Oct 31, 2007

Regatta At Argenteuil

For the life of him he couldn't understand what Ben wanted with the monster, orwhy he was spending his time in guttural conversation with it instead of with the now-vanished Corellians. So he sat and sipped his drink in splendid silence, his eyesroving over the crowd in hopes of meeting a responsive gaze that held no belligerence. Suddenly, something shoved him roughly from behind, so hard he almost fell.He turned angrily, but his fury spent itself in astonishment. He found himselfconfronted by a large squarish monstrosity of multiple eyes and indeterminate origin. "Negola dewaghi wooldugger?" the apparition bubbled challengingly. Luke had never seen its like before; he knew neither its species nor its language.The gabbling might have been an invitation to a fight, a request to share a drink, or amarriage proposal. Despite his ignorance, however, Luke could tell by the way thecreature bobbed and wove unsteadily on its podal supports that it had imbibed toomuch of whatever it considered a pleasing intoxicant. Not knowing what else to do, Luke tried turning back to his own drink whilestudiously ignoring the creature. As he did so, a thing—a cross between a capybaraand a small baboon—bounced over to stand (or squat) next to the quivering many-eye.A short, companionable arm around the snuffling mass. "He doesn't like you," the stubby human informed Luke in a surprisingly deepvoice. "I'm sorry about that," Luke admitted, wishing heartily he were somewhere else. "I don't like you either," the smiling little man went on with brotherly negativity. "I said I was sorry about it."

Samson And Delilah

Trying to maintain an air of quiet confidence, he returned his gaze to old Ben,and started when he saw what the oldster was talking to now. The Corellian wasgone. In its place Kenobi was chatting with a towering anthropoid that showed amouthful of teeth when it smiled. Luke had heard about Wookies, but he had never expected to see one, much lessmeet on. Despite an almost comical quasi-monkey face, the Wookie was anythingbut gentle looking. Only the large, glowing yellow eyes softened its otherwiseawesome appearance. The massive torso was covered entirely with soft, thick russetfur. Less appealing cover consisted of a pair of chromed bandoliers, which heldlethal projectiles of a type unknown to Luke. Other than these, the Wookies worelittle.Not, Luke knew, that anyone would laugh at the creature's mode of dress. He sawthat other denizens of the bar eddied and swirled around the huge form without evercoming too close. All but old Ben—Ben who was talking to the Wookie in its ownlanguage, quarreling and hooting softly like a native. In the course of the conversation the old man had occasion to gesture in Luke'sdirection. Once the huge anthropoid stared directly at Luke and let out a horrifyinghowling laugh. Disgruntled by the role he was evidently playing in the discussion, Luke turnedaway and pretended to ignore the whole conversation. He might be acting unfairlytoward the creature, but he doubted that spine-quaking laugh was meant in gentlegood-fellowship.

One Moment in Time

Whether from the conversation it was having with the rodent-like creature or theoverdose of booze, the apartment house for wayward eyeballs was obviously growingagitated. It leaned forward, almost toppling into Luke, and spewed a stream ofunintelligible gibberish at him. Luke felt the eyes of a crowd on him as he grewincreasingly more nervous. "Sorry," the human mimicked derisively, clearly deep into his own cups. "Areyou insulting us? You just better watch yourself. We're all wanted." Heindicated his drunken companions. "I have the death sentence on me in twelvedifferent systems." "I'll be careful, then," Luke muttered. The little man was smiling broadly. "You'll be dead." At this the rodent let out a loud grunt. It was either a signal or a warning,because everything human or otherwise which had been leaning up at the barimmediately backed away, leaving a clear space around Luke and his antagonists. Trying to salvage the situation, Luke essayed a wan smile. That faded rapidlywhen he saw that the three were readying hand weapons. Not only couldn't he havecountered all three of them, he had no idea what a couple of the lethal-looking devicesdid. "this little one isn't worth the trouble," a calm voice said. Luke looked up,startled. He hadn't heard Kenobi come up alongside him. "Come, let me buy youall something…"

My Sweet Rose painting

By way of reply the bulky monster chittered hideously and swung out a massivelimb. It caught an unprepared Luke across the temple and sent him spinning acrossthe room, crashing through tables and shattering a large jug filled with a foul-smellingliquid. The crowd edged back farther, a few grunts and warning snorts coming fromsome of them as the drunken monstrosity pulled a wicked-looking pistol from itsservice pouch. He started to wave it in Kenobi's direction. That spurred the heretofore-neutral bartender to life. He came chargingclumsily around the end of the bar, waving his hands frantically but still taking care tostay out of range. "No blasters, no blasters! Not in my place!" the rodent thing chattered threateningly at him, while the weapon wieldingmany-eye spared him a warning grunt. In the split second when the gun and its owner's attention was off him, the oldman's hand had moved to the disk slung at his side. The short human started to yellas a fiery blue-white light appeared in the dimness of the cantina. He never finished the yell. It turned into a blink. When the blink was finished,the man found himself lying prone against the bar, moaning and whimpering as hestared at the stump of an arm. In between the start of his yell and the conclusion of the blink, the rodent-thinghad been cleft cleanly in half down the middle, its two halves falling in opposite

leonardo da vinci self portrait

directions. The giant multiocular creature still stood staring, dazed, at the old humanwho was poised motionless before it, the shining lightsaber held over his head in apeculiar fashion. The creature's chrome pistol fired once, blowing a hole in the door.Then the torso peeled away as neatly as had the body of the rodent, its two cauterizedsection falling in opposite directions to lie motionless on the cool stone. Only then did the suggestion of a sigh escape from Kenobi; only then did hisbody appear to relax. Bringing the lightsaber down, he flipped it carefully upward ina reflex saluting motion which ended with the deactivated weapon restinginnocuously on his hip. That final movement broke the total quiet which had enshrouded the room.Conversations resumed, as did the movement of bodies in chairs, the scraping ofmugs and pitchers and other drinking devices on tabletops. The bartender andseveral assistants appeared to drag the unsightly corpses out of the room, while themutilated human vanished wordlessly into the crowd, cradling the stump of his gunarm and counting himself fortunate. To all appearances the cantina had returned to its former state, with one smallexception. Ben Kenobi was given a respectful amount of space at the bar. Luke barely heard the renewed conversation. He was still shaken by the speedof the fight and by the old man's unimagined abilities. As his mind cleared and hemoved to rejoin Kenobi, he could overhear bits and snatches of the talk around him.Much of it centered on admiration for the cleanness and finality of the fight. "You're hurt, Luke," Kenobi observed solicitously. Luke felt of the bruise where the big creature had stuck him. "I…" he started tosay, but old Ben cut him off. As if nothing had happened, he indicated the greathairy mass which was shouldering its way through the crowd toward them.

Oct 30, 2007

My Sweet Rose painting

You stay away from that old wizard, he hear me!" his uncle exploded,awkwardly substituting threat for reason. "Owen…" Aunt Beru started to interject gently, but the big farmer cut her offsternly. "Now, this is important, Beru." He turned his attention back to his nephew."I've told you about Kenobi before. He's a crazy old man; he'd dangerous and fullof mischief, and he's the best left well along." Beru's pleading gaze caused him to quiet somewhat. "That 'droid has nothingto do with him. Couldn't have," he grumbled half to himself. "Recording—huh!Well, tomorrow I want you to take the unit into Anchorhead and have its memoryflushed." Snorting, Owen bent to his half-eaten meal with determination. "That will bethe end of this foolishness. I don't care where that machine thinks it came from. Ipaid hard credit for it, and it belongs to us now." "But suppose it does belong to someone else" Luke wondered. "What if thisObi-wan person comes looking for his 'droid?" An expression between sorrow and a sneer crossed his uncle's seamed face at aremembrance. "He won't. I don't think that man exists anymore. He died aboutthe same time as your father." A huge mouthful of hot food was shoveled inward."Now forget about it." "Then it was a real person," Luke murmured, staring down at his plate. Headded slowly, "Did he know my father?"

seated nude

"I said forge about it." Owen snapped. "Your only worry as far as thosetwo 'droids are concerned is having them ready for work tomorrow. Remember, thelast of our saving is tied up in those two. Wouldn't even have bought them if itwasn't so near harvest." He shook a spoon at his nephew. "In the morning I wantyou to have them working with the irrigation units up on the south ridge. "You know," Luke replied distantly, "I think these 'droids are going to work outfine. In fact, I—" He hesitated, shooting his uncle a surreptitious glare. "I wasthinking about our agreement about me staying on for another season." His uncle failed to react, so Luke rushed on before his nerve failed. "If thesenew 'droids do work out, I want to transmit my application to enter the Academy fornext year." Owen scowled, trying to hide his displeasure with food. "You mean, you wantto transmit application next year—after the harvest." "You have more than enough 'droids now, and they're in good condition.They'll last." "'droids, yes," his uncle agreed, "but 'droids can't replace a man, Luke. Youknow that. The harvest is when I need you the most. It's just for one more seasonafter this one." He looked away, bluster and anger gone now. Luke toyed with his food, not eating, saying nothing.

the night watch by rembrandt

"Listen," his uncle told him, "for the first time we've got a chance for a realfortune. We'll make enough to hire some extra hands for next time. Not 'droids—people. Then you can go to the Academy." He fumbled over words, unaccustomedto pleading. "I need you here, Luke. You understand that, don't you?" "It's another year," his nephew objected sullenly. "Another year." "How many times had he heard that before? How many times had theyrepeated this identical charade with the same result? Convinced once more that Luke had come round to his way of thinking. Owenshrugged the objection off. "Time will pass before you know it" Abruptly Luke rose, shoving his barely touched plate of food aside. "That'swhat you said last year when Biggs left." He spun and half ran from the room. "Where are you going, Luke?" his aunt yelled worriedly after him. Luke's reply was bleak, bitter. "Looks like I'm going nowhere." Then headded, out of consideration for his aunt's sensibilities, "I have to finish cleaningthose 'droids if they're going to be ready to work tomorrow." Silence hung in the air of the dining room after Luke departed. Husband andwife ate mechanically. Eventually Aunt Beru stopped shoving her food around herplate, looked up, and pointed out earnestly, "Owen, you can't keep him here forever.Most of his friends are gone, the people he grew up with. The Academy means somuch to him."

