The Family
Robinson Crusoe

Transcriber’s Note:

This eBook is a compilation of what was originally published in two separate books (the first of which was further divided into two volumes), herein referred to as “Parts” for the sake of in-text references. Every attempt has been made to preserve the original formatting, including author’s and editor’s notes in their original placements, while combining both into a single eBook for convenience. The title page has been slightly altered, both books’ Table of Contents have been moved to the front, all notes have been moved to the back, and a Part II divider has been substituted for the title page of the second book. Additionally, some images have been moved.

The source texts for this eBook are the first editions of the English translation published by M. J. Godwin and Co. in 1816. As early as two years later, in 1818, the publisher released a second edition with the more familiar title, “The Swiss Family Robinson: Or, Adventures of a Father and Mother and Four Sons in a Desert Island: Being a Practical Illustration of the First Principles of Mechanics, Natural Philosophy, Natural History, and All Those Branches of Science Which Most Immediately Apply to the Business of Life.” However, scans of this edition were not as readily available, so I have chosen to maintain the title of the edition that I used.

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

Inconsistent spelling, hyphenation, and italicization in the original document have been preserved. However, some obvious typographical errors have been corrected; see the [Errata] for a complete list of changes made.

The
Family
Robinson Crusoe:
or,
Journal
of a Father Shipwrecked, with His
Wife and Children, on an
Uninhabited Island.

Translated From the German of
M. WISS.

London:
PRINTED FOR M. J. GODWIN AND Co.,
At the Juvenile Library, 41, Skinner-Street,
and Hailes, Piccadilly.

1816.

CONTENTS

PREFACE.

The following work has for its main purpose to be of use to children and the friends of children. For the first however, it is not all children for which it can pretend to be adapted, but only such as are able to mix some reflection with their reading, as already possess certain general ideas on the subjects of natural history and geography; in a word, such as have acquired that portion of instruction which is given from the age of eight to fourteen years in most of the primary schools in the large towns, and even in the villages.

For the second, I do not by the friends of children particularly understand that class of individuals who are engaged in philosophical researches, theories, and experiments on the subject of education; but such fathers, teachers, and others, who delight to employ their attention on the youthful mind; who observe with pleasure the actions and discourses of children; who reflect naturally and without any preconcerted system upon their faculties, dispositions, and characters; who find themselves prompted to infuse useful knowledge into them through the medium of conversation; and who will not regard with disdain a simple and well intended essay towards their improvement, merely because it pretends to no novelty of theorems, and is not founded upon the basis of a long series of scientifical and metaphysical propositions.

Prefaces are not intended for the perusal of children; but the friends of children will perhaps be gratified to find in this some account of the origin and object of the present work. In such a detail they will perhaps find motives for indulgence, if not for approbation, and will proceed to the work itself with less severity of analysis and criticism.

It is now nearly twenty years since the writer of the following sheets began to throw together the hints of his work in detached parcels. The purpose he had in view was to amuse, to instruct, and to fashion the character of four sons borne to him by an exemplary mother: in doing this, he conceived the idea of faithfully pourtraying these four children in correspondence with the germs of character he already remarked in them. He made them act and speak, exactly as they were accustomed to act and speak in the ordinary train of their lives; with this difference only, that he often strengthened and made more prominent whatever of excellence or of frailty he found in them, representing them rather such as he might suppose them to become at a period of greater maturity, than such as they were at the moment of writing; entertaining the idea, that by this means he should render their faults the more displeasing to them, and alarm them the more with the consequences that might result, and that he might render sound judgement and integrity more lovely in their eyes. The portrait of the mother was drawn with all that earnest esteem and affection which she inspired in her husband, and which she well deserved. On the one side he was anxious to paint his family just as it was, and on the other he thought that the book so constructed could not be without utility to children of the softer sex; as in delineating his wife he should present to them a model of the power given to the female sex over the happiness of their families, both as wives and mothers. Various motives prevented him from introducing girls in his uninhabited island. The first was, that he had himself no girls, and that introducing them would have spoiled the integrity of his painting: several other motives may easily be conceived.

