Latest / Audiobook Library / Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable - Daniel Defoe
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Section one. I was born at York on the first
- 0:04Speaker 1: of March, in the sixth year of the reign of
- 0:06Speaker 1: King Charles the First. From the time when I was
- 0:11Speaker 1: quite a young child, I had felt a great wish
- 0:14Speaker 1: to spend my life at sea, and as I grew
- 0:17Speaker 1: so did this taste grow more and more strong, till
- 0:22Speaker 1: at last I broke loose from my school and home
- 0:26Speaker 1: and found my way on foot to Hull, where I
- 0:30Speaker 1: soon got a place on board a ship. When we
- 0:34Speaker 1: had set sail, but a few days as squall of
- 0:38Speaker 1: wind came on, and on the fifth night we sprang
- 0:42Speaker 1: a leak. All hands were sent to the pumps, but
- 0:47Speaker 1: we felt the ship grown in all her planks, and
- 0:51Speaker 1: her beams quake from stem to stern, so that it
- 0:56Speaker 1: was soon quite clear that there was no hope for her,
- 1:00Speaker 1: and that all we could do was to save our lives.
- 1:05Speaker 1: The first think was to fire off guns to show
- 1:09Speaker 1: that we were in need of help, and at length
- 1:12Speaker 1: a ship which lay not far from us, sent a
- 1:16Speaker 1: boat to our aid. But the sea was too rough
- 1:20Speaker 1: for it to lie near our ship's side, so we
- 1:25Speaker 1: threw out a rope, which the men in the boat
- 1:28Speaker 1: caught and made fast, and by this means we all
- 1:32Speaker 1: got in. Still in so wide the sea, it was
- 1:36Speaker 1: in vain to try to get on board the ship
- 1:39Speaker 1: which had sent out the men, or to use our
- 1:43Speaker 1: oars in the boat, and all we could do was
- 1:47Speaker 1: to let it drive to shore. In the space of
- 1:50Speaker 1: half an hour, our own ship struck on a rock
- 1:54Speaker 1: and went down, and we saw her no more. We
- 1:58Speaker 1: made but slow wet to the land, which we caught
- 2:01Speaker 1: sight of now. And then when the boat rose to
- 2:05Speaker 1: the top of some high wave, and there we saw
- 2:08Speaker 1: men who ran in crowds to and fro, all bent
- 2:13Speaker 1: on one thing, and that was to save us. At last,
- 2:18Speaker 1: to our great joy, we got on shore, where we
- 2:21Speaker 1: had the luck to meet with friends who gave us
- 2:24Speaker 1: the means to get back to Hull. And if I
- 2:28Speaker 1: had now had the good sense to go home, it
- 2:31Speaker 1: would have been well for me. The man whose ship
- 2:36Speaker 1: had gone down said, with a grave look, young lad,
- 2:40Speaker 1: you ought to go to sea no more? It is
- 2:44Speaker 1: not the kind of life for you. Why, sir, will
- 2:48Speaker 1: you go to sea no more? Then? I was bred
- 2:52Speaker 1: to the sea, but you were not, and came on
- 2:55Speaker 1: board my ship just to find out what a life
- 2:58Speaker 1: at sea was like, and you may guess what you
- 3:01Speaker 1: will come to if you do not go back to
- 3:04Speaker 1: your home. God will not bless you, and it may
- 3:09Speaker 1: be that you have brought all this woe on us.
- 3:12Speaker 1: I spoke not a word more to him. Which way
- 3:16Speaker 1: he went? I knew not, nor did I care to know,
- 3:20Speaker 1: for I was hurt at this rude speech. Shall I
- 3:24Speaker 1: go home, sought I? Or shall I go to sea?
- 3:29Speaker 1: Shame kept me from home, and I couldn't make up
- 3:32Speaker 1: my mind what course of life to take, as it
- 3:36Speaker 1: has been my fate through life to choose for the words.
- 3:39Speaker 1: So I did. Now I had gold in my purse
- 3:44Speaker 1: and good clothes on my back, and to see I
- 3:48Speaker 1: went once more. But I had worse luck this time
- 3:53Speaker 1: than the last, for when we were far out at sea,
- 3:56Speaker 1: some Turks in a small ship came on our track
- 3:59Speaker 1: in full chase. We set as much sail as our
- 4:04Speaker 1: yards would bear, so as to get clear from them.
- 4:07Speaker 1: But in spite of this we saw our foes gain
- 4:11Speaker 1: on us, and we felt sure that they would come
- 4:14Speaker 1: up with our ship in a few hours time. At
- 4:18Speaker 1: last they caught us, but we brought our guns to
- 4:21Speaker 1: bear on them, which made them sheer of for a time,
- 4:25Speaker 1: yet they kept up a fire at us as long
- 4:29Speaker 1: as they were in range. The next time the Turks
- 4:34Speaker 1: came up, some of their men got on board our
- 4:37Speaker 1: ship and set to work to cut the sails and
- 4:41Speaker 1: do us all kinds of harm. So as ten of
- 4:46Speaker 1: our men lay dead, and most of the rest had wounds,
- 4:50Speaker 1: we gave in the chief of the Turks took me
- 4:54Speaker 1: as his price to a port which was held by
- 4:57Speaker 1: the Moors. He did not use me so ill as
- 5:02Speaker 1: at first I thought he would have done, but he
- 5:05Speaker 1: set me to work with the rest of his slaves.
- 5:09Speaker 1: This was a change in my life which I did
- 5:12Speaker 1: not think had been in store for me. How my
- 5:16Speaker 1: heart sank with grief at the thought of those whom
- 5:20Speaker 1: I had left at home, nay, to whom I had
- 5:23Speaker 1: not had the grace so much as to say good
- 5:26Speaker 1: bye when I went to see, nor to give a
- 5:30Speaker 1: hint of what I meant to do. Yet all that
- 5:34Speaker 1: I went through at this time was but a taste
- 5:37Speaker 1: of the toils and cares which it has since been
- 5:40Speaker 1: my lot to bear. I thought at first that the
- 5:44Speaker 1: Turk might take me with him when next he went
- 5:47Speaker 1: to see, and so I should find some way to
- 5:50Speaker 1: get free. But the hope didn't last for long, for
- 5:56Speaker 1: at such times he left me on shore to see
- 5:59Speaker 1: to his this kind of life I led for two years,
- 6:04Speaker 1: and as the turk knew and saw more of me,
- 6:08Speaker 1: he made me more and more free. He went out
- 6:12Speaker 1: in his boat once or twice a week to catch
- 6:15Speaker 1: a kind of flat fish, and now and then he
- 6:18Speaker 1: took me and a boy with him, for we were
- 6:22Speaker 1: quick at this kind of sport, and he grew quite
- 6:26Speaker 1: fond of me. One day, the Turk sent me in
- 6:30Speaker 1: the boat to catch some fish, with no one else
- 6:33Speaker 1: but a man and a boy. While we were out
- 6:36Speaker 1: so sick, a fog came on that, though we were
- 6:40Speaker 1: out not half a mile from the shore, we quite
- 6:44Speaker 1: lost sight of it for twelve hours, And when the
- 6:48Speaker 1: sun rose the next day, our boat was at least
- 6:51Speaker 1: ten miles out at sea. The wind blew fresh, and
- 6:56Speaker 1: we were all much in want of food. But at last,
- 7:00Speaker 1: with the help of our oars and sail, we got
- 7:03Speaker 1: back safe to land. When the Turk heard how we
- 7:07Speaker 1: had lost our way, he said that the next time
- 7:11Speaker 1: he went out he would take a boat that would
- 7:14Speaker 1: hold all we could want if we were kept out
- 7:17Speaker 1: at sea. So he had quite a stateroom built in
- 7:22Speaker 1: the long boat of his ship, as well as a
- 7:25Speaker 1: room for us slaves. One day he sent me to
- 7:29Speaker 1: trim the boat, as he had two friends who would
- 7:32Speaker 1: go in it to fish with him. But when the
- 7:35Speaker 1: time came they didn't go. So he sent me with
- 7:39Speaker 1: the man and the boy, whose name was Surrey, to
- 7:43Speaker 1: catch some fish for the guests that were to sob
- 7:46Speaker 1: with him. Now the sword struck me all at once
- 7:50Speaker 1: that this would be a good chance to set up
- 7:53Speaker 1: with the boat and get free. So in the first place,
- 7:58Speaker 1: I took all the food that I could lay my
- 8:02Speaker 1: hands on, and I told the man that it would
- 8:05Speaker 1: be too bold of us to eat of the bread
- 8:08Speaker 1: that had been put in the boat for the Turk.
- 8:12Speaker 1: He said he sowed so too, and he brought down
- 8:16Speaker 1: a small sack of rice and some rusks. While the
- 8:20Speaker 1: man was on the shore, I put up some wine,
- 8:24Speaker 1: a large lump of wax, a saw an x, a spade,
- 8:29Speaker 1: some rope, and all sorts of things that might be
- 8:33Speaker 1: of use to us. I knew where the Turk's case
- 8:36Speaker 1: of wine was, and I put that in the boat
- 8:40Speaker 1: while the man was on shore. By one more trick.
- 8:43Speaker 1: I got all that I had need of. I said
- 8:46Speaker 1: to the boy, the Turk's guns are in the boat,
- 8:50Speaker 1: but there is no shot. Do you think you could
- 8:52Speaker 1: get some? You know where it is kept, and we
- 8:57Speaker 1: may want to shoot a fowl or two. So he
- 9:02Speaker 1: brought a case and a pouch which had all that
- 9:06Speaker 1: we could want for the guns. These I put in
- 9:09Speaker 1: the boat and then set sail out of the port
- 9:13Speaker 1: to fish. The wind blew from the north or northwest,
- 9:18Speaker 1: which was a bad wind for me, for had it
- 9:21Speaker 1: been south, I could have made for the coast of Spain.
- 9:26Speaker 1: But blow which way it might, my mind was made
- 9:30Speaker 1: up to get off and to leave the rest to fate.
- 9:34Speaker 1: I then let down my lines to fish, but I
- 9:37Speaker 1: took care to have bed sport, and when the fish bit,
- 9:42Speaker 1: I wouldn't pull them up, for the moor was not
- 9:46Speaker 1: to see them. I said to him, this will not do.
- 9:50Speaker 1: We shall catch no fish here. We ought to sail
- 9:53Speaker 1: on a bed well the moor. So there was no
- 9:57Speaker 1: harm in this, he said. The sail, and as the
- 10:01Speaker 1: helm was in my hands, I ran the boat out
- 10:04Speaker 1: a mile or more and then brought her to As
- 10:08Speaker 1: if I meant to fish now, so t I the
- 10:13Speaker 1: time has come for me to get free. I gave
- 10:17Speaker 1: the helm to the boy, and then took the moor
- 10:20Speaker 1: round the waist and threw him out of the boat.
- 10:24Speaker 1: Down he went, but soon rose up for his swam
- 10:28Speaker 1: like a dog. He said he would go all round
- 10:32Speaker 1: the world with me if I would but take him.
- 10:36Speaker 1: I had some fear lest he should climb up the
- 10:39Speaker 1: boat's side and force his way back. So I brought
- 10:42Speaker 1: my gun to point at him and said, you can
- 10:46Speaker 1: swim to land with these if you choose, make hastand
- 10:50Speaker 1: to get there. But if you come near the boat
- 10:53Speaker 1: you shall have a shot through the heat. For I
- 10:57Speaker 1: mean to be a freeman from this hour. He then
- 11:01Speaker 1: swam to the shore, and no doubt got safe there,
- 11:06Speaker 1: as the sea was so calm. At first I thought
- 11:10Speaker 1: I would take the Moor with me and let Suri
- 11:13Speaker 1: swim to land. But the Moor was not a man
- 11:17Speaker 1: that I could trust. When he was gone, I said
- 11:21Speaker 1: to Suri, if you will swear to be true to me,
- 11:25Speaker 1: you shall be a great man in time. If not,
- 11:29Speaker 1: I must throw you out of the boat too. The
- 11:33Speaker 1: poor boy gave me such a sweet smile as he
- 11:36Speaker 1: swore to be true to me that I could not
- 11:39Speaker 1: find it in my heart to doubt him. While the
- 11:43Speaker 1: man was still in view, for he was in his
- 11:46Speaker 1: way to the land, we stood out to sea with
- 11:49Speaker 1: the boat, so that he and those that saw us
- 11:53Speaker 1: from the shore might think we had gone to the
- 11:56Speaker 1: Strait's mouse, for no one went to the south coast,
- 12:00Speaker 1: as the tribe of men dwell there, who were known
- 12:03Speaker 1: to kill and eat their foes. We then bent our
- 12:07Speaker 1: course to the east so as to keep in with
- 12:10Speaker 1: the shore, and as we had a fair wind and
- 12:14Speaker 1: a smooth sea. But the next day, at noon we
- 12:17Speaker 1: were not less than a hundred and fifty miles out
- 12:20Speaker 1: of the reach of the Turk. I had still some
- 12:25Speaker 1: fear lest I should be caught by the moors, so
- 12:28Speaker 1: I wouldn't go on shore in the daytime. But when
- 12:32Speaker 1: it grew dark we made our way to the coast
- 12:36Speaker 1: and came to the mouths of a stream, from which
- 12:39Speaker 1: we thought we could swim to land and then look
- 12:43Speaker 1: round us. But as soon as it was quite dark,
- 12:47Speaker 1: we heard strange sounds barks, roars, grunts, and howls. The
- 12:54Speaker 1: poor lad said he couldn't go on shore till dawn.
- 12:58Speaker 1: Well said I. Then we must give it up. But
- 13:02Speaker 1: it may be that in the daytime we shall be
- 13:05Speaker 1: seen by men who, for all we know, would do
- 13:09Speaker 1: us more harm than the white beasts. Then we give
- 13:13Speaker 1: them the shoot gun, said Suri, with a laugh, and
- 13:16Speaker 1: make them run away. I was glad to see so
- 13:20Speaker 1: much mercy in the boy, and gave him some bread
- 13:23Speaker 1: and rice. We lay still at night, but didn't sleep long,
- 13:29Speaker 1: for in a few hours times some huge beasts came
- 13:33Speaker 1: down to the sea to bathe. The poor boy shook
- 13:37Speaker 1: from head to foot at the sight. One of these
- 13:42Speaker 1: bests came near our boat, and though it was too
- 13:46Speaker 1: dark to see him well, we heard him puff and blow,
- 13:51Speaker 1: and knew that he must be a large one by
- 13:54Speaker 1: the noise he made. At last, the brute came as
- 13:58Speaker 1: near to the boat as two old so I shot
- 14:01Speaker 1: at him, and he swam to the shore. And of
- 14:05Speaker 1: Section one Section two. The roar and cries set up
- 14:12Speaker 1: by beasts and birds at the noise of my gun
- 14:15Speaker 1: would seem to show that we had made a bad
- 14:18Speaker 1: choice of a place to land on. But be that,
- 14:23Speaker 1: as it would too shore, we had to go to
- 14:26Speaker 1: find some fresh spring so that we might fill our casks.
- 14:32Speaker 1: Surrey said, if I would let him go with one
- 14:36Speaker 1: of the jars, he would find out if the springs
- 14:40Speaker 1: were fit to drink, and if they were sweet, he
- 14:44Speaker 1: would bring the jar back full. Why should you go?
- 14:48Speaker 1: Said I? Why should not I go and you stay
- 14:53Speaker 1: in the boat. At this Surrey said, if wild men's come,
- 14:59Speaker 1: they eat meat, you go away. I couldn't but love
- 15:03Speaker 1: the lad for this kind of speech. Well, said I.
- 15:07Speaker 1: We will both go, and if the wild men come,
- 15:11Speaker 1: we must kill them. They shall not eat you or me.
- 15:15Speaker 1: I gave Surrey some rum from the turk's case to
- 15:19Speaker 1: cheer him up, and we went on shore. The boy
- 15:23Speaker 1: went off with his gun full a mile from the
- 15:27Speaker 1: spot where we stood, and came back with the hair
- 15:31Speaker 1: that he had shot, which we were glad to cook
- 15:34Speaker 1: and eat. But the good news, which she broughte was
- 15:39Speaker 1: that he had found a spring and had seen no
- 15:42Speaker 1: wild men. I made a guess that the cape the
- 15:47Speaker 1: Word Isles were not far off, for I saw the
- 15:51Speaker 1: top of the great peak, which I knew was near them.
- 15:55Speaker 1: My one hope was that if I kept near the coast,
- 15:59Speaker 1: I should find some ship that would take us on
- 16:02Speaker 1: the board, and then and not till then should I
- 16:05Speaker 1: feel a free man. In Efvert. I put the whole
- 16:09Speaker 1: of my fate on this chance that I must meet
- 16:13Speaker 1: with some ship or die. On the coast, we saw
- 16:18Speaker 1: some men who stood to look at us. They were
- 16:22Speaker 1: black and wore no clothes. I would have gone on
- 16:26Speaker 1: shore to them, but Surrey, who knew best, said not
- 16:31Speaker 1: you go, not you go. So I brought the boat
- 16:35Speaker 1: as near the land as I could that I might
- 16:38Speaker 1: talk to them, and they kept up with me a
- 16:41Speaker 1: long way. I saw that one of them had advance
- 16:45Speaker 1: in his hand. I made signs that they should bring
- 16:50Speaker 1: me some food, and they, on their part, made signs
- 16:53Speaker 1: for me to stop my boat. So I let down
- 16:57Speaker 1: the top of my sail and lay by while two
- 17:00Speaker 1: of them ran off. And in less than half an
- 17:03Speaker 1: hour they came back with some dry meat and a
- 17:07Speaker 1: sort of corn which is grown in this part of
- 17:10Speaker 1: the world. This we should have been glad to get,
- 17:14Speaker 1: but knew not how to do so, for we durst
- 17:18Speaker 1: not go on shore to them, nor did they dare
- 17:21Speaker 1: to come to us. At last, they took a safe
- 17:24Speaker 1: way for us all for they brought the food to
- 17:28Speaker 1: the shore, where they set it down, and then went
- 17:31Speaker 1: a long way off while we took it in. We
- 17:35Speaker 1: made signs to show our things, for we had not
- 17:38Speaker 1: a thing that we could spare to give them. But
- 17:43Speaker 1: as good luck would have it, we were at hand
- 17:46Speaker 1: to take a great prize for them. For two wild
- 17:50Speaker 1: beasts of the same kind as the first I spoke of,
- 17:54Speaker 1: came in full chase from the hills down to the sea.
- 17:58Speaker 1: They swam as if they had come for sport. The
- 18:02Speaker 1: men flew from them in fear, all but the one
- 18:06Speaker 1: who held the lance. One of these beasts came near
- 18:10Speaker 1: our boat, so I lay in wait for him with
- 18:14Speaker 1: my gun, and as soon as the brute was in range,
- 18:17Speaker 1: I shot him through the head. Twice he sank down
- 18:21Speaker 1: in the sea, and twice he came up, and then
- 18:25Speaker 1: just swam to the land, where he fell down dead.
- 18:29Speaker 1: The men were in as much fear at the sound
- 18:32Speaker 1: of my gun as they had been at the sight
- 18:34Speaker 1: of the beasts. But when I made signs for them
- 18:38Speaker 1: to come to the shore, they took heart and came.
- 18:44Speaker 1: They at once made for their prize, and by the
- 18:47Speaker 1: help of a rope which they slung round him, they
- 18:50Speaker 1: brought him safe on the beach. We now left our
- 18:55Speaker 1: white man, and went on and on for twelve days.
- 18:58Speaker 1: More land in front of us ran out four or
- 19:02Speaker 1: five miles like a bill, and we had to keep
- 19:07Speaker 1: some way from the coast to make this point, so
- 19:10Speaker 1: that we lost sight of the shore. I gave the
- 19:14Speaker 1: helm to Surrey and sat down to sink what would
- 19:17Speaker 1: be my best course to take, when all at once
- 19:21Speaker 1: I heard the lad cry out a ship with a sail,
- 19:25Speaker 1: A ship with a sail. He didn't show much joy
- 19:28Speaker 1: at the site, for he saw that this ship had
- 19:32Speaker 1: been sent out to take him back. But I knew
- 19:35Speaker 1: well from the look of her that she was not
- 19:38Speaker 1: one of the Turks. I made all the sail I
- 19:43Speaker 1: could to come in the ship's way and talk Surrey
- 19:47Speaker 1: to fire a gun, in the hope that if those
- 19:50Speaker 1: on deck could not hear the sound, they might see
- 19:53Speaker 1: the smoke. This they did see, and then let down
- 19:56Speaker 1: their sails so that we might come up to them,
- 20:00Speaker 1: And in three hours time we were at the ship's side.
- 20:05Speaker 1: The men spoke to us in French, but I couldn't
- 20:08Speaker 1: make out what they meant. At last, a Scot on
- 20:11Speaker 1: board said, in my own tongue, who are you? Whence
- 20:16Speaker 1: do you come? I told him in a few words
- 20:19Speaker 1: how I had got free from the moors. Then the
- 20:22Speaker 1: man who had charge of the ship bade me come
- 20:26Speaker 1: on board and took me in with Surrey and all
- 20:29Speaker 1: my goods. I told him that he might take all
- 20:33Speaker 1: I had, but he said, you shall have your goods
- 20:37Speaker 1: back when you come to land, for I have but
- 20:40Speaker 1: done for you what you would have done for me
- 20:43Speaker 1: had I been in the same plight. He gave me
- 20:47Speaker 1: a good round sum for my boat and said that
- 20:50Speaker 1: I should have the same sum for Surrey if I
- 20:54Speaker 1: would part with him. But I told him that, as
- 20:57Speaker 1: it was by the boy's help that I had got free,
- 21:01Speaker 1: I was loth to sell him. He said it was
- 21:05Speaker 1: just and right in me to feel thus, But at
- 21:09Speaker 1: the same time, if I could make up my mind
- 21:11Speaker 1: to part with him, he should be set free in
- 21:14Speaker 1: two years time. So as the poor slave had a
- 21:19Speaker 1: wish to go with him, I didn't say no. I
- 21:23Speaker 1: got to All Saints Bay in three weeks and was
- 21:27Speaker 1: now a free man. I had made a good sum
- 21:31Speaker 1: by all my store, and with this I went on land,
- 21:36Speaker 1: but I didn't at all know what to do next.
- 21:40Speaker 1: At length, I met with a man whose case was
- 21:44Speaker 1: much the same as my own, and we both took
- 21:47Speaker 1: some land to farm. My stock, like his, was low,
- 21:52Speaker 1: but we made our farms serve to keep us in food,
- 21:56Speaker 1: though not more than that. We had both stood in
- 22:00Speaker 1: need of help. And I saw now that I had
- 22:03Speaker 1: done wrong to part with my boy. I didn't at
- 22:07Speaker 1: all like this kind of life. What thought I have?
- 22:12Speaker 1: I come all this way to do that which I
- 22:16Speaker 1: could have done as well at home with my friends
- 22:19Speaker 1: round me. And to add to my grief, the kind
- 22:24Speaker 1: friend who had brought me here in his ship now
- 22:27Speaker 1: meant to leave these shores on my first start to see.