The Virgin and Child with St Anne

Listlessly her husband replied, "I'll make it up to him next year. I promise.We'll have money—or maybe, the year after that." "Luke's just not a farmer, Owen," she continued firmly. "He never will be, nomatter how hard you try to make him one." She shook her head slowly. "He's gottoo much of his father in him." For the first time all evening Owen Lars looked thoughtful as well as concernedas he gazed down the passage Luke had taken. "That's what I'm afraid of," hewhispered. Luke had gone topside. He stood on the sand watching the double sunset asfirst one and then the other of Tatooine's twin suns sank slowly behind the distantrange of dunes. In the fading light the sands turned gold, russet, and flaming red-orange before advancing night put the bright colors to sleep for another day. Soon,for the first time, those sands would blossom with food plants. This formerwasteland would see and eruption of green. The thought ought to have sent a thrill of anticipation through Luke. He shouldhave been as flushed with excitement as his uncle was whenever he described thecoming harvest. Instead, Luke felt nothing but a vast indifferent emptiness. Noteven the prospect of having a lot of money for the first time in his life excited him.What was there to do with money in Anchorhead—anywhere on Tatooine, for thatmatter? Part of him, an increasingly large part, was growing more and more restless atremaining unfulfilled. This was not an uncommon feeling in youths his age, but forreasons Luke did not understand it was much stronger in him than in any of hisfriends.

virgin of the rocks

As the night cold came creeping over the sand and up his legs, he brushed thegrit from his trousers and descended into the garage. Maybe working on the 'droidswould bury some of the remorse a little deeper in his mind. A quick survey of thechamber showed no movement. Neither of the new machines was in sight.Frowning slightly, Luke took a small control box from his belt and activated a coupleof switches set into the plastic. A low him came from the box. The caller produced the taller of the two robots,Threepio. In fact, he gave a yell of surprise as he jumped up behind the skyhopper. Luke started toward him, openly puzzled. "What are you hiding back therefor?" The robot came stumbling around the prow of the craft, he attitude one ofdesperation. It occurred to Luke then that despite his activating the caller, the Artoounit was still nowhere to be seen. The reason for his absence—or something related to it—came pouring unbiddenfrom Threepio. "It wasn't my fault," the robot begged frantically. "Please don'tdeactivate me! I told him not to go, but he's faulty. He must be malfunctioning.Something has totally boiled his logic circuits. He kept babbling on about some sortof mission, sir. I never heard a robot with delusions of grandeur before. Suchthings shouldn't even be within the cogitative theory units of one that's as basic as anArtoo unit, and…" "You mean…?" Luke started to gape. "Yes, sir…he's gone." "And I removed his restraining coupling myself," Luke muttered slowly.Already he could visualize his uncle's face. The last of their savings tied up inthese 'droids, he had said.

The Sacrifice of Abraham painting

王晨:《行动计划》是在党中央、国务院的领导下,在中央和国家机关各相关部门共同努力和社会各界广泛参与下制定的。《行动计划》涉及中国经济、政治、文化和社会等各个领域,关系到国计民生。为切实做好此项工作,确保《行动计划》的权威性、有效性,中国政府成立了由国务院新闻办公室和外交部牵头、中央和国家机关以及人民团体、非政府组织组成的国家人权行动计划联席会议机制。除牵头单位外,这个机制的成员单位还包括:全国人大常委会办公厅、全国人大常委会法制工作委员会、全国政协办公厅、全国政协社会和法制委员会、最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、中共中央组织部、中共中央宣传部、中共中央统一战线工作部、中共中央对外联络部、中共中央政策研究室、国家发展和改革委员会、教育部、科学技术部、工业和信息化部、国家民族事务委员会、公安部、监察部、民政部、司法部、财政部、人力资源和社会保障部、国土资源部、环境保护部、住房和城乡建设部、交通运输部、铁道部、水利部、农业部、文化部、卫生部、国家人口和计划生育委员会、审计署、国家质量监督检验检疫总局、国家广播电影电视总局、国家新闻出版总署、国家体育总局、国家安全生产监督管理总局、国家统计局、国家林业局、国家知识产权局、国家宗教事务局、国务院法制办公室、国家信访局、国家食品药品监督管理局、国务院妇女儿童工作委员会、国务院扶贫办公室、全国老龄工作委员会、国务院食品安全委员会办公室、中华全国总工会、中国共产主义青年团中央委员会、中华全国妇女联合会、中国残疾人联合会、中国人权研究会。

Oct 29, 2007

The Kitchen Maid

serious and half humorous, then grinned that over bearing yet ingratiating grin again. "I just came back to say good-bye to all you unfortunate landlocked simpletons."They all laughed, until Luke suddenly remembered what had brought him here in suchhurry. "I almost forgot," he told them, his initial excitement returning, "there's a battlegoing on right here in our system. Come and look." Deak looked disappointed. "Not another one of your epic battles, Luke.Haven't you dreamed up enough of them? Forget it." "Forget it, hell—I'm serious. It's a battle, all right." With words and shoves he managed to cajole the occupants of the station out intothe strong sunlight. Camie in particular looked disgusted. "This had better be worth it, Luke," she warned him, shading her eyes against theglare. Luke already had his macrobinoculars out and was searching the heavens. Ittook only a moment for him to fix on a particular spot. "I told you," he insisted."There they are." Biggs moved alongside him and reached for the binoculars as the other strainedunaided eyes. A slight readjustment provided just enough magnification for Biggs toout two silvery specks against the dark blue. "That's no battle, hotshot," he decided, lowering the binocs and regarding hisfriend gently. "They're just sitting there. Two ships, all right—probably a bargeloading a freighter, since Tatooine hasn't got an orbital station." "There was a lot of firing—earlier," Luke added. His initial enthusiasm wasbeginning to falter under the withering assurance of his older friend.

The Nut Gatherers

Camie grabbed the binoculars away from Biggs, banging them slightly against asupport pillar in the process. Luke took them away from her quickly, inspecting thecasing for damage. "Take it easy with those." "Don't worry so much, Wormie." She sneered. Luke took a step toward her,then halted as the huskier mechanic easily interposed himself between them andfavored Luke with a warning smile. Luke considered, shrugged the incident away. "I keep telling you, Luke," the mechanic said, with the air of a man tired ofrepeating the same story to no avail, "the rebellion is a long way from here. I doubtif the Empire would fight to keep this system. Believe me, Tatooine is a big hunk ofnothing." His audience began to fade back into the station before Luke could mutter a reply.Fixer had his arm around Camie, and the two of them were chuckling over Luke'sineptitude. Even Deak and Windy were murmuring among themselves—about him,Luke was certain. He followed them, but not without a last glance back and up to the distant specks.One thing he was sure of were the flashes of light he had seen between the two ships.They hadn't been caused by the suns of Tatooine reflecting off metal.

The Three Ages of Woman

The binding that locked the girl's hands behind her back was primitive andeffective. The constant attention the squad of heavily armed troopers favored herwith might have been out of place for one small female, except for the fact that theirlives depended on her being delivered safely. When she deliberately slowed her pace, however, it became apparent that hercaptors did not mind mistreating her a little. One of the armored figures shoved herbrutally in the small of the back, and she nearly fell. Turning, she gave the offendingsoldier a vicious look. But she could not tell if it had any effect, since the man's facewas completely hidden by his armored helmet. The hallway they eventually emerged into was still smoking around the edges ofthe smoldering cavity blasted through the hull of the fighter. A portable accesswayhad been sealed to it and a circlet of light showed at the far end of the tunnel, bridgingspace between the rebel craft and the cruiser. A shadow moved over her as sheturned from inspecting the accessway, startling her despite her usually unshakableself-control. Above her toward the threatening bulk of Darth Vader, red eyes glaring behindthe hideous breath mask. A muscle twitched in one smooth cheek, but other thanthat the girl didn't react. Nor was there the slightest shake in her voice. "Darth Vader…I should have known. Only you would be so bold—and sostupid. Well, the Imperial Senate will not sit still for this. When they hear that youhave attacked a diplomatic miss—"

Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring Painting

"Senator Leia Organa," Vader rumbled softly, though strongly enough tooverride her protests. His pleasure at finding her was evident in the way he savoredevery syllable. "Don't play games with me, Your Highness," he continued ominously. "Youaren't on any mercy mission this time. You passed directly through a restrictedsystem, ignoring numerous warnings and completely disregarding orders to turnabout—until it no longer mattered." The huge metal skull dipped close. "I know that several transmissions werebeamed to this vessel by spies within that system. When we traced thosetransmissions back to the individuals with whom they originated; they had the poorgrace to kill themselves before they could be questioned. I want to know whathappened to the data they sent you." Neither Vader's words nor his inimical presence appeared to have any effect onthe girl. "I don't know what you're blathering about," she snapped, looking awayfrom him. "I'm a member of the Senate on a diplomatic mission to—" "To your part of the rebel alliance," Vader declared, cutting her off accusingly."You're also a traitor." His gaze went to a nearby officer. "Take her away." She succeeded in reaching him with her spit, which hissed against still-hot battlearmor. He wiped the offensive matter away silently, watching her with interest asshe was marched through the accessway into the cruiser.

A Lily Pond

A tall, slim soldier wearing the sign of an Imperial Commander attracted Vader'sattention as he came up next to him. "Holding her is dangerous," he ventured,likewise looking after her as she was escorted toward the cruiser. "If word of thisdoes get out, there will be much unrest in the Senate. It will generate sympathy forthe rebels." The Commander looked up at the unreadable metal face, then added inan off-handed manner, "She should be destroyed immediately." "No. My first duty is to locate that hidden fortress of theirs," Vader repliedeasily. "All the rebel spies have been eliminated—by our hand or by their own.Therefore she is now my only key to discovering its location. I intend to make fulluse of her. If necessary, I will use her up—but I will learn the location of the rebelbase." The Commander pursed his lips, shook his head slightly, perhaps a bitsympathetically, as he considered the woman. "She'll die before she gives you anyinformation." Vader's reply was chilling in its indifference. "Leave that to me."He considered a moment, then went on. "Send out a wide-band distress signal.Indicate that the Senator's ship encountered an unexpected meteorite cluster it couldnot avoid. Readings indicate that the shift shields were overridden and the ship washulled to the point of vacating ninety-five percent of its atmosphere. Inform herfather and the Senate that all aboard were killed."

Oct 28, 2007

art painting reproduction

去年9月以来,为制定好《行动计划》,国务院新闻办公室组织专门力量,在56个联席会议成员单位提供材料的基础上,邀请南开大学、四川大学、中国社会科学院、上海社会科学院、中央党校等高校和科研单位专家组成专家组参与撰写工作。在去年底形成初稿的基础上,今年以来,我们先后多次召开联席会议、专题研讨会和座谈会等,组织有关单位负责同志和专家学者深入调查研究,并通过面对面、函件交流等形式广泛征求各成员单位、社会各界团体、非政府组织、高等院校、研究机构以及社会各界的意见和建议。经过十多次反复研究讨论、修改完善,最终形成了《国家人权行动计划(2012-2015年)》。经国务院批准,授权国务院新闻办公室予以公布。

记者:请问制定和实施本期《行动计划》的指导思想和基本原则是什么?

