'un the arrears due to him in the time of thi
former Minijlry. . This appointment^ whatever it were,
he is ftudious to tell, he originally owed to
Harley : he, however, thankfully acljnowledges^
that Lord Godolphin continued his favour to him
after the unhappy breach that feparated his firft be-
nefador from the Minifter, who continued in pover
till Auguft 1710.
The nation, which was filled with combuftible'
matter, burft into flame the moment of that memo-
rable feparation, in 17071^ In the midft of thi^
conflagration our Author was not inaftive. He
waited on Harley after he had been driven from
power, who generoufly advifed him to continue his
fervices to the ^een^ which hefuppofed would ha've no
relation to perfonal differences among Jlatefmen. Go-
dolphin received him with equal kindnefs, by fay-
ing — / always think a man honeji till I find to the
contrary. And if we may credit De Foe's aflevera-
ticns, in the prefence of thofe who could have con-
vi£ted him of falfehood, he for three years held n^
correfpondence with his principal benefactor ^ which the
great man never took ill of him.
As early as February 1706—7, De Foe avowed
his purpofe to publifhtlieHiftory of the Union, which
he had ably afliflied to accomplifli. This defign he
executed in 1709, though he was engaged in other
lucubrations, and gave the world a Review three
times a week. His hiftory feems to have been
little noticed when it firfl: appeared; for, as the
preface fl:ates, it had. many difiicuhies in the way ;
many faftions to encounter, and parties to pleafe.
Yet it was republiflied in 1712; and a third time in
1786, when a fimilar union had become the topic
4 of
CHARLES 2d GEORCE sd. * 40 1
of public debate and private converfation. The
fubjed of this work Is the completion of a meafure,
which was carried into effeft, notwithftanding ob-
ftruftions ?ipparently infurmountable, and tumults
approaching to rebellion, and which has produced the
endsdefigned,beyondexpeftation,whetherweconfider
its influence on the Government, or its operation on the
governed. The minutenefs with which he defcribes
what he faw and heard on the turbulent flage, where he
afted a confpicuous part, is extremely interefting to
us, who wifh to know what actually paffed, however
this circumftantiality may have difgufted contempo-
raneous readers. Hiftory is chiefly valuable as it
tranfmits a faithful copy of the manners ^nd^fentiments
of every age. This narrative of De Foe is a drama,
in which he introduces the highefl: peers and the
loweft peafants, fpeaking and acting, according as
they were each aduated by their charaderifticpaflions;
and while the man of tafl:e is amufed by his manner ^
the man of bufinefs may draw infl:rudion from the
documents J which are appended to the end, and in-
terfperfed in every page. This publication had alone
preferved his name, had his Crufoe pleafed us lefs.
De Foe publiftied in 1709, what indeed required
lefs effort of the intelleO: or the hand. The Hijiory of
Addrejfes ; with no defign, he fays, and as we may
believe, to dift:urb the public peace, but to com-
pare the prefent tempers of men with the pafl:, in
order to difcover who had altered for the better, and
who for the worfe. He gave a fecond volume of Ad-
dreflTes in 171 1, with remarks ferious and comical.
His purpofe plainly was to abate, by ridicule, the
public fervour with regard to Sacheverel, who, by
Vol. II. Dd I know
402 THE LIFE a? I^E FOB*
I know not what fatality, or folly, gave rife to
eventful changes. De Foe evinces, by thefe timeful
publications, that amidfl all that enthufiafm and
tumult, he preferved his fenfes, and adhered to his
principles.
When, by fuch imprudence as the world had nevet
feen before, Godolphin was in his turn expelled, in
Auguft 1 7 1 o, our Author waited on the ex-minifter ;
who obligingly faid to him. That he had the fame
good'%villj but not the fame power to afftfl him :■ and
Godolphin told him, what was of more real ufe—
to receive the ^een^s commands from her confidential
fervants^ when hefaw things fettled. It naturally oc-
curred to De Foe, that it was his duty to go along
with the Minifters, while, as he fays, they did not
break in on the conftitution. And who can blame
a very fubordfnate officer, (if indeed he held an
office), who had a wife and fix children to maintain
with very precarious means ? He was thus, fays he,
cafl back providentially on his firfl benefaCtor, who
laid his cafe before her Majefty, whereby he preferved
his intereft, without any engagement. On that me-
morable change De Foe however fomewhat changed
his tone. Themethod I fhall take, fayshe*, in talking
of the public affairs, fhall for the future be, though
with the fame defign to fupport truth, yet with more
caution of embroiling myfelf with a party, who have
no mercy, and who have no fenfeof fervice.
De Foe now lived at Newington, in comfortable
circumflances, publifhing The Reviews^ and fend-
ing out fuch tradts, as either gratified his prejudices,
or fupplied- his needs. During that contentious pe-
5 Review, Vol. vii. No. 95.
riod
CHARLES ad— *GEORGE 2(1. 403
tiod he naturally gave and received many wounds ;
and he prudently entered into a truce with Mr. J.
Dyer, who was engaged in fimilar occupations, that,
however they might clafh in party, they may write
without perfonal reflexions, and thus differ ftiil, and
. yet preferve the Chriftian and the gentleman*.
But
♦ The following letter to Mr. J. Dyer, in Shoe-lane, who wag
then employed by the leaders of the Tories, in circulating newa
and infinuations through the country, will fhew the literary man-
ners of thofe times, and convey fome anecdotes, which are no
where elfe preferved. The original letter is in the Mufeum,
HarL MSS. No. 7001. foL 269.
Mr. Dyer,
I have your letter. I am rather glad to find you -
put it upon the trial who was aggreffor, than juftify a thing
which I am fure you cannot approve ; and in fhls I aflure you I
am far from injuring you, and refer you to the time when long
iince you had wrote / was Jled from jujilce : one Sammon being taken
vp for printing a libels and / being then on a journey ^ northeleaft
charge againft me for being concerned in it by any body but your
letter : — alfo many unkind perfonal refle6Uon8 on me in your
letter, nuhen I was in Scotland^ on the affair of the Union^ and I aflure
you, when my paper had not in the leaft mentioned you, and
thofe I refer to time and date for the proof of.
I mention this only in defence of my laft letter, in which I faid
no more of it than to let you fee I did not merit fuch treatment,
and could neverthelefs be content to render any fervice to you>
though I thought my felf hardly ufed.
But to fta^e the matter fairly between you and I, [me] a writ-
ingfor^iffereu interefis^ and fo poflibly coming under an una-
voidable neceffity of jarring in feveral cafes : I am ready to make a
fair truce of honour with you, viz, that if what either party are
doing, or faying, that may clafh with the party we are for, and
urge us to fpeak, it fhall be done without naming cither's name,
and without perfonal reflexions ; and thus we may differ fliU, and
yet preferve both the Chriftian and the gentleman.
Dd2 This
404 THE LIFE OF DE FOE.
But between profeffed controvertifts fuch a treaty
could only be perfevered in with Punic faith.
While thus occupied, De Foe was not forgotten
by the City of Edinburgh with the ufual ingratitude
of public bodies. On the firft of February 1 7 lo-i i,
that Corporation, remembering his Caledonia^ em-
powered him to publifti the Edinburgh Courant^ in
the room of Adam Booge *, though I fufpe6t that he
did not continue long to edify the Edinburgh citi-
This 1 think is ail ofFef may fatisfy you* I have not been de-
(irous of giving juft offence to you, neither would I to any man>
however I may differ from him ; and I fee no reafon why I fhould
affrbnt a man's perfon, becaufe I do not join with him in prin-
ciple. I pleafe my f elf with being the firft propofer of fo fair a
treaty with you, becaufe I believe, as you cannot deny its being
tery honourable, fo it is not lefs fo in coming firft from me, who
I believe could convince you of my having been the firft and moft
Ill-treated— for further proof of which I refer you to your letteni,
at the time I ^as threatened by the Envoy of the King ofSiveden.
However, Mr# Dyer, this is a method which may end what is
paft, and prevent what is future ; and if refufed, the future part
I am fure cannot lye at my door.
As to your letter, your propofal is fo agreeable to me, that
truly without it I could not have taken the thing at all : for it
would have been a trouble intolerable, both to you as well as me,
to take your letter every poft, firft from you, and thea fend it
^ to the poft-houfe.
Your method of fending to the black box^ is juft what I de-
figned to propofe, and Mr. Shaw will doubtlefs take it of you : if
you think it needful for me to fpeak to him it fhall be done—
What I want to know is only the charge, and that ^rpu will order
It conftantly to be fent, upon hinting whereof I (hall fend you
the names. Wifhing you fuccefs in all things f Tour oplntoas fjf
Government excepted) I am.
Your humble fervant,
Newington, June 17, De Foe*
1710.
* Amotfs Edinborgh,
zens
CHARLES 2d— GEORGE ad, 405
zens by his weekly lucubrations. He had then
much to think of, and much to do at a diftance:
and he foon after gave fome fupport to Lord Ox-
ford's South-fea projeft, by publifhing An EJfay on
the South-fea Trade^ with an inquiry into the reafons
of the prefent complaint againft the fettlement of the
South-fea Company. In the fame year he publifhed
An EJfay at a plain Expojition of that difficult phrafi
— A GOOD PEACE. He obvioufly intended to abate
the national ardour for war, and to incite a national
defire of quiet.
The Minifters, by the courfe of events, were en-*
gaged ere long in one of the hardeft talks which
can be affigned to Britifh ftatefmen — the re-eftablifh'»
ment of tranquillity after ^ glorious war. The
treaty at Utrecht furnlfhes ^ memorable example of
this. The furious debates which enfued within the
walls of Parliament and without, arefufEciently reihem*
bered. About this time, fays Boyer, in May 17 13, a
paper, entitled Meivgatqr, or Commerce Retrieved,
was publifhed on Tuefdays, Thurfdays, and Satur*
days *. This was firft fath^r^d on Arthiar Moore,
affifted
• The firft Mercator was publifhed on the 26th of May, 17 13;
the laft on the 20th of July 1 7 14 : and they were written by Wil-
liam Brown and his affiftants, with great knowledge, great ftrength,
and great fweetnefs, confidering how much party then embittered
every compofition. The Briti/h Merchant^ which pppofqd The
Mercator^ and which was compiled by Henry Martyn and his
affociates, has fewer fads, lefs argument, and more fadlioufnefs.
It began on the ift of Auguft 17x3, and ended the 27th of July,
J 7 14- 1 have fpoken of both from my own convidlions, without
regarding the declamations which have continued to pervert the
public opinion from that epoch to the prefent times. De Foe
was ftruck at in the third number of the Briti/h Merfhanty and
P d 3 plainly
406 THE LIFE OF DE FOeJ'
aflifted by DoQ:or D'Avenant; but the latter folemnly
denied it : and it foon after appeared to be the
produftion of Daniel De Foe, an ambidextrous
hireling, who for this dirty work received a large
weekly allowance from the Treafury. That he wrote
in the Mercator^ De Foe admits ; but he exprefsly
denies " that he either was the Author of it, had
the property of it, the printing of it, the profit of it,
or had the power to put any thing into it, if he
would." And, by his Appeal^ he affirms before
God and the world, " that he never had any pay-
ment, or reward, for writing any part of it." Yet,
that he was ready to defend thofe papers of the
Mercator which were really his, if men would an-
fwer with arguments, rather than abufe; though
not thofe things which he had never written, but
for which he had received fuch ufage. He adds,
with the noble fpirit of a true-born Englifhman,
** The prefs was open to me as well as to others ;
and how, or when I loft my Englijh liberty of
fpeaking my mind, I know not : neither how my
fpeaking my opinions, without fee or reward^ could
authorife any one to call me villain, rafcal, traitor,
and fuch opprobrious names."
Of the imputed connexion with hisjirji henefaSlor^
Harley, during that memorable period, our Author
fpeaks with equal firmnefs, at a moment when firm-
plainly mentioned in the fourth. Mr. Daniel Foe may change
his nanae from Review to Mercator^ from Mercator to any other
titky yet ftill his fingular genius fhall be diftinguifhed by his ini-
mitable way of writing. Thus perfonal farcafm was introduced
to fupply deficience of fafts, or weaknefs of reafoning. When
Charles King republifhed The Britl/h Merchant in volumes, among
various changes, he expunged, with other perfonalities, the name
of De Foe.
nefs
CHARLES 2d GEORGE 2d. 407
nefs was neceffary. " I folemnly proteft,'* fays he,
by his Appeal^ " in the prefence of Him who fhall
judge us all, that I have received no inftruftions,
orders, or direftions for writing any thing, or ma-
terials jfrom Lord Oxford, fince Lord Godolphin
was Treafurer, or that I have ever fliewn to Lord
Oxford any thing I had written or printed.*'
He challenges the world to prove the contrary;
and he affirms, that he always capitulated for
liberty to fpeak, according to his own judgment of
things. As to confideration, penfion, or reward, he
declares moft folemnly that he had none, except
his old appointment made him long before by Lord
Godolphin. What is extremely probable we may
eafily credit, without fuch ftrong affeverations.
However Lord Oxford may have been gratified by
the voluntary writings of De Foe, he had doubtlefs
other perfon^ who ftared his confidence, and wrote
his Examiners *.
