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05 - Young Crusoe, or The Shipwrecked Boy by Barbara Hofland · Young Crusoe, or The Shipwrecked Boy

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Speaker 1: Crusoe or The Shipwrecked Boy by Barbara Hofland. Chapter five,
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Speaker 1: Charles exerts himself, reads the Bible eagerly, account of his stores,
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Speaker 1: kills a Leverett, constructs a fireplace, makes an almanac, finds
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Speaker 1: a turtle, weather becomes cold. From the time that our
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Speaker 1: unfortunate exile made up his mind not to expect relief
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Speaker 1: for three months, and to hope that his dear father had,
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Speaker 1: by some unknown means, been delivered, his mind gained considerable strength,
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Speaker 1: and he resolved that he would indeed not be a child,
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Speaker 1: but meet the exigencies of his case like a man.
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Speaker 1: He did not like to hear the parrot use these words.
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Speaker 1: Therefore he took some pains to teach him to say,
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Speaker 1: don't despair, my dear boy instead, both because the words
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Speaker 1: reminded him of his Papa and taught him his duty.
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Speaker 1: Of course, there were many, many times when his spirits
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Speaker 1: gave way under.
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Speaker 2: The sorrows and loneliness of his situation.
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Speaker 1: In some particular places could never be seen by him
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Speaker 1: without tears, such as the grave of poor Captain Gordon,
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Speaker 1: the little promontory, and the boat. But nevertheless, as he
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Speaker 1: daily gained strength and was at an age when the
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Speaker 1: mind is naturally buoyant.
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Speaker 2: In the course of a.
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Speaker 1: Short time, he ceased to afflict himself uselessly. He determined
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Speaker 1: to meet his misfortunes like a man, and fulfilled his intention.
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Speaker 1: Had he been every day pining after release, had he
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Speaker 1: spent his time in climbing into high trees or standing
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Speaker 1: on the spot where the flag was, he must undoubtedly
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Speaker 1: become so reduced by famine that he would at length
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Speaker 1: have been unable to crawl, and in a state of
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Speaker 1: perpetual solicitude during the day and every night would have
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Speaker 1: seen him overwhelmed with despair and weeping. As in his
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Speaker 1: first agonies, he acted with far more wisdom, and therefore
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Speaker 1: procured more happiness. He remember particularly all which his father
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Speaker 1: and the captain had said about idleness, and he resolved
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Speaker 1: to give himself continual employment, even if his wants did
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Speaker 1: not call for it. He recollected also that his tutor
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Speaker 1: had always pointed out to him the great value of
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Speaker 1: apportioning certain times of the day to certain studies or amusements,
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Speaker 1: and he said he would do the same, as he
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Speaker 1: was sure the time would pass much The pleasanter from
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Speaker 1: having a certain round of occupations. Charles had with him
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Speaker 1: an excellent watch, but it had not been wound up
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Speaker 1: for several days. He had likewise lost, as he believed,
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Speaker 1: and truly one day in the week. But this he
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Speaker 1: now endeavored to retrieve. He wound up his watch, making
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Speaker 1: it twelve o'clock when the sun appeared highest in the heavens.
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Speaker 1: And as there were a number of slender trees with long,
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Speaker 1: smooth stems standing in a cluster near Captain Gordon's grave,
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Speaker 1: he fixed upon them for what he called his almanac,
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Speaker 1: and began with cutting a line in the bark for
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Speaker 1: every day he had spent on the island. This brought
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Speaker 1: to his recollection that the present day must be a Sunday.
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Speaker 1: Therefore he cut the line twice as long, and putting
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Speaker 1: down his knife, set it is proper I should remember
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Speaker 1: the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
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Speaker 2: So I will do nothing to day but feed my.
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Speaker 1: Dear Paul and read my Bible. What a comfort it
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Speaker 1: is that I have a Bible to read, that, when
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Speaker 1: all the books in the ship were gone, this should
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Speaker 1: be saved in the Captain's pocket. When I have done reading,
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Speaker 1: I will try to compose a prayer to thank God
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Speaker 1: for this particular blessing. When Charles had read several chapters,
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Speaker 1: first in Genesis and then in the Acts of the Apostles,
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Speaker 1: which he called the Lessons of the Day, he recollected
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Speaker 1: that Robinson Crusoe and his desert island had fixed on
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Speaker 1: a place for a church, and he determined that he
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Speaker 1: would do the same. He knew that his island was
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Speaker 1: much less than the one described in his favorite story,
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Speaker 1: that it had no high hill or romantic rocks, but
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Speaker 1: he remembered that there were two or three very large,
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Speaker 1: venerable trees in what appeared to be the midst of it,
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Speaker 1: and he set out for the first time to examine them.