王晨:《行动计划》的指导思想是:高举中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜,以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导,深入贯彻落实科学发展观,结合实施国家“十二五”规划,将人权事业与经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设以及生态文明建设结合起来,顺应各族人民过上更好生活的新期待,继续把保障公民的生存权、发展权放在首位,着力解决人民群众最关心、最直接、最现实的权利和利益问题,切实保障人民的经济、政治、社会和文化权利,促进社会更加公正、和谐,努力使每一个社会成员生活得更有尊严、更加幸福。

Oct 26, 2007

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

But to return to Friday, he was so busy about his Father, that I could not find in my Heart to take him off for some time: But after I thought he could leave him a little, I call'd him to me, and he came jumping and laughing, and pleas'd to the highest Extream; then I ask'd him, If he had given his Father any Bread? He shook his Head, and said, None: Ugly Dog eat all up self; so I gave him a Cake of Bread out of a little Pouch I carry'd on Purpose; I also gave him a Dram for himself, but he would not taste it, but carry'd it to his Father: I had in my Pocket also two or three Bunches of my Raisins, so I gave him a Handful of them for his Father. He had no sooner given his Father these Raisins, but I saw him come out of the Boat, and run away, as if he had been bewitch'd, he run at such a Rate; for he was the swiftest Fellow of his Foot that ever I saw; I say, he run at such a Rate, that he was out of Sight, as it were, in an instant; and though I call'd, and hollow'd too, after him, it was all one, away he went, and in a Quarter of an Hour, I saw him come back again, though not so fast as he went; and as he came nearer, I found his Pace was slacker, because he had some thing in his Hand.
When he came up to me, I found he had been quite Home for an Earthen Jugg or Pot to bring his Father some fresh Water, and that he had got two more Cakes, or Loaves of Bread: The Bread he gave me, but the Water he carry'd to his Father: However, as I was very thirsty too, I took a little Sup of it. This Water reviv'd his Father more than all the Rum or Spirits I had given him; for he was just fainting with Thirst.
When his Father had drank, I call'd to him to know if there was any Water left; he said, yes; and I bad him give it to the poor Spaniard, who was in as much Want of it as his Father; and I sent one of the Cakes, that Friday brought, to the Spaniard too, who was indeed very weak, and was reposing himself upon a green Place under the Shade of a free; and whose Limbs were also very stiff, and very much swell'd with the rude Bandage he had been ty'd with. When I saw that upon Friday's coming to him with the Water, he sat up and drank, and took the Bread, and began to eat, I went to him, and gave him a Handful of Raisins; he look'd up in my Face with all the Tokens of Gratitude and Thankfulness, that could appear in any Countenance; but was so weak, notwithstanding he had so exerted himself in the Fight, that he could not stand up upon his Feet; he try'd to do it two or three times, but was really not able, his Ankles were so swell'd and so painful to him; so I bad him sit still, and caused Friday to rub his Ankles, and bathe them with Rum, as he had done his Father's.

Charity painting

observ'd the poor affectionate Creature every two Minutes, or perhaps less, all the while he was here, turn'd his Head about, to see if his Father was in the same Place, and Posture, as he left him sitting; and at last he found he was not to be seen; at which he started up, and without speaking a Word, flew with that Swiftness to him, that one could scarce perceive his Feet to touch the Ground, as he went: But when he came, he only found he had laid himself down to ease his Limbs; so Friday came back to me presently, and I then spoke to the Spaniard to let Friday help him up if he could, and lead him to the Boat, and then he should carry him to our Dwelling, where I would take Care of him: But Friday, a lusty strong Fellow, took the Spaniard quite up upon his Back, and carry'd him away to the Boat, and set him down softly upon the Side or Gunnel of the Canoe, with his Feet in the inside of it, and then lifted him quite in, and set him close to his Father, and presently stepping out again, launched the Boat off, and paddled it along the Shore faster than I could walk, tho' the Wind blew pretty hard too; so he brought them both safe into our Creek; and leaving them in the Boat, runs away to fetch the other Canoe. As he pass'd me, I spoke to him, and ask'd him, whither he went, he told me, Go fetch more Boat; so away he went like the Wind; for sure never Man or Horse run like him, and he had the other Canoe in the Creek, almost as soon as I got to it by Land; so he wafted me over, and then went to help our new Guests out of the Boat, which he did; but they were neither of them able to walk; so that poor Friday knew not what to do.

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To remedy this, I went to Work in my Thought, and calling to Friday to bid them sit down on the Bank while he came to me, I soon made a Kind of Hand-Barrow to lay them on, and Friday and I carry'd them up both together upon it between us: But when we got them to the outside of our Wall or Fortification, we were at a worse Loss than before; for it was impossible to get them over; and I was resolv'd not to break it down: So I set to Work again; and Friday and I, in about 2 Hours time, made a very handsom Tent, cover'd with old Sails, and above that with Boughs of Trees, being in the Space without our outward Fence, and between that and the Grove of young Wood which I had planted: And here we made them two Beds of such things as I had (viz.) of good Rice-Straw, with Blankets laid upon it to lye on, and another to cover them on each Bed. My Island was now peopled, and I thought my self very rich in Subjects; and it was a merry Reflection which I frequently made, How like a King I look'd. First of all, the whole Country was my own meer Property; so that I had an undoubted Right of Dominion. 2dly, My People were perfectly subjected: I was absolute Lord and Law-giver; they all owed their Lives to me, and were ready to lay down their Lives, if there had been Occasion of it, for me. It was remarkable too, we had but three Subjects, and they were of three different Religions. My Man Friday was a Protestant, his Father was a Pagan and a Cannibal, and the Spaniard was a Papist: However, I allow'd Liberty of Conscience throughout my Dominions: But this is by the Way.
As soon as I had secur'd my two weak rescued Prisoners, and given them Shelter, and a Place to rest them upon, I began to think of making some Provision for them: And the first thing I did, I order'd Friday to take a yearling Goat, betwixt a Kid and a Goat, out of my particular Flock, to be kill'd, when I cut off the hinder Quarter, and chopping it into small Pieces, I set Friday to Work to boiling and stewing, and made them a very good Dish, I assure you, of Flesh and Broth, having put some Barley and Rice also into the Broth; and as I cook'd it without Doors, for I made no Fire within my inner Wall, so I carry'd it all into the new Tent; and having set a Table there for them, I sat down and eat my own Dinner also with them, and, as well as I could, chear'd them and encourag'd them; Friday being my Interpreter, especially to his Father, and indeed to the Spaniard too; for the Spaniard spoke the Language of the Savages pretty well.

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After we had dined, or rather supped, I order'd Friday to take one of the Canoes, and go and fetch our Muskets and other Fire-Arms, which for Want of time we had left upon the Place of Battle, and the next Day I order'd him to go and bury the dead Bodies of the Savages, which lay open to the Sun, and would presently be offensive; and I also order'd him to bury the horrid Remains of their barbarous Feast, which I knew were pretty much, and which I could not think of doing my self; nay, I could not bear to see them, if I went that Way: All which he punctually performed, and defaced the very Appearance of the Savages being there; so that when I went again, I could scarce know where it was, otherwise than by the Corner of the Wood pointing to the Place.
I then began to enter into a little Conversation with my two new Subjects; and first I set Friday to enquire of his Father, what he thought of the Escape of the Savages in that Canoe, and whether we might expect a Return of them with a Power too great for us to resist: His first Opinion was, that the Savages in the Boat never could live out the Storm which blew that Night they went off, but must of Necessity be drowned or driven South to those other Shores where they were as sure to be devoured as they were to be drowned if they were cast away; but as to what they would do if they came safe on Shore, he said he knew not; but it was his Opinion that they were so dreadfully frighted with the Manner of their being attack'd, the Noise and the Fire, that he believed they would tell their People, they were all kill'd by Thunder and Lightning, not by the Hand of Man, and that the two which appear'd, (viz.) Friday and me, were two Heavenly Spirits or Furies, come down to destroy them, and not Men with Weapons: This he said he knew, because he heard them all cry out so in their Language to one another, for it was impossible to them to conceive that a Man could dart Fire, and speak Thunder, and kill at a Distance without lifting up the Hand, as was done now: And this old Savage was in the right; for, as I understood since by other Hands, the Savages never attempted to go over to the Island afterwards; they were so terrified with the Accounts given by those four Men, (for it seems they did escape the Sea) that they believ'd whoever went to that enchanted Island would be destroy'd with Fire from the Gods.

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This however I knew not, and therefore was under continual Apprehensions for a good while, and kept always upon my Guard, me and all my Army; for as we were now four of us, I would have ventur'd upon a hundred of them fairly in the open Field at any Time.
In a little Time, however, no more Canoes appearing, the Fear of their Coming wore off, and I began to take my former Thoughts of a Voyage to the Main into Consideration, being likewise assur'd by Friday's Father, that I might depend upon good Usage from their Nation on his Account, if I would go.
But my Thoughts were a little suspended, when I had a serious Discourse with the Spaniard, and when I understood that there were sixteen more of his Countrymen and Portuguese, who having been cast away, and made their Escape to that Side, liv'd there at Peace indeed with the Savages, but were very sore put to it for Necessaries, and indeed for Life: I ask'd him all the Particulars of their Voyage, and found they were a Spanish Ship bound from the Rio de la Plata to the Havana, being directed to leave their Loading there, which was chiefly Hides and Silver, and to bring back what European Goods they could meet with there; that they had five Portuguese Seamen on Board, who they took out of another Wreck; that five of their own Men were drowned when the first Ship was lost, and that these escaped thro' infinite Dangers and Hazards, and arriv'd almost starv'd on the Cannibal Coast, where they expected to have been devour'd every Moment.
He told me, they had some Arms with them, but they were perfectly useless, for that they had neither Powder or Ball, the Washing of the Sea having spoil'd all their Powder but a little, which they used at their first Landing to provide themselves some Food.
I ask'd him what he thought would become of them there, and if they had form'd no Design of making any Escape? He said, They had many Consultations about it, but that having neither Vessel, or Tools to build one, or Provisions of any kind, their Councils always ended in Tears and Despair.