- 22:33Speaker 1: When a boy, I had put a small sum in
- 22:36Speaker 1: the hands of an aunt, and this my friend said
- 22:39Speaker 1: I should do well to spend on my farm. So
- 22:44Speaker 1: when he got home, he sent some of it in
- 22:46Speaker 1: cash and laid out the rest in cloth, stuffs, bays,
- 22:51Speaker 1: and such like goods. My aunt had put a few
- 22:55Speaker 1: pounds in my friend's hands as a gift to him,
- 22:58Speaker 1: to show her thanks for all that he had done
- 23:01Speaker 1: for me, And with this sum he was so kind
- 23:05Speaker 1: as to buy me a slave. In the meantime, I
- 23:09Speaker 1: had bought a slave, so now I had two, and
- 23:12Speaker 1: all went on well for the next year, but soon
- 23:17Speaker 1: my plans grew too large for my means. One day
- 23:22Speaker 1: some men came to ask me to take charge of
- 23:25Speaker 1: a slave ship to be sent out by them. They
- 23:29Speaker 1: said they would give me a share in the slaves
- 23:32Speaker 1: and pay the cost of the stock. This would have
- 23:35Speaker 1: been a good sink for me if I had not
- 23:38Speaker 1: had farms and land. But it was wild and wresh
- 23:42Speaker 1: to think of it now, for I had made a
- 23:45Speaker 1: large sum and ought to have gone on in the
- 23:48Speaker 1: same way for three or four years more Well, I
- 23:53Speaker 1: told these men that I would go with all my
- 23:57Speaker 1: heart if they would look to my farm in the meantime,
- 24:01Speaker 1: which they said they would do. So I made my
- 24:05Speaker 1: will and went on board this ship on the same day,
- 24:09Speaker 1: on which eight years since I had left Hull. She
- 24:13Speaker 1: had six guns, twelve men and a boy. We took
- 24:17Speaker 1: with us saws, chains, toys, beads, bits of glass, and
- 24:23Speaker 1: such like, were to suit the taste of those with
- 24:26Speaker 1: whom we had to trade. We were not more than
- 24:31Speaker 1: twelve days from the line when a high wind took
- 24:34Speaker 1: us off. We knew not where all at once there
- 24:38Speaker 1: was a cry of land, and the ships struck on
- 24:43Speaker 1: a bank of sand, in which she sank so deep
- 24:47Speaker 1: that we could not get her off. At last we
- 24:51Speaker 1: found that we must make up our minds to leave
- 24:54Speaker 1: her and get to shore as well as we could.
- 24:59Speaker 1: There had been a boat at her stern, but we
- 25:01Speaker 1: found it had been torn off by the force of
- 25:04Speaker 1: the waves. One small boat was still left on the
- 25:07Speaker 1: ship's side, so we got in it. There we were,
- 25:12Speaker 1: all of us on the wide sea. The heart of
- 25:15Speaker 1: each now grew faint, Our cheeks were pale, and our
- 25:19Speaker 1: eyes were dim. For there was but one hope, and
- 25:23Speaker 1: that was to find some bay, and so get in
- 25:26Speaker 1: the lee of the land. We now gave up our
- 25:31Speaker 1: whole souls to God. The sea grew more and more rough,
- 25:37Speaker 1: and its white foam would curl and boil. At last,
- 25:42Speaker 1: the waves, in their wide sport, burst on the boat's side,
- 25:47Speaker 1: and we were all thrown out. I could swim well,
- 25:51Speaker 1: but the force of the waves made me lose my
- 25:54Speaker 1: breast too much to do so. At length, one large
- 25:59Speaker 1: wave took me to the shore and left me high
- 26:03Speaker 1: and dry. Though half dead with fear, I got on
- 26:07Speaker 1: my feet and made the best of my way for
- 26:10Speaker 1: the land. But just then the curve of a huge
- 26:13Speaker 1: wave rose up as high as a hill, and this
- 26:17Speaker 1: I had no strength to keep from, so it took
- 26:20Speaker 1: me back to the sea. I did my best to
- 26:24Speaker 1: float on the top, and held my breath to do so.
- 26:28Speaker 1: The next wave was quite as high and shut me
- 26:32Speaker 1: up in its bulk. I held my hands down tight
- 26:35Speaker 1: to my side, and then my head shot out at
- 26:38Speaker 1: the top of the waves. This gave me hot and
- 26:42Speaker 1: breath too, and soon my feet felt the ground. I
- 26:47Speaker 1: stood quite still for a short time to let the
- 26:50Speaker 1: sea run back from me, and then I set off
- 26:53Speaker 1: with all my might to the shore. But yet the
- 26:57Speaker 1: waves caught me, and twice more did they take take
- 27:00Speaker 1: me back, and twice more land me on the shore.
- 27:05Speaker 1: I thought the last wave would have been the death
- 27:08Speaker 1: of me, for it drove me on a piece of rock,
- 27:13Speaker 1: and with such force as to leave me in a
- 27:16Speaker 1: kind of swoon, which thank god did not last long.
- 27:21Speaker 1: At length, to my great joy, I got up to
- 27:25Speaker 1: the cliffs close to the shore, where I found some
- 27:29Speaker 1: grass out of the reach of the sea. There I
- 27:34Speaker 1: set down safe on land. At last, I could but
- 27:39Speaker 1: cry out in the words of the Psalm, they that
- 27:44Speaker 1: go down to the sea in ships, These men see
- 27:47Speaker 1: the works of the Lord in the deep. For at
- 27:51Speaker 1: his word the storms rise, the winds blow, and lift
- 27:55Speaker 1: up the waves. Then do they mount to the sky,
- 28:00Speaker 1: and from thence go down to the deep. My soul faints.
- 28:05Speaker 1: I reel to and fro and am at my wits end.
- 28:10Speaker 1: Then the Lord brings me out of all my fears.
- 28:14Speaker 1: I felt so rapt in joy that all I could
- 28:18Speaker 1: do was to walk up and down the coast. Now
- 28:22Speaker 1: lift up my hands, now fold them on my breast,
- 28:26Speaker 1: and thank God for all that he had done for me.
- 28:30Speaker 1: When the rest of the men were lost, all lost,
- 28:34Speaker 1: but I and I was safe. I now cast my
- 28:40Speaker 1: eyes round me to find out what kind of a
- 28:43Speaker 1: place it was that I had been doth thrown in
- 28:47Speaker 1: like a bird in a storm. Then all the glee
- 28:51Speaker 1: I felt at first left me, for I was wet
- 28:56Speaker 1: and cold, and had no dry clothes to put on,
- 29:01Speaker 1: no food to eat, and not a friend to help me.
- 29:06Speaker 1: And of section two Section three. There were wild beasts here,
- 29:14Speaker 1: but I had no gun to shoot them with or
- 29:16Speaker 1: to keep me from their jaws. I had but a
- 29:20Speaker 1: knife and a pipe. It now grew dark, and where
- 29:24Speaker 1: was I to go for the night? I thought the
- 29:27Speaker 1: top of some high tree would be a good place
- 29:30Speaker 1: to keep me out of harm's way, and that there
- 29:33Speaker 1: I might sit and think of death, for as yet
- 29:37Speaker 1: I had no hopes of life. Well, I went to
- 29:40Speaker 1: my tree and made a kind of nest to sleep in.
- 29:44Speaker 1: Then I cut a stick to keep off the beasts
- 29:46Speaker 1: of prey in case they should come, and fell to sleep,
- 29:50Speaker 1: just as if the branch I lay on had been
- 29:53Speaker 1: a bed of down. When I woke up, it was
- 29:57Speaker 1: broad day. The sky too was clear, and the sea calm.
- 30:02Speaker 1: But I saw from the top of the tree that
- 30:04Speaker 1: in the night the ship had left the bank of
- 30:07Speaker 1: sand and lay but a mile from me, while the
- 30:10Speaker 1: boat was on the beach two miles on my right.
- 30:14Speaker 1: I went some way down by the shore to get
- 30:17Speaker 1: to the boat, but an arm of the sea half
- 30:21Speaker 1: a mile road kept me from it. At noon, the
- 30:24Speaker 1: tide went a long way out so that I could
- 30:28Speaker 1: get near the ship. And here I found that if
- 30:31Speaker 1: he had but made up our minds to stay on board,
- 30:35Speaker 1: we should all have been safe. I shed tears at
- 30:39Speaker 1: the sword, for I couldn't help it, yet, as there
- 30:42Speaker 1: was no use in that. It struck me that the
- 30:45Speaker 1: best thing for me to do was to swim to
- 30:47Speaker 1: the ship. I soon threw off my clothes, took to
- 30:52Speaker 1: the sea, and swam up to the wreck. But how
- 30:56Speaker 1: was I to get on deck. I had swum twice
- 31:00Speaker 1: round the ship when a piece of rope caught my eye,
- 31:04Speaker 1: which had hung down from her side, so low that
- 31:07Speaker 1: at first the waves hid it. By the help of
- 31:11Speaker 1: this rope I got on board. I found that there
- 31:15Speaker 1: was a bulge in the ship, and that she had
- 31:17Speaker 1: sprung a leak. You may be sure that my first
- 31:21Speaker 1: thought was to look round for some food, and I
- 31:24Speaker 1: soon made my way to the bin where the bread
- 31:28Speaker 1: was kept, and ate some of it as I went
- 31:31Speaker 1: to and fro, for there was no time to lose.
- 31:35Speaker 1: There was too some rum, of which I took a
- 31:38Speaker 1: good draft, and this gave me heart. What I stood
- 31:42Speaker 1: most in need of was a boat to take the
- 31:44Speaker 1: goods to shore. But it was vain to wish for
- 31:47Speaker 1: that which could not be had. And as there were
- 31:51Speaker 1: some spare yards in the ship, two or three large
- 31:55Speaker 1: planks of wood, and a spare mast or two, I
- 31:59Speaker 1: felt to work with these to make a raft. I
- 32:04Speaker 1: put four spars side by side and laid short bits
- 32:08Speaker 1: of plank on them cross ways to make my raft strong.
- 32:13Speaker 1: Though these planks would bear my own weight, they were
- 32:16Speaker 1: too slight to bear much of my freight. So I
- 32:21Speaker 1: took a sow which was on board, and cut a
- 32:24Speaker 1: mast in three lengths, and these gave great strength to
- 32:28Speaker 1: the raft. I found some bread and rice, a Dutch cheese,
- 32:33Speaker 1: and some dry goat's flesh. There had been some wheat,
- 32:38Speaker 1: but the rats had got at it and it was
- 32:40Speaker 1: all gone. My next task was to screen my goods
- 32:44Speaker 1: from the spray of the sea, and it didn't take
- 32:47Speaker 1: me long to do this, for there were three large
- 32:51Speaker 1: chests on board which held all and these I put
- 32:56Speaker 1: on the raft. When the high tide came up, it
- 32:59Speaker 1: took my coat and shirt, which I had left on
- 33:03Speaker 1: the shore, But there were some fresh clothes in the ship.
- 33:08Speaker 1: See here is a prize, said I out loud, though
- 33:12Speaker 1: there were none to hear me. Now I shall not starve,
- 33:17Speaker 1: for I found four large guns. But how was my
- 33:21Speaker 1: raft to be got to land. I had no sail,
- 33:25Speaker 1: no oars, and a gust of wind would make all
- 33:29Speaker 1: my store slide off. Yet there were three things which
- 33:34Speaker 1: I was glad of. A calm sea a tide which
- 33:37Speaker 1: set in to the shore, and a slight breeze to
- 33:40Speaker 1: blow me there. I had the good luck to find
- 33:44Speaker 1: some oars in a part of the ship in which
- 33:47Speaker 1: I had made no search till Now with these I
- 33:50Speaker 1: put to sea, and for half a mile my raft
- 33:54Speaker 1: went well, But soon I found it drove to one side.
- 33:59Speaker 1: At length, I sow a creek, to which, with some
- 34:02Speaker 1: toil I took my raft. And now the beach was
- 34:05Speaker 1: so near that I felt my oar touch the ground.
- 34:10Speaker 1: Here I had well nigh lost my freight, for the
- 34:13Speaker 1: shore lay on a slope, so that there was no
- 34:16Speaker 1: place to land on, save where one end of the
- 34:20Speaker 1: raft would lie so high and one end so low,
- 34:25Speaker 1: that all my goods would fall off. To wait till
- 34:28Speaker 1: the tide came up was all that could be done.
- 34:32Speaker 1: So when the sea was a foot deep, I thrust
- 34:36Speaker 1: the raft on a flat of piece of ground to
- 34:40Speaker 1: moor her there, and stuck my two oars in the sand,
- 34:45Speaker 1: one on each side of the raft. Thus I let
- 34:49Speaker 1: her lie till the ebb of the tide, and when
- 34:53Speaker 1: it went down, she was left safe on land with
- 34:56Speaker 1: all her freight. I saw that there were birds on
- 35:00Speaker 1: the isle, and I shot one of them. Mine must
- 35:05Speaker 1: have been the first gun that had been heard there
- 35:08Speaker 1: since the world was made, for at the sound of it,
- 35:13Speaker 1: whole flocks of birds flew up with loud cries from
- 35:17Speaker 1: all parts of the wood. The shape of the beak
- 35:20Speaker 1: of the one I shot was like that of a hawk,
- 35:24Speaker 1: but the claws were not so large. I now went
- 35:28Speaker 1: back to my raft to land my stores, and this
- 35:32Speaker 1: took up the rest of the day. What to do
- 35:35Speaker 1: at night, I knew not nor where to find a
- 35:38Speaker 1: safe place to land my stores on. I didn't like
- 35:42Speaker 1: to lie down on the ground, for fear of beasts
- 35:45Speaker 1: of prey as well as snakes, but there was no
- 35:49Speaker 1: cause for these fears, as I have since found. I
- 35:53Speaker 1: put the chests and boards round me as well as
- 35:56Speaker 1: I could, and made a kind of hut for the night.
- 36:00Speaker 1: As there was still a great store of things left
- 36:03Speaker 1: in the ship which would be of use to me,
- 36:06Speaker 1: I saw that I ought to bring them to land
- 36:09Speaker 1: at once, for I knew that the first storm would
- 36:12Speaker 1: break up the ship. So I went on board and
- 36:16Speaker 1: took good care this time not to load my raft
- 36:20Speaker 1: too much. The first thing I sought for was the
- 36:24Speaker 1: tool chest and in it were some bags of nails, spikes, saws,
- 36:31Speaker 1: knives and such things. But best of all I found
- 36:35Speaker 1: a stone to grind my tools on. There were two
- 36:39Speaker 1: or three flasks, some large bags of shot, and a
- 36:43Speaker 1: roll of lead, but this last I had not the
- 36:47Speaker 1: strength to hoist up to the ship's side so as
- 36:50Speaker 1: to get it on my raft. There were some spare sails, too,
- 36:55Speaker 1: which I brought to shore. I had some fear lest
- 36:59Speaker 1: my stores might be run off with by beasts of prey,
- 37:03Speaker 1: if not by men, But I found all safe and
- 37:06Speaker 1: sound when I went back, and no one had come
- 37:09Speaker 1: there but a white cat, which sat on one of
- 37:12Speaker 1: the chests. When I came up, I held my gun
- 37:16Speaker 1: at her, but as she didn't know what a gun was,
- 37:21Speaker 1: this didn't rouse her. She ate a piece of dry
- 37:24Speaker 1: goat's flesh, and then took her leave. Now that I
- 37:29Speaker 1: had two freights of goods at hand, I made a
- 37:32Speaker 1: tent with the ship's sails to stow them in, and
- 37:36Speaker 1: cut the poles for it from the wood. I now
- 37:40Speaker 1: took all the things out of the casks and chests,
- 37:44Speaker 1: and put the casks in piles around the tent to
- 37:47Speaker 1: give it strength. And when this was done, I shut
- 37:51Speaker 1: up the door, with the boards spread one of the
- 37:54Speaker 1: beds which I had brought from the ship on the ground,
- 37:57Speaker 1: laid two guns close to my head, and went to bed.
- 38:01Speaker 1: For the first time. I slept all night, for I
- 38:05Speaker 1: was much in need of rest. The next day I
- 38:10Speaker 1: was sad and sick at heart, for I felt how
- 38:13Speaker 1: dull it was to be dust, cut off from all
- 38:15Speaker 1: the rest of the world. I had no great wish
- 38:19Speaker 1: for work, but there was too much to be done
- 38:22Speaker 1: for me to dwell long on my sad lot. Each day,
- 38:27Speaker 1: as it came, I went off to the wreck to
- 38:30Speaker 1: fetch more things, and I brought back as much as
- 38:34Speaker 1: the raft would hold. One day I had put too
- 38:38Speaker 1: great a load on the raft, which made it sink
- 38:42Speaker 1: down on one side, so that the goods were lost
- 38:45Speaker 1: in the sea. But at this I didn't fret, as
- 38:49Speaker 1: the chief part of the freight for some rope which
- 38:52Speaker 1: wouldn't have been of much use to me. The twelve
- 38:56Speaker 1: days that I had spent in the isle were spent
- 39:00Speaker 1: in this way, and I had brought to land all
- 39:04Speaker 1: that one pair of hands could lift, though if the
- 39:08Speaker 1: sea had been still calm, I might have brought a
- 39:11Speaker 1: whole ship, piece by piece. The last time I swam
- 39:16Speaker 1: to the wreck, the wind blew so hard that I
- 39:19Speaker 1: made up my mind to go on board next time.
- 39:22Speaker 1: At low tide, I found some tea and some gold coin.
- 39:28Speaker 1: But as to the gold, it made me laugh to
- 39:30Speaker 1: look at it. O drug, said I, thou art of
- 39:34Speaker 1: no use to me. I care not to save thee.
- 39:38Speaker 1: Stay where thou art till the ship go down, Then
- 39:41Speaker 1: go thou with it. Still, I thought I might as
- 39:46Speaker 1: well just take it, so I put it in a
- 39:49Speaker 1: piece of the sail and threw it on the deck,
- 39:53Speaker 1: that I might place it on the raft. By and
- 39:56Speaker 1: by the wind blew from the shore, so I had
- 39:59Speaker 1: to back with all speed, for I knew that at
- 40:03Speaker 1: the turn of the tide I should find it hard
- 40:05Speaker 1: work to get to land at all. But in spite
- 40:09Speaker 1: of the high wind, I came to my home all safe.
- 40:13Speaker 1: At dawn of day, I put my head out and
- 40:16Speaker 1: cast my eyes on the sea, when low no ship
- 40:20Speaker 1: was there. This change in the face of things, and
- 40:24Speaker 1: the loss of such a friend, quite struck me down.
- 40:28Speaker 1: Yet I was glad to think that I had brought
- 40:30Speaker 1: to shore all that could be of use to me.
- 40:33Speaker 1: I had now to look out for some spot where
- 40:35Speaker 1: I could make my home. Half Way up a hill
- 40:39Speaker 1: there was a small plain four or five score feet
- 40:43Speaker 1: long and twice as broad, and as it had a
- 40:48Speaker 1: full view of the sea, I thought that it would
- 40:52Speaker 1: be a good place for my house. I first dug
- 40:56Speaker 1: a trench round the space, which took in twelve years,
- 41:00Speaker 1: and in this I drove two rows of steaks till
- 41:05Speaker 1: they stood firm like piles five and a half feet
- 41:09Speaker 1: from the ground. I made the stakes close and tight
- 41:14Speaker 1: with bits of rope, and put small sticks on the
- 41:17Speaker 1: top of them in the shape of spikes. This made
- 41:22Speaker 1: so strong a fence that no man or beast could
- 41:25Speaker 1: get in. The door of my house was on the top,
- 41:29Speaker 1: and I had to climb up to it by steps,
- 41:31Speaker 1: which I took in with me, so that no one
- 41:34Speaker 1: else might come up by the same way. Close to
- 41:38Speaker 1: the back of the house stood the high rock in
- 41:41Speaker 1: which I made a cave, and laid all the earth
- 41:44Speaker 1: that I had dug out of it round my house,
- 41:47Speaker 1: to the height of a foot and a half. I
- 41:50Speaker 1: had to go out once a day in search of food.
- 41:54Speaker 1: The first time I saw some goats, but they were
- 41:57Speaker 1: too shy and swift on foot to let me get
- 42:00Speaker 1: near them. At last I lay in wait for them
- 42:04Speaker 1: close to their own haunts. If they saw me in
- 42:07Speaker 1: the vale, though they might be on high ground, they
- 42:11Speaker 1: would run off wild with fear. But if they were
- 42:15Speaker 1: in the vale and I on high ground, they took
- 42:20Speaker 1: no heed of me. The first goat I shot had
- 42:24Speaker 1: a kid by her side, and when the old one fell,
- 42:29Speaker 1: the kid stood near her till I took her off
- 42:33Speaker 1: on my back, and then the young one ran by
- 42:37Speaker 1: my side. I put down the goat and brought the
- 42:41Speaker 1: kid home to tame it, but as it was too
- 42:45Speaker 1: young to feed, I had to kill it. And of
- 42:49Speaker 1: section three Section four. At first I sought that for
- 42:55Speaker 1: the lack of pen and ink, I should lose all
- 42:58Speaker 1: note of time. So I made a large post in
- 43:03Speaker 1: the shape of a cross, on which I cut these words.
- 43:08Speaker 1: I came on these shores on the eighth day of
- 43:12Speaker 1: June in the year sixteen fifty nine. On the side
- 43:17Speaker 1: of this post I made a notch each day as
- 43:20Speaker 1: it came, and this I kept up till the last.
- 43:24Speaker 1: I haven't yet said a word of my fore pats,
- 43:27Speaker 1: which were two cats, a dog, and a bird. You
- 43:31Speaker 1: may guess how fond I was of them, for they
- 43:34Speaker 1: were all the friends left to me. I brought the
- 43:37Speaker 1: dog and two cats from the ship. The dog would
- 43:41Speaker 1: fetch things for me at all times, and by his bark,
- 43:45Speaker 1: his wine, his growl, and his tricks, he would all
- 43:49Speaker 1: but talk to me. Yet he couldn't give me sort
- 43:53Speaker 1: for salt. If I could have had some one near
- 43:58Speaker 1: me to find fault with, or to find fault with me,
- 44:02Speaker 1: what a treat it would have been. Now that I
- 44:06Speaker 1: had brought ink from the ship. I wrote down a
- 44:08Speaker 1: sketch of each day as it came, not so much
- 44:12Speaker 1: to leave to those who might read it when I
- 44:15Speaker 1: was dead and gone, as to get rid of my
- 44:18Speaker 1: own thoughts, and draw me from the fears which all
- 44:22Speaker 1: day long dwelt on my mind, till my head would
- 44:26Speaker 1: ache with the weight of them. I was a long
- 44:29Speaker 1: way out of the course of ships. And oh how
- 44:33Speaker 1: dull it was to be cast on this lone spot
- 44:36Speaker 1: with no one to love, no one to make me love,
- 44:40Speaker 1: no one to make me weep, no one to make
- 44:43Speaker 1: me sink. It was dull to roam day by day
- 44:48Speaker 1: from the wood to the shore, and from the shore
- 44:52Speaker 1: back to the wood and feed on my own thoughts
- 44:56Speaker 1: all the while. So much or the sad view of
- 45:01Speaker 1: my case. But like most things, it had a bright
- 45:05Speaker 1: side as well as a dark one. For here was
- 45:09Speaker 1: I safe on land, while all the rest of the
- 45:12Speaker 1: ship's crew were lost. Well thought I God, who shapes
- 45:19Speaker 1: our ways and led me by the hand, Then can
- 45:23Speaker 1: save me from this state now? Or send someone to
- 45:27Speaker 1: be with me. True, I am cast on a rough
- 45:31Speaker 1: and rude part of the globe, but there are no
- 45:34Speaker 1: beasts of prey on it to kill or hurt me.