But De Foe publifhed that, which by no means pro-
moted Lord Oxford's views, and which, therefore,
gained little of his favour. Our Author wrote
* It is now fufficiently known. That Lord Oxford had relwr
quijhed the Treaty of Commerce to its fate y before it was finally de-'
hated In Parliament. See much curious matter on this fubjedl in
Macpherfon's State Papers, vol. 11. p. 421-23. It is there faid,
that he gave up the commercial treaty, in compliment to Sir
Thomas Hanmer, as he would by no means be an occafion. of a
"breach among friends. The Treafurer had other reafons: The
treaty had been made by Bolingbroke, whom he did not love ;
the Lords Anglefea and Abingdon had made extravagant de-
' Biands for their fupport ; and, like a w^ife man, he thought it
idle to drive a nail that would not go. Yet Lord Halifax boafted
'to the Hanoverian minifler. That he alone had been the occafion of the
treaty being rejedled. Same papers, p. 509-47.
D d 4 againft
4o8 THE LIFE OF DE FOE.
againft the peace of Utrecht, becaufe he approved
of it as little as he had done the treaty at Gertruy-
denburgh, under very diflferent influences, a few
years before. The peace he was for, as he himfelf
fays, was fuch as fhould neither have given the
Spanifh monarchy to the Houfe of Bourbon, nor to
the Houfe of Auflria ; but that this bone of content
tion fhould have been fo broken to pieces, as that it
Ihould not have been dangerous to Europe ; and
that England and Holland fhould have fo flrength-.
ened themfelves, by fharing its commerce, as fhould
have made them no more afraid of France, or the
Emperor; and that all that we fhould conquer in the
Spanifh Wefl Indies fhould be our own. But it is
equally true, he affirms, that when the peace was
eflabliflied, " I thought our bufinefs was to make
the befl of it ; and rather to inquire what improve^
ments could be made of it, than to be continually
exclaiming againfl thofe who procured it."
He manfully avowed his opinion in 17 15, when
it was both difgraceful and dangerous, that the 9th
article of the Treaty of Commerce was calculated
for the advantage of our trade j " Let who will make
it, that," fays he, " is nothing to nie. My reafons
'^'are, becaufe it tied up the French to open the door
to our manufaftures, at a certain duty of importation
there ^ and left the Parliament of Britain at liberty to
fhut t heir's out, by as high duties as they pleafed
here^ there being no limitation upon us, as to duties
on French goods, but that other nations fhould pay
the fame. While the French were thus bound, and
the Britifh free, I always thought we mufl be in a
condition to trade to advantage, or it mufl be our
own fault : this was my opinion, and is iojlill; and
I would
CHARLES 2d — GEORGE sd, 409
I would engage to maintain it againfl: any man, on a
public ftage, before a jury of fifty merchants, and
venture my life upon the caufe, if I were aflured of
fair play in the difpute. But, that it was my opi-
nion, we might carry on a trade with France to our
great advantage, and that we ought for that reafon
to trade with them, appears in the third, fourth,
fifth, and fixth volumes of T^be Reviews^ above nine
years before The Mercator was thought of Expe-
rience has decided in favour of De Foe againfl: his
opponents, with regard both to the theory and the
praQice of commerce.
In May 17 13, our Author relinquiftied the Re^
viewj after nine years continuance : in Newgate it
began, and in Newgate it ended. Whether we
confider the frequency of the publication, or the
power of his difquifitions, the pertinacity of his op-
ponents, or the addrefs of his defences, amid other
fl:udies, without aflifliants, this mufl: be allowed to
be fuch a work, as few of our writers have equal-
led. Yet, of this great performance, faid Gay^
^' The poor Review is quite exhaufl:ed, and grown
fo very contemptible, that though he has provoked
all his brothers of the quill, none will enter into a
controverfy with him. The fellow, who had excel-
lent natural parts, but wanted a fmall foundation
of learning, is a lively infliance of thofe wits, who,
as an ingenious author fays, will endure but one
iklmming *.*' Poor Gay had learned this cant in the
Scriblerus Club, who thought themfelves the wifefl:,
the wittiefl:, ajid virtuoufefl: men, that ever were, or
* State of Wit, 171 1, which i^ re -printed in the Supplement
%o Swift's Works.
2 ever
J)12 THE LIFE OF DE FOB*
againjl the SucceJ/ion of the Houfe of Hanover ; the
third, What if the ^een Jhould die? " Nothing
could be more plain/' fays he, " than that the titles
of thefe were amufements *, in order to put the books
into the hands of thofe people, who had been de-
luded by the Jacobites.** Thefe petty volumes were
fo much approved by the zealous friends of the Pro-
teflant fucceflion, that they were diligent to difperfe
them through the mod diftant counties* And De
Foe protefts, that had the Eleftor of Hanover given
him a thoufand pounds, he could not have ferved him
more efFeftually, than by writing thefe three trea-
tifes.
The reader will learn, with furprife and indigna-
tion, that for thefe writings De Foe was arretted,
obliged to give eight hundred pounds bail, contrary
to the Bill of Rights, and profecuted by informa-
tion, during Trinity term 1713. This groundlefs
profecution was inftituted by the abfurd zeal of
William Benfon, who afterwards became ridicu-
loully famous for literary exploits, which juftly
raifed him to. the honours of the Dunciad. Our
Author attributes this profecution to the malice of
his enemies, who were numerous and powerful.
No inconjiderable people were heard to fay, that they
knew the books were againft the Pretender, but that
De Foe had difobliged them in other things, and
they refolved to take this advantage to punifh him.
This ftory is the more credible, as he had procured
* The pamphlets mentioned in the text were filled with pal^
pabic banter. He recommends the Pretender by faying, That
the Prince ivould confer on e^ery one the privilege of wearing wooden
Jhoes^ and at the fame time eafe the nobility and gentry of the ha%ard
andexpence of winter journiss to Parliament, ^ ■
^videnc^
CHARLES 2d GEORGE 2(1. 413
evidence to prove thefaSl^ had the trial proceeded. He
was prompted by confcioufnefs of innocence to defend
bimfelf in the Review during the profecution, which
offended the Judges,who,beingfomewhat infefted with
the violent fpirit of the times, committed him to New-
gate in Eafter term 1 7 1 3. He was however foon neleaf-
ed on making a proper fubmiifion. But it was happy
for De Foe that his^^y? benefactor was ftill in power,
whoprocured him the Queen*s pardon, inNovember*
1713. This aft of liberal juftice was produced by
the party- writers! of thofe black and bitter days, as an
additionalproof of Lord Oxford's attachment to the
abdicated family, while De Foe was faid to be con-
vifted of abfolute Jacobitifm, contrary to the tenor
of his life, and the purpofe of his writings. He him-
felf faid farcaftically, that they might as well have
made him a Mahometan. On his tomb-ftone it
might have been engraved, that he was the only
Englifhman who had been obliged to alk a royal par-
don, for writing in favour of the Hanover fucceflioiu
*' By this time, fays Boyer, in Oftober 17 14, the
treafonable defign to bring in the Pretender was
manifefted to the world by the agent of one of the
late managers, De Foe, in his Hijiory of the While
Staff. The Deteftionof the Secret Hiftory of the Whits
^i^ff^ which was foon publifhed, confidently tells,
that it was written by De Foe ; as is to be feen by
his abundance of words, his falfe thoughts, and
bis falfe Englifh J.*' We now know that there was
at
* The pardon IS dated on the 13th of November, 1713, and is
figned by Bolingbroke. f See Boyer's Political State, Oldmix-
on's Hiftory, &c.
t It is univerfally faid by the fellers and buyers of old books, that
John, Duke of Argyle, was the real author oi The Secret Hi/iorr
414 *rKE LllPE OF DE P0E»
at that epoch, no plot in favour of the Pretender-
except in the affertions of thofe who wiflied to pro^
mote their intereft by exhibiting their zeal. And
I have fhewn, that De Foe had done more to keep
out the Pretender, than the political tribe, who pro-
fited from his zeal, yet detracted from his fame.
" No fooner was the Queen dead,** fays he,
*' and the King, as right required, proclaimed, but
the rage of men increafed upon me to that degree,
that their threats were fuch as I am unable to ex-
prefs. Though I have written nothing fince the
Queen's death ; yet, a great many things are called
by my name, and I bear the anfwerers infults. I have
not feen or fpoken with the Earl of Oxford,** con-
tinues he, " fince the King's landing, but once j yet^
he bears the reproach of my writing for him, and I
the rage of men for doing it.** De Foe appears in-
deed to have been, at that noify period, ftunned by
faftions clamour, and overborne, though not filenced,
by unmerited obloquy. He probably loft his original
appointment, when his firft benefaftor was finally ex-
pelled. Inftead of ^ meeting with reward for his
zealous fervlcesin fupport of theProteftantfucceflion,
he was on the acceffion of George I. difcountenan<:ed
by thofe who had derived a benefit from his active
exertions. And of Addifon, who was now exalted
into office, and enjoyed literary patronage, our
y
efthe White Staff, His Grace, indeed, is not in the Catalogue aj
Royal and Noble Authors. Whether the Duke wrote this petty
pamphlet may be doubted ; but there can be no doubt that De Foe
was not the Author: For, he folemnly afferts by his Appeal in
1715, That he had written nothing Jince the ^een's death. The inter-
nal evidence is ftronger than this pofitive affertiop.
Author
CHARLES 2d — GEORGfi !2(I. 415
Author had faid in his Double Welcome to the Duke of
Marlborough^ with lefs poetry than truth —
Macenas has his modern fancy ftrung,
And fixed his penfion firft, or he had never fung.
While thus infulted by enemies, and difcounte-
nanced by power, De Foe pubKfhed his Appeal
to Honour and Jujiice^ in 1 7 1 5 ; being a true Ac-^
count of his Conduct in public Affairs. As a motive
for this intrepid meafure, he affeciingly fays. That,
" by the hints of mortality and the infirmities of a
life of forrow and fatigue, I have^reafon to think,
that I am very near to the great ocean of eternity, and
the time may not be long ere I embark on the lafl:
voyage : wherefore, I think I fhould even accounts with
this world before I go, that no flanders may lye
againfl: my heirs, to difturb them in the peaceable
poffeflion of their father's inheritance, his charafter-"
It is a circumftance perhaps unexampled in the life
of any other writer, that before he could finilh his
Appeal, he was ftruck with an apoplexy. After
languilhing more than fix weeks, neither able to go
on, nor likely to recover, his friends thought fit to
delay the publication no longer. " It is the opinion
of moft who know him,** fays Baker, the publiflier,
^^ that the treatment which he here complains of,,
and others of which he would have fpoken,^ have been
the caufe of this difafter." When the ardent mind
of De Foe refleded on what he had done, and what
he had fuffered, how he had been rewarded and per-
fecuted, his heart melted in defpair. His fpirit, like
a candle ftruggling in the focket, blazed and funk,,
and blazed and funk, till it difappeared in dark-
nefs^
While
41 5 THE LIFE OF DE TOt.
While his ftrength reinained, he expoftulated with
his adverfaries in the following terms of great man-
linefs, and inftruftive intelligence : — " It has been
the difafl?er of all parties in this nation, to be very
hot in their turn, and as often as they have been fo,
I have differed with them all, and fliall do fo.
I will repeat fome of the occafions on the Whig fide,
becaufe from that quarter the accufation of my turn-
ing about comes.
" Thejirji time I had the misfortune to differ with
my friends, was about the year 1683, when the
Turks were befieging Vienna, and the Whigs in
England, generally fpeaking, were for the Turks
taking it ; which I, having read the hiftory of the
cruelty and perfidious dealings of the Turks in their
wars, and how they had rooted out the name of the
Chriftian religion in above three fcore and ten king,
doms, could by no means agree with : and though
then but a young man, and a younger author, I op-
pofed it, and wrote againfl it, which was taken
very unkindly indeed.
^' The next time I differed with my friends, was
when King James was wheedling the DifTenters to
take off" the penal laws and teft, which I could by
no means come into. 1 told the DifTenters, I had
rather the Church of England fhould pull our clothe^
off by fines and forfeitures, than the Papifis fiiould
fall both upon the Church and the DifTenters, and
pull our fkins off by fire and faggot.
". The next difference I had with good men, was about
the fcandalous praftice of occafional conformity, in
which I had the misfortune to make many honefl men
angry, rather becaufe I had the better of the argu-
ment, than becaufe they difliked what I faid.
« And
tHARLES 2d — GEORGE id. 4x7
*^ And now I have lived to fee the Diffenters them-
felves very quiet ; if not very wellpleafed with an aft
of Parli^iment to prevent it. Their friends indeed laid
it on ; they would be friends indeed, if they would
talk of taking it off again.
^' Again^ I had a breach with honed men for their
male-treating King William, of which I fay nothing ;
becaufe I think they are now opening their eyes, and
making what amends they can to his memory.
" The fifth difference I had with them, was about
the treaty of partition, in which many honeft men
were miflaken, and in which I told them plainly
then, that they would at lad end the war upon
worfe terms ; and fo it is my opinion they would
have done, though the treaty of Gertruydenburgh
had taken place.
*^ Theftxth time I differed with them, was when
the old Whigs fell out with the modern Whigs ; and
when the Duke of Marlborough snd my Lord Go-
dolphin were ufed by the Obfervator in a manner
worfe, I confefs, for the time it lafted, than ever
they were ufed fince ; nay, though it were by Abel
and the Examiner. But the fuccefs failed. In this
difpute my Lord Godolphin did me the honour to
tell me, I had ferved him and his Grace alfo, both
faithfully and fuccefsfully. But his Lordfliip is dead,
and I have now no teftimony of it, but what is to
be found in the Obfervator, where I am plentifully
abufed for being an enemy to my country, by afting
in the intereft of my Lord Godolphin and the Duke
of Marlborough. What weathercock can turn with
fuch tempers as thefe ?