Oct 25, 2007

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This was the pleasantest Year of all the Life I led in this Place; Friday began to talk pretty well, and understand the Names of almost every Thing I had occasion to call for, and of every Place I had to send him to, and talk'd a great deal to me; so that in short I began now to have some Use for my Tongue again, which indeed I had very little occasion for before; that is to say, about Speech; besides the Pleasure of talking to him, I had a singular Satisfaction in the Fellow himself; his simple unfeign'd Honesty, appear'd to me more and more every Day, and I began really to love the Creature; and on his Side, I believe he lov'd me more than it was possible for him ever to love any Thing before.
I had a Mind once to try if he had any hankering Inclination to his own Country again, and having learn'd him English so well that he could answer me almost any Questions, I ask'd him whether the Nation that he belong'd to never conquer'd in Battle, at which he smil'd; and said; yes, yes, we always fight the better; that is, he meant always get the better in Fight; and so we began the following Discourse: You always fight the better said I, How came you to be taken Prisoner then, Friday
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glad of it, and lik'd it very well; but that which was strangest to him, was, to see me eat Salt with it; he made a Sign to me, that the Salt was not good to eat, and putting a little into his own Mouth, he seem'd to nauseate it, and would spit and sputter at it, washing his Mouth with fresh Water after it; on the other hand, I took some Meat in my Mouth without Salt, and I pretended to spit and sputter for want of Salt, as fast as he had done at the Salt; but it would not do, he would never care for Salt with his Meat, or in his Broth; at least not a great while, and then but a very little.
Having thus fed him with boil'd Meat and Broth, I was resolv'd to feast him the next Day with roasting a Piece of the Kid; this 1 did by hanging it before the Fire, in a String, as I had seen many People do in England, setting two Poles up, one on each side the Fire, and one cross on the Top, and tying the String to the Cross-stick, letting the Meat turn continually: This Friday admir'd very much; but when he came to taste the Flesh, he took so many ways to tell me how well he lik'd it, that I could not but understand him; and at last he told me he would never eat Man's Flesh any more, which I was very glad to hear.
The next Day I set him to work to beating some Corn out, and sifting it in the manner I us'd to do, as I observ'd before and he soon
, especially after he had seen what the Meaning of it was, and that it was to make Bread of; for after that I let him see me make my Bread, and bake it too, and in a little Time Friday was able to do all the Work for me, as well as I could do it my self.
I begun now to consider, that having two Mouths to feed, instead of one, I must provide more Ground for my Harvest, and plant a larger Quantity of Corn, than I us'd to do; so I mark'd out a larger Piece of Land, and began the Fence in the same Manner as before, in which Friday not only work'd very willingly, and very hard; but did it very chearfully, and I told him what it was for; that it was for Corn to make more Bread, because he was now with me, and that I might have enough for him, and my self too: He appear'd very sensible of that Part, and let me know, that he thought I had much more Labour upon me on his Account, than I had for my self; and that he would work the harder for me, if I would tell him what to do.

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Friday, Yes, my Nation eat Mans too, eat all up.
Master, Where do they carry them?
Friday, Go to other Place where they think.
Master, Do they come hither?
Friday, Yes, yes, they come hither; come other else Place.
Master, Have you been here with them?
Friday, Yes, I been here; [points to the N.W. Side of the Island, which it seems was their Side.]
By this I understood, that my Man Friday had formerly been among the Savages, who us'd to come on Shore on the farther Part of the Island, on the same Man eating Occasions that he was now brought for; and sometime after, when I took the Courage to carry him to that Side, being the same I formerly mention'd, he presently knew the Place, and told me, he was there once when they eat up twenty Men, two Women, and one Child; he could not tell Twenty in English; but he numbred them by laying so many Stones on a Row, and pointing to me to tell them over.
have told this Passage, because it introduces what follows; that after I had had this Discourse with him, I ask'd him how far it was from our Island to the Shore, and whether the Canoes were not often lost; he told me, there was no Danger, no Canoes ever lost; but that after a little way out to the Sea, there was a Current, and Wind, always one way in the Morning, the other in the Afternoon.

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This I understood to be no more than the Sets of the Tide, as going out, or coming in; but I afterwards understood, it was occasion'd by the great Draft and Reflux of the mighty River Oroonooko; in the Mouth, or the Gulph of which River, as I found afterwards, our Island lay; and this Land which I perceiv'd to the W. and N. W. was the great Island Trinidad, on the North Point of the Mouth of the River: I ask'd Friday a thousand Questions about the Country, the Inhabitants, the Sea, the Coast, and what Nation were near; he told me all he knew with the greatest Openness imaginable; I ask'd him the Names of the several Nations of his Sort of People; but could get no other Name than Caribs; from whence I easily understood, that these were the Caribbees, which our Maps place on the Part of America, which reaches from the Mouth of the River Oroonooko to Guiana, and onwards to St. Martha: He told me that up a great way beyond the Moon, that was, beyond the Setting of the Moon, which must be W. from their Country, there dwelt white bearded Men, like me; and pointed to my great Whiskers, which I mention'd before; and that they had kill'd much Mans, that was his Word; by all which I under stood he meant the Spaniards, whose Cruelties in America had been spread over the whole Countries, and was remember'd by all the Nations from Father to Son.
enquir'd if he could tell me how I might come from this Island, and get among those white Men; he told me, yes, yes, I might go in two Canoe; I could not understand what he meant, or make him describe to me what he meant by two Canoe, till at last with great Difficulty, I found he meant it must be in a large great Boat, as big as two Canoes.
This Part of Friday's Discourse began to relish with me very well, and from this Time I entertain'd some Hopes, that one Time or other, I might find an Opportunity to make my Escape from this Place; and that this poor Savage might be a Means to help me to do It.

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During the long Time that Friday has now been with me, and that he began to speak to me, and understand me, I was not wanting to lay a Foundation of religious Knowledge in his Mind; particularly I ask'd him one Time who made him? The poor Creature did not understand me at all, but thought I had ask'd who was his Father; but I took it by another handle, and ask'd him who made the Sea, the Ground we walk'd on, and the Hills, and Woods; he told me it was one old Benamuckee, that liv'd beyond all: He could describe nothing of this great Person, but that he was very old; much older he said than the Sea, or the Land; than the Moon, or the Stars: I ask'd him then, if this old Person had made all Things, why did not all Things worship him; he look'd very grave, and with a perfect Look of Innocence, said, All Things do say O to him: I ask'd him if the People who die in his Country went away any where; he said, yes, they all went to Benamuckee; then I ask'd him whether these they eat up went thither too, he said yes.
From these Things, I began to instruct him in the Know ledge of the true God: I told him that the great Maker of all Things liv'd up there, pointing up towards Heaven: That he governs the World by the same Power and Providence by which he had made it: That he was omnipotent, could do every Thing for us, give every Thing to us, take every Thing from us; and thus by Degrees I open'd his Eyes. He listned with great Attention, and receiv'd with Pleasure the Notion of Jesus Christ being sent to redeem us, and of the Manner of making our Prayers to God, and his being able to hear us, even into Heaven; he told me one Day, that if our God could hear us up beyond the Sun, he must needs be a greater God than their Benamuckee, who liv'd but a little way off, and yet could not hear, till they went up to the great Mountains where he dwelt, to speak to him; I ask'd him if ever he went thither, to speak to him; he said no, they never went that were young Men; none went thither but the old Men, who he call'd their Oowocakee, that is, as I made him explain it to me, their Religious, or Clergy, and that they went to say O, (so he called saying Prayers) and then came back, and told them what Benamuckee said: By this I observ'd, That there is Priestcraft, even amongst the most blinded ignorant Pagans in the World; and the Policy of making a secret Religion, in order to preserve the Veneration of the People to the Clergy, is not only to be found in the Roman, but perhaps among all Religions in the World, even among the most brutish and barbarous Savages.

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endeavour'd to clear up this Fraud, to my Man Friday, and told him, that the Pretence of their old Men going up the Mountains, to say O to their God Benamuckee, was a Cheat, and their bringing Word from thence what he said, was much more so; that if they met with any Answer, or spake with any one there, it must be with an evil Spirit: And then I entred into a long Discourse with him about the Devil, the Original of him, his Rebellion against God, his Enmity to Man, the Reason of it, his setting himself up in the dark Parts of the World to be Worship'd instead of God, and as God; and the many Stratagems he made use of to delude Mankind to his Ruine; how he had a secret access to our Passions, and to our Affections, to adapt his Snares so to our Inclinations, as to cause us even to be our own Tempters, and to run upon our Destruction by our own Choice.
found it was not so easie to imprint right Notions in his Mind about the Devil, as it was about the Being of a God. Nature assisted all my Arguments to Evidence to him, even the Necessity Of a great first Cause and over-ruling governing Power; a secret directing Providence, and of the Equity, and Justice, of paying Homage to him that made us, and the like. But there appeared nothing of all this in the Notion of an evil Spirit; of his Original, his Being, his Nature, and above all of his Inclination to do Evil, and to draw us in to do so too; and the poor Creature puzzl'd me once in such a manner, by a Question meerly natural and innocent, that I scarce knew what to say to him. I had been talking a great deal to him of the Power of God, his Omnipotence, his dreadful Nature to Sin, his being a consuming Fire to the Workers of Iniquity; how, as he had made us all, he could destroy us and all the World in a Moment; and he listen'd with great Seriousness to me all the while.

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After this, I had been telling him how the Devil was God's Enemy in the Hearts of Men, and used all his Malice and Skill to defeat the good Designs of Providence, and to ruine the Kingdom of Christ in the World; and the like. Well, says Friday, but you say, God is so strong, so great, is he not much strong, much might as the Devil? Yes, yes, says I, Friday, God is stronger than the Devil, God is above the Devil, and therefore we pray to God to tread him down under our Feet, and enable us to resist his Temptations and quench his fiery Darts. But, says he again, if God much strong, much might as the Devil, why God no kill the Devil, so make him no more do wicked?
was strangely surpriz'd at his Question, and after all, tho' I was now an old Man, yet I was but a young Doctor, and ill enough quallified for a Casuist, or a Solver of Difficulties And at first I could not tell what to say, so I pre tended not to hear him, and ask'd him what he said? But he was too earnest for an Answer to forget his Question; so that he repeated it in the very same broken Words, as above. By this time I had recovered my self a little, and I said, God will at last punish him severely; he is reserv'd for the Judgment, and is to be cast into the Bottomless-Pit, to dwell with ever lasting Fire. This did not satisfie Friday, but he returns upon me, repeating my Words, RESERVE, AT LAST, me no understand; but, Why not kill the Devil now, not kill great ago? You may as well ask me,

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Why God does not kill you and I, when we do wicked Things here that offend him? We are preserv'd to repent and be pardon'd: He muses a while at this; mell, All, says he, mighty affectionately, that well; so you, I, Devil, all wicked, all preserve, repent, God pardon all. Here I was run down again by him to the last Degree, and it was a Testimony to me, how the meer Notions of Nature, though they will guide reasonable Creatures to the Know ledge of a God, and of a Worship or Homage due to the supreme Being, of God as the Consequence of our Nature; yet nothing but divine Revelation can form the Knowledge of Jesus Christ, and of a Redemption purchas'd for us, of a Mediator of the new Covenant, and of an Intercessor, at the Foot-stool of God's Throne; I say, nothing but a Revelation from Heaven, can form these in the Soul, and that therefore the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; I mean, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God promis'd for the Guide and Sanctifier of his People, are the absolutely necessary Instructors of the Souls of Men, in the saving
therefore diverted the present Discourse between me and my Man, rising up hastily, as upon some sudden Occasion of going out; then sending him for something a good way off, I seriously pray'd to God that he would enable me to instruct savingly this poor Savage, assisting by his Spirit the Heart of the poor ignorant Creature, to receive the Light of the Knowledge of God in Christ, reconciling him to himself, and would guide me to speak so to him from the Word of God, as his Conscience might be convinc'd, hid Eyes open'd, and his Soul sav'd. When he came again to me, I entred into a long Discourse with him upon the Subject of the Redemption of Man by the Saviour of the World, and of the Doctrine of the Gospel preach'd from Heaven, viz. of Repentance towards God, and Faith in our Blessed Lord Jesus. I then explain'd to him, as well as I could, why our Blessed Redeemer took not on him the Nature of Angels, but the Seed of Abraham, and how for that Reason the fallen Angels had no Share in the Redemption; that he came only to the lost Sheep of the House of Israel, and the like.