It appeared to his apprehension, that a book not less useful than entertaining might be formed, by transporting in fancy a single family from the civilized world, and placing it in the midst of savage nature. Such a family would necessarily derive great advantage from the knowledge they had acquired of the inventions and contrivances of European society. To give children an interest in the studies they pursue, it is necessary to excite their curiosity, and to give them a wish to learn. The lessons of morality and science that are interspersed will then be read with pleasure, and devoured with avidity. Scarcely any thing appeared better calculated for such a purpose, than a strange and untried scene of action, and a multitude of small incidents of a striking nature, but entirely within the reach of their early capacities to understand.

There is no book that has been more universally read and approved, for the opening of the infant mind, than The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Every child is impressed with the conception of this solitary and forlorn individual, existing with no aids but those of his own industry, and carrying on, single-handed, the tremendous battle which man, wherever he lives alone, must have to fight with nature. Robinson Crusoe shows us human nature in its origin and in its weakness, and proves to us what reflection and labour are capable of effecting in the most trying and perilous situations. Here we are feelingly taught, how inestimably the social state, whether in its domestic or its national form, together with the arts and inventions that accompany it, conduces to the well-being of every individual of whom it is composed.

The persuasion of this truth determined the author to give his little family fiction the form under which it now appears, and to entitle it The Family Robinson Crusoe. It has however in many respects a different object from that of the original work; purposing, as it does, to instruct its young readers in various sciences, particularly that of natural history, and especially the natural history of distant countries and climates. Some things this book has in common with its model: the shipwreck, the desert island, and the resources drawn by the hero from the wreck of his unfortunate vessel. In other points the present work is entirely different; for example, in painting the family scene, in developing the different characters of the members that compose it, and in the perpetual attention given by the father to instruct his children in different sciences and arts, and to forward and mature their moral and intellectual natures. His own children were especially delighted at finding themselves brought forward as the personages of this imaginary history, and transported to the scene of a distant ocean.

The sheets now laid before the public were originally destined to remain unknown beyond the circle of the family for which they were composed; but one of the personages, who is brought forward as a child in the course of this narrative, having felt in his own person the deep interest and lively pleasure which the story excited, and recollecting how many lasting advantages he had himself derived from the use of this book, could not refrain from ultimately resolving to render the benefit of it more general, and has voluntarily undertaken the labour of giving to it the form in which it now appears. The very name of Robinson Crusoe, which it bears, will awaken the curiosity of the young reader; and it is therefore confidently hoped that these new Adventures will be graciously received by those for whose instruction they are destined.

It only remains for the editor to declare that he lays no claim to the merit of any one incident in the story; he has merely taken the liberty to make some corrections in the style, and to endeavour to dispose and connect the scattered fragments into a regular story. His acquaintance with natural history is unfortunately very limited, nor has he had leisure to make such researches as would have been requisite to verify all the facts here brought forward. He has equally to confess his incompetence with respect to several of the arts that are here put into action; he has therefore been obliged to refer himself on these two points to the judgement of the author, and to adopt his descriptions as he found them; he is at least well assured that the writer had recourse to the best authorities, and was extensively acquainted with those books of voyages and travels which are in the highest esteem. Notwithstanding which, it may however have happened, that in the twenty years which have elapsed since this work was written, many new discoveries may have been made, and many juster principles and conclusions have been established. It is therefore to be desired, that such parents and teachers as shall put this book into the hands of the children under their care, or shall read it with them, would have the goodness to correct its errors, and supply such omissions as they may discover. In reality, it is very rarely, and perhaps never, proper that children should read by themselves; few indeed are the individuals in those tender years that are not either too indolent, too lively, or too capricious to employ themselves usefully upon this species of occupation.

In the following Introduction will be found a brief detail of what may be supposed respecting the manner in which the accompanying narrative has been brought before the public.

INTRODUCTION.

It is well known that a Swiss, Counsellor Horner of Zurich, sailed some years ago round the world on board a Russian vessel, the Podesta, commanded by Captain Kreusenstern. They discovered a number of islands, and one among the rest of a considerable size and great fertility, situate to the south-west of Java, near the coast of Papua or New Guinea, hitherto unknown to navigators, and which appeared to them worthy to be examined. They landed accordingly; and to the great surprise of the crew, but particularly of Mr. Horner, they found this island, which they had conceived to be uninhabited, already in the possession of a European family, who met them on the bank, and saluted them in German. The family consisted of a father, a mother, and four sons of a robust and active appearance, who willingly communicated to Mr. Horner the history of their adventures.