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Speaker 1: It was from one of these high trees that Sambo
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Speaker 1: had discovered, or thought he discovered, a vessel, and this
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Speaker 1: supposition had led to his present situation. But he did
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Speaker 1: not allow this fact to afflict him. Now, he said
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Speaker 1: to himself, I will make this my church, in which
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Speaker 1: I will keep Sunday by reading and praying here.
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Speaker 2: And if it has innocently been the means of.
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Speaker 1: Depriving me of my earthly parent, who knows that it
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Speaker 1: may not give me still more than it has taken
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Speaker 1: away by drawing down the mercy of my heavenly parent,
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Speaker 1: who the Bible says is a god that answereth prayer,
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Speaker 1: and even from the mouths of babes, has ordained praise.
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Speaker 1: Charles returned to his hunt, composed and happy, making a
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Speaker 1: hearty supper of dates, and intending the next day to
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Speaker 1: begin a regular course of industry and care suitable to
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Speaker 1: his situation and necessities. The first thing Charles did on
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Speaker 1: Monday morning was to examine the stores of his hut.
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Speaker 2: They consisted of.
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Speaker 1: Three canisters of gunpowder, not containing more than two pounds each,
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Speaker 1: a large earthen bottle of lamp oil, a flask of
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Speaker 1: olive oil, about a dozen cocoanuts, and a famous canister
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Speaker 1: of coffee, a jar molasses, and another of warm pickles.
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Speaker 1: All the things they secured, except a small barrel of
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Speaker 1: pickled pork, had been got from the captain's cabin, and
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Speaker 1: consisted of a tea kettle, coffee, biggin, two cups, and
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Speaker 1: a basin, three knives, an odd fork, a coat and cloak,
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Speaker 1: a razor case, medicine chest, and his bed, which has
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Speaker 1: already been mentioned. In addition to these things taken out
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Speaker 1: at the time of the rack. They afterwards secured two guns,
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Speaker 1: a tin lamp, and a box of clothing which had
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Speaker 1: been appropriated as a seat by mister Crusoe. There was
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Speaker 1: a wine barrel observed to stick fast in the sand,
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Speaker 1: which it had been mister Crusoe's intention to secure, but
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Speaker 1: the death of the captain following so soon put it
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Speaker 1: out of his mind. On looking over these things, Charles
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Speaker 1: necessarily came to that valuable property left by that poor gentleman,
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Speaker 1: and he took care to keep it safe as before,
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Speaker 1: But he could not help saying, Ah, how little value
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Speaker 1: is money to me?
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Speaker 2: Now?
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Speaker 1: These bonds and bills, and even these glittering jewels, if
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Speaker 1: they were my own, I should gladly exchange for bread
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Speaker 1: and meat of even the poorest kind that could be
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Speaker 1: given me. After replacing his stores and allaying his hunger
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Speaker 1: with one of the cocoanuts, he proceeded to the place
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Speaker 1: where his gun remained buried under the sand.
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Speaker 2: And, after a good deal of trouble, succeeded.
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Speaker 1: In getting it out, after which he set seriously to
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Speaker 1: work to clean it. Charles had never really worked before
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Speaker 1: in his life, though he had lately done many.
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Speaker 2: Things of the same nature.