*' I am now in the /event h breach with them^^ndi
my crime now is, that I will not believe and fay the
Vol. IL E e fame
41 8 THE LIFE OF D£ FOE.
fame things of the Queen, and the late Treafurer,
which I could not believe before of my Lord Godol-
phin and the Duke of Marlborough, and which in
truth I cannot believe, and therefore could not fay
it of either of them ; and which, if I had believed,
yet I ought not to have been the man that Ihould
have faid it, for the reafons aforefaid.
" In fuch turns of tempers and times a man mull
have been ten-fold a Vicar of Bray, or it is impoffi-
ble but he muft one time or other be out with every
body. This is my prefent condition ; and for this I
am reviled with having abandoned my principles,
turned Jacobite, and what not : God judge between
me and thefe men ! Would they come to any par-
ticulars with me, what real guilt I may have, I
would freely acknowledge ; and if they would pro-
duce any evidence of the bribes, the penfions, and
the rewards I have taken, I would declare honeftly
whether they were true or no. If they would, give
a lift of the books which they charge me with, and
the reafons why they lay them at my door, I would
acknowledge any miftake, own what I have done,
and let them know what I have not done. But thefe
men neither Ihew mercy, nor leave room for re-
pentance ; in which they a£t not only unlike their
Maker, but contrary to his exprefs commands *.'*
With
• The moll fojemn afleverations, and the moft unanfwerablc
arguments of our Author, were not, after all, believed. When
Charfes King rc-pulMfhedne Brit j/h Merchant, in 1721, he with-
out a fcruple attributed The Mercator to a hireling writer of a
weekly paper called The Revienv. And Anderfon, at a ftill lata
period, goes further in his Chronology of Commerce, and names
De Foe, as the hireling writer of The Mercatory and other papers
in favour of the French treaty of trade. We can now judge
with
CHARLES 2dr— GEORGE 2d. 419
With the fame independence of fplrit, but with
greater modefly of manner ^ our Author openly dif«
approved of the imtemperance, which was adopted
by Government in 17 14, contrary to the original pur*
pofe of George I. *' It is and ever was my opi-
nion/* fays De Foe in bis Appeal^ " that modera-
tion is the only virtue by which the tranquillity of
this nation can be preferved; and even the King
himfelf, (I believe his Majefly will allow me that
freedom,) can only be happy in the enjoyment of
the crown, by a moderate adminiftration : if he
fliould be obliged, contrary to his known difpofition,
to join with intemperate councils, if it does not
leflen his fecurity, I am perfuaded it will leflen his
fatisfaftion. To attain at the happy calm, which is
the confideration that fhould move us all, (and
he would merit to be called the nation's phy-
fician, who could prefer ibe the fpecific for it,) I
think I may be allowed to fay, a conqueji of parties
will never do it^ a balance of parties may.^* Such was
the political teftament of De Foe ; which it had been
happy for Britain, had it been as faithfully executed
as it was wifely made !
The year 17 15 may be regarded as the period of
our Author's political life. Faftion henceforth
found other advocates, and parties procured other
writers to propagate their falfehoods. Yet, when a
With the Impartiality of arbitrators : on the one hand, there are
the living challenge, and the death-bed declaration of De Foe ;
on the other, the mere furmife and unauthorifed affertion of
King, Anderfon, and others, who detradl from their own vera-
city by their own fadlioufnefs, or foolery. It is furely time to
free ourfelves from prejudices of every kind, and to difregard the
found of names as much as the falfehoods of party*
E e a cry
4ia tnt LIFE Ot DE tOtB
cry was raifed againft foreigners, on the acceflion of
George L The True-born Englijhman was revived,,
rather by Roberts the bookfeller, than by De Foe
the Author *^ But the perfecutions of party did
not ceafe when De Foe ceafed to be a party-writer^
He was infuhed by Boyer, in April 1716, as the
author of The Triennial Ad impartially Jiatedr " but^
whatever was offered,** fays Boyer, '' againft the
Septennial Bill, was fully confuted by the ingenious
and judicious Jofeph Addifon, Efquire/* Whether
De Foe wrote in defence of the people's rights, or
in fupport of the law's authority, he is to be cen-
fured: whether Addifon defended the Septennial
Bill, or the Peerage Bill, he is to be praifed. With
the fame mifconception of the fact, and malignancy
of fpirit, Tolland reviled f De Foe for writing an
anfwer to The State Anatomy^ in 171 7. The time
however will at laft com^e, when the world will
judge of men from their anions rather than pre-
tenfionsr
The death of Anne, and the acceflion of George I.
feem to have convinced De Foe of the vanity of
party-writing* And from this eventful epoch, he ap-
pears to have ftudied how to rneliorate rather than io
harden the heart ; how to regulate, more than to
vitiate, the pradlice of life.
Early in 17 15 he publifhed The Family InJiruSlor^
in three parts : ift, relating to fathers and children ;
2d, to mafteru and fervants ; 3.d, to hufbands and
wives^ He carefully concealed his authorfliip, left
the good effects of his labour fliould be obftrufted by
the great imperfeftions of the writer. The world
• It was entered at Stationers-Hall, for J, Roberts,, the i8th
©f February i']i$-i6, — t idMem^ p. 27, &c*
was
CHARLES 2d— GEORGE id. 42 1
was then toobufy to look immediately into the work.
The bookfeiler foon procured a recommendatory let-
ter from the Reverend Samuel Wright, a well-
known preacher in the Black-Friars. It was praifed
from the pulpit and the prefs j and the utility of the
end, with the attradivenefs of the execution, gave
it, at length, a general reception *. The Author's
iirft defign was to write a Dramatic Poem ; but the
fubjeft was too iblemn, and the text too copious, to
admit of reftraint, or to allow excurfions. His
purpofewas to divert znd in/lrudj at the fame mo-
ment; and by giving it a dramatic form, it has been
called by fome A religious play. De Foe at laft fayg
with his ufual archnefs : As to its being called a play,
be it called fo, if they pleafe : it muft be confeffed,
fome parts of it are too much aded in many fami-
lies among lis. The Author wifhes, that either all
our Plays were as ufeful for the improvement and
entertainment of the world, or that they were lefs
encouraged. There is, I think, fome myjiicifm m
the preface, which, it were to be defired, a judicious
hand would expunge, when The Family lnftru6lor
fliall be again reprinted ; for, reprinted it will be,
while our language endures ; at leaft, while wife men '
Ihall continue to confider the influences of religion
iand the pr^dice of morals as of the greateft ufe to
fociety.
♦ The famfly of George I. had Ijeen inftru(!led by the copy of
this book, which is in The Mufeunu It would feem from the
title page and Mr. Wright's letter being printed on a different
paper from the work itfelf^ that both were added after the firft
publication. The Family Inftru3or and Mr. Wright's letter
were entered at Stationeii^ Hall, for Emanuel Mathews, on the
E c 3 3De
42a THE LIFE OF DE FOE*
De Foe afterwards added a fecond volume, in two
parts ; ift, relating to Family Breaches; 2dly, to the
great Mi/iakej of mixing the Pafflons in the managing of
Children. He confidered it, indeed, as a bold adven^
iure to write a fecond volume of any thing ; there
being a general opinion among modern readers, that
fecond parts never come up to the fpirit of the firft.
He quotes Mr. Milton, for differing from the world
upon the queftion, and for affirming with regard to
his own great performances. That the people bad a
general fenfe of the lofs of Paradife^ but not an equal
gujl for regaining it. Of De Foe's fecond volume,
it will be eafily allowed, that it is as inflrudtive and
pleafmg as the firft. His Religions Courtfhipy which
he publilhed in 1722, may properly be confidered as
a third volume : For the defign is equally moral, the
manner is equally attradive, and it may in the fame
manner be called a Religious Play.
But the time at length came, when De Foe was
to deliver to the world the moft popular of all his
performances. In April 17 19, he publifhed the
well-known Life and furpriftng Adventures of Robin'
fon Crufoe. The reception was immediate and univer-f
fal ; and Taylor, who purchafed the manufcript
after every bookfeller had refufed it, is faid to have
gained a thoufand pounds. If it be inquired by
what charm it is that thefe furpriftng Adiientures
fhould have inftantly pleafed, and always pleafed, it
will be found, that few books have ever fo natu-
rally mingled amufement with inftruftion. The at.
tention is fixed, either by the fimplicity of the nar-
ration, or by the variety of the incidents ; the heart
is amended by a vindication of the ways of God t$
plan: and the underftanding is informed, by various
exampleS|
CHARLES 2d— OEORCE 2d, 42J
examples, how much utility ought to be preferred to
ornament : the young are inftrudled, while the old
are amufed,
Robinfon Crufoe had fcarcely drawn his canoe
afhore, when he was attacked by his old enemies,
ihefavages. He was affailed firft by The Life and
Jirange Adventures of Mr. D De F — , of London,
Hqfier, who has lived above Fifty Tears by himfelf i^
the Kingdoms cf North and South Britain. In a dull
dialogue between De Foe, Crufoe, and his man Fri-
day, our Author^s life is lampooned, and his mif-
fortunes ridiculed. But he who had been ftruck by
apoplexy, and who was now difcountenanced by
power, was no fit objedt of an Englifhman's fatire.
Our Author declares, when he was himfelf a writer
of fatiric poetry, " that he never reproached any
man for his private infirmities, for having his houfe
burnt, his fhips cafl away, or his family ruined ; nor
had he ever lampooned any one, becaufe he could
not pay his debts, or differed in judgment from
him." Pope has been juflly cenfured for purfuing
a vein of fatire extremely diffimilar. And Pope
placed De Foe with Tutchen, in The Dunciad, when
our Author's infirmities were greater and his com-
fort lefs. He was again affaulted in lyi^y hy An
Epijile to D ■ De F — , the reputed Author of Ro^
binfon Crufoe. " Mr. Foe,*' fays the letter-writer,
*' I have perufed your pleafant flory of Robinfon
Crufoe; and if the faults of it had extended no fur-
ther than the frequent folecifms and incorreclnefs of
ftyle, improbabilities, and fometimes impoflibilities,
I had not given .you the trouble of this Epiftle.**
*' Yet," faid Johnfon to Piozzi, " was there ever
any thing written by mere man, that was wilhed
E e 4 longer
424 '^"^ ^^^^ ^^ D^ ^01.
longer by its readers, except Don Quixote, Robinjhn
Crufoej and the Pilgrim^s Progrefs ?" This epiftot
lary critic, who renewed his angry attack when the
fecond volume appeared, has all the dulnefs, with-
out the acumen, of Dennis, and all his malignity,
without his purpofe of reformation. The Life of
Crufoe has pafled through innumerable editions, and
has been tranflated into foreign languages, while the
criticifm funk into oblivion.
De Foe fet the critics at defiance while he had
the people on his fide. As a commercial legiflator he
knew, that it is rapid fale which is the great incen-r
tive : and, in Auguft 1719, he publiflied a fecond
volume of Surprifing Adventures^ with limilar fuc-
cefs. In hope of profit and of praife, he produced
in' Auguft 1720, Serious Reflexions during the Life
of Robinfan Crufoe^ with hisVifion of the Angelic World.
He acknowledges, that the prefent work is not
merely the produQ: of the two firft volumes, but the
two firft may rather be called the product of this :
the fable is always made for the moral, not the moral
for the fable. He however did not advert, that in-
ftruftion muft be infinuated rather than enforced,
That this third volume has more morality than fabie,^
is the caufe, I fear, that it has never been read with
the fame avidity as the former two, or fpokenof with
the fame approbation. We all prefer amufement to
inftruclion ; and he who would inculcate ufeful
truths, muft ftudy to amufe, or he will offer his
lefTons to an auditory, neither numerous, nor atten-
tive.
The tongue of detraftion is feldom at reft. It has
often been repeated, that De Foe had furreptitioufly
appropriated the papers of Alexander Selkirk, a
Scotch
CHARLES 2d^-^GE0RGE 2d. 425
Scotch mariner, who having lived folitarily on the
ifle of Juan Fernandez, four years and four months,
was relieved on the 2d of February, 1 708-9, by Cap-
tain Woodes Rogers, in his cruizing voyage round the
world. But let no one draw inferences till the fafl:
be firft afcertained. The adventures of Selkirk had
been thrown into the air, in 1712, for literary
hawks to devour * j and De Foe may have catched a
* The whole ftory of Selkirk is told in Woodes Rogers's voyage,
which he publifhed in 1712, from p. 125 to 131, inclufive : whence
it appears, that Selkirk had preferved no pen, ink, or paper, and
had lofl his language ; fo that he had no journal or papers, whichhe
could comnaunicate, or by others could be ftolen. There is an
account of Selkirk in The Enghjhman^ No. 26. The particular
manner how Alexander Selkirk lived four years and four months,
in the ifle of Juan Fernandez, is related in Captain Cooks
voyage into the South Sea, which was publifhediu' 1712, And
Selkirk's tale was told in the Memoirs of Literature, 5. voL
p. 1 18: fo that the world was fully poffeffed of Selkirk's ftory in
1 7 12, feven years prior to the publication ol' Crufoe's adventures.
Nor were his adventures fingular ; for, Ringrofe mentions, in his
account of Captain Sharp's voyage, a perfon who had efcaped
iingly from a fhip that had been wrecked on Juan Fernandez, and
who lived alone five years before he was relieved : And Dam-
pier mentions a Mofquito Indian, who having been accidentally
left on this ifland, fubfifted three years folitarily, till that voyager
jcarried him off. From which of thefe De Foe borrowed his great
Incident, it is not eafy to difcover. In the preface to The Se^
rious ReJledtonSf he indeed fays, " That there is a man alive and
well known, the adions ofwhofe life arethe juft fubjeft of thefe
volumes, and to whom the moft part of the ftory dire6lly alludes."
