As Little King Pippin grew in years he rose in the esteem of every one who knew him, and his acquaintance was courted by all the good boys in the school, who frequently invited him, at the request of their parents, to spend the holidays with them. Among others, he went one Christmas with the son of Sir William Worthy, a wealthy London merchant. This gentleman, in whom merit always found a friend, was so highly pleased with the engaging affability of King Pippin's disposition, as well as the great proficiency he had made in the several branches of learning, that he thenceforward took him under his protection, and as soon as he arrived at a proper age, placed him in his counting-house, in which situation be conducted himself so much to Sir William's satisfaction, that, having occasion to send out a person to superintend some plantations which he possessed abroad, King Pippin was fixed on for that purpose. A ship being provided, and every thing in readiness for the voyage, after taking a most affectionate leave of his parents and friends, he set sail for these plantations, which were situated in one of the West India islands. About a fortnight after their departure, they had the misfortune to lose the Captain's son, a little boy about eight or nine years of age, who fell from the ship's side, when she was under full sail, and was drowned. This melancholy accident is another striking instance of the unhappy consequences of children's disobedience to their parents. The little boy, here alluded to, used frequently to get on the outside of the ship, and let himself down by a rope to paddle in the sea; he had been several times detected by his papa, in playing those frolics; and as often reproved for it, and warned of the danger, but to little purpose; for he was one of those headstrong undutiful children (of whom I fear there are too many) who, as soon as they are out of their parents' sight, forget the good advices and prudent cautions which have been given them, and pursue each idle fancy that enters their heads, without once considering either the folly or danger of it, till they are convinced, by fatal experience, that their parents are much more capable of judging what is proper for them than they are for themselves.
After this accident, they proceeded on their voyage for several weeks, with very favourable weather, and had got so near their destined harbour, that they expected to have made it the next day, but in this they were unhappily disappointed; for about ten o'clock in the evening they were overtaken by the most violent storm that the oldest sailor on board had ever remembered. The waves, which broke mountains high over the ship, washed several of the sailors overboard, and the rest were so dispirited and fatigued, that they were obliged to let the ship drive at the mercy of the wind and waves.
The next morning, as soon as it was light, they perceived that the ship was carried towards the land with the greatest rapidity; and, as they every moment expected, about nine o'clock she struck upon a rock; the boat was immediately hoisted out, and every one on board crowded into her, except King Pippin, who imagining, that being overloaded, she could not possibly reach the shore, preferred remaining on the wreck. A very short time convinced him, that his suspicion was too well grounded; for before the boat was out of sight, she overset, and every one on board perished.
In this dangerous situation, expecting that the ship would go to pieces every moment, he continued till the afternoon, when the storm began to abate, and the sea became tolerably calm, and by the ebb of the tide the ship was much nearer the land than when she first struck. King Pippin now conceived hopes of gaining the shore, by means of a raft which he had constructed in the best manner he could; and, furnishing himself with such things as he thought might be useful to him on shore, he let down his raft into the sea, and placing himself on it, began to paddle towards the land; he had proceeded about a mile with great difficulty, when a sudden gust of wind instantly overset his whole cargo, and he was obliged to swim near a mile farther before he could reach the shore.
After returning thanks to God Almighty for his great goodness towards him, in preserving him alone of the whole ship's crew, King Pippin began to consider in what manner he should spend the night, which now drew on apace. Not knowing but there might be wild beasts on the island, he was for some time at a loss how to secure himself, till recollecting he had read, that Robinson Crusoe, when he was cast away on an uninhabited island, had spent the night on the top of a thick tree, he had recourse to the same method, and after the great fatigue he had undergone, slept very soundly till morning, when he descended from his new lodging, and walked several miles about the island, to discover if it was inhabited, but not being able to find the least traces of any human creature, he returned towards the sea-side, in hopes that some of the ship's provisions might be driven on shore; in this too, however, he was disappointed, and hunger obliged him to set about inventing a snare for taking some of the goats, of which he had seen great numbers in his morning walk, but they were so exceeding wild, that it proved a very laborious task, and employed the greatest part of King Pippin's time during his stay on the island; indeed he was sometimes so unsuccessful, that a few vegetables alone were his only sustenance for days together. Some months after he had been cast away on this solitary place, being one day greatly fatigued, by a fruitless pursuit of some of these goats, he sat himself down on the side of a hill, and looking with desponding eyes towards the sea, he flattered himself that he saw something like a sail at a great distance; after gazing attentively for several hours, without once suffering his attention to be diverted from the wished for object, he was at last, to his unspeakable joy, convinced that it was a ship, and that she was making directly for the land: about five o'clock in the evening, they came to anchor at a small distance from the shore, and having hoisted out their boat, rowed directly into a little creek near the edge of a wood, where King Pippin, having descended from the hill, had concealed himself: as soon as they had landed, perceiving as well by their dress as their language, that they were his countrymen, he discovered himself to them, and was received with the greatest kindness and humanity; and to add to the happiness of his delivery, he found upon enquiry, that they were going to the same island for which he had been originally bound, but had been driven so far out of their course by a violent storm which they had encountered a few days before. Having repaired their vessel, and procured such refreshments as the place afforded, in about a week they again set sail, and arrived at their destined port without any farther accident.
Immediately upon their arrival, King Pippin took upon him the care of Sir William Worthy's estate, and adopted such prudent regulations in the management of it, as rendered it in a few years almost double in its value; in return for which care and assiduity, he was taken into partnership by Sir William. This good fortune, however, did not fill his mind with that pride and ostentation too frequently attendant on success in life; King Pippin still continued the same engaging respect to his acquaintance, and the same courteous affability to his inferiors, which had marked his character in every sphere of life, nor did it pass unrewarded; for the governor of the island falling a sacrifice to those pestilential diseases which are common to hot climates, the inhabitants unanimously joined in a petition to the King requesting him to appoint King Pippin his successor to the government, recommending him as a person, endowed with every qualification requisite to the happiness of his subjects. Though virtue is generally a poor recommendation at court, in this instance it succeeded, and King Pippin was immediately appointed to the government of the island.
It would fill a volume to relate the numerous acts of justice, humanity, and benevolence, performed by him during his government; suffice it therefore to say, that under so good a governor, the people enjoyed freedom, plenty, content, and happiness.