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Speaker 1: He was very proud when he got it again into order,
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Speaker 1: considering it as the only thing he had to depend
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Speaker 1: upon for his future subsistence, and therefore, as soon as
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Speaker 1: his job was completed, he loaded it and went towards
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Speaker 1: the upper end of the island to see if he
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Speaker 1: could shoot one of the little hairs which he had
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Speaker 1: frequently seen running amongst the grass. Charles was exceedingly fond
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Speaker 1: of all animals, and his heart ached at the thought
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Speaker 1: of killing any of those innocent creatures, which he considered
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Speaker 1: as having a better right to the island than he had,
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Speaker 1: and it was a long time before he could persuade
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Speaker 1: himself to fire. He, however, recollected that he had seen
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Speaker 1: no cocoanuts on the island, that the dates were very small,
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Speaker 1: that his hunger was very great and not likely to
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Speaker 1: be appeased without animal food, and that undoubtedly, if his
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Speaker 1: father had remained on the island, he would have shot
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Speaker 1: many of them before this time. Thus encouraging himself, he
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Speaker 1: at length fired and shot a fine leveret in the head,
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Speaker 1: which of course died instantly, to his great satisfaction, as
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Speaker 1: it would have grieved him sadly to witness the pangs
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Speaker 1: of death. He took it up and carried it to
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Speaker 1: the hut, where he lighted a fire, intending to roast
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Speaker 1: it as his father had roasted some fish by putting
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Speaker 1: a stick into the ground to which it was tied,
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Speaker 1: and first doing one side and then another. He found
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Speaker 1: this animal, of course, much more troublesome to cook than
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Speaker 1: the fish had been, because of the skin, and to
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Speaker 1: him the task of skinning it was so difficult and
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Speaker 1: disgusting that he thought if he lived a year at
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Speaker 1: the island, he would never shoot another. But when it
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Speaker 1: was roasted, he made a very hearty meal and put
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Speaker 1: by the remainder with sincere thankfulness for such a needful refreshment.
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Speaker 1: Every day of his life he walked to the promontory
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Speaker 1: to see that the flag was still hanging, and he
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Speaker 1: generally came home past the boat to see that it
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Speaker 1: also was safe. One day, when he went as usual,
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Speaker 1: he was exceedingly alarmed by perceiving a monstrous, large fish
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Speaker 1: close by the side of it, opening a tremendous mouth,
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Speaker 1: and gazing with a pair of prodigious eyes as if
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Speaker 1: it would swallow him. Instantly, he retreated as fast as
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Speaker 1: possible and then turning fired, on which the creature, after
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Speaker 1: beating the sand with his tail in an outrageous manner,
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Speaker 1: floundered back into the sea, leaving poor Charles in such
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Speaker 1: a tremor as he had never been since the time
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Speaker 1: when he first found that he was left fatherless and
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Speaker 1: friendless on this desolate island. Surely, said the boy, my
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Speaker 1: father did not fall prey to that horrible creature, as
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Speaker 1: such as he is. The thought was so terrible that
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Speaker 1: he could not sustain it, And therefore, when he got home,
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Speaker 1: he began reading the history of Joseph and his brethren
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Speaker 1: to put it out of his mind. Indeed, whenever he
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Speaker 1: felt anxious or unhappy, he always began to read the Bible,
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Speaker 1: either to strengthen his faith in the goodness of God
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Speaker 1: through the merits of our Redeemer, or to amuse and
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Speaker 1: divert him by the extraordinary and interesting persons and events.
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Speaker 2: Of which it treats.
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Speaker 1: Many a time did Charles wonder that he knew so
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Speaker 1: little of the Bible, But for that very reason it
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Speaker 1: had at this time the advantage of being entirely new
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Speaker 1: to him. He knew that his Mamma read frequently in it,
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Speaker 1: and that she used to hear him read, and.
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Speaker 2: So did his father.
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Speaker 1: But though they said it was beautiful and excellent, he
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Speaker 1: had always considered it as a kind of task it
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Speaker 1: was his duty to perform, not an actual pleasure, as
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Speaker 1: he now found it to be, so that he could
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Speaker 1: scarcely lay it down from any motive with that of hunger.
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Speaker 1: When his spirits had become composed, he considered that probably
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Speaker 1: the creature in question was a shark, of which he
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Speaker 1: had heard the sailors talk a good deal as being
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Speaker 1: a most ravenous creature, and also that they were frequently
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Speaker 1: seen before a storm. So he began to consider that
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Speaker 1: perhaps another tempest would soon be visiting the island, and
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Speaker 1: he must guard as well as.
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Speaker 2: He could from the effects.
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Speaker 1: His first care was to gather all the dates he could,
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Speaker 1: since although they were not near so fine as those
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Speaker 1: in India, they were very valuable to him. He could
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Speaker 1: eat them as bread to his coffee, which was generally
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Speaker 1: his first meal, and afterwards to his meat, if he
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Speaker 1: had got any. They also formed the staple food of
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Speaker 1: his parrot. He took great pains in laying them out
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Speaker 1: to dry in the sun, turning them so that they
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Speaker 1: were in a manner cured for keeping, after which he
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Speaker 1: dug a deep hole in the dry sand, and covering
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Speaker 1: the inside with large dry plantain leaves, he laid the
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Speaker 1: dates in layers, securing a stalk which was likely, as
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Speaker 1: he thought, to last them all through the succeeding winter
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Speaker 1: if he remained on the island so long, which was
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Speaker 1: but too probable. He next proceeded to gather figs, guavas,
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Speaker 1: and oranges so as to get a good stalk.