This turns the fcale in favour of Selkirk. Nor, was the name of
Crufoe wholly fiftitious ; for, among De Foe's contemporaries,
JohnDunton fpeaks of Timothy Grufoe, who was called theGolden
Preacher, and was fo great a textuary, that he could pray two
hours together in fcripture language ; but, he was not arrived at
perfeiSlion ; as appeared by his floth in tying the conjugal knot :
yet, his repentance was fincere and public, and I fear not but he
\& now a glorified faint in heaven. — Life and Errors, p. 461.
common
426 THE LIFE OP D£ FOE;
common prey, which he converted to the ufes of hi3
intellea, and diftributed for the purpofes ofhisin-
tereft. Thus he may have fairly acquired the fun-
damental incident of Crufoe's life ; but, he did not
borrow the various events, the ufeful moralities,
or the engaging ftyle. Few men could write fuch a
poem ; and few Selkirks could imitate fo pathetic aa
original. It was the happinefs of De Foe, that as
many writers have fucceeded in relating eriterprifes
by land, he excelled in narrating adventures by fea,
with fuch felicities of language, fuch attrafl:ive vari-
eties, fuch infmuative inftruction, as have feldom
been equalled, but never furpaffed.
While De Foe in this manner bufied himfclf in
writing adventures, which have charmed every
reader, a rhyming fit returned on him. He pub-
lifliedin 1720, The complete Art of Paintings which
he did into EngliJIo from the French of Du Frefnoy.
Dry den had given, in 1695, atranflation of DuFref-
noy*s poem, which has been efteemed for its know*
ledge of the filler arts. What could tempt De Foe
to this undertaking it is not eafy to difcover, unlefs
we may fuppofe, that he hoped to gain a few guineas,
without much labour of the head or hand. Dryden
has been juftly praifed for relinquifhing vicious ha-
bits of compofition, and adopting better models
for his raufe. De Foe, after he had feen the cor-
reftnefs, and heard the mufic of Pope, remained
unambitious of accurate rhymes, and regardlefs of
fweeter numbers. His politics and his poetry, for
which he was long famous among biographers,
would not have preferved his name beyond the fleet-
ing day; yet I fufpeft that, in imitation of Mikon, he
would have preferred his Jure Divino to his Robin-
fon Grufoe.
De
CHARLES 2d — GEORGE 2^. 427
De Foe lived not then, however, in pecuniary
diftrefs; for his genius and his induftry were to hinr
the mines of Potofi; and in 1722, he obtained from
the Corporation of Colchefter, though my inquiries
have not difcovered by what interpofition, a ninety-
nine years leafe of Kingfwood-heath, at a yearly rent
of a hundred and twenty pounds, with a fine of
five hundred pounds *. This tranfaftion feems to
evince a degree of wealth much above want, though
the affignment of his leafe not long after to Walter
Bernard equally proves, that he could not >eafily hold
what he had thus obtained. Sangfwood-heath is now
worth three hundred pounds a year, and is advertifed
for faie by Bennet, the prefent poffeflbn
Whatever may have been his opulence, our Au-
thor did not wafte his fubfequent life in unprofitable
idlenefs. No one can be idly employed who endea-
vours to make his fellow fubjefts better citizens and
wifer men. This will fuiEciently appear if we con-
fider his future labours, under the diftinfl: heads of
voyages ; fiftitious biography ; moralities, either
grave or ludicrous; domeftic travels j and trafts on
trade.
The fuccefs of Crufoe induced De Foe to publifli,
in 1720, The Life and Piracies of Captain Singletony
though not with fimilar fuccefs : The plan is narrower,
and the performance is lefs amufive. In 1725, he
gave J New Voyage round the Worlds by a Courfe
never failed before, Mofl voyagers have had this
misfortune, that whatever fuccefs they had in the ad-
venture, they had very little in the narration : they are
indeed full of the incidents of failing, but they have
Mprant's Colchefter, p.'i34f
nothing
4^8 THE LIFE OF DE FOE.
nothing of llory for the ufe of readers who never in-
tend to brave the dangers of the fea. Thefe fauhs
De Foe is ftudious to avoid in his new voyage. He
fpreads before his readers fuch adventures as no
writer of a real voyage can hope to imitate, if we ex-
cept the teller of Anfon's tale. In the life of Crufoe
we are gratified by continually imagining that the
fiftion is a fad: in the voyage round the world we
are pleafed by conftantly perceiving that the fad
is a fidion, which, by uncommon Ikill, is made
more interefting than a genuine voyage.
Of fifliitious biography it is equally true, that by
matchlefs art it may be made more inftruftive
than a real life. Few of our writers have excelled
De Foe in this kind of biographical narration, the
great qualities of which are, to attract by the diver-
fity of circumftances, and to inftruft by the ufefuU
nefs of examples.
H6 publiftied, in 1720, the Hiftory of Duncan
Campbell. Of a perfon who was bom deaf and
dumb, but who himfelf taught the deaf and dumb
to underftand, it is eafy to fee that the life would be
extraordinary. It will be found, that the Author
has Intermixed fome difquifitlons of learning, and
has contrived that the merrleft pafTages fhall end
with fome edifying moral. The fortunes and mlP
fortunes of Moll Flanders were made to gratify the
world in 1721. DeFoe was aware, that in relating
a vicious life, it was neceflary to make the beft ufe
of a bad ftory ; and he artfully endeavours, that
the reader ihall be more pleafed with the moral than
the fable ; with the application than the relation ;
with the end of the writer than the adventures ^of
the perfon. There was publilhed in 1721, a work
? of
CHARLES id GEORGE 2d^ 429
of a fimilar tendency, the Life of Colonel Jack,xwho
was born a gentleman but. was bred a pickpocket. —
Our Author is ftudious to convert his various adven-
tures into a delightful field, where the reader might
gather herbs, wholefome and medicinal, without
the incommodation of plants, poifonous, or noxious.
In 1724, appeared the Life of Roxana. Scenes of
crimes can fcarcely be reprefented in fuch a manner,
fays De Foe, but fome make a criminal ufe of them;
but when vice is painted in its low-prized colours, it
is not to make people love what from the frightful-
nefs of the figures they ought neceiTarily to hate.
Yet, I am not convinced, that the world has been
made much wifer, or better, by the perufal of thefe
lives : they may have diverted the lower orders, but
I doubt if they have much improved them ; if how-
ever they have not made them better, they have not
left them worfe. But they do not exhibit many
fcenes which are welcome to cultivated minds. Of a
very different quality are the Memoirs of a Ca-
valier^ during the Civil Wars in England, which
feem to have been publifhed without a date. This
is a romance the likeft to truth that ever was writ-
ten. It is a narrative of great events, which is
drawn with fuch fimplicity, and enlivened with fuch
reflexions, as to inform the ignorant and entertain
the wife.
The moralities of De Foe, whether publilhed in
fmgle volumes, or interfperfed through many paf-
fages, muft at laft give him a fupeiiority over the
crowd of his contemporaries. The approbation
which has been long given to his FafJiily Injlrudor and
his Religious Courtjhip^ feem to contain the favour-
able decifion of his countrymen. But there are (till
other
43^ '^^^ ^^^^ OF DE FOE.
Other performances of this nature, which are now
to be mentioned, of not inferior merit,
De Foe publifticd, in 1722, J Journal of the
Plague in 1665, The Author's artifice confifts in
fixing the reader's attention by the deep diftrefs of
fellow-men; and, by recalling the reader's recollec-
tion to ftriking examples of mortality, he endeavours
to inculcate the uncertainty of life, and the ufeful-
nefs of reformation* In 1724, De Foe publiflxed
The great Law of Subordination. This is an admi-
rable commentary on the Unfufferable Behaviour of
Servants. Yet, though he intereft by his mod6, in-
form by his fads, and convince by his argument,
he fails at laft, by expefting from law what muft
proceed from manners. Our Author gave the
Political Hi/iory of the Devil ^ in 1726. The -matter
and the mode conjoin to make this a charming per-
formance* He engages poetry and profe, reafoning
and wit, perfuafion and ridicule, on the fide of reli-
gion and morals, with wonderful efficacy. De Foe
wrote a-fyftem of magic in 1 726. This may be pro-
perly regarded as a fupplement to the Hiftory of the
DeviK His end and his execution are exadly the
fame. He could fee no great harm in the prefent
pretenders to hiagic, if the poor people would but
keep their money in their pockets ; and that they
Ihould have their pockets picked by fuch an unper-
forming, unmeaning, ignorant crew as thefe are,
is the only magic De Foe could fee in the whole
fcience. But the reader will difcover in our Au-
thor's fyftem extenfive erudition, falutary remark,
and ufeful fatire. De Foe pybliflied in 1727, his
Treatife on the Ufe and Abufe of the Marriage-Bed.
The Author had begun this performance thirty years
before ;
CHARLES 2d — GEORGE 2d. 43I
before : he delayed the publication, though it had
been long finiflied, in hopes of reformation. But
being now grown M^ and out of the reach of fcandaly
and defpairing of amendment from a vicious age,
he thought proper to clofe his days with this fatire*
He appealed to that Judge, before whom he expeft-
ed foon to appear, that as he had done it with an
upright intention, fo he had ufed his utmoft endeavour
to perform it in a manner, which was the leaft liable
to reflection, and the moft anfwerable to the end
of it — the reformation of the guilty. After fuch an
appeal, and fuch afleverations, I will only remark,
that this is an excellent book with an improper title-
page.
We are now to confider our Author's Tours.
He publiflied his Travels through England, in
1724 and 1725; and through Scotland, in
1727. De Foe was not one of thofe travellers
who feldom quit the banks of the Thames.
He had made wide excurfions over all thofe coun-
tries, with obfervant eyes and a vigorous intellefl.
The great artifice of thefe volumes confifts in the fre-
quent mention of fuch men and things, as are always
welcome to the reader^s mind.
De Foe's Commercial Trads are to be reviewed
!aftly. Whether his fancy gracfually failed, as age
haftily advanced, I am unable to tell. He certainly
began, in 1726, to employ his pen more frequently
on the real bufinefs of common life. He publiflied,
in 1727, The Complete Englijh Tradefman; direding
him in the feveral parts of trade. A fecond volume
foon after followed, which was addreffed chiefly to
the more experienced and more opulent traders. In
3 thefe
43- THE LIFE OF DE FOEi
thefe treatifes the tradefman found many direaions
of bufinefs, and many leflbns of prudence. De Foe
was not one of thofe writers^ who confider private
vices as public benefits : God forbid, he exclaims,
that I fhouid be underftood to prompt the vices of the
age, in order to promote any practice of traffic :
trade need notbe deftroyed though vice were mortally
wounded. With this falutary fpirit he publi(hed, in
1728, A Plan of the Englijh Commerce. This feems
to be the conclufion of what he had begun in
17 1 3. In 1728, Gee printed his Trade and Navi-^
gation con/idered. De Foe infilled, that our induftry,
our commerce, our opulence, and our people, had
increafed and were increafmg. Gee reprefented that
our manufaftures had received mortal ftabs; that
our poor were deftitute, and our country miferable*
De Foe maintained the truth, which experience has
taught to unwilling auditors. Gee aflerted the falfe-
hood, without knowing the fad : yet Gee is quoted,
while Pe Foe, with all his knowledge of the fub-
jeft, as a commercial writer, is almoft forgotten*
The reafon may be found perhaps in the charafte-
riftic remark with which he opens his plan :. Trade,
like religion, is what every body talks of, but few
underftand.
When curiofity has contemplated fuch copiouf-
nefs, fuch variety, and fuch excellence, it naturally
inquires, which was the lafl of De Foe's performances?
Were we to determine from the date of the title-
page, the Plan of Commerce muft be admitted to be
his laft. But if we muft judge from his prefatory
declaration, in The Abufe of the Marriage-Bed^
where he talks of clofing his days with this fatirCi
which he was fo far from feeing caufe of being
afhamed
CHARLEi^ 2d-^GE0RdB 2d. 433
alhamed of, that he hoped he (holild not be afliamed
of it where he was going to account for it, we
muft finally decide, that our Author clofed his ca-
reer *' with this upright intention for the goodofman-
kind:'
De Foe, after thofe innumerable labours, which
I have thus endeavoured to recal to the public recol-
leftion, died in April, 1 731, within the parifh of
St, Giles's, Cripplegate, London, at an age, if he
were born in 1663, when it was time to prepare for
his laji 'voyage. He left a widow, Sufannah, who
did not long furvive him, and fix fons and daugh-
ters, whom he boafts of having educated as well as
his circumftances would admit. His fon Daniel is
faid to have emigrated to Carolina ; of Benjamin,
his fecond fon, no account can be given. His
youngeft daughter Sophia, married Mr. Henry Ba-
ker, a perfon more refpefliable as a philofopher than
a poet, who died in 1774, at the age of feventy.
His daughter Maria married one Langley ; but
Hannah and Henrietta probably remained unmar-
ried, fince they were heireffes only of a name, Vvhich
did not recommend them. With regard to
Norton, from Daniel and Oftrasa fprung *,
Blefs'd with his father's front, and mother's tongue.
It is only faid, that he was a wretched writer in the
Flying Poft, and the author of Alderman Barber's
* Pope had colle<fted this fcandal from Savage, who fa3''s in his
preface to his Author to he Let^ " Had it not been an honefler
livelihood for Mr. Norton, (Daniel De Foe's fon of love by a
lady who vended oyfters) to have dealt in a fifh-market, than to
be dealing out the diaieds of Billingfgate in the Flying Poll ?"