The father had been a pastor or clergyman of West Switzerland, who having lost his fortune in the Revolution of 1798, and reflecting on the family he had to bring up, resolved to become a voluntary exile, and to seek in other climates the means of support. He sailed accordingly with his wife and children, four sons, from twelve to five years of age, for England, where he accepted an appointment of missionary to Otaheite; not that he had any desire to take up his abode in that island, but that he had conceived the plan of passing from thence to Port Jackson, and domiciliating himself there as a free settler. He possessed a considerable knowledge of agriculture, and, with the aid of his sons, he hoped to gain for himself there that advantageous establishment, which his own country, convulsed with the horrors of war, denied him. He turned all that yet remained to him into money, and then vested his little property in seeds of various sorts and a few cattle, as a farming stock. The family took their passage accordingly, satisfied with this consolation that they should still remain together, and sailed with favourable winds till they came in sight of New Guinea. Here they were attacked by a most destructive and unrelenting tempest; and it is in this crisis of their adventures that the Swiss Pastor, or Family Robinson Crusoe, begins the journal, which he liberally consigned to the care of Mr. Horner, who carried it with him into Switzerland; and from the manuscript, thus brought over from one of the remotest parts of the earth, the following narrative has been faithfully printed.

THE
FAMILY ROBINSON CRUSOE.

CHAPTER I.
A shipwreck, and preparations for deliverance.

..... Already the tempest had continued six terrible days, and far from subsiding on the seventh, its fury seemed to increase. We had wandered so materially from the right track, and were so forcibly driven toward the south-east, that not a creature on board knew where we were. The ship’s company were exhausted by constant labour and watching, and the courage which had hitherto sustained them now began to fail. The masts had been shivered to pieces and cast into the sea; several leaks appeared, and the ship began to fill. The sailors forbore from swearing, and were now employed in prayers, or in making the absurdest vows as the condition of their release from danger. Each recommended his soul to God, but at the same moment thought of contriving the best means for preserving his life. My children, said I to my four boys who clung to me in terrible alarm, God can save us, for nothing is impossible to him; but if he sees fit that we should not be saved, we must not murmur at his decree, but rely that what he does is most for our good; that we shall be near him in heaven, and united through eternity. Death may be well supported when it does not separate those who love.

My excellent wife wiped the tears which were falling on her cheeks, and from this moment became more tranquil; she encouraged the youngest children, who were leaning on her knees; while I, who owed them an example of firmness, was scarcely able to resist the grief which assailed my heart at the thought of what would most likely be the fate of beings so tenderly beloved. We all fell on our knees, and supplicated the God of mercy to protect us; and the emotion and the fervour of the innocent creatures are a convincing proof, that even in childhood, devotion may be felt and understood, and that its effects, tranquillity and consolation, may be no less certainly experienced.

Fritz, my eldest son, implored in a loud voice that God would deign to save his dear parents and his brothers, generously unmindful of himself: they got up with a state of mind so improved, that they seemed forgetful of the impending danger. I myself began to feel my confidence in Providence increase as I beheld the affecting group. Heaven will surely have pity on them, thought I, and will save their parents to guard their tender years!

At this moment a cry of Land, land, was heard through the roaring of the waves, and instantly the vessel struck against a rock with so violent a motion as to drive every one from his place; a tremendous cracking succeeded, as if the ship was going to pieces; the sea rushed in, in all directions; we perceived that the vessel had grounded and could not long hold together. The captain in a mournful voice called out that all was lost, and bade the men lose not a moment in putting out the boats. The sounds fell on my heart like a blow from a dagger: We are lost! I exclaimed; and the children broke out into piercing cries. I then recollected myself, and endeavoured to be more composed; and addressing them again, I exhorted them to courage, by observing that the water had not yet reached us, that the ship was near land, and that Providence would assist the brave. Keep where you are, added I, while I go and examine what is best to be done.