- 45:38Speaker 1: God has sent the ship so near to me that
- 45:41Speaker 1: I have got from it all things to meet my
- 45:44Speaker 1: wants for the rest of my days. Let life be
- 45:47Speaker 1: what it may. There is should to be much to
- 45:49Speaker 1: thank God for, And I soon gave up all dull
- 45:53Speaker 1: thoughts and didn't so much as look out for a sail.
- 45:58Speaker 1: My goods from the wreck have been in the cave
- 46:01Speaker 1: for more than ten months, and it was time now
- 46:04Speaker 1: to put them right, as they took up all the
- 46:07Speaker 1: space and left me no room to turn in. So
- 46:10Speaker 1: I made my small cave a large one and dug
- 46:14Speaker 1: it out a long way back in the sand rock.
- 46:18Speaker 1: Then I brought the mouth of it up to the fence,
- 46:22Speaker 1: and so made a back way to my house. This done,
- 46:26Speaker 1: I put shelves on each side to hold my goods,
- 46:30Speaker 1: which made my cave look like a shop full of stores.
- 46:35Speaker 1: To make these shelves I cut down a tree, and
- 46:38Speaker 1: with the help of a saw, an axe, a plane,
- 46:41Speaker 1: and some more tools, I made boards, a chair, and
- 46:46Speaker 1: a desk to write on. Came next. I rose in
- 46:51Speaker 1: good time and set to work till noon. Then I
- 46:55Speaker 1: ate my meal. Then I went out with my gun
- 46:59Speaker 1: and to work once more till the sun had set,
- 47:04Speaker 1: and then to bed. It took me more than a
- 47:07Speaker 1: week to change the shape and size of my cave.
- 47:10Speaker 1: But I had made it far too large, for in
- 47:13Speaker 1: course of time the earth fell in from the roof,
- 47:17Speaker 1: and had I been in it when this took place,
- 47:21Speaker 1: I should have lost my life. I had now to
- 47:25Speaker 1: set up posts in my cave with planks on the
- 47:29Speaker 1: top of them, so as to make a roof of wood.
- 47:33Speaker 1: One day, when out with my gun, I shot a
- 47:36Speaker 1: white cat, the skin of which made me a cap.
- 47:41Speaker 1: And I found some birds of the dove tribe, which
- 47:44Speaker 1: built their nests in the holes of the rocks I
- 47:47Speaker 1: had to go to bed at dusk till I made
- 47:50Speaker 1: a lamp of goat's fat, which I put in a
- 47:53Speaker 1: clay dish, and this with a piece of hemp, for
- 47:58Speaker 1: a week made a good good light. As I had
- 48:02Speaker 1: found a use for the bag which had held the
- 48:05Speaker 1: fowl's food on board ship, I shook out from it
- 48:10Speaker 1: the husks of corn. This was just at the time
- 48:14Speaker 1: when the great rains fell, and in the course of
- 48:17Speaker 1: a month blades of rice, corn and rye sprang up.
- 48:21Speaker 1: As time went by and the grain was ripe, I
- 48:26Speaker 1: kept it and took care to sow it each year,
- 48:29Speaker 1: but I couldn't boast of a crop of wheat, as
- 48:33Speaker 1: will be shown by and by. For three years. A
- 48:37Speaker 1: thing now took place on the isle which no one
- 48:41Speaker 1: could have dreamt of, and which struck me down with fear.
- 48:45Speaker 1: It was this the ground shook with great force, which
- 48:50Speaker 1: threw down earth from the rock with a loud crash.
- 48:54Speaker 1: Once more there was a shock, and now the earth
- 48:57Speaker 1: fell from the roof of my cave. The sea didn't
- 49:01Speaker 1: look the same as it had done, for the shocks
- 49:05Speaker 1: were just as strong there as on land. The sway
- 49:08Speaker 1: of the earth made me feel sick and there was
- 49:11Speaker 1: a noise and a roar all around me. The same
- 49:15Speaker 1: kind of shock came a third time, and when it
- 49:20Speaker 1: had gone off, I sat quite still on the ground,
- 49:23Speaker 1: for I knew not what to do. Then the clouds
- 49:27Speaker 1: grew dark, the wind rose trees were torn up by
- 49:32Speaker 1: the roots. The sea was a mass of foam and froth,
- 49:36Speaker 1: and a great part of the isle was laid waste.
- 49:39Speaker 1: With the storm, I thought that the world had come
- 49:43Speaker 1: to an end. In three hours time, all was calm,
- 49:48Speaker 1: but rain fell all that night and a great part
- 49:51Speaker 1: of the next day. Now, though quite worn out, I
- 49:55Speaker 1: had to move my goods, which were in the cave.
- 49:59Speaker 1: To some say, I knew that tools would be my
- 50:04Speaker 1: first want, and that I should have to grind mine
- 50:07Speaker 1: on the stone, as they were blunt and worn with ewes.
- 50:12Speaker 1: But as it took both hands to hold the tool,
- 50:16Speaker 1: I couldn't turn the stone. So I made a wheel
- 50:20Speaker 1: by which I could move it with my foot. This
- 50:24Speaker 1: was no small task, but I took great pains with it,
- 50:28Speaker 1: and at length it was done. The rain fell for
- 50:32Speaker 1: some days, and a cold chill came on me. In
- 50:36Speaker 1: short I was ill, I had pains in my head
- 50:40Speaker 1: and could get no sleep at night, and my thoughts
- 50:44Speaker 1: were wild and strange. At one time I shook with cold,
- 50:50Speaker 1: and then a hot fit came on, with faint sweats,
- 50:54Speaker 1: which would last six hours at a time. Ill as
- 50:58Speaker 1: I was, I had to go out with my gun
- 51:01Speaker 1: to get food. I shot a goat, but it was
- 51:05Speaker 1: a great toil to bring it home, and still more
- 51:09Speaker 1: to cook it. I spent the next day in bed
- 51:12Speaker 1: and felt half dead from thirst, yet too weak to
- 51:17Speaker 1: stand up to get some drink. I lay and wept
- 51:21Speaker 1: like a child. Lord look on me, Lord, look on me?
- 51:27Speaker 1: Would I cry? For hours? At last the fit left me,
- 51:33Speaker 1: and I slept and didn't wake till dawn. I dreamt
- 51:38Speaker 1: that I lay on the ground and saw a man
- 51:40Speaker 1: come down from a great black cloud in a flame
- 51:43Speaker 1: of light. When he stood on the earth, it shook
- 51:47Speaker 1: as it had done a few days since, and all
- 51:50Speaker 1: the world to me was full of fire. He came
- 51:54Speaker 1: up and said, as I see that all these things
- 52:00Speaker 1: have not brought thee to pray, Now thou shalt die.
- 52:06Speaker 1: Then I woke and found it was a dream. We
- 52:10Speaker 1: can faint. I was in dread all day lest my
- 52:14Speaker 1: fit should come on, too ill to get out with
- 52:18Speaker 1: my gun. I set on the shore to think, and
- 52:21Speaker 1: does rent my thoughts? What is this sea which is
- 52:25Speaker 1: all round me? And whence is it? There can be
- 52:28Speaker 1: no doubt that the hand that made it made the air,
- 52:33Speaker 1: the earth, the sky. And who is that? It is
- 52:37Speaker 1: God who has made all things. Well, then if God
- 52:42Speaker 1: has made all things, it must be he who guides them.
- 52:47Speaker 1: And if so, no one thing in the whole range
- 52:50Speaker 1: of his words can take place and he not know it,
- 52:55Speaker 1: then God must know how sick, and said I am,
- 52:59Speaker 1: and he will me to be here?
- 53:02Speaker 2: Oh?
- 53:02Speaker 1: Why has God done this to me? Then some voice
- 53:07Speaker 1: would seem to say, dost thou ask why God has
- 53:12Speaker 1: done this to thee? Ask why thou wert not shot
- 53:17Speaker 1: by the moors who came on board the ship and
- 53:20Speaker 1: took the lives of thy mates. Ask why thou wert
- 53:24Speaker 1: not torn by the beasts of prey on the coasts.
- 53:27Speaker 1: Ask why thou didst not go down in the deep
- 53:30Speaker 1: sea with the rest of the crew, But didst come
- 53:34Speaker 1: to this isle and art safe as sound? Sleep then
- 53:39Speaker 1: fell on me, And when I walk it must have
- 53:42Speaker 1: been three o'clock the next day. By the rays of
- 53:47Speaker 1: the sun. Nay, it may have been more than that,
- 53:51Speaker 1: for I think that this must have been the day
- 53:54Speaker 1: that I didn't mark on my post, as I have
- 53:57Speaker 1: since found that there was one notch too few. I
- 54:03Speaker 1: now took from my store the Book of God's Word,
- 54:08Speaker 1: which I had brought from the wreck, not one page
- 54:11Speaker 1: of which I had yet read. My eyes fell on
- 54:15Speaker 1: five words that would seem to have been put there
- 54:19Speaker 1: for my good at this time. So well did they
- 54:24Speaker 1: cheer my faint hopes and touch the true source of
- 54:27Speaker 1: my fears. They were these I will not leave thee,
- 54:34Speaker 1: and they have dwelt in my heart to this day.
- 54:39Speaker 1: I laid down the book to pray. My cry was, O, Lord,
- 54:44Speaker 1: help me to love and learn thy ways. This was
- 54:49Speaker 1: the first time in all my life that I had
- 54:52Speaker 1: felt a sense that God was near and heard me.
- 54:56Speaker 1: As for my dull life here it was not worth
- 54:59Speaker 1: a soul. For now a new strength had come to me,
- 55:03Speaker 1: and there was a change in my griefs as well
- 55:06Speaker 1: as in my joys. I had now been in the
- 55:10Speaker 1: isle twelve months, and I thought it was time to
- 55:13Speaker 1: go all round it in search of its woods, springs
- 55:17Speaker 1: and creeks. So I set off and brought back with
- 55:21Speaker 1: me limes and grapes in their prime, large and ripe.
- 55:26Speaker 1: I had hung the grapes in the sun to dry
- 55:30Speaker 1: in a few days time, when to fetch them that
- 55:33Speaker 1: I might lay up a store. The vale on the
- 55:37Speaker 1: banks of which they grew was fresh and green, and
- 55:41Speaker 1: a clear, bright stream ran through it, which gave so
- 55:45Speaker 1: great a charm to the spot as to make me
- 55:48Speaker 1: wish to live there. But there was no view of
- 55:53Speaker 1: the sea from this whale, while from my house no
- 55:57Speaker 1: ships could come on my side of the and not
- 56:01Speaker 1: be seen by me. Yet, the cool, soft banks were
- 56:05Speaker 1: so sweet and new to me that much of my
- 56:08Speaker 1: time was spent there. In the first of three years
- 56:13Speaker 1: in which I had grown corn, I had sown it
- 56:16Speaker 1: too late. In the next it was spoiled by the drought,
- 56:20Speaker 1: but the sergius crop had sprung up well. I found
- 56:25Speaker 1: that the hairs would lie in it night and day,
- 56:28Speaker 1: for which there was no cure but to plant a
- 56:30Speaker 1: sick hedge all round it, and this took me more
- 56:34Speaker 1: than three weeks to do. I shot the hares in
- 56:37Speaker 1: the daytime, and when it grew dark, I made fast
- 56:42Speaker 1: the dog's chained to the gate, and there he stood
- 56:45Speaker 1: to bark all night. End of Section four Section five.
- 56:52Speaker 2: In a short time the corn grew strong and at
- 56:55Speaker 2: last ripe. But just as the hares had heard it
- 56:57Speaker 2: in the blade, so now the birds ate it in
- 57:00Speaker 2: the ear. And at the noise of my gun, whole
- 57:02Speaker 2: flocks of them would fly up. And at this rate
- 57:05Speaker 2: I saw that there would be no corn left. So
- 57:07Speaker 2: I made up my mind to keep a lookout night
- 57:10Speaker 2: and day. I hid by the side of a hedge,
- 57:12Speaker 2: and could see the birds sit on the trees and watch,
- 57:15Speaker 2: and then come down one by one. At first. Now
- 57:18Speaker 2: each grain of wheat was, as it were, a small
- 57:21Speaker 2: loaf of bread to me. So the great thing was
- 57:23Speaker 2: to get rid of these birds. My plan was this.
- 57:27Speaker 2: I shot three and hung them up like thieves, to
- 57:30Speaker 2: scare all that came to the corn. And from this time,
- 57:33Speaker 2: as long as the dead ones hung there, not a
- 57:35Speaker 2: bird came near. When the corn was ripe, I made
- 57:38Speaker 2: a sea that of those swords from the ship and
- 57:41Speaker 2: got in my crop. Few of us think of the
- 57:43Speaker 2: cost at which a loaf of bread is made. Of course,
- 57:46Speaker 2: there was no plow here to turn up the earth,
- 57:48Speaker 2: and no spade to dig it with, so I made
- 57:51Speaker 2: one with wood, but this was soon worn out, and
- 57:54Speaker 2: for one of a rake I made use of the
- 57:56Speaker 2: bough of a tree. When I had got the corn home,
- 58:00Speaker 2: I had to thrash it, part the grain from the chaff,
- 58:02Speaker 2: and store it up. Then came the want of a
- 58:05Speaker 2: mill to grind it, of sieves to clean it, and
- 58:08Speaker 2: of yeast to make bread of it. Still my bread
- 58:11Speaker 2: was made, though I had no tools, and no one
- 58:13Speaker 2: could say that I did not earn it by the
- 58:15Speaker 2: sweat of my brow. When the rain kept me indoors,
- 58:18Speaker 2: it was good fun to teach my pet bird Paul,
- 58:21Speaker 2: to talk. But so mute were all things round me
- 58:24Speaker 2: that the sound of my own voice made me start
- 58:27Speaker 2: my chief Once. Now were jars, pots, cups, and plates,
- 58:31Speaker 2: but I knew not how I could make them. At
- 58:33Speaker 2: last I went in search of some clay, and found
- 58:36Speaker 2: some a mile from my house. But it was quite
- 58:38Speaker 2: a joke to see the queer shapes and forms that
- 58:41Speaker 2: I made out of it. For some of my pots
- 58:43Speaker 2: and jars were too weak to bear their own weight,
- 58:46Speaker 2: and they would fall out here and in there in
- 58:48Speaker 2: all sorts of ways, while some, when they were put
- 58:51Speaker 2: in the sun to bake, would crack with the heat
- 58:53Speaker 2: of its rays. You may guess what my joy was
- 58:56Speaker 2: when at last a pot was made which would stand
- 58:58Speaker 2: the heat of the fire, so that I could boil
- 59:00Speaker 2: the meat for broth. The next thing to be made
- 59:03Speaker 2: was a sieve to part the grain from the husks.
- 59:06Speaker 2: Goat's hair was of no use to me, as I
- 59:09Speaker 2: could not weave or spin, so I made a shift
- 59:12Speaker 2: for two years with a thin kind of stuff which
- 59:15Speaker 2: I had brought from the ship. But to grind the
- 59:17Speaker 2: corn with the stones was the worst of all. Such
- 59:20Speaker 2: hard work did I find it. To bake the bread,
- 59:23Speaker 2: I burnt some wood down to an ash, which I
- 59:26Speaker 2: threw on the hearth to heat it, and then set
- 59:28Speaker 2: my loathes on the hearth, And in this way my
- 59:31Speaker 2: bread was made. The next thing to turn my thoughts
- 59:34Speaker 2: to was the ship's boat, which lay on the high
- 59:37Speaker 2: ridge of sand where it had been thrust by the
- 59:39Speaker 2: storm which had cast me on these shores. But it
- 59:42Speaker 2: lay with the keel to the sky, so I had
- 59:44Speaker 2: to dig the sand from it and turn it up
- 59:46Speaker 2: with the help of a pole. When I had done this,
- 59:49Speaker 2: I found it was all in vain, for I had
- 59:51Speaker 2: not the strength to launch it. So all I could
- 59:54Speaker 2: do now was to make a boat of less size
- 59:57Speaker 2: out of a tree, and I found one that was
- 59:59Speaker 2: just fit for it, which grew not far from the shore.
- 1:00:02Speaker 2: But I could no more stir this than I could
- 1:00:04Speaker 2: the ship's boat. What was to be done. I first
- 1:00:08Speaker 2: dug the ground flat and smooth all the way from
- 1:00:10Speaker 2: the boat to the sea, so as to let it
- 1:00:12Speaker 2: slide down. But this plan did not turn out well.
- 1:00:15Speaker 2: So I thought I would try a new way, which
- 1:00:17Speaker 2: was to make a trench so as to bring the
- 1:00:20Speaker 2: sea up to the boat, as the boat could not
- 1:00:22Speaker 2: be brought to the sea. But to do this I
- 1:00:25Speaker 2: must have dug down to a great depth, which would
- 1:00:29Speaker 2: take one man some years to do. And when too late,
- 1:00:32Speaker 2: I found it was not wise to work out a
- 1:00:34Speaker 2: scheme till I had first thought of the cost and
- 1:00:37Speaker 2: toil well. Thought I I must give up the boat
- 1:00:42Speaker 2: and with it all my hopes to leave the isle.
- 1:00:45Speaker 2: But I have this to think of. I am lord
- 1:00:48Speaker 2: of the whole isle, in fact a king. I have
- 1:00:51Speaker 2: wood with which I might build a fleet, and grapes,
- 1:00:54Speaker 2: if not corn, to freight it with, though all my
- 1:00:57Speaker 2: wealth is but a few gold coins. For these I
- 1:01:01Speaker 2: had no sort of use, and could have found it
- 1:01:03Speaker 2: in my heart to give them all for a peck
- 1:01:05Speaker 2: of peas and some ink, which last I stood much
- 1:01:09Speaker 2: in need of. But it was best to dwell more
- 1:01:11Speaker 2: on what I had than on what I had not.
- 1:01:15Speaker 2: I now must needs try once more to build a boat,
- 1:01:18Speaker 2: but this time it was to have a mast, for
- 1:01:21Speaker 2: which the ship's sails would be of great use. I
- 1:01:23Speaker 2: made a deck at each end to keep out the
- 1:01:26Speaker 2: spray of the sea, a bin for my food, and
- 1:01:28Speaker 2: a rest for my gun, with a flap to screen
- 1:01:31Speaker 2: it from the wet. More than all, the boat was
- 1:01:34Speaker 2: one of such size that I could launch it. My
- 1:01:37Speaker 2: first cruise was up and down the creek, but soon
- 1:01:39Speaker 2: I got bold made the whole round of my isle.
- 1:01:43Speaker 2: I took with me bread, cakes, a potful rice, some rum,
- 1:01:47Speaker 2: half a goat, two great coats, one of which was
- 1:01:50Speaker 2: to lie on and one to put on at night.
- 1:01:53Speaker 2: I set sail in the sixth year of my rain.
- 1:01:57Speaker 2: On the east side of the aisle. There was a
- 1:01:58Speaker 2: large ridge of rocks which lay two miles from a shore,
- 1:02:02Speaker 2: and a shoal of sand lay for half a mile
- 1:02:04Speaker 2: from the rocks to the beach. To get round to
- 1:02:06Speaker 2: this point I had to sail a great way out
- 1:02:08Speaker 2: to sea, and here I all but lost my life.
- 1:02:13Speaker 2: But I got back to my home at last on
- 1:02:16Speaker 2: my way there. Quite worn out with the toils of
- 1:02:18Speaker 2: the boat, I lay down in the shade to rest
- 1:02:20Speaker 2: my limbs and slept. But judge, if you can what
- 1:02:23Speaker 2: a start I gave when a voice woke me out
- 1:02:26Speaker 2: of my sleep spoke my name three times, a voice
- 1:02:29Speaker 2: in this wild place to call me by name too.
- 1:02:34Speaker 2: Then the voice said, where are you? Where have you been?
- 1:02:38Speaker 2: How came you here? But now I saw it all,
- 1:02:42Speaker 2: for at the top of the hedge set Paul, who
- 1:02:45Speaker 2: did but say the word she had been taught by me.
- 1:02:49Speaker 2: I now went in search of some goats and laid
- 1:02:51Speaker 2: snares for them with rice for bait. I had set
- 1:02:54Speaker 2: the traps in the night, and found they had all stood,
- 1:02:57Speaker 2: though the bait was gone. So I thought out of
- 1:03:00Speaker 2: a new way to take them, which was to make
- 1:03:02Speaker 2: a pit and lay sticks and grass on it so
- 1:03:04Speaker 2: as to hide it. And in this way I caught
- 1:03:06Speaker 2: an old goat and some kids. But the old goat
- 1:03:09Speaker 2: was much too fierce for me, so I let him go.
- 1:03:12Speaker 2: I brought all the young ones home and let them
- 1:03:14Speaker 2: fast a long time, till at last they fed from
- 1:03:17Speaker 2: my hand and were quite tame. I kept them in
- 1:03:20Speaker 2: a kind of park, in which there were trees to
- 1:03:22Speaker 2: screen them from the sun. At first my park was
- 1:03:26Speaker 2: three miles round. But it struck me that in so
- 1:03:29Speaker 2: great a space the kids would soon get as wild
- 1:03:32Speaker 2: as if they had the range of the whole vale,
- 1:03:34Speaker 2: and that it would be as well to give them
- 1:03:36Speaker 2: less room. So I had to make a hedge, which
- 1:03:39Speaker 2: took me three months to plant. My park held a
- 1:03:42Speaker 2: flock of twelve goats, and in two years more there
- 1:03:45Speaker 2: were more than two score. My dog sat at meals
- 1:03:49Speaker 2: with me, and one cat on each side of me
- 1:03:52Speaker 2: on stools, and we had Paul to talk to us.