Vol. II. F f Life
434 THE LIFE OF DE FOE*
Life. De Foe probably died infolvent ; for letters of
adiTiiniftration on his goods and chattels were 1 t
granted to Mary Brooke, widow, a creditrix, in Sep- I ^^
tember i733,afterfummoningin official form the next
of kin to appear *. John Dunton f , who perfonally w
knew our Author, defcribes him, in 1 705, as a man ^c
of good parts and clear fenfe; of a converfation, in- ^
genious and brifk; of a fpirit, enterprifing and ^
bold, but of little prudence ; with good nature and ^
real honefty. Of his petty habits little now can be ^
told, more than he has thus confefled himfelf J :
** God, I thank thee, I am not a drunkard, or a
fwearer, or a whoremafter, or a bufy-body, or idle,
or revengeful j and though this be true, and I chal-
lenge all the world to prove the contrary, yet, I
mufl own, I fee fmall fatisfaftion in all the negatives
of common virtues; for though I have not been
guilty of any of thefe vices, nor of niany more, I
have nothing to infer from thence, but Te Deum lau*
damns. ^^ He fays himfelf—
Confeffion will anticipate reproach.
He that reviles us then, reviles too much j
All fatire ceafes when the men repent,
'Tis cruelty to lalh the penitent.
When De Foe had arrived at fixty-five, while he
was encumbered with a family, and, I fear, pinched
with penury. Pope endeavoured, by repeated ftrokes,
to bring his gray hairs with forrow to the grave.
This he did without propriety, and, as far as appears,
• The above mentioned particulars were difcovered by fearcb
Ing the books at Doftors Commons. — f Life and Errors, 239-4Q
J hx the preface to his Reformation.
without
I
CHARLES ad— GEORGE id. 4J5
without provocation ; for our Author is not in the
black lift of fcribblers, who by attempting to leffen
the poet's fame, incited the fatirift's indignation.
The offence and the fate of Bentley and DeFoe were
nearly alike. ^ Bently would not allow the tranjlation
to be Homer: De Foe had endeavoured to bring
Milton into vogue feven years ere the Faradife Lojl
and Chevy Chafe had been criticifed in the Speftators
by Addifon. Our Author had faid in More Reform
matioriy
Let this defcribe the nation's chara6ter,
One man reads Milton, forty .
The cafe is plain, the temper of the time,
One wrote the lewd^ the other the fublime.
An enraged poet alone could have thruft into the
Dunciad^ Bentley, a profound fcholar. Gibber, a
brilliant wit, and De Foe, a happy genius. This was
the confequence of exalting fatire as the teft of
truth ; while truth ought to have been enthroned the
teft of fatire. Yet, it ought not to be forgotten, that
De Foe has fome farcafm, in his Syjiem of Magic^ on
the fylphs and gnomes, which Pope may have deemed
a daring invafion of his Roficrutian territories.
De Foe has not yet outlived his century, though
he have outlived moft of his contemporaries. Yet the
time is come, when he muft be acknowledged as one
of the ableft, as he is one of the moft captivating^
writers, of which this ifland can boaft. Before he
canbe admitted to this pre-eminence, he muft be con-
lidered diftinftly, as a poet, as a novelift, as a pole-
mick, as a commercial writer, and as a grave hiftorian.
As a poet, we muft look to the end of his effufions
rather than to his execution, ere we can allow him
F f 2 confiderable
436 THE LIFE OF DE FOEr
cohfiderable praife. To mollify national animofitieSj
or to vindicate national rights, is certainly noble ob-
jefts, which merit the vigour and imagination of
Milton, or the flow aiid precifion of Pope ; but our
Author's energy runs into harfhnefs, and his fweet-
nefs is to be tafted in his profe more than in his
poefy. If we regard the adventures of Crufoe, like
the adventures of Telemachus, as a poem, his moral,
his incidents, and his language, muft lift him high
on the poet's fcale. His profeffed poems, whether
we contemplate the propriety of fentiment, or the
fuavity of numbers, may indeed,, without much
lofs of pleafure or inftruftion, be refigned to thofe,
who, in imitatioa of Pope, poach in the fields of
obfolcte poetry for brilliant thoughts, felicities of
phrafe, or for happy rhymes.
As a novelift, every one will place him in the fore-
moft rank, who confiders his originality, bis per-
formance, and his purpofe. The Ship of Fools had
indeed been launched in early times ; but, who like
De Foe, had ever carried his reader to fea, in order
to mend the heart, and regulate the practice of life,
by fhewing his readers the effects of adverfity, or how
they might equally be called to fuftain his hero's
trials, as they failed round the world. But, without
attraflions, neither the originality, nor the end, caa
have any falutary confequence. This he had fore-
feen ; and for this he has provided, by giving his ad-
ventures in a ftyle fo pleaiing, becaufe it is fimple,and
fo interefting, becaufe it is particular, that every one
fancies he could write afimilar language. It was, then,
idle in Boyer formerly, or in SmoUet lately, to fpeafc
of De Foe as a party writer^ in little ejiimation. The
\\T:itings of no Author fince have run through more
numerous
CHARLES 2d. GEORGE 2(3. 437
numerous editions. And he vvhofe works have plea-
fed generally and pleafed long, mufl be deemed a
writer of no fmall eflimation ; the people's verdict
being the proper teft of what they are the proper
judges-
As a polemick, I fear we mufl regard our Author
with lefs kindnefs, though it muft be recolleded,
that he lived during a contentious period, when two
parties diftrafted the nation, and writers indulged
in great afperities. But, in oppofition to reproach,
let it ever be remembered, that he defended freedom,
without anarchy ; that he fupported toleration,
without libertinifmj that he pleaded for moderation
even amidft violence. With aciitenefs of intelletSt,
with keennefs of wit, with archnefs of diftion, and
pertinacity of defign ; it mufl^be allowed that nature
had qualified, in a high degree, De Foe for a difpu-
tant. His polemical treatifes, whatevermight havebeen
their attradions once, may now be delivered with-
out referve to thofe who delight in polemical reading.
De Foe, it mufl be allowed, was a party- writer : But,
were not Swift and Prior, Steel and Addifon,
Halifax and Bolingbroke, party-writers ? De Foe,
being a party-writer upon fettled principles, did
not change with the change of parties ; Addifon
and Steel, Prior and Swift, connefted as they were
with perfons, changed their note as perfbns were
elevated or deprefTed*
As a commercial writer, De Foe is fairly intitled
to fland in the foremofl rank -among his contem-
poraries, whatever may be their performances or
their fame. Little would be his praife, to fay of
him, that he wrote on commercial legillation like
F f 3 Addifon,
43* THE LIFE or DE FOE.
Addifon, who when he touches on Trade, finks
into imbecility, without knowledge of faft, or power
of argument *. The diftinguifhing charafteriftics
of De Foe, as a commercial difquifitor, are origina-
lity and depth. He has many fentiments with re-
gard to traffic, which are fcattered through his
Reviews, and which I never re^d in any other book.
His Giving Jims no Charity is a capital performance,
with the exception of one or two thoughts about
the abridgment of labour by machinery, which are
either half formed or half expreffed. Were we to
compare De Foe with D' Avenant, it would be found,
that D'Avenant has more detail from official docu-
ments; that De Foe has more faft from wider
inquiry. D^Avenant is more apt to confider laws
in their particular application; De Foe more fre-
quently inveftigates commercial legiflation in its
genera:l eflfects. From the publications of D'Avenant
it is fufficiently clear, that he was not very regard-
ful' of means or very attentive to confequences ;
De Foe is more correft in his motives, and more
falutary in his ends. But, as a commercial prophet,
De Foe mufl yield the palm to Child ; who fore-
feeing from experience that men's conduft muft
finally be direfted by their principles, foretold the
colonial revolt : De Foe, allowing his prejudices to
obfcure his fagacity, reprobated that fuggeftion,
becaufe he deemed interefl a more ilrenuous prompter
than enthufiafm. Were we however to form an
opinion, not from fpecial paflTages, but from whole
* See tlie prefent State of the War, and the neceffity of as
augmentation. And Sec his Compiercial Papers in the Freeholder.
3 performances,
CHARLES 2d.--G£0E0E 2d. 439
performances, we muft incline to De Foe, when
compared with the ableft contemporary: we muft
allow him the preference, on recoUeftion, that when he
writes on commerce he feldom fails to infmuate fome
axiom of morals, or to inculcate fome precept of
religion.
As an hiftorian, it will be found, that our Author
had few equals in the Englifh language, when he
wrote. His Memoirs of a Cavalier Ihew how well
he could execute the lighter narratives. His Hiftory
of the Union evinces that he was equal to the higher
department of hiftoric compofition. This is an ac-
count of a fmgle event, difficult indeed in its exe-
cution, but beneficial certainly in its confequences.
With extraordinary ikill and information, our Author
relates, not only the event, but the tranfaftions which
preceded, and the effeds which followed. He is at
once learned and intelligent. Confidering the fac-
tioufnefs of the age, his candour is admirable. His
moderation is exemplary. And if he fpoke of James I.
as a tyrant, he only exercifed the prerogative, which
our hiftorians formerly enjoyed, of cafting obloquy on
an unfortunate race, in order to fupply deficience of
knowledge, of elegance, and of ftile. In this in-
ftance De Fge allowed his prejudice, to overpower his
philofophy. If the language of his narrative want
the dignity of the great hiftorians of the current
times, it has greater facility; if it be not always
grammatical, it is generally precife ; and if it be
thought defeftive in ftrength, it muft be allowed to
excel in fweetnefs.
Such then are the pretenfions of De Foe to be ac-
knowledged as one pf the ableft and moft ufeful
F f 4 writers
440 THE LIFE OF DB FOE,
wTiters of our ifland. He who ftill doubts may
perhaps fatisfy his greateft doubts, by perufing
the chronological catalogue of our Author's works^
which I have compiled, in order to gratify the public
curiofity ; and which, for the greater diftindnefs, I
have divided into two heads: ift, Thofe writings
that I think are certainly De Foe*s : idly, thofe writ*
ings that are faid to be his. As I do not pretend to
perfeQ: accuracy, it would be a favour to the world
and to me, if any one, of more knowledge and leifure
than I poffefs, would point out miftakes for the
purpofe of amendment. The zealous interpofition of
Mr. Lockyer Davis, and the liberal fpirit of the Sta-
tioners Company, procured me the perufal of the
Regifler of books, which have been entered at Sta^
tioners-Hall. I was furprifed and difappointed to
find fo few of De Foe's writings entered as property,
and his name never mentioned a.s an author or z,
man.
A LIST
CHARLES 2d GEOUiGE 2(1. 44I
A LIST of WRITINGS, which are
confidered as undoubtedly DE FOE's.
A TREATISE againft the Turks, 1683.— De Foe
^£j^ continued the argument of this Treatife through
feveral Reviews in September and Oftober 1704.
A Traft againft the Proclamation for the Repeal of
the Penal Laws. 1687. — ^^fhe title of it, I believe was, A
Letter to a Dijfentery upon Occafion of his Majejlfs late Decla^
ration, L'Eftrange publifhed an anfwer to this Letter on
the 5thOaober 1687.
A Voyage to the World of Cartefius. Written origi-
nally in French, and nowtranflated into Englifh. — ^T. Bennet.
1692.
An Eflay upon Projefts : By D. F. 7*. Cocierille, 25/A
January f 1696-7. — The Second Edition^ 1702.
An Enquiry into the Occafion al Conformity of Diflenters,
in Cafes of Preferment. With a Preface to the Lord Mayor,
occafioned by his carry mg the Sword to a Conventicle.
1697. i2mo. It was rc-publifhcd in 1701, with a Dedica-
catory Preface to Mr. John How.
The True-born Englifhman. No Publiflier's name. 23d
January, 1 700-1. 4to. ^This was entered at Stationers-
Hal!, for James Roberts, on the 5th of March, 1715.
Fourteen years being elapfed fince the firft publication, De
Foe feems thus to have reclaimed the property which he fold
to Roberts.
The Freeholder's Plea againft Stock-jobbing Members of
Parliament. 1701. 410.
The Original Power of the Colleftive Body of the People ,
of England, examined and afTerted, By D. F. No Publifli-
er's name. 1702. Folio.
A new Teft of the Church of England's Loyalty, or*
Whiggifti Loyalty and Church Loyalty compared. 1702.
An Enquiry into Occafional Conformity, fhewing that the
Diflenters are no way concerned in it. 1 702.
The
442 A LIST OF DE FOE's WRITINGS,
The Shorted Way to Peace and Union. By the Author
of the Shorted Way witli the Dlflenters. 1 703. 4to.
A Challenge of Peace to the whole Nation. 1 703..
The Sincerity of Dlflenters, vindicated from the Scandal
of Occafional Conformity. 17C3.
The Liberty of Epifcopal Diflenters in Scotland, truly
dated. By a Gentleman. 1703.
A true Colleftion of the Writings of the Author of the
True-born Englifhman. Correfted by himfelf. 1703. 8vo,
CONTENTS.
I. The True-born Englifhman, a Satire. — 2. The Mock-
mourners, a Satire. — 3. Reformation of Manners, a Satire. —
4. The Chara£ler of the late Dr. Samuel Anneflely, by Way
of Elec^y. — 5. The Spanifh Defcent, a Poem. — 6. The Free-
holder 8 Plea againd Stock-jobbing Eleftions of Parliament
Men. — 7. Reafons againd a War with France, &c. — 8. An
Argument fliewing that a Standing Army, with Confent of
Parliament, is not inconfident with a FrcQ Government. —
9. The Dangers of the Protedant Religion, from the prefent
Profpeft of a Religious War in Europe. — 10. The Villainy
of Stock-jobbers detefted, and the Caufes of the late Run
upon the Bank and Bankers difcovered and confidered. — 11.