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Here I gave him Bread, and a Bunch of Raisins to eat, and a Draught of Water, which I found he was indeed in great Distress for, by his Running; and having refresh'd him, I made Signs for him to go lie down and sleep; pointing to a Place where I had laid a great Parcel of Rice Straw, and a Blanket upon it, which 1 used to sleep upon my self some times; so the poor Creature laid down, and went to sleep.
He was a comely handsome Fellow, perfectly well made; with straight strong Limbs, not too large; tall and well shap'd, and as I reckon, about twenty six Years of Age. He had a very good Countenance, not a fierce and surly Aspect; but seem'd to have something very manly in his Face, and yet he had all the Sweetness and
Softness of an European in his Countenance too, especially when he smil'd. His Hair was long and black, not curl'd like Wool; his Forehead very high, and large, and a great Vivacity and sparkling Sharpness in his Eyes. The Colour of his Skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not of an ugly yellow nauseous tawny, as the Brasilians, and Virginians, and other Natives of America are; but of a bright kind of a dun olive Colour, that had in it something very agreeable; tho' not very easy to describe. His Face was round, and plump; his Nose small, not flat like the Negroes, a very good Mouth, thin Lips, and his line Teeth well set, and white as Ivory. After he had slumber'd, rather than slept, about half an Hour, he wak'd again, and comes out of the Cave to me; for I had been milking my Goats, which I had in the

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But that which astonish'd him most, was to know how I had kill'd the other Indian so far off, so pointing to him, he made Signs to me to let him go to him, so I bad him go, as well as I could, when he came to him, he stood like one amaz'd, looking at him, turn'd him first on one side, then on t'other, look'd at the Wound the Bullet had made, which it seems was just in his Breast, where it had made a Hole, and no great Quantity of Blood had follow'd, but he had bled inwardly, for he was quite dead; He took up his Bow, and Arrows, and came back, so I turn'd to go away, and beckon'd to him to follow me, making Signs to him, that more might come after them
Upon this he sign'd to me, that he should bury them with Sand, that they might not be seen by the rest if they follow'd; and so I made Signs again to him to do so; he fell to Work, and in an instant he had scrap'd a Hole in the Sand, with his Hands, big enough to bury the first in, and then dragg'd him into it, and cover'd him, and did so also by the other; I believe he had bury'd them both in a Quarter of an Hour; then calling him away, I carry'd him not to my Castle, but quite away to my Cave, on the farther Part of the Island; so I did not let my Dream come to pass in that Part, viz. That he came into my Grove for shelter.

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Enclosure just by: When he espy'd me, he came running to me, laying himself down again upon the Ground, with all the possible Signs of an humble thankful Disposition, making a many antick Gestures show it: At last he lays his Head flat upon the Ground, close to my Foot, and sets my other Foot upon his Head, as he had done before; and after this, made all the Signs to me of Subjection, Servitude, and Submission imaginable, to let me know, how he would serve me as long as he liv'd; I understood him in many Things, and let him know, I was very well pleas'd with him; in a little Time I began to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me; and first, I made him know his Name should be Friday, which was the Day I sav'd his Life; I call'd him so for the Memory of the Time; I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know, that was to be my Name; I likewise taught him to say, YES, and No, and to know the Meaning of them; I gave him some Milk, in an earthen Pot, and let him see me Drink it before him, and sop my Bread in it; and I gave him a Cake of Bread, to do the like, which he quickly comply'd with, and made Signs that it was very good for

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Enclosure just by: When he espy'd me, he came running to me, laying himself down again upon the Ground, with all the possible Signs of an humble thankful Disposition, making a many antick Gestures show it: At last he lays his Head flat upon the Ground, close to my Foot, and sets my other Foot upon his Head, as he had done before; and after this, made all the Signs to me of Subjection, Servitude, and Submission imaginable, to let me know, how he would serve me as long as he liv'd; I understood him in many Things, and let him know, I was very well pleas'd with him; in a little Time I began to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me; and first, I made him know his Name should be Friday, which was the Day I sav'd his Life; I call'd him so for the Memory of the Time; I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know, that was to be my Name; I likewise taught him to say, YES, and No, and to know the Meaning of them; I gave him some Milk, in an earthen Pot, and let him see me Drink it before him, and sop my Bread in it; and I gave him a Cake of Bread, to do the like, which he quickly comply'd with, and made Signs that it was very good for him.
I kept there with him all that Night; but as soon as it was Day, I beckon'd to him to come with me, and let him know, I would give him some Cloaths, at which he seem'd very glad, for he was stark naked: As we went by the Place where he had bury'd the two Men, he pointed exactly to the Place, and shew'd me the Marks that he had made to find them again, making Signs to me, that we should dig them up again, and eat them; at this I appear'd very angry, express'd my Abhorrence of it, made as if I would vomit at the Thoughts of it, and beckon'd with my Hand to him to come away, which he did immediately, with great Sub mission. I then led him up to the Top of the Hill, to see if his Enemies were gone; and pulling out my Glass, I look'd, and saw plainly the Place where they had been, but no appearance of them, or of their Canoes; so that it was plain they were gone, and had left their two Comrades behind them, without any search after them.

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But I was not content with this Discovery; but having now more Courage, and consequently more Curiosity, I takes my Man Friday with me, giving him the Sword in his Hand, with the Bow and Arrows at his Back, which I found he could use very dextrously, making him carry one Gun for me, and I two for my self, and away we march'd to the Place, where these Creatures had been; for I had a Mind now to get some fuller Intelligence of them: When I came to the Place, my very Blood ran chill in my Veins, and my Heart sunk within me, at the Horror of the Spectacle: indeed it was a dreadful Sight, at least it was so to me; though Friday made nothing of it: The Place was cover'd with humane Bones, the Ground dy'd with their Blood, great Pieces of Flesh left here and there, half eaten, mangl'd and scorch'd; and in
short, all the Tokens of the triumphant Feast they had been making there, after a Victory over their Enemies; I saw three Skulls, five Hands, and the Bones of three or four Legs and Feet, and abundance of other Parts of the Bodies; and Friday, by his Signs, made me under stand, that they brought over four Prisoners to feast upon; that three of them were eaten up, and that he, pointing to himself, was the fourth: That there had been a great Battle between them, and their next King, whose Subjects it seems he had been one of; and that they had taken a great Number of Prisoners, all which were carry'd to several Places by those that had taken them in the Fight, in order to feast upon them, as was done here by these Wretches upon those they brought hither.

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caus'd Friday to gather all the Skulls, Bones, Flesh, and whatever remain'd, and lay them together on a Heap, and make a great Fire upon it, and burn them all to Ashes: I found Friday had still a hankering Stomach after some of the Flesh, and was still a Cannibal in his Nature; but I discover'd so much Abhorrence at the very Thoughts of it, and at the least Appearance of it, that he durst not discover it; for I had by some Means let him know, that I would kill him if he offer'd it.
When we had done this, we came back to our Castle, and there I fell to work for my Man Friday; and first of all, I gave him a pair of Linnen Drawers, which I had
out of the poor Gunners Chest I mention'd, and which I found in the Wreck; and which with a little Alteration fitted him very well; then I made him a Jerkin of Goat's-skin, as well as my Skill would allow; and I was now grown a tollerable good Taylor; and I gave him a Cap, which I had made of a Hare-skin, very convenient, and fashionable enough; and thus he was cloath'd for the present, tollerably well; and was mighty well pleas'd to see himself almost as well cloath'd as his Master: It is true, he went awkardly in these Things at first; wearing the Drawers was very awkard to him, and the Sleeves of the Wastcoat gall'd his Shoulders, and the inside of his Arms; but a little easing them where he com plain'd they hurt him, and using himself to them, at length he took to them very well.

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The next Day after I came home to my Hutch with him, I began to consider where I should lodge him, and that I might do well for him, and yet be perfectly easy my self; I made a little Tent for him in the vacant Place between my two Fortifications, in the inside of the last, and in the outside of the first; and as there was a Door, or Entrance there into my Cave, I made a formal fram'd Door Case, and a Door to it of Boards, and set it up in the Passage, a little within the Entrance; and causing the Door to open on the inside, I barr'd it up in the Night, taking in my Ladders too; so that Friday could no way come at me in the inside of my innermost Wall, without making so much Noise in getting over, that it must needs waken me; for my first Wall had now a compleat Roof over it of long Poles, covering all my Tent, and leaning up to the side of the Hill, which was again laid cross with smaller Sticks instead of Laths, and then thatch'd over a great Thickness, with the Rice Straw, which was strong like Reeds; and at the Hole or Place which was left to go in or out by the Ladder, I had plac'd a kind of Trap-door, which if it had been attempted on the outside, would not have open'd at all, but would have fallen down, and made a great Noise; and as to Weapons, I took them all to my Side every Night.
But I needed none of all this Precaution; for never Man had a more faithful, loving, sincere Servant, than Friday was to me; without Passions, Sullenness or Designs, perfectly oblig'd and engag'd; his very Affections were ty'd to me, like those of a Child to a Father; and I dare say, he would have sacrific'd his Life for the saving mine, upon any occasion whatsoever; the many Testimonies he gave me of this, put it out of doubt, and soon convinc'd me, that I needed to use no Precautions, as to my Safety on his Account

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This frequently gave me occasion to observe, and that with wonder, that however it had pleas'd God, in his Providence, and in the Government of the Works of his Hands, to take from so great a Part of the World of his Creatures, the best uses to which their Faculties, and the Powers of their Souls are adapted; yet that he has bestow'd upon them the same Powers, the same Reason, the same Affections, the same Sentiments of Kindness and Obligation, the same Passions and Resentments of Wrongs, the same Sense of Gratitude, Sincerity, Fidelity, and all the Capacities of doing Good, and receiving Good, that he has given to us; and that when he pleases to offer to them Occasions of exerting these, they are as ready, nay, more ready to apply them to the right Uses for which they were bestow'd, than we are; and this made me very melancholly sometimes, in reflecting as the several Occasions presented, how mean a Use we make of all these, even though we have these Powers enlighten'd by the great Lamp of Instruction, the Spirit of God, and by the Knowledge of his Word, added to our Understanding; and why it has pleas'd God to hide the like saving Knowledge from so many Millions of Souls, who if I might judge by this poor Savage, would make a much better use of it than we did.
From hence, I sometimes was led too far to invade the Soveraignty of Providence, and as it were arraign the Justice of so arbitrary a Disposition of Things, that should hide that Light from some, and reveal it to others, and yet expect a like Duty from both: But I shut it up, and check'd my Thoughts with this Conclusion, (1st.) That we did not know by what Light and Law these should be Condemn'd; but that as God was necessarily, and by the Nature of his Being, infinitely Holy and Just, so it could not be, but that if these Creatures were all sentenc'd to Absence from himself, it was on account of sinning against that Light which, as the Scripture says, was a Law to themselves, and by such Rules as their Consciences would acknowledge to be just, tho' the Foundation was not discover'd to us: And (2d.) that still as we are all the Clay in the Hand of the Potter, no Vessel could say to him, Why hast thou form'd me thus?