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Speaker 2: The figs he.
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Speaker 1: Preserved in the same way as the dates, and the
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Speaker 1: guavas he used for food at the present time, because
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Speaker 1: they would not keep. As many large birds had lately
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Speaker 1: been seen on the northern coast of the island, he
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Speaker 1: took some pains in shooting them for the purpose of
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Speaker 1: drying their flesh by hanging it in the sun, to
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Speaker 1: serve him during those months when it was probable they
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Speaker 1: would have forsaken the island. He also contrived to make
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Speaker 1: a fireplace less liable to be effected by the wind
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Speaker 1: than it had hitherto been, by building a wall partly
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Speaker 1: of sea sand and partly stone, with three sides about
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Speaker 1: a yard high, by which the means of the heat
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Speaker 1: of the fire was preserved and the smoke conducted to
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Speaker 1: a certain height. Often would he ruminate on the possibility
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Speaker 1: of having a fire within his hut, But this he
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Speaker 1: found to be impossible, because there was no vent for
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Speaker 1: the smoke, and if he had attempted to pierce a
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Speaker 1: hole through the top, it might probably all come tumbling
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Speaker 1: at once about his head and both destroy his habitation and.
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Speaker 2: Bury his property.
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Speaker 1: In order to guard as well as possible against the
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Speaker 1: evils of winter, he next made a very great collection
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Speaker 1: of firewood by gathering innumerable sticks, together with pieces of
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Speaker 1: the wreck, which was now completely dried from the long
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Speaker 1: exposure on the beach, and these he built up on
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Speaker 1: the outside of his hut to a great distance, leaving
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Speaker 1: himself only a narrow entrance, which he could close easily
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Speaker 1: by a piece of.
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Speaker 2: Board from within.
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Speaker 1: When he had, with great labor and considerable ingenuity, not
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Speaker 1: this construction finished, he set himself to work to thatch
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Speaker 1: it all over in such a manner as to keep
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Speaker 1: out the wet if any violent rain should come. Remembering
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Speaker 1: that the external covering would both keep his fire wood
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Speaker 1: dry and himself warm when the cold winds of winter
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Speaker 1: should arrive, he wished much that he could cut some
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Speaker 1: flat turf, but as he had only such a shovel
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Speaker 1: as is used in parlors for this purpose, he could
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Speaker 1: not manage it, and he was obliged to use some
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Speaker 1: large leaves from a tree in the upper part of
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Speaker 1: the island, but he found that they answered extremely well.
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Speaker 1: His first care was every morning, as soon as he
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Speaker 1: had prayed to God, to go and cut the notch
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Speaker 1: in his almonac trees. And never did he fail to
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Speaker 1: keep the seventh day as a day of rest and
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Speaker 1: holly observance. But the number of weeks he thought he
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Speaker 1: would not count until there was a great many, in
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Speaker 1: order that he might not harass his mind with watching
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Speaker 1: for ships, whilst there was no chance for him to
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Speaker 1: see any. After seeing the great fish we have mentioned,
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Speaker 1: he did not go near the boat for above a week,
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Speaker 1: and when he then visited it, he heard a great
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Speaker 1: rush in the water, which made him think the old
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Speaker 1: enemy was returned. As however, he was well armed, he
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Speaker 1: ventured to go forward, and, jumping into the boat, he
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Speaker 1: looked around carefully but fearlessly. He perceived great quantities of
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Speaker 1: the most beautiful seashells he had ever beheld upon the shore,
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Speaker 1: and on stooping over the side of the boat to
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Speaker 1: gather some saw under the shade a fine turtle. This
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Speaker 1: was to him a valuable prize, since he could instantly
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Speaker 1: kill it and carry it home, and it was a
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Speaker 1: kind of food he greatly needed, for such was his
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Speaker 1: fear of expending powder before the time came for firing
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Speaker 1: signal guns. That he had lately again suffered from the
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Speaker 1: want of animal food, having confined himself to dates and
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Speaker 1: the remains of his cocoanuts, which, although nutritive, were not
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Speaker 1: so fi pfient food For a boy who was growing
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Speaker 1: very fast and had been used to every comfort in
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Speaker 1: his earlier days. It must be remembered that he had