The Six didinguidiing Charafters of a Parliament Man. —
12. The Poor Man's Plea. — 13. An Enquiry into the Occa-
lional Conformity of Diflenters, in Cafes of Preferment, with
a Preface to Mr. How. — 14. A Letter to Mr. How, by Way
of Reply to his Confiderations of the Preface to an Enquiry
into the Occafional Conformity of the Diflenters. — 15. The
two great Quedions confidered : (i) What the French King
will do, with Refpeft-^o the Spanifli Monarchy ? (2) What
Meafures the Engl ifh ought to take? — 16. The two great
Quedions farther confidered, with fome Reply to the Re-
marks.-— 17. Ah Enquiry into Occafional Conformity, fliew-
ing that the Difllenters are no ways concerned in it. — 18. A
New Ted of the Church of England's Loyalty, or Whiggifij
Loyalty and Church Loyalty compared. — 19. The Shorted
' Way with the DiflTenters, or Propofals for the Edablifliment
of the Church. — 20. A brief Explanation of a late Pamphlet
entitled " The Shorted Way with the Diflenters."— 21. The
Shorted Way to Peace and Union.
The Review began to be publiflied on the 19th of Febru-
ary, 1 703-4, every Saturday and Tuefday, till the 24th of
March, 1 705, when it was.publiihed alfo on Thurfday. Thus
it
JFROM 1683 TO 17^8* 443
It continued to be publiflied every Tuefday, Thurfday, and
Saturday, till May 1713, when it was difcontinued. The
whole Colleffcion fornls nine thick volumes in Quarto : but,
from the inquiries which I have made, I doubt whether a
complete fete of De Foe's Reviews any where exift.
The Storm: or a Colleftion of the moft Remarkable
Cafualties and Difafters which happened in the late dreadful
Tempeft, both by Sea and Land. Sawbridge. 27th July,
1704. Oftavo.
An Elegy on the Author of the True-born Englifhman 5
with an Eflay on the late Storm : By the Author of the
Hymn to the Pillory. 15th Augufti 1704.
A Hymn to Vidlory, by the Author of the True-born
Englifkman, 29th Auguft, 1704. The Second Edition,
with Additions, September 9th, 1704.
An Eflay on the Regulation of the Prefs, 1704.
An Inquiry into the Cafe of Mr. Afgil's General Tran-
flation ; Ihewing that it is not a nearer way to Heaven than
the Grave. By the Author of the True-born Englifhman.
26th September, 1704. Oftavo.
More Short Eflays with the Diflenters, 1704.
Giving Alms no Charity : and Employing the Poor a
Grievance to the Nation, 23d December, 1704.
The Double Welcome to the Duke of Marlborough. By
the Author of the True-born Englifhman. 9th January,
1705 — 6.
The Confolidator. By the Author of the True-born Eng-
lifhman, 26th March, 1705.
The Experiment ; or, the Shortefl Way with the DifTenter*
exemplified. Bragg. 7th April, 1705. (!5dl:avo.
Advice to all Parties. By the Author of the True-
born Englifhman. Ben. Bragg. 30th April, 1705.
Oftavo.
The High Church Legion ; or, the Memorial examined.
Being a new Tefl of Moderation : As it is Recommended to
all that love the Church of England and the Conflitution.
By the Author of the True-born Englifhman. Price 6d.
7th July, 1705, — ^This is an Anfwer to Dr. Drake's well-
known Memorial of the Church of England.
A True CoUeilion of the Writings of the Author of the
True-born
444 A LIST OF DE foe's WRITINGS,
True-born Engliftiman. Correfted and Enlarged by the
Author, 1705.
CONTENTS.
I. A new Difcovery of an old Intrigue ; a Satire, levelled
at Treachery and Ambition. — 2. More Reformation, a
Satire upon himfelf. — 3. An Elegy on the Author of
the True-born Engliftiman. — 4. The Storm, an Eflay. —
5. A Hymn to the Pillory. — 6. A Hymn to Viflory. —
7. The Pacificator. — 8. The Double-welcome to the
Duke of Marlborough, a Poem, — 9. The Diflenter's An-
fwer to the High Church Challenge. — 10. A Challenge of
Peace, addreffed to the whole Nation. — 1 1 . Peace without
Union, by way of Reply to Sir H M 's Peace at
Home. — 12. More Short Ways with the Difienters. — 13. A
new Teft of the Church of England, Honejly. — \ 4. A ferious
Enquiry into the Grand Queftion, Whether a Law to prevent
the Occafional Conformity of Difienters, would not be in-
confiftent with the Aft of Toleration, and a Breach of the
Queen's Promife ? — 15. The Difienters mifreprefented, and
reprefented. — 16. The Parallel : or, Perfecution of the Pro
tefiants, the fliorceft Way to prevent the Growth of Popery
in Ireland. — 17. Giving Alms no Charity, and Employing
the Poor a Grievance to the Nation ; being an Efl^ay upon
this great Queftion, Whether Workhoufes, Corporations,
and Houfes of Correftion, for Employing the Poor, as now
Jraftifed in England, or Parifti Stocks, as Propofed in a late
^amphlet, intitled, A Bill for the better Relief, Employ-
ment, and Settlement of the Poor, &c. are not Mifchievous
to the Nation, tending to the Deftruftion of Trade, and to
increafe the Number and Mifery of the Poor ? — 18. Loyal
Religion, being fome Enquiry after the Piety of Princes 5
with Remarks on a Book intitled A Form of Prayer ufed
by King William.
The True Relation of the Apparition of one Mrs. Veal,
the next day after her Death, to one Mrs. Bargrave at Can-
terbury, the Eighth of September, 1705. Firft Edition,
1705. Oftavo. Second Edition, 1707.-— The tradition
among the Bookfellers is, That when Drelincourf s Confola^
tions ngatnjl the Fears of Death firft appeared, the book would
not fell. De Foe faid he would make it fell, and he made the
Apparition recommend Drelincourt's Book of Death, as the
heft on that fubje<£l ever written. This affefting ftory had
fold Twenty Editions of Drelincourt's Confolations before the
year 1776, when the Twenty- firft Edition was publiflxed»
The
FkOM 1683 TO 1728. 445
The Diet of Poland i a Satire, 1705. Quarto. — Of this
Poem I have never feen but one line, which the Author
quotes himfelf :
** If Knaves *ivere mver fools j thc^dfoon How up the Stated*
A Hymn to Peace : occafioned by the two Houfes joining
in one, Addreiied to the Queen. By the Author of the
True-born Englifhman, January loth, 1706.
A Reply to a Pamphlet intitled, The Vindication of liord
H 's Speech. Quarto. By the Author of the Review*
15th January, 1706.
An EiTay at Removing National Prejudices again ft an
Union with Scotland. To be continued during the Treaty
here. London, Part Firft, 4th May, 1 706 j Part Second^
28th May, 1706.
Thomas de Laune^s Plea for the Nonconformifts : with
a Preface by the Author of the Review. 4th June, 1 706. —
There was an Edition of the Plea in 1682 ; and one in 17 12.
Jure Divino : a Satire on Tyranny and Paffive Obedience.
By the Author of the True-born Englifhman. July 20th,
1706, in Folio and Odlavo.
De Foe fays, in his Review of the 26th of January,
1706 — 7, "I have publiilied fix feveral Effays in Scotland
for Removing National Prejudices."— —*The two ft'Uowing
Trafts are certainly two oJF thefe :
The Advantages of the Aft of Security, compared to the
intended Union. By D. De Foe. Quarto, 1706. .
A Fifth Eflay at Removing National Prejudices ; with
a Reply to fome Authors who have printed their Objedfcions
againft an Union. 1707. Quarto.
The Diffenters Vindicated from Reflexions in a late
Pamphlet, called Lawful Prejudices. D. De Foe. A
fingle Sheet. Quarto.
Caledonia ; a Poem in Honour of Scotland, and the Scots
. Nation. In three Parts. Edinburgh, 1706, Folio. Lon-
don, 28th January, 1706 — 7. Oftavo.
The Diflenters Vindicated ; or, a Short View of the pre-
• fent State of the Poteftant Religion in Britain, as it is now
profefled in the Epifcopal Church of England, the Prefbyte-
rian Church in Scotland, and the Diflenters in both. In
anfwer to fome Refleftions in Mr. Webfter*s two books pub-
liflied in Scotland. London, ift April, 1707. Oftavo. —
Mr. Webfter*s two books were. Lawful Prejudices ; or, the
Sinfulnefsof the Union. By the Reverend John Webfter.
Edinburgh, 1707. — ^The Author of the Lawful Prejudices
446 A LIST OF DE FOE^S WRITINGS,
defended. By the Reverend John Webfter. Edinburgh,
1707.
The Hiftory of the Union between England and Scotland;
by Daniel De Foe. With an Appendix of Original Papers*
Edinburgh, 1709. Folio. 2d Edition, London, 1712;
3d Edition, 1786. Quarto.
The Hiftory of Addrefles. By one very near Akin to the
Author of the Tale of a Tub. 1709. Odavo.^
The Hiftory of Addrefles. With Remarks ferious and
comical. In which a particular Regard is had to all
fuch as have been prefented fince the Impeachment of
Dr. Sacheverel. Part fecond. By the Author of the firft.
J. Baker. 171 1. Oftavo.
An Eflay at a plain Expofition of that difficult Phrafe,
A good Peace. By the Author of the Review. 17 11.
OSavo.
An Eflay on the South-Sea Trade, with an Enquiry into
the Grounds and Reafons of the prefent Diflike and Com-
plaint againft the Settlement of a South-Sea Company. By
the Author of the Review. Firft Edition, 171 1. Second
Edition, corre£led. 17 12.
A Seafonable Caution. 1 7 1 2. Oftavo.
Rcaiottjs againft the Succeflion of the Houfe of Hanoverj
with an Enquiry how far the Abdication of King James,
fuppofing it to be Legal, ought to afFeft the Perfon of the
Pretender. 1712. Odavo.
And what if the Pretender fhould come? or, fome Con-
fiderations of the Advantages and real Confequences of the
Pretender's pofl^eflTmg the Crown of Great Britain. 17 12.
Odavo.
An Anfwer to a Queftion that Nobody thinks of; viz.
What if the Queen fhould die ? 1712. Oftavo.
The three laft, are the Tra£ls for which ^De Foe was
profecuted in 1 713.
A General Hiftory of Trade, and efpecially confidered
as it refpefts the Britifli Commerce, as well at Home as to
all Parts of the World. With EiTays upon the Improvement
of our Trade in pai-ticular. To be continued Monthly.
London. J.Baker, ift Auguft, 17 13. Oftavo, Price 6d.
A General Hiftory of Trade, and efpecially confidered
as it refpefts the Britifli Commerce, as well at Home as to
idl Parts of the World. With a Difcourfe of the Ufe of
Harbours;
FROM 1683 TO 1728. 447
Harbours and Roads for Shipping, as it relates particularly
to the filling up the Harbour of Dunkirk. This for the
Month of July, 15 Auguft, 171 3. Oftavo, Price 6d.
The Family Inftruftor : In three Parts. — i. Relating
to Fathers and Children : — 2. To Mailers and Servants :
— 3, to Hufbands and Wives. — ^This, with the Recom-
mendatory Letter of the Rev. S. Wright, was entered at Sta-
tioners Hall, for E.Mathews, on the 3 1 ft March 1 7 1 5, Oftavo.
A fecond Volume was afterwards added in two Parts :
— I. Relating to Family Breaches, and their, obftrufting
Religious Duties. — 2. To the great Miftakc of mixing the
PaiFions in the Managing and Correfting of Children:
— with a great variety of Cafes relating to fetting ill Ex-
{imples to Children and Servants. The 8th Edition in 1722.
The 17th Edition in 1772.
An Appeal to Honour and Juftice, though it be of his
worft Enemies. By Daniel De Foe. Being a true Account
of his Conduft in Public Affairs. J. Baker, 17 15. OGavo.
The Life and ftrange furprifing Adventures of Robinfon
Crufoe of York, Mariner, who lived eight-and-twenty Years
all alone in an uninhabited liland on the Coaft of America,
near the Mouth of the great River of Oroonoquc ; having
been caft on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men
perifhed but himfelf : With an Account how he was at laft
ftrangely delivered by Pirates. Written by himfelf. To
which is added a Map of the World, in which is delineated
the Voyages of Robinfon Crufoe. — ^This Work was entered
at Stationers-Hall, for W. Taylor, the 23d April, 17 19.
The farther Adventures of Robinfon Crufoe ; being the
fecond and laft part of his Life, and of the ftrange furprifing
Accountsof his Travels round three Parts of the Globe: writ-
ten by himfelf. To which is added aMapof the World, in which
is delineated the Voyages of Robinfon Crufoe. This was en-
tered at Stationers-Hall, for W.Taylor, the 17th Auguft,
1719. Octavo.
Serious Reflexions, during the Life and furprifing Ad-
ventures of Robinfon Crufoe : with his Vifion of the An-
gelic World. Written by himfelf. This was entered at
Stationers-Hall, for W.Taylor, the 3d Auguft, 1 7 20. Odtavo.
The Dumb Philofopher : or Great Britain's Wonder ;
Containing^ firft, a faithful and very furprifing Account how
Dickory Cronke, a Tinner's Son in the County of Cornwal,
was born dumb, and continued fo for 58 Years; and how
fome days before he died he came to his Speech : with Me-
moirs of his Life, and the Manner of hi$ Death. Secowd^ il
448 A LIST OF D£ FOH*S WJtlTJMGS,
Declaration of his Faith and Principles in Religion : witfl
a Colleftion of Scle6l Meditations, compofed in his Retire-
ment. Third, his Prophetical Obfervations upon the Af-
fairs of Europe, more particularly of Great Britain, from
1620 to 1629. The whole extracted from his Original
Papers, and confirmed by unqueftionable Authotity. To
which is Annexed his Elegy, written by a young Cornifh
Gentleman of Exeter College in Oxford ; with aft Epitaph
by another Hand. T. Bickerton, 1719. Odavo.