- 1:03:55Speaker 2: Now for a word or two. As to the dress
- 1:03:57Speaker 2: in which I made a tour round the aisle, I
- 1:04:00Speaker 2: could but think how droll it would look in the
- 1:04:02Speaker 2: streets of the town in which I was born. I
- 1:04:05Speaker 2: wore a high cap of goat's skin, with a flap
- 1:04:07Speaker 2: that hung down to keep the sun and rain from
- 1:04:09Speaker 2: my neck. A coat made from the skin of a goat, too,
- 1:04:12Speaker 2: the skirts of which came down to my hips, and
- 1:04:15Speaker 2: the same on my legs, with no shoes, but flaps
- 1:04:18Speaker 2: of the fur round my shins. I had a broad
- 1:04:21Speaker 2: belt of the same round my waist, which drew on
- 1:04:24Speaker 2: with two thongs, and from it on my right side
- 1:04:27Speaker 2: hung a saw and an axe, and on my left
- 1:04:29Speaker 2: side a pouch for the shot. My beard had not
- 1:04:32Speaker 2: been cut since I came here. But no more need
- 1:04:35Speaker 2: be said of my looks, for there were few to
- 1:04:37Speaker 2: see me. A strange sight was now in store for me,
- 1:04:40Speaker 2: which was to change the whole course of my life
- 1:04:43Speaker 2: in the aisle. One day at noon, while on a
- 1:04:45Speaker 2: stroll down to a part of the shore that was
- 1:04:47Speaker 2: new to me, what should I see on the sand
- 1:04:50Speaker 2: but the print of a man's foot. I felt as
- 1:04:53Speaker 2: if I was bound by a spell and could not
- 1:04:55Speaker 2: stir from the spot. By and by I stole a
- 1:04:58Speaker 2: look round me, but no one was in sight. What
- 1:05:00Speaker 2: could this mean? I went three or four times to
- 1:05:03Speaker 2: look at it. There it was the print of a
- 1:05:06Speaker 2: man's foot, toes heel and all the parts of a foot.
- 1:05:09Speaker 2: How could it have come there? My head swam with fear,
- 1:05:13Speaker 2: and as I left the spot, I made two or
- 1:05:15Speaker 2: three steps, and then took a look round me. Then
- 1:05:17Speaker 2: two steps more and did the same thing. I took
- 1:05:20Speaker 2: fright at the stump of an old tree, and ran
- 1:05:22Speaker 2: to my house, as if for my life. How could
- 1:05:26Speaker 2: aught in the shape of a man come to that
- 1:05:28Speaker 2: shore and I not know it? Where was the ship
- 1:05:31Speaker 2: that brought him? Then a vague dread took hold of
- 1:05:34Speaker 2: my mind that some man or set of men had
- 1:05:37Speaker 2: found me out, and it might be that they meant
- 1:05:40Speaker 2: to kill me or rob me of all I had.
- 1:05:42Speaker 2: How strange a thing is the life of man. One
- 1:05:45Speaker 2: day we love that which the next day we hate.
- 1:05:48Speaker 2: One day we seek what the next day we shun.
- 1:05:51Speaker 2: One day we longed for the thing which the next
- 1:05:54Speaker 2: day we fear. And so we go on. Now. From
- 1:05:57Speaker 2: the time that I was cast on this aisle, my
- 1:05:59Speaker 2: great source of grief was that I should be thus
- 1:06:02Speaker 2: cut off from the rest of my race. Why then,
- 1:06:05Speaker 2: should the thought that a man might be near give
- 1:06:08Speaker 2: me all this pain? Nay, why should the mere sight
- 1:06:11Speaker 2: of the print of a man's foot make me quake
- 1:06:14Speaker 2: with fear? Seems most strange, yet not more strange than true.
- 1:06:19Speaker 2: Once it struck me that it might be the print
- 1:06:21Speaker 2: of my own foot. When first the storm cast me
- 1:06:23Speaker 2: on these shores. Could I have come this way from
- 1:06:26Speaker 2: the boat. Should it, in truth turn out to be
- 1:06:29Speaker 2: the print of my own foot, I should be like
- 1:06:32Speaker 2: a boy who tells of a ghost and feels more
- 1:06:35Speaker 2: fright at his own tail than those do whom he
- 1:06:38Speaker 2: meant to scare. Fear kept me indoors for three days,
- 1:06:42Speaker 2: till the want of food drove me out. At last
- 1:06:44Speaker 2: I was so bold as to go down to the
- 1:06:46Speaker 2: coast to look once more at the print of the foot,
- 1:06:48Speaker 2: to see if it was the same shape as my own.
- 1:06:51Speaker 2: I found it was not so large by a great deal,
- 1:06:54Speaker 2: so it was clear there were men in the aisle.
- 1:06:58Speaker 2: Just at this time, my good watch dog fell down
- 1:07:00Speaker 2: dead at my feet. He was old and worn out,
- 1:07:04Speaker 2: and in him I lost my best guard and friend.
- 1:07:08Speaker 2: One day, as I went from the hill to the coast,
- 1:07:09Speaker 2: a scene lay in front of me which made me
- 1:07:11Speaker 2: sick at heart. The spot was spread with the bones
- 1:07:14Speaker 2: of men. There was a round place dug in the
- 1:07:17Speaker 2: earth where a fire had been made, and here some
- 1:07:20Speaker 2: men had come to feast. Now that I had seen
- 1:07:22Speaker 2: this sight, I knew not how to act. I kept
- 1:07:25Speaker 2: close to my home and would scarce stir from it.
- 1:07:28Speaker 2: Save to milk my flock of goats. To feel safe
- 1:07:31Speaker 2: was now more to me than be well fed. And
- 1:07:34Speaker 2: I did not care to drive a nail or chopistick
- 1:07:36Speaker 2: of wood lest the sound of it should be heard.
- 1:07:39Speaker 2: Much less would I fire a gun. As to my
- 1:07:42Speaker 2: bread and meat, I had to bake it at night,
- 1:07:45Speaker 2: when the smoke could not be seen. But I soon
- 1:07:48Speaker 2: found the way to burn wood with turf at the
- 1:07:50Speaker 2: top of it, which made it like chark or dry coal,
- 1:07:54Speaker 2: And this I could use by day, as it had
- 1:07:56Speaker 2: no smoke. End of Section five.
- 1:08:00Speaker 3: Section six. I found in the wood where I went
- 1:08:03Speaker 3: to get the sticks from my fire a cave so
- 1:08:05Speaker 3: large I could stand in it, but it made more
- 1:08:08Speaker 3: haste to get out than in, for two large eyes,
- 1:08:10Speaker 3: as bright as stars, shone from it with a fierce glare.
- 1:08:13Speaker 3: I took a torch and went to see what they
- 1:08:14Speaker 3: could be, and found that there was no gray cause
- 1:08:16Speaker 3: for fear, for the eyes were those of an old
- 1:08:18Speaker 3: gray goat, which had gone there to die of old age.
- 1:08:21Speaker 3: I gave him a push to try to get him
- 1:08:23Speaker 3: out of the cave, but he could not rise from
- 1:08:25Speaker 3: the ground from where he lay, so I left him
- 1:08:27Speaker 3: there to die as I could save his life. I
- 1:08:29Speaker 3: found the width of the cave was twelve feet, but
- 1:08:31Speaker 3: part of it near the end was so low I
- 1:08:33Speaker 3: had to creep on my hands and feet to go in.
- 1:08:36Speaker 3: What the length of it was I could not tell,
- 1:08:38Speaker 3: for my light went out and I had to give
- 1:08:39Speaker 3: up my search. The next day I went to the
- 1:08:42Speaker 3: cave with large lights made of goat's fat, and when
- 1:08:44Speaker 3: I got to the end, I found the roof rose
- 1:08:46Speaker 3: to two score feet or more. As my lights shone
- 1:08:48Speaker 3: on the walls and the roof of the cave, a
- 1:08:50Speaker 3: sight burst in view, the charms of which no tongue
- 1:08:53Speaker 3: could tell, for the walls shone like stars. What was
- 1:08:56Speaker 3: in that rock to cause? It was hard to say.
- 1:08:58Speaker 3: They might be gems, or bright stones, or gold, but
- 1:09:01Speaker 3: let them be what they may. This cave was a
- 1:09:03Speaker 3: mine of wealth to me, for at such times as
- 1:09:05Speaker 3: I felt dull or sad, a bright scene would flash
- 1:09:08Speaker 3: into my mind's eye and fill it with joy. A
- 1:09:10Speaker 3: score of years had gone by with no new sight
- 1:09:13Speaker 3: to rest my eyes on, until this scene burst on them.
- 1:09:16Speaker 3: I felt as if I should like to spend the
- 1:09:18Speaker 3: rest of my life here, And at its clothes lies
- 1:09:20Speaker 3: down to die in this cave like the old goat.
- 1:09:22Speaker 3: As I went home, I was struck by the sight
- 1:09:24Speaker 3: of some smoke, which came from a fire no more
- 1:09:27Speaker 3: than two miles off. From this time, I lost all
- 1:09:30Speaker 3: my peace of mind day and night. A dread would
- 1:09:33Speaker 3: haunt me that the men who made this fire would
- 1:09:35Speaker 3: find me out. I went home and drew up my steps,
- 1:09:38Speaker 3: but first I made all things round me look wild
- 1:09:40Speaker 3: and rude. To load my gun was the next thing
- 1:09:42Speaker 3: to do, and I thought it would be best to
- 1:09:44Speaker 3: stay at home and hide. But this would not be
- 1:09:47Speaker 3: borne long. I had no spy to send out, and
- 1:09:49Speaker 3: all I could do was get to the top of
- 1:09:51Speaker 3: the hill and keep a good lookout. At last, through
- 1:09:53Speaker 3: my glass I could see a group of wild men
- 1:09:55Speaker 3: join and dance around their fire. As soon as they
- 1:09:58Speaker 3: had left, I took my two guns, slung a sword
- 1:10:00Speaker 3: on my side, and then with all speed I set
- 1:10:02Speaker 3: to the top of the hill once more to have
- 1:10:04Speaker 3: a good view. This time I made up my mind
- 1:10:07Speaker 3: to go up to the men, but not with a
- 1:10:08Speaker 3: view to kill them, for I felt it would be
- 1:10:10Speaker 3: wrong to do so with such a load of arms.
- 1:10:12Speaker 3: It took me two hours to reach the spot where
- 1:10:15Speaker 3: the fire was, and by the time I got there
- 1:10:17Speaker 3: all the men had gone. But I saw them in
- 1:10:19Speaker 3: four boats out to sea. Down on the shore. There
- 1:10:21Speaker 3: was proof of what the work these men had been.
- 1:10:23Speaker 3: The signs of their feast made me sick at heart,
- 1:10:25Speaker 3: and I shut my eyes. I durst not fire my
- 1:10:28Speaker 3: gun when I went out for food on that side
- 1:10:30Speaker 3: of the aisle, lest there should be some of the
- 1:10:31Speaker 3: men left who might hear it and so find me out.
- 1:10:34Speaker 3: This state of things went on for a year and
- 1:10:36Speaker 3: three months, and for all that time I saw no
- 1:10:38Speaker 3: more men. On the twelfth of May, a great storm
- 1:10:41Speaker 3: of wind blew all day and night. As it was dark,
- 1:10:43Speaker 3: I sat in my house in the midst of the gale,
- 1:10:45Speaker 3: I heard a gun fire. My guess was that it
- 1:10:48Speaker 3: must have been from some ship cast on shore by
- 1:10:50Speaker 3: the storm. So I set a light to some wood
- 1:10:53Speaker 3: on the top of the hill, that those in the ship,
- 1:10:55Speaker 3: if a ship it might be, might know that some
- 1:10:57Speaker 3: one was there to aid them. Then I heard two
- 1:11:00Speaker 3: more guns fire. When it was light, I went to
- 1:11:03Speaker 3: the south side of the aisle, and there lay the
- 1:11:05Speaker 3: wreck of the ship cast on the rocks by the
- 1:11:07Speaker 3: night of the storm. She was too afar off for
- 1:11:09Speaker 3: me to see if there were men on board. Words
- 1:11:12Speaker 3: could not tell how much I did long to bring
- 1:11:14Speaker 3: but one of the ship's crew on shore. So strong
- 1:11:17Speaker 3: was my wish to save the life of those on board,
- 1:11:19Speaker 3: that I could have laid down my own life to
- 1:11:21Speaker 3: do so. There are some springs in the heart, which,
- 1:11:23Speaker 3: whind hope stirs them, drive the soul on with such
- 1:11:26Speaker 3: a force that to lose all chance of the thing
- 1:11:28Speaker 3: one hopes for would seem to make one mad. And
- 1:11:31Speaker 3: thus it was with me. Now I thought was the
- 1:11:33Speaker 3: time to use my boat. So I set to work
- 1:11:35Speaker 3: at once to fit it out. I took on board
- 1:11:38Speaker 3: some of the rum, of which I still had a
- 1:11:39Speaker 3: good deal, left, some dry grapes, a bag of rice,
- 1:11:42Speaker 3: some goat's milk and cheese, and put it out to sea.
- 1:11:45Speaker 3: A dread came on me that the thought of the
- 1:11:47Speaker 3: risk I had run on the same rocks. But my
- 1:11:49Speaker 3: heart did not quite fail me, though I knew that
- 1:11:52Speaker 3: as my boat was small, if a gale of wind
- 1:11:54Speaker 3: should spring up, all would be lost. Then I found
- 1:11:57Speaker 3: I must go back to the shore till the tide
- 1:11:58Speaker 3: should turn and the ebbshd come on. I made up
- 1:12:01Speaker 3: my mind to go out the next day with high tide,
- 1:12:03Speaker 3: so I slept that night in my boat. At dawn
- 1:12:06Speaker 3: I set out to see, and in less than two
- 1:12:07Speaker 3: hours I came upon the wreck. What a scene was there.
- 1:12:11Speaker 3: The ship had struck on two rocks, The stern was
- 1:12:13Speaker 3: torn by the force of the waves, the masts were
- 1:12:16Speaker 3: swept off, ropes and chains lay strewn on the deck,
- 1:12:19Speaker 3: and all was wrapped in gloom. As I came up
- 1:12:22Speaker 3: to the wreck, a dog swam to me with a
- 1:12:24Speaker 3: yelp and a wine. I took him on board my boat,
- 1:12:27Speaker 3: and when I gave him some bread, he ate it
- 1:12:29Speaker 3: like a wolf. And as to drink, he would have
- 1:12:31Speaker 3: burst if I had let him take his fill of it.
- 1:12:33Speaker 3: I went to the cook's room, where I found two men,
- 1:12:35Speaker 3: but they were both dead. The tongue was mute, the
- 1:12:38Speaker 3: ear was deaf, the eye was shut, and the lip
- 1:12:41Speaker 3: was stiff. And still the sad tale was told, for
- 1:12:44Speaker 3: each man had his arm around his friend's neck, and
- 1:12:47Speaker 3: so they must have sat to wait for their death.
- 1:12:49Speaker 3: What a change had come on the scene, Once so
- 1:12:52Speaker 3: wild with the lash of the waves and the roar
- 1:12:54Speaker 3: of the wind, all was calm. Now death had done
- 1:12:56Speaker 3: its work, and all had felt the stroke, save the dog,
- 1:12:59Speaker 3: and he was the one thing that still had life.
- 1:13:02Speaker 3: I thought the ship must have come from Spain, and
- 1:13:05Speaker 3: there was much gold on board. I took some of
- 1:13:07Speaker 3: the chests and put them in my boat, but did
- 1:13:09Speaker 3: not wait to see what they held. And with this
- 1:13:11Speaker 3: spoil and three casks of rum, I came back. I
- 1:13:14Speaker 3: found all things at home just as I had left them,
- 1:13:16Speaker 3: my goats, my cats, and my bird. This scene in
- 1:13:19Speaker 3: the cook's room was in my mind day and night,
- 1:13:21Speaker 3: and to cheer me up, I drank some of the rum.
- 1:13:23Speaker 3: I then set to work to bring my freight from
- 1:13:25Speaker 3: the shore where I had left it. In the chests
- 1:13:27Speaker 3: were two great bags of gold, some bars are the same,
- 1:13:30Speaker 3: and near these lay three small flasks and three bags
- 1:13:33Speaker 3: of shot, which were a great prize. From this time.
- 1:13:36Speaker 3: All went well with me for two years, but it
- 1:13:38Speaker 3: was not to last. One day, as I stood on
- 1:13:41Speaker 3: the hill, I saw six boats on the shore. What
- 1:13:43Speaker 3: could this mean? Where were the men that had brought them?
- 1:13:46Speaker 3: And what had they come for? I saw through my
- 1:13:48Speaker 3: glass there was a score and a half at least
- 1:13:50Speaker 3: on the side of the aisle. They had meat on
- 1:13:53Speaker 3: the fire round which I could see them dance. Then
- 1:13:55Speaker 3: they took a man from one of the boats who
- 1:13:57Speaker 3: was bound hand and foot. But when they came to
- 1:13:59Speaker 3: loose his bar, he set off as fast as his
- 1:14:01Speaker 3: feet would take him, in a straight line to my house,
- 1:14:04Speaker 3: to tell the truth. When I saw the rest of
- 1:14:06Speaker 3: these men run to catch him, my hair stood on
- 1:14:08Speaker 3: end with fright in the creek, he swam like a fish,
- 1:14:10Speaker 3: and the plunge which he took brought him through it
- 1:14:12Speaker 3: in a few strokes. All the men now gave up
- 1:14:15Speaker 3: the chase but two, and they swam through the creek,
- 1:14:17Speaker 3: but no means as fast as a slave had done.
- 1:14:20Speaker 3: Now I thought was a time for me to help
- 1:14:21Speaker 3: the poor man, and my heart told me it would
- 1:14:23Speaker 3: be right to do so. I ran down the steps
- 1:14:25Speaker 3: with my two guns, and went with all speed up
- 1:14:27Speaker 3: the hill and then down by a short cut to
- 1:14:29Speaker 3: meet them. I gave a sign to the poor slave
- 1:14:32Speaker 3: to come to me, and at the same time went
- 1:14:34Speaker 3: up to meet the two men who were in chase
- 1:14:36Speaker 3: of him. I made a rush at the first of
- 1:14:38Speaker 3: these to knock him down with the stock of my gun,
- 1:14:40Speaker 3: and he fell. I saw the one who was left
- 1:14:42Speaker 3: aim at me with his boat, so to save my life,
- 1:14:44Speaker 3: I shot him dead. The smoke and noise for my
- 1:14:47Speaker 3: gun gave the poor slave who had been bound such
- 1:14:49Speaker 3: a shock that he stood still in the spot, as
- 1:14:51Speaker 3: if he had been in a trance. I gave a
- 1:14:53Speaker 3: loud shout for him to come to me, and I
- 1:14:55Speaker 3: took care to show him that I was a friend,
- 1:14:57Speaker 3: and made all the signs I could think of to
- 1:14:59Speaker 3: coax him up to me. At length he came, knelt
- 1:15:01Speaker 3: down to kiss the ground, and took hold of my
- 1:15:03Speaker 3: foot and set it on his head. All this meant
- 1:15:06Speaker 3: that he was my slave, and I bade him rise
- 1:15:08Speaker 3: and made much of him. But there was more work
- 1:15:10Speaker 3: to be done yet, for the man who had the
- 1:15:12Speaker 3: blow from my gun was not dead. I made a
- 1:15:14Speaker 3: sign for my slave, as I shall now call him,
- 1:15:16Speaker 3: to look at him. At this he spoke to me,
- 1:15:19Speaker 3: and though I could not make out what he said,
- 1:15:20Speaker 3: yet it gave me a shock of joy, for it
- 1:15:22Speaker 3: was the first sound of a man's voice I had
- 1:15:24Speaker 3: heard for all the years I had been on the aisle.
- 1:15:27Speaker 3: The man whom I had struck with the stock of
- 1:15:29Speaker 3: my gun sat up, and my slave, who was in
- 1:15:31Speaker 3: great fear of him, made the signs for me to
- 1:15:33Speaker 3: lend him my sword, which hung out the belt on
- 1:15:35Speaker 3: my side. With this he ran up to the man
- 1:15:37Speaker 3: and with one stroke, cut off his head. When he
- 1:15:39Speaker 3: had done this, he brought me back my sword, and
- 1:15:41Speaker 3: with a laugh, put it down in front of me.
- 1:15:43Speaker 3: I did not like to see the glee for which
- 1:15:45Speaker 3: he did it, and I did not feel that my
- 1:15:47Speaker 3: own life was safe with such a man. He in turn,
- 1:15:50Speaker 3: could but lift up his large brown hands with awe
- 1:15:52Speaker 3: to think that I had put his foe to death
- 1:15:54Speaker 3: while I stood so far from him that as to
- 1:15:56Speaker 3: the sword, he and the rest of his tribe made
- 1:15:58Speaker 3: use of swords wood, and this is why he knew
- 1:16:00Speaker 3: so well how to wield mine. He made signs to
- 1:16:03Speaker 3: me to let him go and see the man who'd
- 1:16:04Speaker 3: been shot, and he gave him a turn round, first
- 1:16:07Speaker 3: on this side, then on that, And when he saw
- 1:16:09Speaker 3: the wound made in his breast by the shot, he
- 1:16:11Speaker 3: stood quite still once more, as if he'd lost his wits.
- 1:16:14Speaker 3: I made signs for him to come back from my fears,
- 1:16:17Speaker 3: told me the rest of the men might come in
- 1:16:18Speaker 3: search of their friends. I did not like to take
- 1:16:21Speaker 3: the slave to my house nor my caves. So I
- 1:16:23Speaker 3: threw down some straw from the rice plant for him
- 1:16:26Speaker 3: to sleep on, and gave him some bread and a
- 1:16:27Speaker 3: bunch of dry grapes to eat. He was a fine man,
- 1:16:30Speaker 3: with straight, strong limbs, tall and young. His hair was
- 1:16:33Speaker 3: thick like wool and black. His head was large and high.
- 1:16:37Speaker 3: He had bright black eyes. He was of dark brown hue.
- 1:16:40Speaker 3: His face was round, his nose was small, but not flat.
- 1:16:43Speaker 3: He had a good mouth, with thin lips which could
- 1:16:45Speaker 3: give a soft smile, and his teeth were as white
- 1:16:48Speaker 3: as snow. And of section six.
- 1:16:52Speaker 4: Section number seven. I had been to milk my goats
- 1:16:56Speaker 4: in the field close by, and when he saw me,
- 1:16:59Speaker 4: he ran to me and lay down on the ground
- 1:17:02Speaker 4: to show me his thanks. He then put his head
- 1:17:05Speaker 4: on the ground and set my foot on his head,
- 1:17:07Speaker 4: as he had done at first. He took all the
- 1:17:10Speaker 4: means he could think of to let me know that
- 1:17:13Speaker 4: he would serve me all his life, and I gave
- 1:17:16Speaker 4: a sign to show that I thought well of him.
- 1:17:19Speaker 4: The next thing was to think of some name to
- 1:17:21Speaker 4: call him by. I chose that of the sixth day
- 1:17:24Speaker 4: of the week, Friday. As he came to me on
- 1:17:27Speaker 4: that day. I took care not to lose sight of
- 1:17:30Speaker 4: him all that night, and when the sun rose, I
- 1:17:33Speaker 4: made signs for him to come to me that I
- 1:17:36Speaker 4: might give him some clothes, for he wore none. We
- 1:17:40Speaker 4: then went up to the top of the hill to
- 1:17:42Speaker 4: look out for the men, but as we could not
- 1:17:44Speaker 4: see them or their boats, it was clear that they
- 1:17:47Speaker 4: had left the isle. My slave has since told me
- 1:17:51Speaker 4: that they had had a great fight with the tribe
- 1:17:53Speaker 4: that dwelt next to them, and that all those men
- 1:17:56Speaker 4: whom each side took in war were their own by right.
- 1:18:00Speaker 4: My slave's foes had four who fell to their share,
- 1:18:04Speaker 4: of whom he was one. I now set to work
- 1:18:07Speaker 4: to make my man a cap of hair skin, and
- 1:18:10Speaker 4: gave him a goat skin to wear round his waist.