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Speaker 1: neither bread butter, milk, nor wine. The dried dates on
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Speaker 1: which he principally lived had now no sweetness to tempt
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Speaker 1: his palate, so that he rarely eat more than barely
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Speaker 1: sufficed to allay his appetite, and certainly required more. The
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Speaker 1: turtle was not only a present prize, but a promise
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Speaker 1: for the future, and as it accounted for the great
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Speaker 1: fish haunting the shores, since it probably sought food as
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Speaker 1: well as himself, he lost that painful idea which had
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Speaker 1: frequently crossed his mind, in spite of all his care
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Speaker 1: to expel it, that his dear father had been devoured
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Speaker 1: by the monster who had followed the boat to find
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Speaker 1: another victim. We mentioned that on arriving at the place
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Speaker 1: where he found the turtle, he was well armed. This
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Speaker 1: was by contrivance of his own. He had broken down
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Speaker 1: a young bamboo tree about seven feet high, and having
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Speaker 1: split the end of it and taken one of Captain
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Speaker 1: Gordon's razors out of the head, he inserted it into
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Speaker 1: the neck, contriving to put a little nail, which he
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Speaker 1: picked out of the timbers of the ship, through the
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Speaker 1: whole of the rivet, and then tying the whole very
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Speaker 1: firm with the fibers of a plant. With this weapon
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Speaker 1: he contrived many times to kill fish in the clear
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Speaker 1: rills of the island, and sometimes birds also, which was
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Speaker 1: great comfort to him, as everything which saved his gunpowder
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Speaker 1: seemed to him.
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Speaker 2: A present gain.
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Speaker 1: When he had been about two months on the island,
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Speaker 1: the change of weather he anticipated.
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Speaker 2: Came suddenly upon him. One Friday evening.
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Speaker 1: It began to rain violently, just in the way of
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Speaker 1: a thunder shower. But yet it continued so incessantly that
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Speaker 1: neither that day nor three succeeding ones could he venture
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Speaker 1: out of the hut, where he found the value of
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Speaker 1: the large stalk which he had prepared for fuel. As
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Speaker 1: the rain never penetrated his cavern, though the sound it
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Speaker 1: made in battering against the dry leaves or trickling amongst
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Speaker 1: the wood where it found entrance, was so great that
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Speaker 1: it seemed as if he were seated in the midst
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Speaker 1: of a cascade, or about to be overwhelmed beneath the
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Speaker 1: waves of the sea. The poor parrot was so much
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Speaker 1: frightened that he could not be easy anywhere but in
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Speaker 1: the arms of his loving master, frequently crying out Captain Gordon, ohoy,
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Speaker 1: never despair, my dear boy, and everything else that he
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Speaker 1: had been taught, which sometimes made his poor master smile,
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Speaker 1: notwithstanding the awkwardness of his situation. As his hut was
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Speaker 1: quite dark, he lighted his lamp, which was a luxury
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Speaker 1: he rarely indulged, as he gently rose and laid down
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Speaker 1: with the sun on purpose to save his oil, And
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Speaker 1: as his last stalk of turtle was in the hut,
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Speaker 1: he warmed it by degrees over the lamp and fed
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Speaker 1: Paul with some of the cocoa nut, as he could
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Speaker 1: not fetch him any dates from the shore. Terrible as
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Speaker 1: the situation would have appeared to his tender mother had
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Speaker 1: she beheld him thus cooped up in his solitary hut,
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Speaker 1: over which a deluge was descending that frightened every moment
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Speaker 1: to overwhelm him. Yet Charles himself was sensible of many comforts,
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Speaker 1: and most devoutly thanked his heavenly father for the shelter
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Speaker 1: and food which he was blessed with, and the pleasure
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Speaker 1: he experienced in having his poor pairt to speak to,
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Speaker 1: and his lamp to warmest food and cheer. Is darksome dwelling, surely,
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Speaker 1: said he. I may say that, considering my lonely situation,
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Speaker 1: I am very well off. For although I am really houseless,
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Speaker 1: yet I have a dwelling which is the more remarkable
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Speaker 1: because the island is not rocky, as many places are,
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Speaker 1: if it is not rich and fruitful. Yet there are
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Speaker 1: no venomous reptiles, no wild beasts, and there is plenty
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Speaker 1: of good sweet water and little dates, which.
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Speaker 2: Are better than if they were bigger.