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But to return to my New Companion; I was greatly delighted with him, and made it my Business to teach him every Thing, that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful; but especially to make him speak, and under stand me when I spake, and he was the aptest Schollar that ever was, and particularly was so merry, so constantly diligent, and so pleased, when he cou'd but understand me, or make me understand him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him; and now my Life began to be so easy, that I began to say to my self, that could I but have been safe from more Savages, I cared not, if I was never to remove from the place while I lived
After I had been two or three Days return'd to my Castle, I thought that, in order to bring Friday off from his horrid way of feeding, and from the Relish of a Cannibal's Stomach, I ought to let him taste other Flesh; so I took him out with me one Morning to the Woods: I went indeed intending to kill a Kid out of my own Flock, and bring him home and dress it. But as I was going, I saw a She Goat lying down in the Shade, and two young Kids sitting by her; I catch'd hold of Friday, hold says I, stand still; and made Signs to him not to stir, immediately I presented my Piece, shot and kill'd one of the Kids. The poor Creature who had at a Distance indeed seen me kill the Savage his Enemy, but did not know, or could imagine how it was done, was sensibly surpriz'd, trembled, and shook, and look'd so amaz'd, that I thought he would have sunk down. He did not see the Kid I shot at, or perceive I had kill'd it, but ripp'd up his Wastcoat to feel if he was not wounded, and as I found, presently thought I was resolv'd to kill him; for he came and kneel'd down to me, and embraceing my Knees, said a great many Things I did not understand; but I could easily see that the meaning was to pray me not to kill him.

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I soon found a way to convince him that I would do him no harm, and taking him up by the Hand laugh'd at him, and pointed to the Kid which I had kill'd, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he did; and while he was wondering and looking to see how the Creature was kill'd, I loaded my Gun again, and by and by I saw a great Fowl like a Hawk sit upon a Tree within Shot; so to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I call'd him to me again, pointed at the Fowl which was indeed a Parrot, tho' I thought it had been a Hawk, I say pointing to the Parrot, and to my Gun, and to the Ground under the Parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that Bird; accordingly I fir'd and bad him look, and immediately he saw the Parrot fall, he stood like one frighted again, notwithstanding all I had said to him; and I found he was the more amaz'd, because he did not see me put any Thing into the Gun; but thought that there must be some wonderful Fund of Death and Destruction in that Thing, able to kill Man, Beast, Bird, or any Thing near, or far off; and the Astonishment this created in him was such, as could not wear off for a long Time; and I believe, if I would have let him, he would have worshipp'd me and my Gun: As for the Gun it self, he would not so much as touch it for several Days after; but would speak to it, and talk to it, as if it had answer'd him, when he was by himself; which, as I afterwards learn'd of him, was to desire it not to kill him.
Well, after his Astonishment was a little over at this, I pointed to him to run and fetch the Bird I had shot, which he did, but stay'd some Time; for the Parrot not being quite dead, was flutter'd away a good way off from the Place where she fell; however, he found her, took her up, and brought her to me; and as I had perceivd his Ignorance about the Gun before, I took this Advantage to charge the Gun again, and not let him see me do it, that 1 might be ready for any other Mark that might present; but nothing more offer'd at that Time; so I brought home the Kid, and the same Evening I took the Skin off, and cut it out as well as I could; and having a Pot for that purpose, I boil'd, or stew'd some of the Flesh, and made some very good Broth; and after I had begun to eat some, I gave some to my Man, who seem'd very

Oct 24, 2007

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sufficient Stock of one Year's Provisions beforehand. I say, besides this yearly Labour, and my daily Labour of going out with my Gun, I had one Labour to make me a Canoe, which at last I finished. So that by digging a Canal to it of six Foot wide, and four Foot deep, I brought it into the Creek, almost half a Mile. As for the first, which was so vastly big, as I made it without considering before-hand, as I ought to do, how I should be able to launch it; so never being able to bring it to the Water, or bring the Water to it, I was oblig'd to let it lye where it was, as a Memorandum to teach me to be wiser next Time: Indeed, the next Time, tho' I could not get a Tree proper for it, and in a Place where I could not get the Water to it, at any less Distance, than as I have said, near half a Mile; yet as I saw it was practicable at last, I never gave it over: and though I was near two Years about it, yet I never grutch'd my Labour, in Hopes of having a Boat to go off to Sea at last.
However, though my little Periagua was finish'd; yet the Size of it was not at all answerable to the Design which I had in View, when I made the first; I mean, Of venturing over to the Terra Firma, where it was above forty Miles broad; accordingly, the Smallness of my Boat assisted to put an End to that Design, and now I thought no more of it: But as I had a Boat, my next Design was to make a Tour round the Island; for as I had been on the other Side, in one Place, crossing as I have already describ'd it, over the Land; so the Discoveries I made in that little Journey, made me very eager to see other Parts of the Coast; and now I had a Boat, I thought of nothing but sailing round the Island.

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For this Purpose, that I might do every Thing with Discretion and Consideration, I fitted up a little Mast to my Boat, and made a Sail to it, out of some of the Pieces of the Ship's Sail, which lay in store; and of which I had a great Stock by me.
Having fitted my Mast and Sail, and try'd the Boat, I found she would sail very well: Then I made little Lockers, or Boxes, at either End of my Boat, to put Provisions, Necessaries and Ammunition, etc. into, to be kept dry, either from Rain, or the Sprye of the Sea; and a little long hollow Place I cut in the In-side of the Boat, where I could lay Gun, making a Flap to hang down over it to keep it dry.
I fix'd my Umbrella also in a Step at the Stern, like a Mast, to stand over my Head, and keep the Heat of the Sun off of me like an Auning; and thus I every now and then took a little Voyage upon the Sea, but never went far out, nor far from the little Creek; but at last being eager to view the Circumference of my little Kingdom, I resolv'd upon my our, and accordingly I victuall'd my Ship for the Voyage, putting in two Dozen of my Loaves (Cakes I should rather All them) of Barley Bread, an Earthen Pot full of parch'd Rice, a Food I eat a great deal of, a little Bottle of Rum, half a Goat, and Powder and Shot for killing more, and two large Watch-coats, of those which, as I mention'd before, I had sav'd out of the Seamen's Chests; these I took, one to lye upon, and the other to cover me in the Night.

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It was the sixth of November, in the sixth Year of my Reign, or my Captivity, which you please, That I set out on this Voyage, and I found it much longer than I expected; for though the Island it self was not very large, yet when I me to the East Side of it, I found a great Ledge of Rocks lye out above two Leagues into the Sea, some above Water, some under it; and beyond that, a Shoal of Sand, lying dry half a League more; so that I was oblig'd to go a great Way out to Sea to double the Point.
When first I discover'd them, I was going to give over my Enterprise, and come back again, not knowing how far it might oblige me to go out to Sea; and above all, doubting how I should get back again; so I came to an Anchor; for I had made me a kind of an Anchor with a Piece of a broken Graplin, which I got out of the Ship.
Having secur'd my Boat, I took my Gun, and went on Shore, climbing up upon a Hill, which seem'd to over-look that Point, where I saw the full Extent of it, and resolv'd to venture.
In my viewing the Sea from that Hill where I stood, I perceiv'd a strong, and indeed, a most furious Current, which run to the East, and even came close to the Point; and I took the more Notice of it, because I saw there might be some Danger; that when I came into it, I might be carry'd out to Sea by the Strength of it, and not be able to make the Island again; and indeed, had I not gotten first up upon this Hill, 1 believe it would have been so; for there was the same Current on the other Side the Island, only, that it set off at a farther Distance; and I saw there was a strong Eddy under the Shore; so I had nothing to do but to get in out of the first Current, and I should presently be in an Eddy.

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lay here, however, two Days; because the Wind blowing pretty fresh at E.S.E. and that being just contrary to the said Current, made a great Breach of the Sea upon the Point; so that it was not safe for me to keep too close to the Shore for the Breach, nor to go too far off because of the Stream.
The third Day in the Morning, the Wind having abated over Night, the Sea was calm, and I ventur'd; but I am a warning Piece again, to all rash and ignorant Pilots; for no sooner was I come to the Point, when even I was not my Boat's Length from the Shore, but I found my self in a great Depth of Water, and a Current like the Sluice of a Mill: It carry'd my Boat a long with it with such Violence, That all I could do, could not keep her so much as on the Edge of it; but I found it hurry'd me farther and
farther out from the Eddy, which was on my left Hand. There was no Wind stirring to help me, and all I could do with my Paddlers signify'd nothing, and now I began to give my self over for lost; for as the Current was on both Sides the Island, I knew in a few Leagues Distance they must joyn again, and then I was irrecoverably gone; nor did I see any Possibility of avoiding it; so that I had no Prospect before me but of Perishing; not by the Sea, for that was calm enough, but of starving for Hunger. I had indeed found a Tortoise on the Shore, as big almost as I could lift, and had toss'd it into the Boat; and I had a great Jar of fresh Water, that is to say, one of my Earthen Pots; but what was all this to being driven into the vast Ocean, where to be sure, there was no Shore, no main Land, or Island, for a thousand Leagues at least.

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And now I saw how easy it was for the Providence of God make the most miserable Condition Mankind could be in worse. Now I look'd back upon my desolate solitary Island, the most pleasant Place in the World, and all the Happiness my Heart could wish for, was to be but there again. I stretch'd out my Hands to it with eager Wishes. O happy Desart said I, I shall never see thee more. O miserable Creature, said I, whether am I going: Then I reproach'd my Self with my unthankful Temper, and how I had repin'd at my solitary Condition; and now what would I give to be on Shore there again. Thus we never see the true State of our Condition, till it is illustrated to us by its Contraries; nor know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want of it. It is scarce possible to imagine the Consternation I was now in, being driven from my beloved Island (for so it appear'd to me now to be) into the wide Ocean, almost two Leagues, and in the utmost Despair of ever recovering it again.
However, I work'd hard, till indeed my Strength was almost exhausted, and kept my Boat as much to the Northward, that is, towards the Side of the Current which the Eddy lay on, as possibly I could; when about Noon, as the Sun pass'd the Meridian, I thought I felt a little Breeze of Wind in my Face, springing up from the S.S.E. This chear'd my Heart a little, and especially when in about half an Hour more, it blew a pretty small gentle Gale. By this Time I was gotten at a frightful Distance from the Island, and had the least Cloud or haizy Weather interven'd, I had been undone another Way too; for I had no Compass on Board, and should never have known how to have steer'd towards the Island, if I had but once lost Sight of it; but the Weather continuing clear, I apply'd my self to get up my Mast again, spread my Sail, standing away to the North, as much as possible, to get out of the Current.