- 1:18:13Speaker 4: Here was a great source of pride to him to
- 1:18:15Speaker 4: find that his clothes were as good as my own.
- 1:18:18Speaker 4: At night, I kept my guns, sword and bow close
- 1:18:22Speaker 4: to my side, but there was no need for this,
- 1:18:25Speaker 4: as my slave was in sooth most true to me.
- 1:18:29Speaker 4: He did all that he was set to do with
- 1:18:31Speaker 4: his whole heart in the work, and I knew that
- 1:18:33Speaker 4: he would lay down his life to save mine. What
- 1:18:37Speaker 4: could a man do more than that, And oh the
- 1:18:39Speaker 4: joy to have him here to cheer me in this
- 1:18:42Speaker 4: lone isle. I did my best to teach him, so
- 1:18:46Speaker 4: like a child he was to do and feel all
- 1:18:49Speaker 4: that was right. I found him apt and full of fun,
- 1:18:52Speaker 4: and he took great pains to learn all that I
- 1:18:54Speaker 4: could tell him. Our lives ran on in a calm,
- 1:18:57Speaker 4: smooth way, and but for the vile of feasts which
- 1:19:00Speaker 4: were held on the shores, I felt no wish to
- 1:19:03Speaker 4: leave the isle, as my slave had, by no means
- 1:19:06Speaker 4: lost his zest for these meals. It struck me that
- 1:19:10Speaker 4: the best way to cure him was to let him
- 1:19:12Speaker 4: taste the flesh of beasts. So I took him with
- 1:19:14Speaker 4: me one day to the wood for some sport. I
- 1:19:17Speaker 4: saw a she goat in the shade with her two kids.
- 1:19:20Speaker 4: I caught Friday by the arm and made signs to
- 1:19:23Speaker 4: him not to stir, and then shot one of the kids.
- 1:19:26Speaker 4: But the noise of the gun gave the poor man
- 1:19:28Speaker 4: a great shock. He did not see the kid, nor
- 1:19:31Speaker 4: did he know that it was dead. He tore his
- 1:19:34Speaker 4: dress off his breast to feel if there was a
- 1:19:36Speaker 4: wound there. Then he knelt down to me and took
- 1:19:39Speaker 4: hold of my knees to pray of me not to
- 1:19:41Speaker 4: kill him. To show poor Friday that his life was
- 1:19:45Speaker 4: quite safe, I led him by the hand and told
- 1:19:47Speaker 4: him to fetch the kid by and bye. I saw
- 1:19:50Speaker 4: a hawk in the tree, so I bade him look
- 1:19:53Speaker 4: at the gun, the hawk, and the ground, and then
- 1:19:56Speaker 4: I shot the bird. But my poor slave gave still
- 1:19:59Speaker 4: more so kines of fear this time than he did
- 1:20:02Speaker 4: at first, for he shook from head to foot. He
- 1:20:05Speaker 4: must have thought that some fee and of death dwelt
- 1:20:07Speaker 4: in the gun. I think that he would have knelt
- 1:20:10Speaker 4: down to it as well as to me. But he
- 1:20:12Speaker 4: would not so much as touch the gun for some time,
- 1:20:15Speaker 4: though he would speak to it when he thought I
- 1:20:18Speaker 4: was not near. Once he told me that what he
- 1:20:20Speaker 4: said to it was to ask it not to kill him.
- 1:20:25Speaker 4: I brought home the bird and made broth of it.
- 1:20:28Speaker 4: Friday was much struck to see me eat salt with it,
- 1:20:31Speaker 4: and made a wry face. But I, in my turn,
- 1:20:33Speaker 4: took some that had no salt with it, and made
- 1:20:36Speaker 4: a wry face at that. The Next day I gave
- 1:20:39Speaker 4: him a piece of kid's flesh, which I had hung
- 1:20:42Speaker 4: by a string in front of the fire to roast.
- 1:20:45Speaker 4: My plan was to put two poles, one on each
- 1:20:47Speaker 4: side of the fire, and a stick on the top
- 1:20:50Speaker 4: of them to hold the string. When my sleeve came
- 1:20:53Speaker 4: to taste the flesh, he took the best means to
- 1:20:56Speaker 4: let me know how good he thought it. The next
- 1:20:58Speaker 4: day I set him to beat out and sift some corn.
- 1:21:02Speaker 4: I let him see me make the bread, and he
- 1:21:04Speaker 4: soon did all the work. I felt quite a love
- 1:21:07Speaker 4: for his true warm heart, and he soon learned to
- 1:21:10Speaker 4: talk to me. One day, I said, do the men
- 1:21:13Speaker 4: of your tribe when you in fight? He told me
- 1:21:16Speaker 4: with a smile that they did well. Then said I,
- 1:21:21Speaker 4: how came they to let their foes take you? They
- 1:21:26Speaker 4: run one, two, three and make go in the boat
- 1:21:30Speaker 4: that time? Well, and what do the men do with
- 1:21:34Speaker 4: those they take? Eat them all up? This was not
- 1:21:39Speaker 4: good news for me, But I went on and said
- 1:21:43Speaker 4: where did they take them? Go to? Next? Place? Where
- 1:21:46Speaker 4: they think? Do they come here? Yes? Yes, they come here?
- 1:21:52Speaker 4: Come else place? Two? Have you been here with them twice? Yes?
- 1:21:58Speaker 4: Come there? He meant, the northwest side of the isle.
- 1:22:02Speaker 4: So to this spot I took him. The next day
- 1:22:05Speaker 4: He knew the place and told me he was there
- 1:22:07Speaker 4: once with a score of men. To let me know this,
- 1:22:10Speaker 4: he put a score of stones, all of a row
- 1:22:13Speaker 4: and made me count them. Are not the boats lost
- 1:22:16Speaker 4: on your shore?
- 1:22:16Speaker 1: Now?
- 1:22:17Speaker 4: And then he said that there was no fear, and
- 1:22:20Speaker 4: that no boats were lost. He told me that up
- 1:22:24Speaker 4: a great way by the moon, that is where the
- 1:22:26Speaker 4: moon then came up, there dwelt a tribe of white
- 1:22:29Speaker 4: men like me, with beards. I felt sure that they
- 1:22:33Speaker 4: must have come from Spain to work the gold mines.
- 1:22:36Speaker 4: I put this to him, Could I go from this
- 1:22:39Speaker 4: isle and join those men? Yes, yes, you may go
- 1:22:43Speaker 4: in two boats. It was hard to see how one
- 1:22:47Speaker 4: man could go in two boats. But what he meant
- 1:22:49Speaker 4: was a boat twice as large as my own. One
- 1:22:53Speaker 4: day I said to my slave, do you know who
- 1:22:56Speaker 4: made you? But he could not tell at all what
- 1:23:00Speaker 4: these words meant. So I said, do you know who
- 1:23:03Speaker 4: made the sea? The ground we tread on the hills
- 1:23:07Speaker 4: and woods? He said it was Beak, whose home was
- 1:23:13Speaker 4: a great way off, and that he was so old
- 1:23:15Speaker 4: that the sea and the land were not so old
- 1:23:17Speaker 4: as he. If this old man has made all things,
- 1:23:22Speaker 4: why do not all things bow down to him? My
- 1:23:27Speaker 4: slave gave a grave look and said, all things, say,
- 1:23:30Speaker 4: oh to him, where do the men in your land go?
- 1:23:33Speaker 4: When they die? I'll go to Beak. I then held
- 1:23:38Speaker 4: my hand up to the sky to point to it,
- 1:23:40Speaker 4: and said, God dwells there. He made the world and
- 1:23:45Speaker 4: all things in it. The moon and the stars are
- 1:23:48Speaker 4: the work of his hands. God sends the wind and
- 1:23:51Speaker 4: the rain on the earth, and the streams that flow.
- 1:23:55Speaker 4: He hides the face of the sky with clouds, makes
- 1:23:58Speaker 4: the grass to grow for the beasts of the field,
- 1:24:01Speaker 4: and herbs for the use of men. God's love knows
- 1:24:05Speaker 4: no end. When we pray, he draws near to us
- 1:24:08Speaker 4: and hears us. It was a real joy to my
- 1:24:12Speaker 4: poor slave to hear me talk of these things. He
- 1:24:15Speaker 4: sat still for a long time, then gave a sigh
- 1:24:18Speaker 4: and told me that he would say, oh to Beak
- 1:24:21Speaker 4: no more, for he was but a short way off,
- 1:24:24Speaker 4: and yet could not hear till men went up to
- 1:24:26Speaker 4: the hill to speak to him. Did you go up
- 1:24:30Speaker 4: to the hill to speak to him? Said I no,
- 1:24:34Speaker 4: Okee's go up to beak, not young man's What do
- 1:24:39Speaker 4: OKI say to him? They say? Oh, Now that it
- 1:24:45Speaker 4: brought my man Friday to know that Beek was not
- 1:24:47Speaker 4: the true God. Such was the sense he had of
- 1:24:50Speaker 4: my worth that I had fears lest I should stand
- 1:24:53Speaker 4: in the place of Beek. I did my best to
- 1:24:56Speaker 4: call forth his faith in Christ and make it strong
- 1:24:59Speaker 4: and clear, till at last, thanks me to the Lord,
- 1:25:02Speaker 4: I brought him to the love of Him with the
- 1:25:04Speaker 4: whole grasp of his soul. To please my poor slave,
- 1:25:08Speaker 4: I gave him a sketch of my whole life. I
- 1:25:11Speaker 4: told him where I was born and where I spent
- 1:25:13Speaker 4: my days when a child. He was glad to hear
- 1:25:16Speaker 4: tales of the land of my birth, and of the
- 1:25:18Speaker 4: trade which we keep up in ships with all parts
- 1:25:21Speaker 4: of the known world. I gave him a knife and
- 1:25:24Speaker 4: a belt, which made him dance with joy. One day,
- 1:25:28Speaker 4: as we stood on the top of the hill at
- 1:25:30Speaker 4: the east side of the isle, I saw him fix
- 1:25:33Speaker 4: his eyes on the main land and stand for a
- 1:25:36Speaker 4: long time to gaze at it. Then jump and sing
- 1:25:39Speaker 4: and call out to me. What do you see? Said I,
- 1:25:43Speaker 4: Oh joy, said he, with a fierce glee in his eyes.
- 1:25:47Speaker 4: Oh glad, there see my land. Why did he strain
- 1:25:51Speaker 4: his eyes to stare at this land as if he
- 1:25:53Speaker 4: had a wish to be there. It put fears in
- 1:25:56Speaker 4: my mind which made me feel far less at my
- 1:25:58Speaker 4: ease with him, thought I, if he should go back
- 1:26:02Speaker 4: to his home, he will think no more of what
- 1:26:04Speaker 4: I have taught him and done for him. He will
- 1:26:07Speaker 4: be sure to tell the rest of his tribe all
- 1:26:09Speaker 4: my ways and come back with it. Maybe eat scores
- 1:26:12Speaker 4: of them and kill me, and then dance round me
- 1:26:15Speaker 4: as they did round the men the last time they
- 1:26:17Speaker 4: came on my isle. But these were all false fears,
- 1:26:21Speaker 4: though they found a place in my mind a long while,
- 1:26:24Speaker 4: and I was not so kind to him now as
- 1:26:26Speaker 4: I had been from this time. I made it a
- 1:26:28Speaker 4: rule day by day to find out if there were
- 1:26:31Speaker 4: grounds for my fears or not. I said, do you
- 1:26:35Speaker 4: not wish to be once more in your own land?
- 1:26:39Speaker 1: Yes?
- 1:26:40Speaker 4: I be much o glad to be at my own land.
- 1:26:44Speaker 4: What would you do there? Would you turn wild and
- 1:26:48Speaker 4: be as you were? No? No, I would tell them
- 1:26:51Speaker 4: to be good, Tell them eat bread, corn, milk, No
- 1:26:55Speaker 4: eat man more? Why they would kill you? No? No,
- 1:27:00Speaker 4: they no kill They loved learn. He then told me
- 1:27:04Speaker 4: that some white men who had come on their shores
- 1:27:06Speaker 4: in a boat had taught them a great deal. Then
- 1:27:10Speaker 4: will you go back to your land with me? He
- 1:27:13Speaker 4: said he could not swim so far. So I told
- 1:27:16Speaker 4: him he should help me to build a boat to
- 1:27:18Speaker 4: go in. And he said, if you go, I go,
- 1:27:23Speaker 4: I go? Why they would eat me? No me, make
- 1:27:27Speaker 4: them much love you. End of Section seven, Section number eight.
- 1:27:36Speaker 4: Then he told me as well as he could how
- 1:27:39Speaker 4: kind they had been to some white men. I brought
- 1:27:42Speaker 4: out the large boat to hear what he thought of it,
- 1:27:44Speaker 4: but he said it was too small. We then went
- 1:27:47Speaker 4: to look at the old ship's boat, which, as it
- 1:27:50Speaker 4: had been in the sun for years, was not at
- 1:27:53Speaker 4: all in a sound state. The poor man made sure
- 1:27:58Speaker 4: that it would do. But are we to know this?
- 1:28:01Speaker 4: I told him we should build a boat as large
- 1:28:03Speaker 4: as that, and that he should go home in it.
- 1:28:07Speaker 4: He spoke not a word, but was grave and sad.
- 1:28:12Speaker 4: What ails you said? I? Why you grieve mad with
- 1:28:17Speaker 4: your men? What do you mean? I am not cross
- 1:28:20Speaker 4: with you? No cross, no cross with me? Why send
- 1:28:25Speaker 4: your man home to his own land? Then? Did you
- 1:28:29Speaker 4: not tell me you would like to go back? Yes,
- 1:28:33Speaker 4: yes we both there. No wish self there if you
- 1:28:38Speaker 4: not there? And what should I do there? You do
- 1:28:43Speaker 4: great deal much good. You teach wild men, be good men.
- 1:28:47Speaker 4: You tell them no God, pray God, and lead new life.
- 1:28:52Speaker 4: We soon set to work to make a boat that
- 1:28:54Speaker 4: would take us both. The first thing was to look
- 1:28:58Speaker 4: out for some large trees that grew near the shore,
- 1:29:01Speaker 4: so that we could launch our boat. When it was made.
- 1:29:04Speaker 4: My slave's plan was to burn the wood to make
- 1:29:07Speaker 4: it the right shape, but as mine was to hew it,
- 1:29:10Speaker 4: I set him to work with my tools, and in
- 1:29:12Speaker 4: two months time we had made a good, strong boat.
- 1:29:15Speaker 4: But it took a long while to get her down
- 1:29:17Speaker 4: to the shore. Friday had the whole charge of her,
- 1:29:21Speaker 4: and large as she was, he made her move with ease,
- 1:29:24Speaker 4: and said he thought she go there well, though great
- 1:29:28Speaker 4: blow wind. He did not know that I meant to
- 1:29:32Speaker 4: make a mast and a sail. I cut down a
- 1:29:34Speaker 4: young fir tree for the mast, and then I set
- 1:29:37Speaker 4: to work at the sail. It made me laugh to
- 1:29:39Speaker 4: see my man stand and stare when he came to
- 1:29:42Speaker 4: watch me sail the boat. But he soon gave a jump,
- 1:29:45Speaker 4: a laugh, and a clap of the hands when he
- 1:29:47Speaker 4: saw the sail gibe and fall first on this side,
- 1:29:50Speaker 4: then on that. The next thing to do was to
- 1:29:53Speaker 4: stow our boat up in the creek, where we dug
- 1:29:56Speaker 4: a small dock, and when the tide was low, we
- 1:29:58Speaker 4: made a dam to keep out the sea. The time
- 1:30:01Speaker 4: of year had now come for us to set sail,
- 1:30:04Speaker 4: so we got out all our stores to put them
- 1:30:06Speaker 4: in the boat. One day I sent Friday to the
- 1:30:10Speaker 4: shore to get a sort of herb that grew there.
- 1:30:13Speaker 4: I soon heard him cry out to me, Oh, grief, o,
- 1:30:17Speaker 4: bad o bad oh, out their boats one two three,
- 1:30:21Speaker 4: Keep a stout heart, said I to cheer him. The
- 1:30:25Speaker 4: poor man shook with fear, for he thought that the
- 1:30:27Speaker 4: men who brought him here had now come back to
- 1:30:30Speaker 4: kill him. Can you fight, said I me? Shoot, But
- 1:30:35Speaker 4: me saw three boats one two three, half, No fear.
- 1:30:40Speaker 4: Those that we do not kill will be sure to
- 1:30:42Speaker 4: take fright at the sound of our guns. Now, will
- 1:30:45Speaker 4: you stand by me and do just as you are?
- 1:30:47Speaker 4: Bid me die when you bid die. I gave him
- 1:30:51Speaker 4: a good draft of rum, and when he had drunk this,
- 1:30:54Speaker 4: he took up an axe and two guns, each of
- 1:30:56Speaker 4: which had a charge of swan shot. I took two
- 1:31:00Speaker 4: funds as well, and put large shot in them, and
- 1:31:02Speaker 4: then hung my great sword by my side from the
- 1:31:06Speaker 4: top of the bill, I saw, with the help of
- 1:31:08Speaker 4: my glass that the boats had each brought eight men
- 1:31:11Speaker 4: and one slave. They had come on shore near the creek,
- 1:31:14Speaker 4: where a grove of young trees grew close down to
- 1:31:17Speaker 4: the sea. They had with them three slaves, bound hand
- 1:31:22Speaker 4: and foot. And you who read this may guess what
- 1:31:25Speaker 4: they were brought here for. I felt that I must
- 1:31:27Speaker 4: try and save them from so hard a fate, and
- 1:31:30Speaker 4: that to do this I should have to put some
- 1:31:32Speaker 4: of their foes to death. So we set forth on
- 1:31:35Speaker 4: our way. I gave Friday strict charge to keep close
- 1:31:38Speaker 4: to me and not to fire till I told him
- 1:31:40Speaker 4: to do so. We went full a mile out of
- 1:31:43Speaker 4: our way that we might get round to the wood
- 1:31:46Speaker 4: to bide there. But we had not gone far when
- 1:31:49Speaker 4: my old qualms came back to me, and I thought,
- 1:31:52Speaker 4: is it for me to dip my hands in man's blood?
- 1:31:57Speaker 4: Why should I kill those who have done me no harm,
- 1:32:00Speaker 4: mean not to hurt me? Nay, who do not so
- 1:32:02Speaker 4: much as know that they are in the wrong when
- 1:32:05Speaker 4: they hold these feasts, are not their ways a sign
- 1:32:09Speaker 4: that God has left them with the rest of their
- 1:32:12Speaker 4: tribe to their own dull hearts. God did not call
- 1:32:17Speaker 4: me to be a judge for him. He who said
- 1:32:20Speaker 4: thou shalt not kill set it for me as well
- 1:32:24Speaker 4: as the rest of the world. A throng of thoughts
- 1:32:27Speaker 4: like these would rush on my mind, as if to
- 1:32:30Speaker 4: warn me to pause, till I felt sure that there
- 1:32:32Speaker 4: was more to call me to the work than I
- 1:32:34Speaker 4: then knew of. I took my stand in the wood
- 1:32:37Speaker 4: to watch the men at their feast, and then crept
- 1:32:40Speaker 4: on with Friday close at my heels. Thus we went
- 1:32:44Speaker 4: till we came to the skirts of the wood. Then
- 1:32:46Speaker 4: I said to Friday, go up to the top of
- 1:32:49Speaker 4: that tree and bring me word if you can see
- 1:32:51Speaker 4: the men. He went, and quick as thought came back
- 1:32:55Speaker 4: to say that they were all around the fire, and
- 1:32:58Speaker 4: that the man who was bound on the sand and
- 1:33:00Speaker 4: would be the next they would kill. But when he
- 1:33:03Speaker 4: told me that it was a white man, one of
- 1:33:05Speaker 4: my own race, I felt the blood boil in my veins.
- 1:33:09Speaker 4: Two of the gang had gone to loose the white
- 1:33:11Speaker 4: man from his bonds, so now was the time to fire.
- 1:33:15Speaker 4: At the sound of our guns, we saw all the
- 1:33:17Speaker 4: men jump up from the ground where they sat. It
- 1:33:19Speaker 4: must have been the first guns that they had heard
- 1:33:21Speaker 4: in their lives. They knew not which way to look.
- 1:33:25Speaker 4: I now threw down my piece and took up a
- 1:33:27Speaker 4: small gun. Friday did the same, and I gave him
- 1:33:30Speaker 4: the word to fire. The men ran right and left
- 1:33:33Speaker 4: with yells and screams. I now made a rush out
- 1:33:36Speaker 4: of the wood that they might see me, with my
- 1:33:38Speaker 4: man Friday at my heels. Of course, we gave a
- 1:33:41Speaker 4: loud shout and ran up to the white man as
- 1:33:43Speaker 4: fast as we could. There he lay on the hot sand.
- 1:33:47Speaker 4: I cut the flag or rush by which he was bound,
- 1:33:50Speaker 4: But he was too weak to stand or speak. So
- 1:33:52Speaker 4: I gave him some rum. He let me know by
- 1:33:55Speaker 4: all the signs that he could think of how much
- 1:33:57Speaker 4: he stood in my debt for all that I had
- 1:33:59Speaker 4: done for him. I said, we will talk of that
- 1:34:02Speaker 4: by and by, but now we must do what we
- 1:34:05Speaker 4: can to save our lives. Friday, who was free to
- 1:34:08Speaker 4: go where he chose, flew here and there and put
- 1:34:10Speaker 4: all the men to the route. They fled in full
- 1:34:13Speaker 4: haste to their boats, and were soon out at sea,
- 1:34:16Speaker 4: and so we got rid of our foes. At last,
- 1:34:18Speaker 4: the man whom we had found on the sand told
- 1:34:21Speaker 4: us that his name was Carl, and that he came
- 1:34:23Speaker 4: from Spain. But there was one more man to claim
- 1:34:26Speaker 4: our care. For the black men had left a small
- 1:34:29Speaker 4: boat on the sands, and in this I saw a
- 1:34:31Speaker 4: poor wretch you lay half dead. He could not so
- 1:34:34Speaker 4: much as look up, so tight was he bound neck
- 1:34:36Speaker 4: and heels. When I cut the bonds from him, he
- 1:34:39Speaker 4: gave a deep groan, for he thought that all this
- 1:34:42Speaker 4: was but to lead him out to die. Friday then
- 1:34:45Speaker 4: came up, and I bade him speak to the old
- 1:34:47Speaker 4: man in his own tongue and tell him that he
- 1:34:49Speaker 4: was free. This good news gave him strength, and he
- 1:34:53Speaker 4: sat up in the boat. But when Friday came to
- 1:34:55Speaker 4: hear him talk and to look him in the face,
- 1:34:58Speaker 4: it brought the tears to my eyes to see him
- 1:35:01Speaker 4: kiss and hug the poor old man, and dance round
- 1:35:03Speaker 4: him with joy. Then weep, wring his hands and beat
- 1:35:06Speaker 4: his own face and head, and then laugh once more,
- 1:35:09Speaker 4: sing and leap. For a long time, he could not
- 1:35:12Speaker 4: speak to me so as to let me know what
- 1:35:15Speaker 4: all this meant. But at length he told me that
- 1:35:18Speaker 4: he was the son of this poor old man, and
- 1:35:20Speaker 4: that his name was Jaff. It would be a hard
- 1:35:24Speaker 4: task for me to tell of all the quaint signs
- 1:35:26Speaker 4: Friday made to show his joy, he went in and
- 1:35:29Speaker 4: out of the boat five or six times, sat down
- 1:35:32Speaker 4: by old Jaff, and held the poor old man's head
- 1:35:34Speaker 4: close to his breast to warm it. Then he set
- 1:35:37Speaker 4: to work and rub his arms and feet, which were
- 1:35:40Speaker 4: cold and stiff from the bonds. I told Friday to
- 1:35:42Speaker 4: give him some rum and bread, but he said none,
- 1:35:45Speaker 4: bad dog, eat all up self. He then ran off
- 1:35:49Speaker 4: straight to the house and took no heed of my calls,
- 1:35:51Speaker 4: but went as swift as a deer. In an hour's
- 1:35:54Speaker 4: time he came back with a jug in his hand.