I left my family, and went on the deck. A wave instantly threw me down and wetted me to the skin; another followed, and then another. I sustained myself as steadily as I could; and when I could look around, a scene of terrific and complete disaster met my eyes: the ship was shattered on all sides, and split in two on one side. The ship’s company crowded into the boats till they could contain not one man more, and the last who entered were now cutting the ropes to move off. I called to them with entreaties and prayers to stop and receive us also, but in vain; for the roaring of the sea prevented my being heard, and the waves, which rose to the height of mountains, would have made it impossible for a boat to return. All hope therefore from this source was extinguished, for the boats and all they contained were driving out of sight. My best consolation now was to observe that the sea could not enter the ship above a certain height. The stern, under which was the cabin that inclosed all that was dear to me on earth, had been driven to a considerable height between two rocks, where it appeared immoveably fixed; at the same time in the distance southward I descried through clouds and rain, several nooks of land, which, however rude and savage in appearance, were the object of every hope I could form in this distressing moment.

Sunk and desolate from the loss of every chance for human aid, it was yet my duty to make every effort to appear serene before my family. Courage, dear ones, cried I, on entering their cabin, all is not yet lost. I will not conceal from you that the ship is aground: but we are at least in greater safety than we should be if she were beating upon the rocks: our cabin is above water; and should the sea be more calm tomorrow, we may yet find means to reach the land in safety.

What I had just said, appeased the fears of all; for they had the habit of confiding in my assurances. They now therefore began to feel the advantage of the ship’s remaining still; for its motion had cruelly annoyed them by jostling them one against another, and sometimes against the vessel. My wife, however, more accustomed than the children to read my inmost thoughts, perceived the anxiety which devoured me. I made her a sign which conveyed an idea of the hopelessness of our situation, and I had the consolation to see that she was resolved to support the trial with resignation. Let us take some nourishment, said she: our courage will strengthen with our bodies; we shall perhaps need this comfort to support a long and melancholy night.

Soon after the evening set in: the tempest and the waves continued their fury; the planks and beams of the vessel separated in many parts with a horrible crash. It seemed impossible for the boats, or any one of the persons they contained, to escape the raging of the storm.

Papa, cried my youngest boy, six years old, will not God assist us soon?

Hold your tongue, replied his eldest brother. Do you not know that it is our duty not to prescribe to God, but to wait for his assistance with patience and humility?

Well spoken, my boy, said I; but you should not have reproved your brother so sharply. The eldest instantly ran and kissed the innocent little creature.

In the mean while, their mother had prepared our meal, and the four boys partook of it with an appetite to which their parents were strangers. They afterwards went to bed, and in a short time, in spite of the tempest, they were snoring soundly. Fritz, the eldest, sat up with us. I have been examining, said he after a long silence, how it may be possible to save ourselves. If we had only some instruments for swimming, some bladders or cork jackets for my mother and my brothers, you and I, father, would soon contrive to swim to land.

That is a good thought, said I: we will see if we can bring it to bear this very night, for fear of the worst.

Fritz and I immediately looked about for some small empty tubs or casks, or tin canisters, heavy enough to keep one of our children in a state of equilibrium on the surface of the water; these we fastened two and two together with handkerchiefs or towels, leaving about a foot distance between them; attaching this sort of swimming-jacket under the arms of each child; my wife, at the same time, preparing one for herself. We all provided ourselves with knives, some string, some turfs, and other necessaries which could be put into the pocket, proceeding upon the hope, that if the ship should go to pieces in the night, we should either be able to swim to land or be driven thither by the waves.

Fritz, who had been up the whole of the preceding night, and was fatigued with his new and laborious occupation, now lay down near his brothers, and was soon asleep; but their mother and I, too full of anxiety to close our eyes, kept watch, listening to every sound that seemed to threaten a further change in our situation. We passed this terrible night in prayer, in agonizing apprehensions, and in forming various resolutions as to what we should next attempt. We hailed with joy the first gleam of light which shot through a small opening of the window. The raging of the winds had begun to abate, the sky was become serene, and with hope swelling in my bosom, I beheld the sun already tinging the horizon: thus revived, I hastily summoned my wife and the boys to the deck, that they might partake of the scene. The children asked with much surprise why we were there alone and what had become of the ship’s company. I answered that they were gone away in the boats. Next followed, Why did they not take us with them? How are we to do without their assistance? How shall we know where we are?