The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the famous Captain
Singleton : Containing an /Account of his being fet on Shore
in the Ifland of Madagafcar, his Settlement there, with 2
Defcription of the Place and Inhabitants : Of his Paflagc
from thence in a Paraguay to the Mainland of Africa, with
an Account of the Cuiloms and Manners of the People t
His great Deliverances from the barbarous Natives and wild
Beafts : Of his meeting with an Englifhman, a Citizen of
of London among the Indians, the great Riches he acquired,
and his Voyage home to England. As alfo Captain Single-
ton's return to Sea, with an Account of his many Adven-
tures and Piracies, with the famous Captain Avery and
others. London, Printed for J. Brothcrton, &:c. 1720. O£tavo.
The Hiftory of the Life and Adventures of Mr, Duncan
Campbell, a Gentleman, who, though Deaf and Dumb,
writes down any Stranger's name at fir 11 fight ; with their
future Contingencies of Fortune- Now living in Exeter
Court, over againft the Savoy in the Strand. London,
Printed for E. Curll. Price 5s. 1720. 0£tavo.
The Supernatural Philofophcr, or the Myfteries of Magic
in all its Branches clearly unfolded. Containg, Firft, An
Argument proving the Perception which Mankind have by
all the Senfes of l5xmons. Genii or familiar Spirits, and of
the fcveral Species of them, both good and bad. Second,
A Philofophical Difcourfe concerning the Second Sight, de- 1
monftrating it to be Hereditary in fome Families. Third,
A full Anfwer to all Obj eel ions that can be brought againft
the Exiilence of Spirits, Witches, &c. Fourth, Of Di-
vination by Dreams, Speftres, Omens,. Apparitions after
Death, Prediftions, 8:c. Fifth, Of Inchantment, Necro-
mancy, Geomancy, Ilydromancy, ^Momancy, Pyromancy>
Chiromancy, Augury and Arulpicy, colledted and com-
piled from the mod approved Authorities. By William
feond, of Bury St. Edmond's, SufTblkw Exemplified in the
Life of Mr. Duncan Campbell. 53.
The
fAOtd 1683 TO I}r28. 449
The Compleat Art of Painting, a Poem : Tranflated from
• the French of Du Frefnoy* By D. F. Gentleman. War^
ner, 1720. Oaavo.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the famous Moll Flan-
ders, &c. who was born in Newgate, and during a Life of
continued Variety for thyeefcore years, befides her child-
hood, was twelve times a Whore, five times a Wife,
(whereof once to her own Brother,) twelve years a Thief,
eight years a tranfportcd Felon in Virginia^ at laft grew
rich, lived honeft, and died a Penitent. Written from her
own Memorandums. W. Chetwood, 1 721. Oftavo. Third
Edition. Chetwood, 1722* Edition, J. Brotherton, 1741.
Lowndes, &c. i776.-^This was entered at Stationers-
Hall as a new book, on the twelfth of January, 1722—23,
for Thomas Edlin.
A Journal of the Plague Year ; being Obfervations or
Memorials of the mod Remarkable Occurrences, as well
public as private, which happened in. London during the
laft great Vifitation in 1665. Written by a Citizen who
continued all the while in London. Never made Public
before 1722. Ofliavo.— To which is added, A Journal of
the Plague at Marfeilles in 1720. 1722. Odlavo.
Religious Courtfliip : being Hiftorical Difcourfes on the
neceffity of marrying Religious Hufbands and Wives only.
As alfo of Hufbands and Wives being of the fame Opinions
in Religion with one another. With an Appendix, of the
Neceffity of taking none but Religious Servants, and a Pro-
pofal for the better Managing of Servants. London. E.
Mathews, &c. 1722. 0(Savo. Fifth Edition, correfted
1737. Seventh Edition, 1743-
The Hiftory and Remarkable Life of the truly Honour-
able Colonel Jaque, commonly called Colonel Jack, who
was born a Gentleman, put Prentice to a Pickpocket, was
fix*and-twenty Years a 'Thief, and then kidnapped to Vir-
ginia. Came back a Merchant, was five times married to
four Whores, went into the Wars, behaved bravely, got
Preferment, was made Colonel of a Regiment, came over '
and fled with the Chevalier, is ftill abroad completing a Life
of Wonders, and refolves to die a General. The firfl: Edi-
tion 1722, probably ; Second Edition, J. Brotherton, &c,
^723, Oftavo ; Third Edition, 1724.
The Fortunate Miftrefs ; or, a Hiftory of the Life and vaft
Variety, of Fortunes of Mademoifelle de Belau, afterwards
called the Countefs de Wintfelflieim in Germany. Being
Vol. II, Gg the
4JO A LIST OF DB FOe's WRITINGS^
the Pcrfon known by the Name of the Lady Roxana, in
the time of King Charles the Seconds London. Tv
Warner. 1724. Odavo^
The Great Law of Subordination confidered j or, the In*
folcncc and unfufferable behaviour of Servants in England,
duly inquired into^ Illuttrated with a great Variety of Ex-
imples, Hiftorical Cafes, and remarkable Stories of the
Behaviour of fome particular Servants,- fuited to all the
feveral Arguments made ufe of, as they go on- In ten
familiar Letters. Together with a Conclufion,. being an
earneft and moving Remonftrance to the Houfekeepers and
Heads of Families in Great Britain, prefling them not to*
eeafe ufrng their utmoft Intereft, efpecially at this Junfture,
to obtain fufficient Laws for the efFeftaal Regulations of the
Manners' and Behaviour of their Servants. A& alfo a Pro-
pofal, containing fuch Heads or Conftitutions as would
cfFeftuaily anfwer this great End, and bring Servants of
every Clafs to a juft and yet not a grievou6 Regulation. S.
Harding and the London Bookfellers. 1724.^ Odavo.— I
doubt if this were ever rc-^pubHfhed.
A Toiir through the whole Ifland of Great Britain, di*
Tided into Circuits or Journies* Giving a particular and
diverting Account of whatever is Curious and worth Ob-
fervatiouy viz. Flirft, A Defcription of the Principal Cities
and Towns, their Situation, Magnitude^ Government and
Commerccr Second, their Cuftoms, Manners, Speech j as alfa
the Exercifes, Diverfions and Employments of the People.
Third, The Produce and Improvement of the Lands, the
Trade and Manufadlures^ Fourth, The Sea Ports, and
Fortifications, the Gourfe of Rivers, and the Inland Navi-
gation. Fifth, The Public Edifices, Seats and Palaces of
the Nobility and Gentry. With ufeful Obfervations upon
the whole. Particularly fitted for die reading of fuch as
defirc to travel over the liknd. By a Gentleman. London.
G.Strahan> 1724. Odavo. Vol. 2d, 1725 -, VoL3(l, 1727.
A Fourth Volume was added to the Edition, 1732, which
is faid to have been by Richardfon. There was an Eighth
Edition in 1778. This Tour h often confoanded with a
Journey thriough England and Scotland^, in Familiar Letters
from a Gentleman here to his Friend abroad, which was
Publifhed about the fame time by Pemberton and
Brown. And by the Author of this Journey was written,
^ Journey through the Aujlrian Netherlands^ which was pub-
lilted in 1725, and i« often attributed to De Foe by thofc
J , wha
FROM 1683 TO ly^Z. 451
ti'iio miftake the Journey of the one Author for the Tour of
the other.
A New Voyage round the World, by a Courfe never
failed before. Being a Voyage undertaken by fome Mer-
chants who afterwards propofed the fetting up an Eaft India
Company in Flanders. Illuftrated with Copper-plates.
London. A. Bettefworth, 1725. 0£lavo.
The Political Hiftory of the Devil, as well Ancient as
Modem: in two Parts. Part Firft, containing a State of.
the Devil's Circumftances, and the various Turns of his Af-
fairs, from his Expulfion out of Heaven to the Creation of
Man ; with Remarks on the fever^J Miftakes concerning the
Reafon and Manner of his Fall. Alfo his Proceedings with
Mankind ever fince Adam to the firft planting of the Chris-
tian Religion in the World. Part Second, containing his
more private Conduft, down to the prefent Times. His
Government, his Appearances, his Manner of Working, and
the Tools he works with. London, T. Warner, 1 726. Odl:avo.
Second Edition, 1727 j Third Edition, 1734; Fourth
Edition, 1739; and Sixth Edition, 1770* — When this was
a fecond time printed, it was entitled fimply The Hiftory of
the DeviL ** This .Second Edition, fiiys De Foe, notwith-
ftanding a large Impreffion of the firft, is a Certificate from
the World of its general Acceptation. The wife World has
been pleafed with it, the merry World has been diverted
with it, and the ignorant World has been taiight by it j
and none but the malicious part of the World has been of-
fended at it : Who can wonder, that when the Devil is
not pleafed, his Friends fliould be angry !" Preface. Yet, in
fubfequent Editions the original Title is reftored.
The Compleat Englifh Tradcfman ; in Familiar Letters,
directing him in all the feveral Parts and ProgrefTions of
Trade, viz. — i. Of acquainting him with Bufinefs during
his Apprenticeftiip. — 2. Of writing to Correfpondents in a
trading Style. — 3. Of Diligence and Application, ag theLife
of all Bufinefs. — 4. Cautions againft Over-trading. — 5. Of
the ordinary Occafions of a Tradefman's Ruin •, fuch as ex-
penfive Living, too early Marrying, innocent Diverfions, too
much Credit, being above Bufinefs, dangerous Partner-
fhips, &c.* — 6. Direftions in feveral Diftrefles of a Tradef- .
man when he comes to Fail. — 7. Of Tradefmen com-
pounding with other Tradefmen, and why they are fo
particularly fevere upon one another. — 8. Of Tradefmen
ruining one another by Rumours and Scandal. — 9. Of the
G g 2 cuftomary
45^ A LIST OF DB foe's WRITINGS,
cuftomnry Frauds of Trade, and particularly of trading Lies,
— lo. Of Credit^ and how it is only to be fupported by
Honefty. — ii. Of punftual paying Bills, and thereby
maintaining Credit. — 12. Of the Dignity and HonoUx*- of
Trade in England, more than in other Countries. The
fccond Edition. To which is added a Supplement, contain-
ing: I. A Warning againft Tradefmen's borrowing Money
upon Intereft. — 2. A Caution againft that deftruclive Prac-
tice of drawing and remitting, as alfo difcounting Promiflary
Bills, merely for a fupply of Cafh. — 3. Direftions for the
Trade fraan's Accounts, with brief but plain Examples, and
Specimens for Book-keeping. — 4. Of keeping a Duplicate
or Pocket Lodger, in cafe of Fire. Charles Rivingtoii.
1727 Octavo.
The Compleat Englifh Tradcfman, Vol. II. In two
Parts. Part Firft, directed chiefly to the more experienced
Tradefmen ; with Cautions and Advices to them after they
are thriven, and fuppofed to be grown Rich, v/2. i. Againll
running out of their Bufinefs into needlefs Projefts arid
dangerous Adventures, no Tradefman being above Difafter.
—2. Againft oppreffing one another by engrofling, under-
felling, combination in Trade, &c. — 3. Advices that v/hen
he leaves off his Bufmefs he fliould part Friends with the
V/orld ; the great Advantages of it •, with a Word of the
fcandnlous Charafter of a purfe-proud Tradefman. — 4.
Againft being litigious and vexatious, and apt to go to Law
for Trifles ; with fome reafons why Tradefmen's Differences
fhould, if poflible, be all ended by Arbitration. — ^Part Second:
Being ufeful Generals in Trade, defcribing the Principles
and Foundation of the Home Trade cf Great Britain ; with
large Tables of ot^r Manufa<llures, Calculations of the Pro-
duct, Shipping, Carriage of Goods by Land, Importation
from Abroad, Confumption at Home, &c. By all of which
the infinite Number of our Tradefmen are employed, and
the general, Wealth of the Nation raifed and increafed. The
whole calculated for the XJfe of all our inland Tradefmen, as
v/ell in the City as in the Country. Charles Rivington,
1727. — ^The title of Tkc Compleat Engll/h Tradefman is not
altogether new : For, there was Entered at Stationers-Hall
for John Dunton, on the fixth of December, 1683, The
P leaf ant Art of Money-catching ; being the fecond and lafl;
part of T/je Compleat Tradefman,
An Eflay on the Hiftory and Reality of Apparitions.
Being an Account of what they are, and what they are not :
as
FROM 1683 TO 17^8. 453
as alfo how we may diftinguifh between the Apparitions of
good and evil Spirits, and how we ought to behave to them.
With a great Variety of furprifing and diverting Examples
never publifhed before. J.Roberts, 1727. Oftavo.
A Syftem of Magic ; or, a Hiftory of the Black Art. Beinpj
anHiftorical Account of Mankind's moft early Dealings with
the Devil ; and how the Acquaintance on both Sides firft
begun. J. Roberts, 1727, and for A. Millar, 1728. —
This book was entered at Stationers Hall, on the thirtieth
of December, 1726, for John Watts, who probably afligned
his intereft ro Roberts. This was called a Compleat Syftem
of Magic, &c. 1729.
A Treatife concerning the Ufe and Abufe of the Marriage
Bed: fhewing, i. The Nature of Matrimony, its Sacred
Original, and the true meaning of its Inftitution. — 2. The
grofs Abufe of Matrimonial Chaftity, from the wrong Notions
that have pofleft the World. — 3. The diabolical Praftice of
attempting to prevent Child-bearing by phyfical preparations.