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Just as I had set my Mast and Sail, and the Boat began to stretch away, I saw even by the Clearness of the Water, some Alteration of the Current was near; for where the Current was so strong, the Water was foul; but perceiving the Water clear, I found the Current abate, and presently I found to the East, at about half a Mile, a Breach of the Sea upon some Rocks; these Rocks I found caus'd the Current to part again, and as the main Stress of it ran away more Southerly, leaving the Rocks to the North-East; so the other return'd by the Repulse of the Rocks, and made a strong Eddy, which run back again to the North-West, with a very sharp Stream.
They who know what it is to have a Reprieve brought to them upon the Ladder, or to be rescued from Thieves just a going to murther them, or, who have been in such like Extremities, may guess what my present Surprise of Joy was, and how gladly I put my Boat into the Stream of this Eddy, and the Wind also freshening, how gladly I spread my Sail to it, running chearfully before the Wind, and with a strong Tide or Eddy under Foot.
This Eddy carryed me about a League in my Way back again directly towards the Island, but about two Leagues more to the Northward than the Current which carried me away at first; so that when I came near the Island, I found my self open to the Northern Shore of it, that is to say, the other End of the Island opposite to that which I went out from.

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The Reason why I could not go quite naked, was, I could not bear the heat of the Sun so well when quite naked, as with some Cloaths on; nay, the very Heat frequently blistered my Skin; whereas with a Shirt on, the Air itself made some Motion, and whistling under that Shirt was twofold cooler than without it; no more could I ever bring my self to go out in the heat of Sun, without a Cap or a Hat; the heat of the Sun beating with such Violence as it does in that Place, would give me the Head-ach presently, by darting so directly on my Head, without a Cap or Hat on, so that I could not bear it, whereas, if I put on my Hat, it would presently go away
Upon those Views I began to consider about putting the few Rags I had, which I call'd Cloaths, into some Order; I had worn out all the Wast-coats I had, and my Business was now to try if I could not make Jackets out of the great Watch-Coats which I had by me, and with such other Materials as I had, so I set to Work a Taylering, or rather indeed a Botching, for I made most piteous Work of it. However, I made shift to make two or three new Wastcoats, which I hoped wou'd serve me a great while; as for Breeches or Drawers, I made but a very sorry shift indeed, till afterward.
I have mentioned that I saved the Skins of all the Creatures that I kill'd, I mean four-footed ones, and I had hung them up stretch'd out with Sticks in the Sun, by which means some of them were so dry and hard that they were fit for little but others it seems were very useful. The first thing I made of these was a great Cap for my Head, with the Hair on the out Side to shoor off the Rain; and this I perform'd so well, that after this I made me a Suit of Cloaths wholly of these Skins, that is to say, a Wastcoat, and Breeches open at Knees, and both loose, for they were rather wanting to keep me cool than to keep me warm. I must not omit to acknowledge that they were wretchedly made; for if I was a bad Carpenter, I was a worse Tayler. However, they were such as I made very good shift with; and when I was abroad, if it happen'd to rain, the Hair of my Wastcoat and Cap being outermost, I was kept very dry.

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After this I spent a great deal of Time and Pains to make me an Umbrella; I was indeed in great want of one, and had a great Mind to make one; I had seen them made in the Brasils, where they are very useful in the great Heats which are there. And I felt the Heats every jot as great here, and greater too, being nearer the Equinox; besides, as I was oblig'd to be much abroad, it was a most useful thing to me, as well for the Rains as the Heats. I took a world of Pains at it, and was a great while before I could make any thing likely to hold; nay, after I thought I had hit the Way, I spoil'd 2 or 3 before I made one to my Mind; but at last I made one that answer'd indifferently well: The main Difficulty I found was to make it to let down. I could make it to spread, but if it did not let down too, and draw in, it was not portable for me any Way but just over my Head, which wou'd not do. However, at last, as I said, I made one to answer, and covered it with Skins, the Hair upwards, So that it cast off the Rains like a Penthouse, and kept off the Sun so effectually, that I could walk out in the hottest of the Weather with greater Advantage than I could before in the coolest, and when I had no need of it, cou'd close it and carry it under my Arm.
Thus I liv'd mighty comfortably, my Mind being entirely composed by resigning to the Will of God, and throwing my self wholly upon the Disposal of his Providence. This made my Life better than sociable, for when I began to regret the want of Conversation, I would ask my self whether thus conversing mutually with my own Thoughts, and, as I hope I may say, with even God himself by Ejaculations, was not better than the utmost Enjoyment of humane Society in the World.
I cannot say that after this, for five Years, any extraordinary thing happened to me, but I liv'd on in the same Course, in the same Posture and Place, just as before; the chief things I was employ'd in, besides my yearly Labour of planting my Barley and Rice, and curing my Raisins, of both which I always kept up just enough to have

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This was a most preposterous Method; but the Eagerness of my Fancy prevail'd, and to work I went. I fell'd a Cedar Tree: I question much whether Solomon ever had such a One for the Building of the Temple at Jerusalem. It was five Foot ten Inches Diameter at the lower Part next the Stump, and four Foot eleven Inches Diameter at the End of twenty two Foot, after which it lessen'd for a while, and then parted into Branches: It was not without infinite Labour that I fell'd this Tree: I was twenty Days hacking and hewing at it at the Bottom. I was fourteen more getting the Branches and Limbs, and the vast' spreading Head of it cut off, which I hack'd and hew'd through with Axe and Hatchet, and inexpressible Labour: After this, it cost me a Month to shape it, and dub it to a Proportion, and to something like the Bottom of a Boat, that it might swim upright as it ought to do. It cost me near three Months more to clear the In-side, and work it out so, as to make an exact Boat of it: This I did indeed without Fire, by meer Malett and Chissel, and by the dint of hard Labour, till I had brought it to be a very handsome Periagua, and big enough to have carry'd six and twenty Men, and consequently big enough to have carry'd me and all my Cargo.
When I had gone through this Work, I was extremely delighted with it. The Boat was really much bigger than I ever saw a Canoe, or Periagua, that was made of one Tree, in my Life. Many a weary Stroke it had cost, you may be sure; and there remain'd nothing but to get it into the Water; and had I gotten it into the Water, I make no question but I should have began the maddest Voyage, and the most unlikely to be perform'd, that ever was undertaken.

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But all my Devices to get it into the Water fail'd me; tho' they cost me infinite Labour too. It lay about one hundred Yards from the Water, and not more: But the first Inconvenience was, it was up Hill towards the Creek; well, to take away this Discouragement, I resolv'd to dig into the Surface of the Earth, and so make a Declivity: This I begun, and it cost me a prodigious deal of Pains; but who grutches Pains, that have their Deliverance in View: But then this was work'd through, and this Difficulty manag'd, it was still much at one; for I could no more stir the Canoe, than I could the other Boat.
Then I measur'd the Distance of Ground, and resolv'd to cut a Dock, or Canal, to bring the Water up to the Canoe, seeing I could not bring the Canoe down to the Water: Well, I began this Work, and when I began to enter into it, and calculate how deep it was to be dug, how broad, how the Stuff to be thrown out, I found, That by the Number of Hands I had, being none but my own, it must have been ten or twelve Years before I should have gone through with it; for the Shore lay high, so that at the upper End, it must have been at least twenty Foot Deep; so at length, tho' with great Reluctancy, I gave this Attempt over also.
This griev'd me heartily, and now I saw, tho' too late, the Folly of beginning a Work before we count the Cost; and before we judge rightly of our own Strength to go through with it.

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In the middle of this Work, I finish'd my fourth Year in this Place, and kept my Anniversary with the same Devotion, and with as much Comfort as ever before; for by a constant Study, and serious Application of the Word of God, and by the Assistance of his Grace, I gain'd a different Knowledge from what I had before. I entertain'd different Notions of Things. I look'd now upon the World as a Thing remote, which I had nothing to do with, no Expectation from, and indeed no Desires about: In a Word, I had nothing indeed to do with it, nor was ever like to have; so I thought it look'd as we may perhaps look upon it hereafter, viz. as a Place I had liv'd in, but was come out of it; and well might I say, as Father Abraham to Dives, Between me and thee is a great Gulph fix'd.
In the first Place, I was remov'd from all the Wickedness of the World here. I had neither the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye, or the Pride of Life. I had nothing to covet; for I had all that I was now capable of enjoying: I was Lord of the whole Mannor; or if I pleas'd, I might call my self King, or Emperor over the whole Country which I had Possession of. There were no Rivals. I had no Competitor, none to dispute Sovereignty or Command with me. I might have rais'd Ship Loadings of Corn; but I had no use for it; so I let as little grow as I thought enough for my Occasion.

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I had Tortoise or Turtles enough; but now and then one, was as much as I could put to any use. I had Timber enough to have built a Fleet of Ships. I had Grapes enough to have made Wine, or to have cur'd into Raisins, to have loaded that Fleet, when they had been built. But all I could make use of, was, All that was valuable. I had enough to eat, and to supply my Wants, and, what was all the rest to me? If I kill'd more Flesh than I could eat, the Dog must eat it, or the Vermin. If I sow'd more Corn than I could eat, it must be spoil'd. The Trees that I cut down, were lying to rot on the Ground. I could make no more use of them than for Fewel; and that I had no Occasion for, but to dress my Food.
In a Word, The Nature and Experience of Things dictated to me upon just Reflection, That all the good Things of this World, are no farther good to us, than they are for our Use; and that whatever we may heap up indeed to give others, we enjoy just as much as we can use, and no more. The most covetous griping Miser in the World would have been cur'd of the Vice of Covetousness, if he had been in my Case; for I possess'd infinitely more than I knew what to do with. I had no room for Desire, except it was of Things which I had not, and they were but Trifles, though indeed of great Use to me. I had, as I hinted before, a Parcel of Money, as well Gold as Silver, about thirty six Pounds Sterling: Alas! There the nasty sorry useless Stuff lay; I had no manner of Business for it; and I often thought with my self, That I would have given a Handful of it for a Gross of Tobacco-Pipes, or for a Hand-Mill to grind my Corn; nay, I would have given it all for Sixpenny-worth of Turnip and Carrot Seed out of England, or for a Handful of Pease and Beans, and a Bottle of Ink: As it was, I had not the least advantage by it, or Benefit from it; but there it lay in a Drawer, and grew mouldy with the Damp of the Cave, in the wet Season; and if I had had the Drawer full of Diamonds, it had been the same Case; and they had been of no manner of Value to me, because of no Use.