Dearest children, said I, a Being more powerful than man has helped us to the present moment, and will, no doubt, continue to help us, if we do not abandon ourselves to a fruitless complaining and despair. Observe our companions, in whom we had so much confidence, have deserted us without mercy, and that Divine Providence has given us protection! But, my dear ones, we must now trust to our own exertions. Let us be willing to help ourselves, and we shall obtain support from Heaven. Let us never forget this useful maxim, and let each labour according to his strength. Now let us see what in our situation it is best to set about next.

Fritz advised that we should all throw ourselves into the sea, while it was calm, and swim to land. Ah! that may be well enough for you, said Ernest, for you can swim; but we others should soon be drowned. Would it not be better to make a float of rafts, and get to land all together upon it?

Vastly well, answered I, if we had the means for contriving such a float, and if, after all, it were not a dangerous sort of conveyance. Come along, my boys, let each go a different way about the ship, and see what he can do to be useful, and what he can find to enable us to get away.

They now all sprang from me with eager looks to do what I had desired. I, on my part, lost no time in examining what we had to depend upon in regard to provisions and fresh water, the principles of life; my wife and the youngest boy visited all the animals, whom they found in a pitiable condition, and nearly perishing with hunger and thirst. Fritz repaired to the ammunition chamber, Ernest to the carpenter’s cabin, and Jack to the apartment of the captain; but scarcely had he opened the door, when two large dogs sprung joyfully upon him, and saluted him with such rude affection, that, finding himself nearly thrown down, he roared for assistance as if they had been killing him. Hunger, however, had rendered the animals so gentle, that they licked his hands and face, uttering all the time a low sort of groan, and continued their caresses till he was almost suffocated. Poor Jack exerted all his strength in aiming blows at them to drive them away: at last he began to sympathize in their joyful movements, and put himself upon another footing; got upon his legs; and gently taking the largest dog by the ears, he sprang upon his back, and with great gravity presented himself thus mounted before me as I came out of the ship’s hold. I could not refrain from laughing, and I praised his courage: but I added a little exhortation to be cautious, and not go too far with animals of this species, who in a state of hunger might be dangerous.

By and by my little company were again assembled round me, and each boasted of what he had to contribute. Fritz had two fowling pieces, some powder and some small shot contained in horn flasks, and balls in bags.

Ernest produced his hat filled with nails, and held in his hands a hatchet and a hammer; in addition, a pair of pincers, a pair of large scissars, and an auger, peeped out at his pocket-hole.

Even the little Francis carried under his arm a box of no very small size, from which he eagerly produced what he called some little sharp-pointed hooks. His brothers smiled scornfully. Vastly well, gentlemen, said I; but let me tell you that the youngest has brought the most valuable prize: and this is often the case in the world; the person who least courts the smiles of Fortune, and in the innocence of his heart is scarcely conscious of her existence, is often he to whom she most readily presents herself. These little sharp-pointed hooks, as Francis calls them, are fishing-hooks, and will probably be of more use in preserving our lives than all we may find besides in the ship. In justice, however, I must confess that what Fritz and Ernest have contributed, will also afford us essential service.

I for my part, said my wife, have brought nothing; but I have some tidings to communicate which I hope will secure my welcome: what I have to tell, is, that I have found on board the ship, a cow and an ass, two goats, six sheep, and a sow big with young, all of whom I have just supplied with food and water, and that I reckon on being able to preserve their lives.

All this is admirable, said I to my little labourers, and there is only master Jack, who, instead of thinking of something that might be useful, has done us the favour to present us two personages who no doubt will be principally distinguished by being willing to eat more than we shall have to give them.

Ah! replied Jack; but I know that if we can once get to land, you will see that they will assist us in hunting and shooting.

True enough, said I; but be so good as to tell us how we are to get to land, and whether you have contrived the means.

I am sure it cannot be very difficult, said Jack with an arch motion of his head. Look here at these large tubs. Why cannot each of us get into one of them, and float to the land? I remember I succeeded very well in this manner on the water when I was visiting my godfather at S***.