- 1:35:57Speaker 4: The good soul had gone all the way to the
- 1:35:58Speaker 4: house that Jaff might have a fresh draft from my well,
- 1:36:02Speaker 4: and with it he brought two cakes, one of which
- 1:36:04Speaker 4: I bade him take to Carl, who lay in the
- 1:36:07Speaker 4: shade of a tree. His limbs were stiff and cold,
- 1:36:09Speaker 4: and he was too weak to say a word. I
- 1:36:12Speaker 4: set my man to rub his feet with rum, and
- 1:36:14Speaker 4: while he did so, I saw Fridy turn his head
- 1:36:17Speaker 4: round from time to time to steal a look at
- 1:36:19Speaker 4: the old man. Then we brought Karl and Jaf home
- 1:36:22Speaker 4: from the boat on our backs, as they could not walk.
- 1:36:25Speaker 4: The door of my house was at the top, and
- 1:36:27Speaker 4: the poor sick men could not climb the steps by
- 1:36:29Speaker 4: which I had got in, so we made for them
- 1:36:32Speaker 4: a tent of old sails. I was now a king
- 1:36:35Speaker 4: of these three men, as well as lord of the isle,
- 1:36:38Speaker 4: and I felt proud to say they all owe their
- 1:36:41Speaker 4: lives to their king. It would lay them down for
- 1:36:43Speaker 4: him if he bade them do so. But I did
- 1:36:46Speaker 4: not think that my rain was so soon come to
- 1:36:49Speaker 4: an end. The next thing for us to do was
- 1:36:51Speaker 4: to give Karl and Jaff some food, and to kill
- 1:36:54Speaker 4: and roast a kid, to which we all four sat down,
- 1:36:58Speaker 4: and I did my best to cheer them. Carl, in
- 1:37:01Speaker 4: a few days grew quite strong, and I set them
- 1:37:03Speaker 4: to work to dig some land for seed, For it
- 1:37:06Speaker 4: was clear we should want more corn now that we
- 1:37:09Speaker 4: had two more mouths to feel. So we put in
- 1:37:12Speaker 4: the ground all the stock of grain I had, and
- 1:37:14Speaker 4: thus we all four had as much work as we
- 1:37:16Speaker 4: could do for some time. When the crop grew and
- 1:37:20Speaker 4: was ripe, we found we had a good store of grain.
- 1:37:23Speaker 4: We made a plan that Karl and Jaff should go
- 1:37:25Speaker 4: back to the mainland to try if they could get
- 1:37:28Speaker 4: some of the white men who had been cast on
- 1:37:30Speaker 4: shore there to come and live with us. So they
- 1:37:33Speaker 4: got out of the bed and took with them two
- 1:37:35Speaker 4: guns and food for eight days. They were to come
- 1:37:39Speaker 4: back in a week's time, and I bade them hang
- 1:37:41Speaker 4: out a sign when they came in sight, so that
- 1:37:43Speaker 4: we might know who they were. End of Section eight,
- 1:37:50Speaker 4: Section nine. One day Friday ran up to me in
- 1:37:55Speaker 4: great glee and said, they are back. They are back.
- 1:37:59Speaker 4: A mile from shore, there was a boat with a
- 1:38:01Speaker 4: sail which stood in for the land. But I knew
- 1:38:04Speaker 4: it could not be the one which our two friends
- 1:38:06Speaker 4: had gone out in, for it was on the wrong
- 1:38:08Speaker 4: side of the isle. For that I saw too through
- 1:38:11Speaker 4: my glass a ship out at sea. There were twelve
- 1:38:15Speaker 4: men in the boat, three of whom were bound in chains,
- 1:38:18Speaker 4: and four had fire arms. By and bye. I saw
- 1:38:22Speaker 4: one of the men raise his sword to those who
- 1:38:24Speaker 4: were in the chains, and I felt sure that all
- 1:38:27Speaker 4: was not right. Then I saw that the three men
- 1:38:31Speaker 4: who had been bound were set free, and when they
- 1:38:34Speaker 4: had come on shore, they lay on the ground in
- 1:38:36Speaker 4: the shade of a tree. I was soon at their side,
- 1:38:40Speaker 4: for their looks so sad and worn, brought to my
- 1:38:44Speaker 4: mind the first few hours I had spent in this
- 1:38:46Speaker 4: wild spot, where all to me was wrapped in gloom.
- 1:38:50Speaker 4: I went up to these men and said, who are you, sirs?
- 1:38:55Speaker 4: They gave a start at my voice and at my
- 1:38:57Speaker 4: strange dress, and made a move as if they would
- 1:39:00Speaker 4: fly from me. I said, do not fear me, for
- 1:39:04Speaker 4: it may be that you have a friend at hand,
- 1:39:06Speaker 4: though you do not think it. He must be sent
- 1:39:09Speaker 4: from the sky. Then said one of them, with a
- 1:39:12Speaker 4: grave look, and he took off his hat to me
- 1:39:14Speaker 4: at the same time. All help is from thence, sir,
- 1:39:19Speaker 4: I said, but what can I do to aid you?
- 1:39:22Speaker 4: You look as if you had some load of grief
- 1:39:24Speaker 4: on your breast. I saw one of the men lift
- 1:39:26Speaker 4: his sword as if to kill you. The tears ran
- 1:39:30Speaker 4: down the poor man's face, as he said, is this
- 1:39:33Speaker 4: a god? Or is it but a man? Have no
- 1:39:37Speaker 4: doubt on that score, sir, said I, for a god
- 1:39:39Speaker 4: would not have come with a dress like this. No,
- 1:39:43Speaker 4: do not fear, nor raise your hopes too high, for
- 1:39:46Speaker 4: you see but a man, yet, one who will do
- 1:39:49Speaker 4: all he can to help you. Your speech shows me
- 1:39:52Speaker 4: that you come from the same land as I do.
- 1:39:54Speaker 4: I will do all I can to serve you. Tell
- 1:39:57Speaker 4: me your case, Sir, is too long to you, while
- 1:40:02Speaker 4: they who would kill us are so near. My name
- 1:40:05Speaker 4: is Paul. To be short, sir, my crew have thrust
- 1:40:09Speaker 4: me out of my ship, which you see out there,
- 1:40:12Speaker 4: and have left me here to die. It was as
- 1:40:14Speaker 4: much as I could do to make them sheathe their swords,
- 1:40:17Speaker 4: which you saw were drawn to slay me. They have
- 1:40:20Speaker 4: set me down in this isle with these two men,
- 1:40:23Speaker 4: my friend here in the ship's mate. Where have they gone,
- 1:40:27Speaker 4: said I? There in the wood close by. I fear
- 1:40:30Speaker 4: they may have seen and heard us. If they have,
- 1:40:33Speaker 4: they will be sure to kill us. All have they
- 1:40:36Speaker 4: fire arms? They have four guns, one of which is
- 1:40:39Speaker 4: in the boat. Well, then leave all to me. There
- 1:40:42Speaker 4: are two of the men, said he, who are worse
- 1:40:45Speaker 4: than the rest. All but these I feel sure, would
- 1:40:47Speaker 4: go back to work the ship. I thought it was
- 1:40:50Speaker 4: best to speak out to Paul at once, and I said, now,
- 1:40:53Speaker 4: if I save your life, there are two things which
- 1:40:55Speaker 4: you must do. But he read my thoughts and said,
- 1:40:59Speaker 4: if you save my life, if you shall do as
- 1:41:00Speaker 4: you like with me and my ship and take her
- 1:41:03Speaker 4: where you please. I saw that the two men in
- 1:41:06Speaker 4: whose charge the boat had been left had come on shore.
- 1:41:09Speaker 4: So the first thing I did was to send Friday
- 1:41:12Speaker 4: to fetch from it the oars, the sail and the gun,
- 1:41:16Speaker 4: and now the ship might be said to be in
- 1:41:17Speaker 4: our hands. When the time came for the men to
- 1:41:20Speaker 4: go back to the ship, they were in a great rage,
- 1:41:23Speaker 4: for as the boat had no sail nor oars, they
- 1:41:26Speaker 4: knew not how to get out to their ship. We
- 1:41:29Speaker 4: heard them say that it was a strange sort of isle,
- 1:41:32Speaker 4: for that sprites had come to the boat to take
- 1:41:34Speaker 4: off the sails and oars. We could see them run
- 1:41:37Speaker 4: to and fro with great rage, then go and sit
- 1:41:40Speaker 4: in the boat to rest, and then come on shore
- 1:41:42Speaker 4: once more. When they drew near to us, Paul and
- 1:41:46Speaker 4: Friday would fain have had me fall on them at once,
- 1:41:49Speaker 4: but my wish was to spare them and kill as
- 1:41:52Speaker 4: few as I could. I told two of my men
- 1:41:54Speaker 4: to creep on their hands and feet close to the ground,
- 1:41:57Speaker 4: so that they might not be seen, and when they
- 1:41:59Speaker 4: got up to the men not to fire till I
- 1:42:01Speaker 4: gave the word. They had not stood thus long when
- 1:42:04Speaker 4: three of the crew came up to us. Till now
- 1:42:07Speaker 4: we had but heard their voice. But when they came
- 1:42:10Speaker 4: so near as to be seen, Paul and Friday stood
- 1:42:13Speaker 4: up and shot at them. Two of the men fell dead,
- 1:42:17Speaker 4: and they were the worst of the crew, and the
- 1:42:19Speaker 4: third ran off at the sound of the guns. I
- 1:42:22Speaker 4: came up, but it was so dark that the men
- 1:42:24Speaker 4: could not tell if there were three of us or
- 1:42:26Speaker 4: three score. It fell out just as I could wish.
- 1:42:30Speaker 4: But I heard the men ask to whom must we
- 1:42:32Speaker 4: yield and where are they? Friday told them that Paul
- 1:42:35Speaker 4: was there with the King of the Isle, who had
- 1:42:37Speaker 4: brought with him a crowd of men. At this one
- 1:42:40Speaker 4: of the crew said, if Paul will spare our lives,
- 1:42:43Speaker 4: we will yield. Then said Friday, you shall know the
- 1:42:48Speaker 4: King's will. Then Paul said to them, you know my voice.
- 1:42:52Speaker 4: If you lay down your arms, the King will spare
- 1:42:54Speaker 4: your lives. They fell on their knees to beg the
- 1:42:57Speaker 4: same of me. I took good care that they did
- 1:42:59Speaker 4: not see me, but I gave them my word that
- 1:43:01Speaker 4: they should all live, that I should take four of
- 1:43:04Speaker 4: them to work the ship, and that the rest would
- 1:43:06Speaker 4: be bound hand and foot for the good faith of
- 1:43:09Speaker 4: the four. This was to show them what a stern
- 1:43:11Speaker 4: king I was. Of course, I soon set them free,
- 1:43:14Speaker 4: and I put them in a way to take my
- 1:43:16Speaker 4: place on the isle. I told them all of my waists,
- 1:43:19Speaker 4: taught them how to mind the goats, how to work
- 1:43:21Speaker 4: the farm and make the bread. I gave them a
- 1:43:24Speaker 4: house to live in, firearms, tools, and two tame cats.
- 1:43:28Speaker 4: In fact, all but poll and my gold. As I
- 1:43:32Speaker 4: sat on top of the hill, Paul came up to me.
- 1:43:34Speaker 4: He held out his hand to point to the ship,
- 1:43:36Speaker 4: and with much warmth, took me to his arms and said,
- 1:43:40Speaker 4: my dear friend, there's your ship. For she is all yours,
- 1:43:45Speaker 4: and so are we and all that is in her.
- 1:43:48Speaker 4: I cast my eyes to the ship, which rode half
- 1:43:51Speaker 4: a mile off the shore, at the mouth of the creek,
- 1:43:53Speaker 4: and near the place where I had brought my rafts
- 1:43:55Speaker 4: to land. Yes, there she stood the ship that was
- 1:43:59Speaker 4: to set me for and to take me where I
- 1:44:01Speaker 4: might choose to go. She set her sails to the wind,
- 1:44:05Speaker 4: and her flags throughout their gay stripes in the breeze.
- 1:44:08Speaker 4: Such a sight was too much for me, and I
- 1:44:10Speaker 4: fell down faint with joy. Paul then took out a
- 1:44:13Speaker 4: flask which he had brought for me, and gave me
- 1:44:16Speaker 4: a dram which I drank, but for a good while
- 1:44:19Speaker 4: I could not speak to them. Friday and Paul then
- 1:44:22Speaker 4: went on board the ship, and Paul took charge of
- 1:44:24Speaker 4: her once more. We did not start that night, but
- 1:44:27Speaker 4: at noon the next day I left the Isle, that
- 1:44:31Speaker 4: lone isle, where I had spent so great a part
- 1:44:34Speaker 4: of my life, not much less than thrice ten long years.
- 1:44:38Speaker 4: When I came back to the dear land of my birth,
- 1:44:41Speaker 4: all was strange and new to me. I went to
- 1:44:44Speaker 4: my old home at York, but none of my friends
- 1:44:46Speaker 4: were there, and to my great grief, I saw on
- 1:44:50Speaker 4: the stone at their grave the sad tale of their death.
- 1:44:53Speaker 4: As they had thought, of course, that I was dead.
- 1:44:56Speaker 4: They had not left me their wealth and lands. So
- 1:44:59Speaker 4: I stood my want of means, for it was but
- 1:45:02Speaker 4: a small sum that I had brought with me from
- 1:45:04Speaker 4: the Isle. But in this time of need, I had
- 1:45:07Speaker 4: the luck to find my good friend who once took
- 1:45:09Speaker 4: me up to sea. He was now grown too old
- 1:45:12Speaker 4: for work and had put his son in the ship
- 1:45:14Speaker 4: in his place. He did not know me at first,
- 1:45:17Speaker 4: but I was soon brought to his mind when I
- 1:45:19Speaker 4: told him who I was. I found from him that
- 1:45:23Speaker 4: the land which I had bought on my way to
- 1:45:25Speaker 4: the isle was now worth much. As it was a
- 1:45:28Speaker 4: long way off, I felt no wish to go and
- 1:45:31Speaker 4: live there, so I made up my mind to sell it,
- 1:45:34Speaker 4: and in the course of a few months I got
- 1:45:36Speaker 4: for it a sum so large as to make me
- 1:45:38Speaker 4: a rich man all at once. Weeks, months and years
- 1:45:43Speaker 4: went by. I had a farm, a wife, and two sons,
- 1:45:48Speaker 4: and was by no means young. But still I could
- 1:45:51Speaker 4: not get rid of a strong wish which dwelt my
- 1:45:53Speaker 4: thoughts by day and my dreams by night, and that
- 1:45:56Speaker 4: was to set foot once more in my old isle.
- 1:45:59Speaker 4: I had now now no need to work for food
- 1:46:02Speaker 4: or for means of life. All I had to do
- 1:46:05Speaker 4: was to teach my boys to be wise and good,
- 1:46:08Speaker 4: to live at my ease, and see my wealth growed
- 1:46:10Speaker 4: day by day. Yet the wish to go back to
- 1:46:13Speaker 4: my wild haunts clung round me like a cloud, and
- 1:46:16Speaker 4: I could in no way drive it from me. So
- 1:46:19Speaker 4: true is it that what is bread in the bone
- 1:46:22Speaker 4: will not come out of the flesh. At length, I
- 1:46:25Speaker 4: lost my wife, which was a great blow to me,
- 1:46:27Speaker 4: and my home was now so sad that I made
- 1:46:29Speaker 4: up my mind to launch out once more on the
- 1:46:32Speaker 4: broad Sea and go with my man Friday to that
- 1:46:35Speaker 4: lone island where dwelt all my hopes. I took with
- 1:46:38Speaker 4: me as large a store of tools, clothes, and such
- 1:46:42Speaker 4: like goods as I had room for, and men of
- 1:46:45Speaker 4: skill in all kinds of trades to live in the isle.
- 1:46:48Speaker 4: When we set sail, we had a fair wind for
- 1:46:51Speaker 4: some time. But one night the mate who was at
- 1:46:53Speaker 4: the watch told me he saw a flash of fire
- 1:46:56Speaker 4: and heard a gun go off. At this we all
- 1:46:59Speaker 4: ran on deck from whence we saw a great light,
- 1:47:02Speaker 4: and as there was no land that way, we knew
- 1:47:04Speaker 4: that it must be some ship on fire at sea,
- 1:47:07Speaker 4: which could not be far off, for we heard the
- 1:47:09Speaker 4: sound of the gun. The wind was still fair, so
- 1:47:12Speaker 4: we made our way for the point where we saw
- 1:47:14Speaker 4: the light, and in half an hour it was but
- 1:47:17Speaker 4: too plain that a large ship was on fire in
- 1:47:20Speaker 4: the midst of the broad sea. I gave the word
- 1:47:22Speaker 4: to fire off five guns, and we then lay by
- 1:47:26Speaker 4: to wait till break of day. But in the dead
- 1:47:29Speaker 4: of night the ship blew up in the air. The
- 1:47:31Speaker 4: flames shot forth, and what there was left of the
- 1:47:34Speaker 4: ship sank. We hung out lights and our guns kept
- 1:47:38Speaker 4: up fire all night long to let the crew know
- 1:47:40Speaker 4: that there was help at hand. At eight o'clock the
- 1:47:43Speaker 4: next day we found, by the aid of the glass
- 1:47:46Speaker 4: that two of the ship's boats were out at sea,
- 1:47:48Speaker 4: quite full of men. They had seen us and had
- 1:47:51Speaker 4: done their best to make us see them, and in
- 1:47:54Speaker 4: half an hour we came up with them. It would
- 1:47:57Speaker 4: be a hard task for me to set forth in words,
- 1:47:59Speaker 4: the scene would took place in my ship when the
- 1:48:02Speaker 4: poor French folk, for such they were, came on board.
- 1:48:06Speaker 4: As to grief and fear, these are soon told. Sighs, tears,
- 1:48:10Speaker 4: and groans make up the sum of them. But such
- 1:48:13Speaker 4: a cause of joy as this was, in sooth too
- 1:48:16Speaker 4: much for them to bear. Weak and all but dead
- 1:48:18Speaker 4: as they were, some would send up shouts of joy
- 1:48:22Speaker 4: that rent the sky. Some would cry and wring their hands,
- 1:48:26Speaker 4: as if in the depths of grief. Some would dance,
- 1:48:29Speaker 4: laugh and sing. Not a few were dumb, sick, faint
- 1:48:32Speaker 4: in a swoon, or half mad, and two or three
- 1:48:35Speaker 4: were seen to give thanks to God. In this strange group,
- 1:48:39Speaker 4: there was a young French priest who did his best
- 1:48:41Speaker 4: to soothe those round him. And I saw him go
- 1:48:44Speaker 4: up to some of the crew and say to them,
- 1:48:47Speaker 4: why do you scream and tear your hair and wring
- 1:48:50Speaker 4: your hands? My men, let your joy be free and full,
- 1:48:54Speaker 4: give it full range and scope. But leave off this
- 1:48:57Speaker 4: trick of the hands, and lift them up and praise
- 1:49:00Speaker 4: your voice. Swell out, not in screams, but in hymns
- 1:49:03Speaker 4: of thanks to God, who has brought you out of
- 1:49:06Speaker 4: so great a strait, for this will add peace to
- 1:49:08Speaker 4: your joy. End of Section nine, Section ten. The next
- 1:49:16Speaker 4: day they were all in a right frame of mind,
- 1:49:19Speaker 4: so I gave them what stores I could spare, and
- 1:49:22Speaker 4: put them on board a ship that we met with
- 1:49:24Speaker 4: on her way to France. All save five, who with
- 1:49:28Speaker 4: the priests, had a wish to join me. But we
- 1:49:31Speaker 4: had not set sail long when we fell in with
- 1:49:34Speaker 4: a ship that had been blown out to sea by
- 1:49:36Speaker 4: a storm and had lost her masts, and worse than all,
- 1:49:40Speaker 4: her crew had not had an ounce of meat or
- 1:49:42Speaker 4: bread for ten days. I gave them all some food,
- 1:49:46Speaker 4: which they ate like wolves in the snow. But I
- 1:49:49Speaker 4: thought it best to check them, as I had fears
- 1:49:51Speaker 4: that so much all at once would cause the death
- 1:49:54Speaker 4: of some of them. There were a youth and a
- 1:49:57Speaker 4: young girl in the ship, who the mate said he
- 1:50:00Speaker 4: thought must be dead, but he had not had the
- 1:50:03Speaker 4: heart to go near them, for the food was all gone.
- 1:50:06Speaker 4: I found that they were faint for the want of it,
- 1:50:09Speaker 4: and as it were, in the jaws of death. But
- 1:50:12Speaker 4: in a short time they both got well, and as
- 1:50:15Speaker 4: they had no wish to go back to their ship,
- 1:50:18Speaker 4: I took them with me. So now I had eight
- 1:50:21Speaker 4: more on board my ship than I had when I
- 1:50:24Speaker 4: first set out. In three months from the time when
- 1:50:27Speaker 4: I left home, I came in sight of my isle,
- 1:50:30Speaker 4: and I brought the ship safe up by the side
- 1:50:32Speaker 4: of the creek, which was near my old house. I
- 1:50:36Speaker 4: went up to Friday to ask if he knew where
- 1:50:39Speaker 4: he was. He took a look round him, and soon,
- 1:50:42Speaker 4: with a clap of the hand said, oh, yes, oh there,
- 1:50:46Speaker 4: Oh yes, oh there by and bye. He set up
- 1:50:49Speaker 4: a dance with such wild glee that it was as
- 1:50:53Speaker 4: much as I could do to keep him on deck.
- 1:50:56Speaker 4: Well what think you, Friday, said, I shall we find
- 1:51:00Speaker 4: those whom we left? Still? Here? Shall we see poor
- 1:51:04Speaker 4: old Jaff. He stood quite mute for a while, but
- 1:51:09Speaker 4: when I spoke of Old Jaff, whose son Friday was.