— 4. The fatal Confequences of clandeftine forced Mar-
riages, through the Perfuafion, Intereft, or Influence of
Parents and Relations to wed the Perf(»n they have no Love
for, but oftentimes an Averfion to. — 5. Of Unequal
Matches as to the Difproportion of Age, and how fuch many
Ways occafion a Matrimonial Whoredom. — 6. How married
Perfons maybe guilty of Conjugal Lewdnefs, and that a Man
may in eiFeft make a V/hore of his own Wife. Alfo many
other Particulars of Family Concern. T. Warner, 1729.
•Odlavo. This book appeared about the fame time with this •
title : Conjugal Lewdnefs ; or. Matrimonial Whoredom.
A Plan of the Englifli Commerce : Being a compleat Prof-
pe£t of the Trade of this Nation, as well the Home Trade as
the Foreign. In three Parts. Part Firft,ContainingaViewof
the prefent magnitude of the Englifh Trade, as it Rcfpefts,
I. The Exportation of our own Growth and Manufafture.
— 2. The Importation of Merchant Goods from Abroad.—
J. The prodigious Confumption of both at Home. — Part
Second, Containing an Anfwer to that great and importafn^
Queftion now depending, Whether our Trade, and efpe*
cially our Manufaftures, are in a declining condition, or no ?
— ^Part Third, Containing feveral Propofals, entirely new,
for extending and improving our Trade, and promoting the
Confumption of our Manufaftures in Countries wherewith
we have hitherto had no Commerce. Humbly offered to
the Confideration of King and Parliament, Charles Ri-
Q g 3 vingtQu,
454 ^ L'ST or DE FOES .WRITINGS,
vington, 1728', — the fecond Edition, 1730; — ^the third
Edition, 1737. Oclavo,— The laft Edition is faid by Rivington,
the original Publiflier who knew the Author, to be by the late
ingenious Mr. Daniel De Foe. Rivington. calls the Edition
of 1737 the Second ; having forgotten mat he had publiflied
the Second 'Edition in 1730.
Memoirs of a Cavalier ; or, a Military Journal of the Wars
in Germany and the Wars in England, from the Year 1632
to the Year 1648. Written above fourfcore Years ago by
an Engli(h Gentleman who ferved firft in the Army of
Guflavus Adclphus, the glorious King of Sweden, till his
death ; and after that in the Royal Army of King Charles I.
from the Beginning of the Rebellion to the End of that
War. Leeds^ for James Lifter, &c.-— There was a London
Edition for A. Bell. But my refearches have not enabled
me to afcertain the time when this interefting Work was
firft publiflied, 0£lavo.
There is a Phidarkh Ode prefi::ed to the fecond Volume
of the fecond Edition of the Athenian Oracle, in 1704, and
figncd D. F. John Dunton complains in his Life and Errors,
tJ.Kt De Foe had afterwards reclaimed this Ode, as his pro^
perty, though he had formerly given it as a prefent to the
Athenian Society,
A Lift of Books which are fuppofed to be De Foe\
TH E Comical Hiftory of the Life and Death of Mum-
per, -GeneralifTimo of King Charles the Second's Dogs*
By Helioftropolis, Secretary to the Emperor of the Moon.
3d June, 1704. Odtavo.
An Hiftorical Account of the Sufferings of the Epifcopal
Clergy in Scotland. 1767. Oftavo.
The Fifteen Comforts of an honeft Scotchman. 1707,
Oftavo.
The Quaker's Sermon on the Union : being the only Ser*
xnon preached and printed by that Sort of People, on that
Subjeft. Auguft 2 1 ft, 1707. Odavo.
The Union l?roverb :
If Skiddaw has a Cap,
ScrulFel wots full well of that :
Setting forth, i. The Neceflity of uniting; — 2. The good
Confequences of uniting ; — 3. The happy Union of England
and Scotland, in Cafe of a Foreign Invafion. London. Mor-
phew, 1 2th March, 1707 — 8.
A Word
FROM 1683 '^^ 1728. .455
A Word againft a new Ele^ion, that the People of
England may fee the happy Difference between Englifti
Liberty and French Slavery, and may confider well before
they make the Exchange. 17 10. Oftavo.
The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations concern-
ing the Rights, Power, and Prerogative of Kings, and the
Rights, Privileges, and Properties of the People, &c. 17 10.
0(5avo.-^This has been afcribed to and lately printed as a
work of Lord Somers,. The title-page fays it was written
by a True Lover of the Queen and Country, who wrote in
1690 againft abfolute Paflive Obedience, &c>.
A new Teft of the Senfe of the Nation : being a modeft
Comparifon between the AddrefTes of the late King James
and thofe to her prefent Majefty, in order to obfcrve how
far the Senfe of the Nation may be judged by either of them,
1 7 10. Oftavo.
The Charafter of a Modern Addreflen J* Baker, i ft May,
1 7 1 o. On a half fheet. Quarto.
Some Thoughts tipon the Subjeft of Commerce with
France, 17 13. Oftavo.
Les Soupirs de la Grand Bretaigne, being the Second
Part of the Groans of Europe. 17 13. Oftavo.
Whigs turned Tories 5 and Hanoverian Tories, from their
avowed Principles, proved Whigs ; or each Side in the other
miftaken : Being a plain Proof that each Party deny that
Charge which the others bring againft them : and that
neither Side will difown thofe which the other profefs. With
an earneft Exhortation to all "WThigs as well as Hanoverian
Tories, to lay afide thofe uncharitable Heats among fuch
Proteftants, and ferioufly to confider and efFeftually to pro-
vide againft thofe Jacohites^ Popifti and conforming Tories ;
whofe principal Ground of Hope to ruin all fincere Protef-
ta'nts, is from thofe unchriftian and violent Feuds among
ourfelves. London, J.Baker, 17 13. Oftavo.
Hanibal at the Gates ; or, the Progrefs of Jacobitifm, with
the prefent Danger of the Pretender : and Remarks on a
Pamphlet now p.ubliihed, intitled Hanibal not at our Gates,
^c. London. J. Baker, 17 14? Odlavo.
Some Account of the two Night's Court at Greenwich,
wherein may be feen the Reafon, Rife, and Progrefs, of the
late unnatural Rebellion. 17 16. Oftavo.
P.emarks upon Remarks ; or, fome Animadverfions on a
Treatife wrote by one who calls himfelf Dr. Gardner, others
Gg4 ^»y
456 A LIST OF DE FOE*S WRITINGS.
iay Daniel De Foe, intitled Remarks on Febrifugium Mag-
num, wrote by the Reverend Dr. Hancock for the general
Good of Mankind. Oftavo.
Chriftian Converfation, in fix Dialogues: r. Between a
doubting Chriftian and one more confirmed about AiTur-
Bnce ; — 2. Between the fame Perfons, about Mortification ;
— 3. Between Eudoxius and Fidelius, about Natural Things
fpiritualized ;— -4. Between Simplicius ^nd Confcius, about
Union ; — 5. Between Thipfius and Melaudius, about Af-
fliftions ; — 6. Between Athanafius and Bioes, about Death.
By a Private Gentleman. Entered at Sationers-Hall, for W.
Taylor, 2d November, 1720. Oftavo.
Every Body's Bufinefs is no Body's Bufinefs ; or, private
Abufes public Grievances : Exemplified in the Pride, In-
folence, and exorbitant Wages of our Women Servants,
&c. By Andrew Moreton, Efq. Fourth Edition, correfled.
1725. Oftavo.
The Proteftant Monaftery ; or, a Complaint againft the
Brutality of the prcfent Age, particularly the pertnefs and
infolence of our Youth to aged Perfons. With a Caution
to People in Years how they give the Staff out of their own
Hands, and leave themfelves at the mercy of others. Con-
cluding with a Propofal for erefting a Proteftant Monaftery,
where Perfons with fmall Fortunes may end their Days in
Plenty, Eafe, and Credit, without burdening their Re-
lations or accepting Public Charities. By Andrew More-,
ton, Efq. 1727. Oftavo.
Parochial Tyranny; or, the Houfekeeper's Complaint
againft the Exactions, &c. of Seleft Veftries, &c. By An-
drew Moreton, Efq. (no date.) Oftavo.
Second Thoughts are beft, or a further Improvement of a
late Scheme to prevent Street Robberies : by which our
^Streets will be fo ftrongly guarded and fo glorioufly illu-
minated, that any Part of London will be as fafe and pleafant
at Midnight, as at Noonday, and Burglary totally imprafti-
cable. With fome Thoughts for fupprelling Robberies in
all the public Roads of England, &c. Humbly offered for the
good of his Country, fubmitted to the Confideration of Par-
liament, and dedicated to his Sacred Majefty King George
n. By Andrew Moreton, Efq. 1729. Oftavo.
Augufta Triumphans ; or, the Way to make London the
moft flourifhing City in the Univerfe, &c. By Andrew
Moreton, Efq. Second Edition. 1729. Oftavo.
DE
D E FOE'S WORKS.
Speedily will be publijhedy by StibfcriptioJiy
A complete Colleflion of the Works of
DANIEL DE FOE,
In Six large Vols. 8vo.
Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly.
Mr. Stockdale will thankfully receive the Names of fuch Noble-
men and Gentlemen as wifh to be poffeffed of that great
Author's Works.
Books printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly.
^i The Hifto^ of the Progrefs and Termination of
the Roman Republic. By Adam Fergufon, L.L. D.
Profeffor of Moral Philofophy in the Univerfity
of Edinburgh. In three Vols. 4to. illuftrated
with Maps. Price in Boards - - - 2 12 6
*2 Anecdotes, &c. Ancient and Modem, with Ob-
fervations. By James Pettit Andrews, F. A. S.
A new Edition with Additions. In one large
Vol. 8vo. Price in Boards - - o 6 o
I ^TPNHE Hiftory of the Union between England
J[ and Scotland ; with a CoUedlion of Original
Papers relating thereto, by the celebrated Daniel
De Foe. With an Introduftion, in which the
Confequences and Probability of a like Union be-
tween this Country and Ireland are confidered, by
John Lewis de Lolme, Author of the Work on
the Conflitution of England. To which is pre-
fixed a Life of the Author, by George Chalmers,
Efq. and a copious Index. In One large Volume,
Quarto,
Books printed for JoHn Stockdale.
£' s. d.
Quarto, containing One Thoufand Pages, with
an elegant Engraving of the Author. Price, in
Boards - - i lo o
N. B. A few Copies are printed on Royal Paper i 15 o
(^ The Union between England and Scotland,
being an extremely interefting Event, has led the
Publiflier to imagine, that a new Edition of this
Work of De Foe, which is grown very fcarce,
would be acceptable to the Public, efpecially at
the prcfent Time, when the Situation of Affairs
in Ireland induces many Perfons to wifh that a
fimilar Union between Great Britain and that
Kingdom may take Place ; as it may caufe fuch
an Union, if not to be effcfted, at leafl to be pro-
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3 The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany-Bay ;
with an Account of the Eftablifhment of the Colo-
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from Authentic Papers, which have been received
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Supply ; and Capt. Marfhal of the Scarborough ;
with an Account of their new Difcoveries. The
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Dawes,
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I Head of Governor Phillip, from a
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by Sherwin
% Head of Lieut. Shortland, engraved
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3 Head of Lieut. King, from a Paint-
ing by Wright
4 View of Botany-Bay, with the Sup-
ply and Sirius at Anchor, and the
Tranfports coming in
5 A large Chart of Port Jackfon
6 A View in Port Jaclffon, with the
Natives in their Canoes trouling
7 View of the Natives in Botany-Bay
S Map of Lord Howe liland, and
View of ditto
9 Head of Lieut. Watts, drawn by
Shelley, and engraved by Sherwin
10 View of Natives and a Hut in New
South Wales
II Viev^' of New South Wales
I» A large Plan of the Eflablilhment
at Sydney Cove, Port Jackfon
13 A large Chart of Norfolk Ifland
14 View of Ball's Pyramid
15 Chart of Lieut. Shortland's New
Difcoveries
1 6 Track of the Alexander from Port
Jackfon to Batavia
17 Chart of. Captain Marfliall*8 New
Difcoveries
18 View of the Natives in their failing
Canoe at Mulgrave Iflands
19 View of Curtis's Ifland
ao View of Macaiday's Ifland
21 Cafpian Tern
22 The Kanguroo
23 The Spotted Opoflum
24 Vulpine Opoflum
25 Noifolk Ifland Flying Sqmrrtl
26 Blue-bellied Parrot
27 Tabuan Parrot
28 Pennanthian Parrot
29 Pacific Parrot
30 Sacred King's Fiflier
31 Superb Warbler, male
32 Superb Warbler, femak
II Norfolk Ifland Petrel
34 Bronze- winged Pigeon
2,$ White-fronted Hern
36 Wattled Bee-eater
37 Pfittaccous Hornbill
38 Martin Cat
39 Kanguroo Rat
40 A Dog of New South-Wales
41 The Black Cuckatoo
42 Red-fliouldered Paraquet
43 Watt's Shark
44 The Laced Lizard
45 New Holland Goat Sucker
46 White Gallinulc
47 New Holland Caflbv^ary
48 Port Jackfon Shark
49 Yellow Gum Plant
50 Axe, Baflcet, and Sword
51 Bag-throated Baliftes
52 Filh of New South Wales
SI Great Brown King's Fiflier
54 Black Flying Opoflum
S$ Skeleton of the Head of a Kangu-
roo and Vulpine Opoflum
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4 View in Port Jackfon
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2 View of a Hut in New South
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