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Speaker 1: For if the trees had been very tall I could
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Speaker 1: not have climbed into them. Now poor Sambo is not
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Speaker 1: here to help me. And then what a comfort it
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Speaker 1: is to have this good book to read, so full
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Speaker 1: of much information about all the most material things that
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Speaker 1: have happened ever since the world began, and which tells
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Speaker 1: me of what will take place when the world has
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Speaker 1: an end.
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Speaker 2: But if I did not know what had.
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Speaker 1: Become of my dear Papa, really I should not be
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Speaker 1: so very ill off. After all, I have surely reason
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Speaker 1: to believe that the great God and Father of all
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Speaker 1: looks down upon me with pity, though I am but
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Speaker 1: a poor, insignificant child, laughed as it were, to perish
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Speaker 1: on a lonely island. At length, the pattering ceased, and
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Speaker 1: a brisk air seemed stirring on the island, and Charles
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Speaker 1: gladly crept out of his hiding place, anxious to see
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Speaker 1: the change this deluge might have made, and especially to
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Speaker 1: examine the state of his dates, which he greatly feared
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Speaker 1: would be entirely ruined. He found the usual rills of
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Speaker 1: the island running like rivers into the sea, which also
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Speaker 1: appeared to have encroached exceedingly on his little territory, and
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Speaker 1: things seemed altogether so much changed that he dreaded not
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Speaker 1: finding the spot where his stores were garnered, a matter
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Speaker 1: of the greatest importance, as he had no other supply
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Speaker 1: for the present. After he had cut his usual notches,
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Speaker 1: he began to count the trees, which brought him to
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Speaker 1: two palms where he had formed his reservoir. The sandy
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Speaker 1: soil was so deeply saturated with the that, after laboring
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Speaker 1: and removing it till he was quite warm with toil,
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Speaker 1: he was obliged to return to the hut without accomplishing
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Speaker 1: his object, But he took care to cover the place
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Speaker 1: well with leaves that he might resume his task the
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Speaker 1: next day, and returned to make himself a fire and
20:14
Speaker 1: get once more a cup of coffee, to which he
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Speaker 1: had yet a few figs, which were left in his
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Speaker 1: hut during the time he was digging. Charles was too
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Speaker 1: busy to be aware of the great change in the atmosphere,
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Speaker 1: but he now became sensible that it was extremely cold,
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Speaker 1: and that a supply of clothing was not less necessary
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Speaker 1: to him than food. After he had lighted his fire
20:35
Speaker 1: and ground, or rather crushed his coffee between two flat stones,
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Speaker 1: he put on that cloak of sandbos which he had found,
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Speaker 1: and after cutting two holes with the razor for his arms,
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Speaker 1: he tied it round him with a rope of long grass,
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Speaker 1: and found it added much to his comfort. But his
20:51
Speaker 1: legs and arms were still cold, and he now observed
20:53
Speaker 1: with great regret that his shoes would scarcely keep on
20:56
Speaker 1: his feet three days longer. His stockings were nearly quite gone,
21:00
Speaker 1: and his shirt, which he used frequently to take off,
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Speaker 1: wash in the brook, dry in the sun, and then
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Speaker 1: put on again, was now torn in so many places
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Speaker 1: that he had very little good of it. In this
21:12
Speaker 1: dilemma he once more determined, if possible, to get to
21:15
Speaker 1: the inside of the box, which had never yet been
21:18
Speaker 1: used for anything but a seat, and which was so
21:21
Speaker 1: well made that he had not any instrument whereby he
21:24
Speaker 1: could effect an entrance into it. It now struck him
21:27
Speaker 1: that the best thing he could do was to shoot
21:29
Speaker 1: the box, and accordingly he dragged it out as far
21:31
Speaker 1: as he could from the hut, as he durst not
21:34
Speaker 1: fire into his dwelling, lest he should injure something besides
21:37
Speaker 1: the box. When we considered that the loss of a
21:40
Speaker 1: single cup would have been irreparable to him, we shall
21:43
Speaker 1: not wonder that he was as much afraid of injuring
21:45
Speaker 1: his little black hole as if it had been a
21:47
Speaker 1: splendid drawing room, and that he prepared for this affair
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Speaker 1: with as much solicitude as if he had been about
21:53
Speaker 1: to spring a mine.
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Speaker 2: End of Chapter five.
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Speaker 1: Recording by Becky Boyd Voices dot Com slash Demo slash
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Speaker 1: Becky Boyd