- 1:51:12Speaker 4: The tears ran down his face, and the poor soul
- 1:51:15Speaker 4: was as sad as could be. No no, said he,
- 1:51:20Speaker 4: no more, no, no more. As we caught sight of
- 1:51:24Speaker 4: some men at the top of the hill, I gave
- 1:51:26Speaker 4: word to fire three guns to show that we were friends,
- 1:51:30Speaker 4: and soon we saw smoke rise from the side of
- 1:51:33Speaker 4: the creek. I then went on shore in a boat
- 1:51:35Speaker 4: with the priest and Friday, and hung out a white
- 1:51:38Speaker 4: flag of peace. The first man I cast my eyes
- 1:51:43Speaker 4: on at the creek was my old friend Carl, who,
- 1:51:47Speaker 4: when I was last on the aisle, had been brought
- 1:51:50Speaker 4: here in bonds. I gave strict charge to the men
- 1:51:53Speaker 4: in the boat not to go on shore, but Friday
- 1:51:56Speaker 4: could not be kept back, for with his quick eye
- 1:51:58Speaker 4: he had caught sight of Old Jaff. It brought the
- 1:52:02Speaker 4: tears to our eyes to see his joy. When he
- 1:52:04Speaker 4: met the old man, he gave him a kiss, took
- 1:52:07Speaker 4: him up in his arms, set him down in the shade,
- 1:52:10Speaker 4: then stood a short way off to look at him
- 1:52:12Speaker 4: as one would look at a work of art. Then
- 1:52:15Speaker 4: felt him with his hand, and all this time he
- 1:52:18Speaker 4: was in full talk, and told him one by one,
- 1:52:21Speaker 4: all the strange tales of what he had seen since
- 1:52:24Speaker 4: they had last met. As to my old friend Carl.
- 1:52:28Speaker 4: He came up to me, and with much warmth, shook
- 1:52:31Speaker 4: my hands, and then took me to my old house,
- 1:52:34Speaker 4: which he now gave up to me. I could no
- 1:52:36Speaker 4: more have found the place than if I had not
- 1:52:39Speaker 4: been there at all. The rows of trees stood so
- 1:52:43Speaker 4: thick and close that the house could not be got
- 1:52:45Speaker 4: at save by such blind ways, as none but those
- 1:52:48Speaker 4: who made them could find out. Why have you built
- 1:52:52Speaker 4: all these forts? Said I. Carl told me that he
- 1:52:55Speaker 4: felt sure I should say there was much need of
- 1:52:58Speaker 4: them when I heard how they had sped at their
- 1:53:00Speaker 4: time since they had come to the isle. He brought
- 1:53:03Speaker 4: twelve men to the spot where I stood, and said, Sir,
- 1:53:08Speaker 4: all these men owe their lives to you. Then, one
- 1:53:11Speaker 4: by one they came up to me, not as if
- 1:53:14Speaker 4: they had been the mere crew of a ship, but
- 1:53:17Speaker 4: like men of rank who had come to kiss the
- 1:53:19Speaker 4: hand of their king. The first thing was to bear
- 1:53:23Speaker 4: all that had been done in the aisle since I
- 1:53:26Speaker 4: had left. But I must first state that, when we
- 1:53:29Speaker 4: were on the point to set sail from the aisle,
- 1:53:31Speaker 4: a feud sprang up on board our ship, which we
- 1:53:34Speaker 4: could not put down till we had laid two of
- 1:53:37Speaker 4: the men in chains. The next day these two men
- 1:53:40Speaker 4: stole each of them a gun and some small arms,
- 1:53:44Speaker 4: and took the ship's boat and ran off with it
- 1:53:46Speaker 4: to join the three bad men on shore. As soon
- 1:53:50Speaker 4: as I found this out, I sent the long boat
- 1:53:52Speaker 4: on shore with twelve men and the mate, and off
- 1:53:55Speaker 4: they went to seek the two who had left the ship.
- 1:53:59Speaker 4: But their search was in vain, nor could they find
- 1:54:01Speaker 4: one of the rest, for they had all fled to
- 1:54:04Speaker 4: the wood when they saw the boat. We had now
- 1:54:07Speaker 4: lost five of the crew. But the three first were
- 1:54:10Speaker 4: so much worse than the last two that in a
- 1:54:13Speaker 4: few days they sent them out of doors and would
- 1:54:16Speaker 4: have no more to do with them, nor would they
- 1:54:18Speaker 4: for a long while give them food to eat. So
- 1:54:23Speaker 4: the two poor men had to live as well as
- 1:54:25Speaker 4: they could by hard work, and they set up their
- 1:54:28Speaker 4: tents on the north shore of the isle, to be
- 1:54:30Speaker 4: out of the way of the wild men who were
- 1:54:32Speaker 4: wont to land on the east side. Here they built
- 1:54:36Speaker 4: them two huts, one to lodge in and one to
- 1:54:39Speaker 4: lay up their stores in, and the men from Spain,
- 1:54:42Speaker 4: gave them some corn for seed, as well as some
- 1:54:44Speaker 4: peas which I had left them. They soon learned to
- 1:54:47Speaker 4: dig and plant and hedge in their land in the
- 1:54:50Speaker 4: mode which I had set for them, and in short
- 1:54:53Speaker 4: to lead good lives, so that I shall now call
- 1:54:55Speaker 4: them the two good Men. But when the three bad
- 1:54:59Speaker 4: men saw the they were full of spite and came
- 1:55:02Speaker 4: one day to tease and vex them. They told them
- 1:55:05Speaker 4: that the aisle was their own, and that no one
- 1:55:08Speaker 4: else had a right to build on it if they
- 1:55:10Speaker 4: did not pay rent. The two good men thought at
- 1:55:14Speaker 4: first that they were in jest, and told them to
- 1:55:17Speaker 4: come and sit down and see what fine homes they
- 1:55:20Speaker 4: had built, and say what rent they would ask. But
- 1:55:23Speaker 4: one of the three said they should soon see that
- 1:55:25Speaker 4: they were not in jest, and took a torch in
- 1:55:27Speaker 4: his hand and put it to the roof of the hut,
- 1:55:30Speaker 4: and would have set it on fire, had not one
- 1:55:32Speaker 4: of the two good men trod the fire out with
- 1:55:35Speaker 4: his feet. The bad man was in such a rage
- 1:55:38Speaker 4: at this that he ran at him with a pole
- 1:55:40Speaker 4: he had in his hand, and this brought on a fight,
- 1:55:43Speaker 4: the end of which was that the three men had
- 1:55:45Speaker 4: to stand off, but in a short time they came
- 1:55:48Speaker 4: back and trod down the corn and shot the goats
- 1:55:50Speaker 4: and the young kids which the poor men had got
- 1:55:53Speaker 4: to bring up tame for their store. One day, when
- 1:55:57Speaker 4: the two men were out, they came to their home
- 1:55:59Speaker 4: and said, huh ah, there's the nest, but the birds
- 1:56:02Speaker 4: are flown. They then set to work to pull down
- 1:56:05Speaker 4: both the huts, and left not a stick nor scarce
- 1:56:08Speaker 4: a sign on the ground to show where the tents
- 1:56:10Speaker 4: had stood. They tore up, too all the goods and
- 1:56:14Speaker 4: stock that they could find, And when they had done this,
- 1:56:17Speaker 4: they told it all to the men of Spain and said, you, sirs,
- 1:56:21Speaker 4: shall have the same sauce if you do not mend
- 1:56:24Speaker 4: your ways. Then they fell to blows and hard words.
- 1:56:27Speaker 4: But Carl had them bound in cords and took their
- 1:56:30Speaker 4: arms from them. The men of Spain then said they
- 1:56:33Speaker 4: would do them no harm, and if they would live
- 1:56:35Speaker 4: at peace, they would help them, and that they should
- 1:56:38Speaker 4: live with them as they had done till that time,
- 1:56:41Speaker 4: but that they could not give them back their arms
- 1:56:43Speaker 4: for three or four months. One night, Carl, whom I
- 1:56:47Speaker 4: shall call the chief, as he took the lead of
- 1:56:50Speaker 4: all the rest, felt a great weight on his mind
- 1:56:53Speaker 4: and could get no sleep. Though he was quite well
- 1:56:55Speaker 4: in health. He lay still for some time, but as
- 1:56:59Speaker 4: he did not feel at ease, he got up and
- 1:57:01Speaker 4: took a look out, But as it was too dark
- 1:57:04Speaker 4: to see far and he heard no noise, he went
- 1:57:07Speaker 4: back to his bed. Still it was all one. He
- 1:57:11Speaker 4: could not sleep, and though he knew not why, his
- 1:57:14Speaker 4: thoughts would give him no rest. He then woke up
- 1:57:16Speaker 4: one of his friends and told him how it had
- 1:57:19Speaker 4: been with him. Say you so, said he, what if
- 1:57:22Speaker 4: there should be some bad plot at work near us?
- 1:57:25Speaker 4: They then set off to the top of the hill
- 1:57:28Speaker 4: where I was wont to go, And from thence they
- 1:57:30Speaker 4: saw the light of a fire quite a short way
- 1:57:33Speaker 4: from them, and heard the sounds of men, not of
- 1:57:36Speaker 4: one or two, but of a great crowd. We need
- 1:57:40Speaker 4: not doubt that the chief and the man with him
- 1:57:42Speaker 4: now ran back at once to tell all the rest
- 1:57:44Speaker 4: what they had seen, And when they heard the news,
- 1:57:47Speaker 4: they could not be kept close where they were, but
- 1:57:50Speaker 4: must all run out to see how things stood. At last,
- 1:57:53Speaker 4: they thought that the best thing to do would be,
- 1:57:56Speaker 4: while it was dark, to send old Jaff out as
- 1:57:58Speaker 4: a spy. And who they were, and what they meant
- 1:58:01Speaker 4: to do. When the old man had been gone an
- 1:58:04Speaker 4: hour or two, he brought word back that he had
- 1:58:07Speaker 4: been in the midst of the foes, though they had
- 1:58:09Speaker 4: not seen them, and that they were in two sets
- 1:58:12Speaker 4: of tribes who were at war and had come there
- 1:58:14Speaker 4: to fight. And so it was for in a short
- 1:58:17Speaker 4: time they heard the noise of the fight, which went
- 1:58:20Speaker 4: on for two hours, and at the end, with three
- 1:58:22Speaker 4: loud shouts or screams, they left the isle in their boats.
- 1:58:26Speaker 4: Thus my friends were set free from all their fears,
- 1:58:29Speaker 4: and saw no more of their wild foes for some time.
- 1:58:33Speaker 4: One day a whim took the three bad men that
- 1:58:35Speaker 4: they would go to the mainland. From whence the wild
- 1:58:38Speaker 4: man came and try if they could not seize some
- 1:58:41Speaker 4: of them and bring them home as slaves, so as
- 1:58:44Speaker 4: to make them do the hard part of their work
- 1:58:46Speaker 4: for them. The chief gave them all the arms and
- 1:58:50Speaker 4: stores that they could want, and a large boat to
- 1:58:52Speaker 4: go in. But when they bade them god speed, no
- 1:58:56Speaker 4: one thought that they would find their way back to
- 1:58:58Speaker 4: the isle. But lo in three weeks and a day
- 1:59:02Speaker 4: they did, in truth come back. One of the two
- 1:59:04Speaker 4: good men was the first to catch sight of them
- 1:59:07Speaker 4: and tell the news to his friends. The men said
- 1:59:10Speaker 4: that they had found the land in two days, and
- 1:59:13Speaker 4: that the wild men gave them roots and fish to eat,
- 1:59:16Speaker 4: and were so kind as to bring down eight slaves
- 1:59:19Speaker 4: to take back with them, three of whom were men
- 1:59:21Speaker 4: and five were girls. So they gave their good hosts
- 1:59:25Speaker 4: an axe, an old key, and a knife, and brought
- 1:59:28Speaker 4: off the slaves in their boat to the isle. As
- 1:59:31Speaker 4: the chief and his friends did not care to wed
- 1:59:34Speaker 4: the young girls, the five men who had been the
- 1:59:36Speaker 4: crew of Paul's ship drew lots for choice, so that
- 1:59:40Speaker 4: each had a wife, and the three men slaves were
- 1:59:42Speaker 4: set to work for the two good men, though there
- 1:59:45Speaker 4: was not much for them to do. But one of
- 1:59:48Speaker 4: them ran off to the woods, and they could not
- 1:59:50Speaker 4: hear of him more. They had good cause to think
- 1:59:53Speaker 4: that he found his way home, as in three or
- 1:59:55Speaker 4: four weeks some wild men came to the isle, and
- 1:59:58Speaker 4: when they had had their feast and dance, they went
- 2:00:01Speaker 4: off in two days time. So my friends might well
- 2:00:04Speaker 4: fear that if this slave got safe home, he would
- 2:00:07Speaker 4: be sure to tell the wild men that they were
- 2:00:09Speaker 4: in the aisle, and what part of it they might
- 2:00:12Speaker 4: be found. And so it came to pass, for in
- 2:00:15Speaker 4: less than two months, six boats of wild men, with
- 2:00:18Speaker 4: eight or ten men in each boat, came to the
- 2:00:21Speaker 4: north side of the isle, where they had not been
- 2:00:23Speaker 4: known to come up to that time. End of Section ten,
- 2:00:29Speaker 4: section number eleven. The foal had brought their boats to
- 2:00:32Speaker 4: land not more than a mile from the ten of
- 2:00:35Speaker 4: the two good men, and it was there that the
- 2:00:37Speaker 4: slave who had run off had been kept. These men
- 2:00:40Speaker 4: had the good luck to see the boats when they
- 2:00:42Speaker 4: were a long way off, so that it took them
- 2:00:44Speaker 4: quite an hour from that time to reach the shore.
- 2:00:48Speaker 4: My friends now had to think how that hour was
- 2:00:50Speaker 4: to be spent. The first thing they did was to
- 2:00:53Speaker 4: bind the two slaves that were left, and to take
- 2:00:55Speaker 4: their wives and as much of their stores as they
- 2:00:58Speaker 4: could to some dark place in the woods. They then
- 2:01:02Speaker 4: sent a third slave to the chief and his men
- 2:01:05Speaker 4: to tell them the news and to ask for help.
- 2:01:08Speaker 4: They had not gone far in the woods when they saw,
- 2:01:10Speaker 4: to their great grief and rage, that their huts were
- 2:01:13Speaker 4: in flames, and that the wild men ran to and
- 2:01:16Speaker 4: fro like beasts in search of prey. But still our
- 2:01:20Speaker 4: men went on and did not halt until they came
- 2:01:22Speaker 4: to a thick part of the wood where the large
- 2:01:24Speaker 4: trunk of an old tree stood, and in this tree
- 2:01:28Speaker 4: they both took their post. But they had not been
- 2:01:30Speaker 4: there long when two of the wild men ran that way,
- 2:01:33Speaker 4: and they saw three more, and then five more, who
- 2:01:36Speaker 4: all ran the same way, as if they knew where
- 2:01:38Speaker 4: they were. Our two poor men made up their minds
- 2:01:42Speaker 4: to let the first two pass and then take the
- 2:01:44Speaker 4: three and the five in line as they came up,
- 2:01:47Speaker 4: but to fire at one at a time, as the
- 2:01:50Speaker 4: first shot might chance to hit all three. So the
- 2:01:53Speaker 4: man who was to fire put three or four balls
- 2:01:56Speaker 4: in his gun, and from a hole in the tree,
- 2:01:59Speaker 4: took a sheer and stood still till the three wild
- 2:02:02Speaker 4: men came so near that he could not miss them.
- 2:02:05Speaker 4: They soon saw that one of these three was the
- 2:02:08Speaker 4: slave that had fled from them, as they both knew
- 2:02:11Speaker 4: him well, and they made up their minds that they
- 2:02:13Speaker 4: would kill him, though they should both fire. At the
- 2:02:16Speaker 4: first shot, two of the wild men fell dead, and
- 2:02:19Speaker 4: the third had a graze on his arm, and, though
- 2:02:22Speaker 4: not much hurt, sat down on the ground with loud
- 2:02:24Speaker 4: screams and yells. When the five men who came next
- 2:02:28Speaker 4: heard the sound of the gun and the slaves cries.
- 2:02:31Speaker 4: They stood still at first, as if they were struck
- 2:02:33Speaker 4: dumb with fright. So our two men both shut off
- 2:02:36Speaker 4: their guns in the midst of them, and then ran
- 2:02:38Speaker 4: up and bound them safe with cords. They then went
- 2:02:42Speaker 4: to the thick part of the wood where they had
- 2:02:43Speaker 4: put their wives and slaves, to see if all were
- 2:02:46Speaker 4: safe there, and to their joy, they found that though
- 2:02:49Speaker 4: the wild men had been quite near them, they had
- 2:02:51Speaker 4: not found them out. While they were here, the chief
- 2:02:54Speaker 4: and his men came up and told them that the
- 2:02:56Speaker 4: rest had gone to take care of my old house
- 2:02:58Speaker 4: and grove in case the troop of wild men should
- 2:03:01Speaker 4: spread so far that way. They then went back to
- 2:03:05Speaker 4: the burnt huts, and when they came in sight of
- 2:03:07Speaker 4: the shore, they found that their foes had all gone
- 2:03:09Speaker 4: out to sea. So they set to work to build
- 2:03:12Speaker 4: up their huts, and as all the men in the
- 2:03:14Speaker 4: isle lent them their aid, they were soon in a
- 2:03:16Speaker 4: way to thrive once more. For five or six months
- 2:03:20Speaker 4: they saw no more of the wild men. But one
- 2:03:22Speaker 4: day a large fleet of more than a score of
- 2:03:25Speaker 4: boats came in sight, full of men who had bows, darts, clubs, swords,
- 2:03:30Speaker 4: and such like arms of war. And our friends were
- 2:03:33Speaker 4: all in great fear as they came at dusk and
- 2:03:37Speaker 4: at the east side of the isle. Our men had
- 2:03:40Speaker 4: the whole night to think of what they should do,
- 2:03:42Speaker 4: and as they knew that the most safe way was
- 2:03:44Speaker 4: to hide and lie in wait, they first of all
- 2:03:47Speaker 4: took down the huts which were built for the two
- 2:03:49Speaker 4: good men, and drove their goats to the cave, for
- 2:03:52Speaker 4: they thought the wild men would go straight there as
- 2:03:54Speaker 4: soon as it was day and play the old game.
- 2:03:57Speaker 4: The next day, they took up their post with all
- 2:04:00Speaker 4: their force at the wood near the home of the
- 2:04:02Speaker 4: two men, to wait for the full They gave no
- 2:04:05Speaker 4: guns to the slaves, but each of them had a
- 2:04:07Speaker 4: long staff with a spike at the end of it,
- 2:04:10Speaker 4: and by his side an axe. There were two of
- 2:04:13Speaker 4: the wives who could not be kept back, but would
- 2:04:15Speaker 4: go out and fight with bows and darts. The wild
- 2:04:19Speaker 4: men came on with a bold and fierce mien, not
- 2:04:22Speaker 4: in line, but all in crowds here and there to
- 2:04:24Speaker 4: the point where our men lay in wait for them.
- 2:04:27Speaker 4: When they were so near as to be in range
- 2:04:29Speaker 4: of the guns, our men shot at them right and
- 2:04:31Speaker 4: left with five or six balls in each charge. As
- 2:04:35Speaker 4: the foe came up in close crowds, they fell dead
- 2:04:37Speaker 4: on all sides, and most of those that they did
- 2:04:40Speaker 4: not kill were much hurt, so that the great fear
- 2:04:43Speaker 4: and dread came on them. All. Our men then fell
- 2:04:46Speaker 4: on them from three points with the butt end of
- 2:04:48Speaker 4: their guns, swords, and staves, and did their work so
- 2:04:51Speaker 4: well that the wild men set up a loud shriek
- 2:04:54Speaker 4: and flew for their lives to the woods and hills
- 2:04:56Speaker 4: with all the speed that fear and swift feet could
- 2:04:58Speaker 4: help them to do, as our men did not care
- 2:05:01Speaker 4: to chase them. They got to the shore where they
- 2:05:03Speaker 4: had come to land and where the boats lay, but
- 2:05:06Speaker 4: their route was not yet at an end, for it
- 2:05:08Speaker 4: blew a great storm that day from the sea, so
- 2:05:11Speaker 4: that they could not put off, And as the storm
- 2:05:14Speaker 4: went on all that night, when the tide came up,
- 2:05:16Speaker 4: the surge of the sea drove most of their boats
- 2:05:18Speaker 4: so high on the shore that they could not be
- 2:05:20Speaker 4: got off save with great toil, and the force of
- 2:05:23Speaker 4: the waves on the beach broke some of them to bits.
- 2:05:27Speaker 4: At break of day, our men went forth to find them,
- 2:05:30Speaker 4: and when they saw the state of things, they got
- 2:05:32Speaker 4: some dry wood from a dead tree and set their
- 2:05:34Speaker 4: boats on fire. When the foe saw this, they ran
- 2:05:38Speaker 4: all through the aisle with loud cries, as if they
- 2:05:41Speaker 4: were mad, so that our men did not know at
- 2:05:43Speaker 4: first what to do with them, For they trod all
- 2:05:45Speaker 4: the corn down with their feet, and tore up the
- 2:05:47Speaker 4: vines just as the grapes were ripe, and did a
- 2:05:50Speaker 4: great deal of harm. At last they brought Old Jafft
- 2:05:54Speaker 4: to them to tell them how kind they would be
- 2:05:57Speaker 4: to them, that they would save their lives and give
- 2:05:59Speaker 4: them part of the isle to live in if they
- 2:06:02Speaker 4: would keep in their own bounds, and that they should
- 2:06:04Speaker 4: have corn to plant and should make it grow for
- 2:06:06Speaker 4: their bread. They were but too glad to have such
- 2:06:09Speaker 4: good terms of peace, and they soon learned to make
- 2:06:12Speaker 4: all kinds of work with canes, wood and sticks, such
- 2:06:16Speaker 4: as chairs and stools and beds. And this they did
- 2:06:19Speaker 4: with great skill when they were once taught. From this
- 2:06:23Speaker 4: time till I came back to the isle, my friends
- 2:06:26Speaker 4: saw no more wild men. I now told the chief
- 2:06:29Speaker 4: that I had not come to take off his men,
- 2:06:31Speaker 4: but to bring more, and to give them all such
- 2:06:33Speaker 4: things as they would want to guard their homes from
- 2:06:36Speaker 4: foes and cheer up their hearts. The next day I
- 2:06:39Speaker 4: made a grand feast for them all, and the ship's
- 2:06:41Speaker 4: cook and mate came on shore to dress it. We
- 2:06:44Speaker 4: brought out our rounds of salt beef and pork, a
- 2:06:47Speaker 4: bowl of punch, some beer and French wines, and Karl
- 2:06:51Speaker 4: gave the cooks five whole kids to roasts, three of
- 2:06:54Speaker 4: which were sent to the crew on board ship, that they,
- 2:06:57Speaker 4: on their part, might feast on fresh meat from shore.