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I had now brought my State of Life to be much easier in it self than it was at first, and much easier to my Mind, as well as to my Body. I frequently sat down to my Meat with Thankfulness, and admir'd the Hand of God's Providence, which had thus spread my Table in the Wilderness. I learn'd to look more upon the bright Side of my Condition, and less upon the dark Side; and to consider what I enjoy'd, rather than what I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret Comforts, that I cannot express them; and which I take Notice of here, to put those discontented People in Mind of it, who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them; because they see, and covet something that he has not given them: All our Discontents about what we want, appear'd to me, to spring from the Want of Thankfulness for what we have.
Another Reflection was of great Use to me, and doubtless would be so to any one that should fall into such Distress as mine was; and this was, To compare my present Condition with what I at first expected it should be; nay, with what it would certainly have been, if the good Providence of God had not wonderfully order'd the Ship to be cast up nearer to the Shore, where I not only Could come at her, but could bring what I got out of her to the Shore, for my Relief and Comfort; without which, I had wanted for Tools to work, Weapons for Defence, or Gun-Powder and Shot for getting my Food.

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I spent whole Hours, I may say whole Days, in representing to my self in the most lively Colours, how I must have acted, if I had got nothing out of the Ship. How I could not have so much as got any Food, except Fish and Turtles; and that as it was long before I found any of them, I must have perish'd first. That I should have liv'd, if I had not perish'd, like a meer Savage. That if I had kill'd a Goat, or a Fowl, by any Contrivance, I had no way to flea' or open them, or part the Flesh from the Skin, and the Bowels, or to cut it up; but must gnaw it with my Teeth, and pull it with my Claws like a Beast.
These Reflections made me very sensible of the Goodness of Providence to me, and very thankful for my present Condition, with all its Hardships and Misfortunes: And this Part also I cannot but recommend to the Reflection of those, who are apt in their Misery to say, Is any Affliction like mine! Let them consider, How much worse the Cases of some People are, and their Case might have been, if Providence had thought fit.
I had another Reflection which assisted me also to comfort my Mind with Hopes; and this was, comparing my present Condition with what I had deserv'd, and had therefore Reason to expect from the Hand of Providence. I had liv'd a dreadful Life, perfectly destitute of the Knowledge and Fear of God. I had been well instructed

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I spent whole Hours, I may say whole Days, in representing to my self in the most lively Colours, how I must have acted, if I had got nothing out of the Ship. How I could not have so much as got any Food, except Fish and Turtles; and that as it was long before I found any of them, I must have perish'd first. That I should have liv'd, if I had not perish'd, like a meer Savage. That if I had kill'd a Goat, or a Fowl, by any Contrivance, I had no way to flea' or open them, or part the Flesh from the Skin, and the Bowels, or to cut it up; but must gnaw it with my Teeth, and pull it with my Claws like a Beast.
These Reflections made me very sensible of the Goodness of Providence to me, and very thankful for my present Condition, with all its Hardships and Misfortunes: And this Part also I cannot but recommend to the Reflection of those, who are apt in their Misery to say, Is any Affliction like mine! Let them consider, How much worse the Cases of some People are, and their Case might have been, if Providence had thought fit.
I had another Reflection which assisted me also to comfort my Mind with Hopes; and this was, comparing my present Condition with what I had deserv'd, and had therefore Reason to expect from the Hand of Providence. I had liv'd a dreadful Life, perfectly destitute of the Knowledge and Fear of God. I had been well instructed

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by Father and Mother; neither had they been wanting to me, in their early Endeavours, to infuse a religious Awe of God into my Mind, a Sense of my Duty, and of what the Nature and End of my Being, requir'd of me. But alas! falling early into the Seafaring Life, which of all the Lives is the most destitute of the Fear of God, though his Terrors are always before them; I say, falling early into the Seafaring Life, and into Seafaring Company, all that little Sense of Religion which I had entertain'd, was laugh'd out of me by my Mess-Mates, by a harden'd despising of Dangers; and the Views of Death, which grew habitual to me; by my long Absence from all Manner of Opportunities to converse with any thing but what was like my self, or to hear any thing that was good, or tended towards it.
So void was I of every Thing that was good, or of the least Sense of what I was, or was to be, that in the greatest Deliverances I enjoy'd, such as my Escape from Sallee; my being taken up by the Portuguese Master of the Ship; my being planted so well in the Brasils; my receiving the Cargo from England, and the like; I never had once the Word Thank God, so much as on my Mind, or in my Mouth; nor in the greatest Distress, had I so much as a Thought to pray to him, or so much as to say, Lord have Mercy upon me;no nor to mention the Name of God, unless it was to swear by, and blaspheme it.
I had terrible Reflections upon my Mind for many Months, as I have already observ'd, on the Account of my wicked and hardned Life past; and when I look'd about me and considered what particular Providences had attended me since my coming into this Place, and how God had dealt bountifully with me; had not only punished me less than my Iniquity had deserv'd, but had so plentifully provided for me; this gave me great hopes that my Repentance was accepted, and that God had yet Mercy in store for me.

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With these Reflections I work'd my Mind up, not only to Resignation to the Will of God in the present Disposition of my Circumstances; but even to a sincere Thankfulness for my Condition, and that I who was yet a living Man, ought not to complain, seeing I had not the due Punishment of my Sins; that I enjoy'd so many Mercies which I had no reason to have expected in that Place; that I ought never more to repine at my Condition but to rejoyce, and to give daily Thanks for that daily Bread, which nothing but a Croud of Wonders could have brought. That I ought to consider I had been fed even by Miracle, even as great as that of feeding Elijah by Ravens; nay, by a long Series of Miracles, and that I could hardly have nam'd a Place in the unhabitable Part of the World where I could have been cast more to my Advantage: A Place, where as I had no Society, which was my Affliction on one Hand, so I found no ravenous Beast, no furious Wolves or Tygers to threaten my Life, no venomous Creatures or poisonous, which I might feed On to my Hurt, no Savages to murther and devour me.
In a word, as my Life was a Life of Sorrow, one way, so it was a Life of Mercy, another; and I wanted nothing to make it a Life of Comfort, but to be able to make my Sence of God's Goodness to me, and Care over me in this Condition, be my daily Consolation; and after I did make a just Improvement of these things, I went away and was no more sad.
I had now been here so long, that many Things which I brought on Shore for my Help, were either quite gone, or very much wasted' and near spent.
My Ink, as I observed, had been gone some time, all but a very little, which I eek'd out with Water a little and a little, till it was so pale it scarce left any Appearance of black upon the Paper: As long as it lasted, I made use of it to minute down the Days of the Month on which any remarkable Thing happen'd to me, and first by casting up Times past: I remember that there was a strange Concurrence of Days, in the various Providences which befel me; and which, if I had been superstitiously inclin'd to observe Days as Fatal or Fortunate, I might have had Reason to have look'd upon with a great deal of Curiosity.

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First I had observed, that the same Day that I broke away from my Father and my Friends, and run away to Hull, in order to go to Sea; the same Day afterwards I was taken by the Sallee Man of War, and made a Slave.
The same Day of the Year that I escaped out of the Wreck of that Ship in Yarmouth Rodes, that same Day-Year afterwards I made my escape from Sallee in the Boat.
The same Day of the Year I was born on (viz.) the 30th of September, that same Day, I had my Life so miraculously saved 26 Year after, when I was cast on Shore in this Island, so that my wicked Life, and my solitary Life begun both on a Day.
The next Thing to my Ink's being wasted, was that of my Bread, I mean the Bisket which I brought out of the Ship; this Ijavascript:void(0) had husbanded to the last degree, allowing my self but one Cake of Bread a Day for above a Year, and yet I was quite without Bread for near a Year before I got any Corn of my own, and great Reason I had to be thankful that I had any at all, the getting it being, as has been already observed, next to miraculous.
My Cloaths began to decay too mightily: As to Linnen, I had had none a good while, except some chequer'd Shirts which I found in the Chests of the other Seamen, and which I carefully preserved, because many times I could bear no other Cloaths on but a Shirt; and it was a very great help to me that I had among all the Men's Cloaths Of the Ship almost three dozen Of Shirts. There were also several thick Watch Coats of the Seamens, which were left indeed, but they were too hot to wear; and tho' it is true, that the Weather was so violent hot, that there was no need of Cloaths, yet I could not go quite naked; no, tho' I had been inclin'd to it, which I was not, nor could not abide the thoughts of it, tho' I was all alone.

Oct 23, 2007

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was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had, and this Extremity rouz'd my Application; we had several spare Yards, and two or three large sparrs of Wood, and a spare Top-mast or two in the Ship; I resolv'd to fall to work with these, and I flung as many of them over board as I could manage for their Weight, tying every one with a Rope that they might not drive away; when this was done I went down the Ship's Side, and pulling them to me, I ty'd four of them fast together at both Ends as well as I could, in the Form of a Raft, and laying two or three short Pieces of Plank upon them cross-ways, I found I could walk upon it very well, but that it was not able to bear any great Weight, the Pieces being too light; so I went to work, and with the Carpenter's Saw I cut a spare Top-mast into three Lengths, and added them to my Raft, with a great deal of Labour and Pains, but hope of furnishing my self with Necessaries, encourag'd me to go beyond what I should have been able to have done upon another Occasion.
My Raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable Weight; my next Care was what to load it with, and how to preserve what I laid upon it from the Surf of the Sea; But I was not long considering this, I first laid all the Plank or Boards upon it that I could get, and having consider'd well what I most wanted, I first got three of the Seamens Chests, which I had broken open and empty'd, and lower'd them down upon my Raft; the first of these I fill'd with Provision, viz. Bread, Rice, three Dutch Cheeses, five Pieces of dry'd Goat's Flesh, which we liv'd much u'pon, and a little Remainder of European Corn which had been laid by for some Fowls which

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we brought to Sea with us, but the Fowls were kill'd; there had been some Barly and Wheat together, but, to my great Disappointment, I found afterwards that the Rats had eaten or spoil'd it all; as for Liquors, I found several Cases of Bottles belonging to our Skipper, in which some Cordial Waters, and in all about five or six Gallons of Rack, these I stow'd by themselves, there being no need to put them into the Chest, nor no room for them. While I was doing this, I found the Tyde began to flow, tho' very calm, and I had the Mortification to see my Coat, Shirt, and Wast-coat which I had left on Shore upon the Sand, swim away; as for my Breeches which were only Linnen and open knee'd, I swam on board in them and my Stockings: However this put me upon rummaging for Clothes, of which I found enough, but took no more than I wanted for present use, for I had other things which my Eye was more upon, as first Tools to work with on Shore, and it was after long searching that I found out the Carpenter's Chest, which was indeed a very useful Prize to me, and much more valuable than a Ship Loading of Gold would have been at that time; I got it down to my Raft, even whole as it was, without losing time to look into it, for I knew in general what it contain'd.
My next Care was for some Ammunition and Arms; there were two very good Fowling-pieces in the great Cabbin, and two Pistols, these I secur'd first, with some Powder-horns, and a small Bag of Shot, and two old rusty Swords; I knew there were three Barrels of Powder in the Ship, but knew not where our Gunner had stow'd them, but with much search I found them, two of them dry and good, the third had taken Water, those two I got to my Raft, with the Arms, and now I thought my self pretty well freighted, and began to think how I should get to Shore with them, having neither Sail, Oar, or Rudder, and the least Cap full of Wind would have overset all my Navigation.