- 2:07:00Speaker 4: I gave each of the men a shirt, a coat,
- 2:07:03Speaker 4: a hat, and a pair of shoes, and I need
- 2:07:05Speaker 4: not say how glad they were to meet with gifts
- 2:07:08Speaker 4: so new to them. Then I brought out the tools,
- 2:07:11Speaker 4: of which each man had a spade, a rake, an axe,
- 2:07:14Speaker 4: a crow, a saw, a knife, and such like things,
- 2:07:17Speaker 4: as well as arms and all that they could want
- 2:07:20Speaker 4: for the use of them. As I saw there was
- 2:07:22Speaker 4: a kind will on all sides. I now took on
- 2:07:25Speaker 4: shore the youth and the maid whom we had brought
- 2:07:27Speaker 4: from the ship that we met on her way to France.
- 2:07:30Speaker 4: The girl had been well brought up, and all the
- 2:07:32Speaker 4: crew had a good word for her, as they both
- 2:07:34Speaker 4: had a wish to be left on the isle. I
- 2:07:36Speaker 4: gave them each a plot of ground on which they
- 2:07:38Speaker 4: had tents and barns built. I had brought out with
- 2:07:42Speaker 4: me five men to live here, one of whom could
- 2:07:44Speaker 4: turn his hand to all sorts of things, so I
- 2:07:46Speaker 4: gave him the name of Jack of all trades. One day,
- 2:07:50Speaker 4: the French priest came to ask if I would leave
- 2:07:52Speaker 4: my man Friday here, for through him, he said, he
- 2:07:55Speaker 4: could talk to the black men in their own tongue
- 2:07:57Speaker 4: and teach them the things of God. Need I add,
- 2:08:02Speaker 4: said he that it was for this cause that I
- 2:08:04Speaker 4: came here. I felt that I could not part with
- 2:08:07Speaker 4: my man Friday for the whole world. So I told
- 2:08:10Speaker 4: the priest that if I could have made up my
- 2:08:12Speaker 4: mind to leave him here, I was quite sure that
- 2:08:14Speaker 4: Friday would not part from me. When I had seen
- 2:08:18Speaker 4: that all things were in a good state on the Isle,
- 2:08:20Speaker 4: I set to work to put my ships to rights
- 2:08:22Speaker 4: to go home once more. One day, as I was
- 2:08:26Speaker 4: on my way to it, the youth whom I had
- 2:08:27Speaker 4: brought from the ship that was burnt, came up to
- 2:08:29Speaker 4: me and said, Sir, you have brought a priest with you,
- 2:08:34Speaker 4: and while you are here, we want him to wed
- 2:08:36Speaker 4: two of us. I made a guess that one of
- 2:08:39Speaker 4: these must be the me that I had brought to
- 2:08:41Speaker 4: the isle, and that it was the wish of the
- 2:08:43Speaker 4: young man to make her his wife. I spoke to
- 2:08:45Speaker 4: him with some warmth in my tone, and bade him
- 2:08:48Speaker 4: turn it well in his mind first, as the girl
- 2:08:50Speaker 4: was not in the same rank of life as he
- 2:08:52Speaker 4: had been brought up in. But he said with a
- 2:08:55Speaker 4: smile that I had made the wrong guess, for it
- 2:08:57Speaker 4: was Jack of all trades that he had come to
- 2:08:59Speaker 4: play lead. For he gave me great joy to hear this,
- 2:09:02Speaker 4: as the maid was as good a girl as could be,
- 2:09:05Speaker 4: and I thought well of Jack, so on that day
- 2:09:08Speaker 4: I gave her to him. They were to have a
- 2:09:10Speaker 4: large piece of ground to grow their crops on, with
- 2:09:13Speaker 4: a house to live in and sheds for their goats.
- 2:09:16Speaker 4: The isle was now set out in this way. All
- 2:09:18Speaker 4: the west end was left to waste, so that if
- 2:09:20Speaker 4: the wild men should land on it, they might come
- 2:09:23Speaker 4: and go and hurt no one. My old house I
- 2:09:25Speaker 4: gave to the chief, with all its woods, which now
- 2:09:28Speaker 4: spread out as far as the creek, and the south
- 2:09:30Speaker 4: end was for the white men and their wives. It
- 2:09:33Speaker 4: struck me that there was one gift which I had
- 2:09:36Speaker 4: not thought of, and that was the book of God's Word,
- 2:09:39Speaker 4: which I knew would give to those who could feel
- 2:09:41Speaker 4: the words in it, fresh strength for their work and
- 2:09:44Speaker 4: grace to bear the ills of life. Now that I
- 2:09:47Speaker 4: had been in the isle quite a month, I once
- 2:09:49Speaker 4: more set sail on the fifth day of May, and
- 2:09:51Speaker 4: all my friends told me that they should stay there
- 2:09:53Speaker 4: till I came to fetch them. End of Section eleven,
- 2:09:58Speaker 4: Section number twelve. When we had been out three days,
- 2:10:04Speaker 4: though the sea was smooth and calm, we saw that
- 2:10:07Speaker 4: it was quite black on the land side, And as
- 2:10:10Speaker 4: we knew not what to make of it, I sent
- 2:10:12Speaker 4: the chief mate up the main mast to find out
- 2:10:15Speaker 4: with his glass what it could be. He said it
- 2:10:18Speaker 4: was a fleet of scores and scores of small boats,
- 2:10:22Speaker 4: full of wild men, who came fast at us with
- 2:10:25Speaker 4: fierce looks. As soon as we got near them, I
- 2:10:29Speaker 4: gave word to furl all sails and stop the ship,
- 2:10:32Speaker 4: and as there was not to fear from them but fire,
- 2:10:36Speaker 4: to get the boats out and man them both well,
- 2:10:39Speaker 4: and so wait for them to come up in this way.
- 2:10:42Speaker 4: We lay by for them, and in a short time
- 2:10:44Speaker 4: they came up with us. But as I thought they
- 2:10:47Speaker 4: would try to row round and so close us in
- 2:10:50Speaker 4: I told the men in the boats not to let
- 2:10:53Speaker 4: them come too near. This, though we did not mean it,
- 2:10:56Speaker 4: brought us to a fight with them, and they shot
- 2:10:59Speaker 4: a cloud of darts at our boats. We did not
- 2:11:03Speaker 4: fire at them. Yet in half an hour they went
- 2:11:05Speaker 4: back out to sea, and then came straight to us,
- 2:11:09Speaker 4: till we were so near that they could hear us speak.
- 2:11:12Speaker 4: I bade my men keep close so as to keep
- 2:11:15Speaker 4: safe from their darts if they should shoot, and get
- 2:11:17Speaker 4: out the guns. I then sent Friday on deck to
- 2:11:21Speaker 4: call out to them in their own tongue and ask
- 2:11:23Speaker 4: what they meant. It may be that they did not
- 2:11:26Speaker 4: know what he said, but as soon as he spoke
- 2:11:28Speaker 4: to them, I heard him cry out that they would shoot.
- 2:11:32Speaker 4: This was too true, for they let fly a thick
- 2:11:35Speaker 4: cloud of darts, and to my great grief, poor Friday
- 2:11:39Speaker 4: fell dead, for there was no one else in their sight.
- 2:11:43Speaker 4: He was shot with three darts, and three more fell
- 2:11:47Speaker 4: quite near him. So good was their aim. I was
- 2:11:50Speaker 4: so mad with rage at the loss of my dear
- 2:11:53Speaker 4: Friday that I bade the men load five guns with
- 2:11:56Speaker 4: small shot and four with large, and we gave them
- 2:11:59Speaker 4: such a fierce fight that in all their lives they
- 2:12:02Speaker 4: could not have seen one like it. Then a rare
- 2:12:07Speaker 4: scene met our eyes. Dread and fear came on them all,
- 2:12:11Speaker 4: for their boats, which were small, were split and sunk
- 2:12:15Speaker 4: three or four by one shot. The men who were
- 2:12:18Speaker 4: not dead had to swim, and those who had wounds
- 2:12:21Speaker 4: were left to sink for all. The rest got off
- 2:12:23Speaker 4: as fast as they could. Our boat took up one
- 2:12:27Speaker 4: poor man who had to swim for his life when
- 2:12:30Speaker 4: the rest had fled for the space of half an hour.
- 2:12:33Speaker 4: In three hours time, we could not see more than
- 2:12:35Speaker 4: three or four of their boats, and as a breeze
- 2:12:37Speaker 4: sprang up, we set sail. At first, the man whom
- 2:12:41Speaker 4: we took on board would not eat or speak, and
- 2:12:44Speaker 4: we all had fears lest he should pine to death.
- 2:12:48Speaker 4: But when we had taught him to say a few words,
- 2:12:50Speaker 4: he told us that his friends, the wild man, had
- 2:12:54Speaker 4: come out with their kin to have a great fight,
- 2:12:57Speaker 4: and that all they meant was to make us look
- 2:12:59Speaker 4: at the ground sight. So it was for this that
- 2:13:04Speaker 4: poor Friday fell, He who had been as good and
- 2:13:08Speaker 4: true to me as man could be, and now, in
- 2:13:11Speaker 4: deep grief, I must take my leave of him. We
- 2:13:17Speaker 4: went on with a fair wind to All Saints Bay,
- 2:13:19Speaker 4: and here I found a sloop that I had brought
- 2:13:22Speaker 4: with me from home that I might send men in
- 2:13:25Speaker 4: stores for the use of my friends in the isle.
- 2:13:28Speaker 4: I taught the mate how to find the place, and
- 2:13:30Speaker 4: when he came back, I found that he had done
- 2:13:33Speaker 4: so with ease. One of our crew had a great
- 2:13:36Speaker 4: wish to go with a sloop and live on the isle,
- 2:13:38Speaker 4: if the chief would give him land to plant. So
- 2:13:41Speaker 4: I told him he should go by all means, and
- 2:13:44Speaker 4: gave him the wild Man for his slave. I found
- 2:13:48Speaker 4: too that a man who had come with his wife
- 2:13:50Speaker 4: and child and three slaves to hide from the King
- 2:13:53Speaker 4: of Spain, would like to go if he could have
- 2:13:55Speaker 4: some land there, though he had but a small stock
- 2:13:58Speaker 4: to take with him. I put them all on board
- 2:14:01Speaker 4: the sloop and saw them safe out of the bay.
- 2:14:04Speaker 4: On their way to the isle. With them, I sent
- 2:14:06Speaker 4: three milk cows, five calves a horse in a colt,
- 2:14:10Speaker 4: all of which, as I heard, went safe and sound.
- 2:14:15Speaker 4: I have now no more to say of my isle
- 2:14:18Speaker 4: as I had left it for the last time. But
- 2:14:20Speaker 4: my life in lands no less far from home was
- 2:14:23Speaker 4: not yet at an end. From the Bay of All Saints,
- 2:14:26Speaker 4: we went straight to the Cape of Good Hope. Here
- 2:14:29Speaker 4: I made up my mind to part from the ship
- 2:14:31Speaker 4: in which I had come from the Isle, and with
- 2:14:33Speaker 4: two of the crew, to stay on land and leave
- 2:14:36Speaker 4: the rest to go on their way. I soon made
- 2:14:38Speaker 4: friends with some men from France, as well as from
- 2:14:41Speaker 4: my own land, and two Jews who had come out
- 2:14:44Speaker 4: to the cape to trade. As I found that some
- 2:14:47Speaker 4: goods which I had brought with me from home were
- 2:14:50Speaker 4: worth a great deal, I made a large sum by
- 2:14:52Speaker 4: the sale of them. When we had been at the
- 2:14:54Speaker 4: Cape of Good Hope for nine months, we thought that
- 2:14:57Speaker 4: the best thing we could do would be to hire
- 2:14:59Speaker 4: a ship, and sailed to the Spice Isles to buy cloves.
- 2:15:03Speaker 4: So we got a ship and men to work her,
- 2:15:05Speaker 4: and set out. When we had bought and sold our
- 2:15:08Speaker 4: goods in the course of trade, we came back and
- 2:15:11Speaker 4: then set out once more, so that in short as
- 2:15:14Speaker 4: we went from port to port, to and fro I
- 2:15:17Speaker 4: spent from first to last six years in this part
- 2:15:20Speaker 4: of the world. At length we thought we would go
- 2:15:23Speaker 4: and seek new scenes where we could get fresh genes
- 2:15:26Speaker 4: and a strange set of men we at last fell
- 2:15:29Speaker 4: in with, as you who read this tale will say
- 2:15:32Speaker 4: when you look at the print in front of this page.
- 2:15:35Speaker 4: When we had put on shore, we made friends with
- 2:15:37Speaker 4: a man who got us a large house built with canes,
- 2:15:41Speaker 4: and a small kind of hut of the same near it.
- 2:15:44Speaker 4: It had a high fence of canes round it to
- 2:15:47Speaker 4: keep out thieves, of whom it seems there are not
- 2:15:50Speaker 4: a few in that land. The name of the town
- 2:15:53Speaker 4: was Ching, and we found that the fair or mart
- 2:15:56Speaker 4: which was kept there would not be held for three
- 2:15:58Speaker 4: or four months. So we sent our ship back to
- 2:16:01Speaker 4: the cape, as we meant to stay in this part
- 2:16:04Speaker 4: of the world for some time and go from place
- 2:16:06Speaker 4: to place to see what sort of a land it was,
- 2:16:09Speaker 4: and then come back to the fair at Cheng. We
- 2:16:13Speaker 4: first went to the town, which it was well worth
- 2:16:15Speaker 4: our will to see, and which must have been, as
- 2:16:18Speaker 4: near as I can guess, quite in the heart of
- 2:16:20Speaker 4: this land. It was built with straight streets which ran
- 2:16:24Speaker 4: in cross lines. But I must own when I came
- 2:16:28Speaker 4: home to my place of birth, I was much struck
- 2:16:31Speaker 4: to hear my friends say such fine things of the
- 2:16:33Speaker 4: wealth and trade of these parts of the world. For
- 2:16:36Speaker 4: I saw and knew that the men were a mare heard,
- 2:16:39Speaker 4: or a crowd of mean slaves. What is their trade
- 2:16:43Speaker 4: to ours, or to that of France and Spain? What
- 2:16:46Speaker 4: are their ports with a few junks and barks to
- 2:16:49Speaker 4: our grand fleets. One of our large ships of war
- 2:16:52Speaker 4: would sink all their ships, one line of French troops
- 2:16:55Speaker 4: would beat all their horse. And the same may be
- 2:16:58Speaker 4: said of their ports, which would not stand for one
- 2:17:00Speaker 4: month such a siege as we could bring to bear
- 2:17:03Speaker 4: on them. In three weeks more we came to their
- 2:17:06Speaker 4: chief town. When we had laid in a large stock
- 2:17:10Speaker 4: of tea, shawls, fans, raw silks, and such like goods,
- 2:17:14Speaker 4: we set out for the north. As we knew we
- 2:17:17Speaker 4: should run all kinds of risks on our way. We
- 2:17:20Speaker 4: took with us a strong force to act as a
- 2:17:22Speaker 4: guard and to keep us from the wild hordes who
- 2:17:24Speaker 4: rove from place to place all through the land. Some
- 2:17:28Speaker 4: of our men were Scots who had come out to
- 2:17:30Speaker 4: trade here and had great wealth, and I was glad
- 2:17:33Speaker 4: to join them, as it was by no means the
- 2:17:36Speaker 4: first time that they had been here. We took five
- 2:17:39Speaker 4: guides with us, and we all put our coin in
- 2:17:42Speaker 4: one purse to buy food on the way and to
- 2:17:44Speaker 4: pay the men who took charge of us. One of
- 2:17:47Speaker 4: us we chose out for our chief to take the
- 2:17:50Speaker 4: lead in case we should have to fight for our lives,
- 2:17:52Speaker 4: And when the time came, we had no small need
- 2:17:55Speaker 4: of him. On the sides of all the roads we
- 2:17:58Speaker 4: saw men who made cups, pans, and such like wear
- 2:18:03Speaker 4: out of a kind of earth, which is in fact
- 2:18:05Speaker 4: the chief trade in this part of the world. One thing,
- 2:18:09Speaker 4: the guide said he would show me that was not
- 2:18:11Speaker 4: to be seen in all the world else, And this
- 2:18:14Speaker 4: in good sooth, that could not sneer at as I
- 2:18:17Speaker 4: had done it most of the things I had seen here.
- 2:18:20Speaker 4: And this was a house that was built of a
- 2:18:22Speaker 4: kind of wear, such as most plates and cups are
- 2:18:25Speaker 4: made of. How big is it? Said I? Can we
- 2:18:29Speaker 4: take it on the back of a horse. On a horse,
- 2:18:33Speaker 4: said the guide, Why two scores of men live in it.
- 2:18:37Speaker 4: He then took us to it, and I found that
- 2:18:39Speaker 4: it was, in truth a large house built with lath
- 2:18:43Speaker 4: and the best wear that can be made out of earth.
- 2:18:46Speaker 4: The sun shone hot on the walls, which were quite white,
- 2:18:50Speaker 4: hard and smooth as glass, with forms on them in
- 2:18:53Speaker 4: blue paint. On the walls of the rooms were small
- 2:18:56Speaker 4: square tiles of the best were with red, blue, and
- 2:18:59Speaker 4: green pain of all shades and hues in rare forms,
- 2:19:03Speaker 4: done in good taste. And as they used the same
- 2:19:06Speaker 4: kind of earth to join the tiles with, you could
- 2:19:09Speaker 4: not see where the tiles met. The floors of the
- 2:19:12Speaker 4: rooms were made of the same wear and as strong
- 2:19:15Speaker 4: as those we have at home, and the same may
- 2:19:17Speaker 4: be said of the roofs, but they were of a
- 2:19:19Speaker 4: dark shade. If we had more time to spare, I
- 2:19:22Speaker 4: should have been glad to have seen more of this house,
- 2:19:25Speaker 4: for there were the ponds for the fish, the walks,
- 2:19:28Speaker 4: the yards and quarts, which were all made in the
- 2:19:31Speaker 4: same way. This odd sight kept me from my friends
- 2:19:34Speaker 4: for two hours, and when I had come up to them,
- 2:19:37Speaker 4: I had to pay a fine to our chief as
- 2:19:39Speaker 4: they had to wait so long. In two days more
- 2:19:43Speaker 4: we came to the Great Wall, which was made as
- 2:19:45Speaker 4: a fort to keep the whole land safe. And a
- 2:19:48Speaker 4: great work it is. It goes in a long track
- 2:19:51Speaker 4: for miles and miles, where the rocks are so high
- 2:19:54Speaker 4: and steep, that no foe could climb them, or if
- 2:19:57Speaker 4: they did, no wall could stop them. The great wall
- 2:20:01Speaker 4: is as thick as it is high, and it turns
- 2:20:03Speaker 4: and whines in all sorts of ways. We now saw
- 2:20:06Speaker 4: for the first time some troops of the Hordes I
- 2:20:09Speaker 4: spoke of, who rode from place to place to rob
- 2:20:12Speaker 4: and kill all whom they meet with. They know no
- 2:20:16Speaker 4: real mode of war or skill and fight. Each has
- 2:20:19Speaker 4: a poor, lean horse, which is not fit to do
- 2:20:21Speaker 4: good work. Our chief gave some of us leave to
- 2:20:24Speaker 4: go out and hunt, as they call it, And what
- 2:20:27Speaker 4: was it but to hunt sheep. These sheep are wild
- 2:20:30Speaker 4: and swift afoot, but they will not run far, and
- 2:20:33Speaker 4: you are sure of sport when you start in the chase.
- 2:20:36Speaker 4: They go in flocks of a score or two, and
- 2:20:38Speaker 4: like true sheep, keep close when they fly in this
- 2:20:41Speaker 4: sort of chase. It was our hap to meet with
- 2:20:43Speaker 4: some two score of the wild Hordes. But what sort
- 2:20:46Speaker 4: of prey they had come to hunt, I know not.
- 2:20:50Speaker 4: As soon as they saw us, one of them blew
- 2:20:52Speaker 4: some loud notes on a kind of horn, with a
- 2:20:55Speaker 4: sound that was quite new to me. We all thought
- 2:20:58Speaker 4: this was to call their friends round them, and so
- 2:21:00Speaker 4: it was, for in a short time a fresh troop
- 2:21:03Speaker 4: of the same size came to join them, and they
- 2:21:05Speaker 4: were all as far as we could judge, a mile off.
- 2:21:09Speaker 4: One of the Scots was with us, and as soon
- 2:21:11Speaker 4: as he heard the horn, he told us that we
- 2:21:13Speaker 4: must lose no time but draw up in line and
- 2:21:16Speaker 4: charge them at once. We told them we would if
- 2:21:19Speaker 4: he would take the lead. They stood still and cast
- 2:21:22Speaker 4: a wild gaze at us, like a mere crowd drawn
- 2:21:26Speaker 4: up in no line. But as soon as they saw
- 2:21:28Speaker 4: us come at them, they let fly their darts, which
- 2:21:31Speaker 4: did not hit us, for though their aim was true,
- 2:21:33Speaker 4: they fell short of us. We now came to a
- 2:21:36Speaker 4: halt to fire at them, and then went at full
- 2:21:39Speaker 4: speed to fall on them sword in hand. For so
- 2:21:42Speaker 4: the bold Scot that let us told us to do.
- 2:21:45Speaker 4: As soon as we came up to them, they fled
- 2:21:47Speaker 4: right and left. The sole stand made was by three
- 2:21:50Speaker 4: of them, who had a kind of short sword in
- 2:21:53Speaker 4: their hands and bows on their backs, and who did
- 2:21:55Speaker 4: all they could to call all the rest back to them.
- 2:21:58Speaker 4: The brave Scott wrote close up to them, and with
- 2:22:01Speaker 4: his gun through one office horse shot the necks, and
- 2:22:04Speaker 4: the third ran off, and this was the end of
- 2:22:06Speaker 4: our fight. All the bad luck we met with was
- 2:22:09Speaker 4: that the sheep that we had in our chase got off.
- 2:22:12Speaker 4: We had not a man hurt, but as for the foe,
- 2:22:15Speaker 4: five of them were dead, and not a few had wounds,
- 2:22:18Speaker 4: while the rest fled at the merit noise of our guns.
- 2:22:21Speaker 4: Thus we went on our way from town to town,
- 2:22:24Speaker 4: and now and then met some of these wild hordes
- 2:22:26Speaker 4: whom we had to fight, and I need not add
- 2:22:28Speaker 4: that each time we had the best of the fray.
- 2:22:31Speaker 4: At last we made our way to the chief town
- 2:22:33Speaker 4: of the North Seas. At the end of a year,
- 2:22:36Speaker 4: five months and three days from the time when we
- 2:22:38Speaker 4: left Ching, when I had been there six weeks and
- 2:22:42Speaker 4: had bought some more goods, I took ship and set
- 2:22:45Speaker 4: sail for the land of my birth, which I had
- 2:22:47Speaker 4: left this time for ten years, nine months and three days.
- 2:22:51Speaker 4: And now I must bring this tale of my life
- 2:22:53Speaker 4: to a close. While at the age of threescore years
- 2:22:56Speaker 4: and twelve, I feel that the day is at hand
- 2:22:59Speaker 4: when I shall go forth on that sea of peace
- 2:23:01Speaker 4: and love, which has no waves or shores but those
- 2:23:05Speaker 4: of a bliss that knows no end. End of Section twelve,