Every hint is good for something, cried I, and I begin to think that what Jack has suggested is worth a trial; the counsels of even a child may be worth consideration, and should be accepted with gratitude. Quick then. Jack, give me the saw, the auger, and some nails; we will see what is to be done. I recollected having seen some empty casks in the ship’s hold; we went down, and found them floating with the water which had got into the vessel; it cost us but little trouble to hoist them up and place them on the lower deck, which was at this time scarcely above water. We saw with delight that they were all made of excellent wood, well guarded by iron hoops, and in every respect in sound condition; they were exactly suited for my object; and with the assistance of my sons I instantly began to saw them in two. In a certain time I had produced eight tubs of equal size and of the proper height. We now allowed ourselves some refreshment from the wine and biscuit with which some of these very casks were still filled.

I contemplated with perfect satisfaction my eight little tubs ranged in a line. I was surprised to see that my wife was still dejected; she sighed deeply as she looked at them: Never, never, cried she, can I venture to get into one of these.

Do not decide so hastily, my dear, said I: my plan is not yet complete, and you will see presently that it is more worthy of our confidence than this shattered vessel, which cannot move from its place.

I then sought for a long plank capable of being a little curved, and contrived to fasten my eight tubs to it, leaving a space at each end of the plank, reaching beyond the tubs, and presenting an outline like the keel of a vessel; we next nailed all the tubs to the plank, and then the tubs to each other as they stood side by side, to make them the firmer, and afterwards two other planks of the same length as the first, on each side of the tubs. When all this was finished, we found we had produced a kind of narrow boat divided into eight compartments, which I had no doubt would be able to perform a short course in calm water.

But, unfortunately, our marvellous machine proved so heavy, that with the strength of all united, we were not able to move it an inch from its place. I bade Fritz fetch me a crow, who soon returned with it: in the meanwhile I sawed a thick round pole into several pieces, to make some rollers. I now with the crow easily raised the foremost part of my machine, while Fritz placed one of the rollers under it.

How astonishing, said Ernest, that this engine, which is smaller than any of us, can do more than our united strength was able to effect! I wish I could know how it is constructed.

I explained to him as well as I could, the power of Archimedes’s lever, with which he said he could move the world if you would give him a point from which his mechanism might act, and promised to explain the nature of the operation of the crow when we should be safe on land.

One of the points of my system of education was to awaken the curiosity of my sons by interesting observations, to leave time for the activity of their imagination, and then to correct any error they might fall into. I contented myself now, however, with this general remark, That God sufficiently compensated the natural weakness of man by the gifts of reason, invention, and the adroitness of the hands; and that human meditation and reflection had composed a science called mechanics, the object of which was, to teach us how to make our own natural strength act to an incredible distance and with extraordinary force, by the intervention of instruments.

Jack here remarked that the action of the crow was very slow.

Better slow than never, Jack, replied I. Experience has ever taught, and mechanical observations have established as a principle, that what is gained in speed is lost in strength; the purpose of the crow is not to enable us to raise any thing rapidly, but to raise what is exceedingly heavy; and the heavier the thing we would move, the slower is the mechanical operation. But are you aware, what we have at our command to compensate this slowness?

Yes, it is turning the handle quicker.

Your guess is wrong; that would be no compensation: the true remedy, my boy, is to call in the assistance of patience and reason; with the aid of these two fairies I am in hopes to set my machine afloat. As I said this, I tied a long cord to its stern, and the other end of it to one of the timbers of the ship which appeared to be still firm, so that the cord being left loose would serve to guide and restrain it when launched. We now put a second and a third roller under, and applying the crow, to our great joy our construction descended into the water with such a velocity, that if the rope had not been well fastened it would have gone far out to sea. But now a new misfortune presented itself: the machine leaned so much on one side that my boys all exclaimed they could not venture to get into it. I was for some moments in the most painful perplexity; but it suddenly occurred to me that ballast only was wanting to set it straight. I threw every thing I could find that was weighty and of small size into the tubs: by degrees the machine recovered, and was at length quite straight and firm in the water, and seeming to invite us to take refuge in its protection. All now would have thrown themselves at once into it, and the boys began to push each other, and dispute which should get in first.

I however drew them back, plainly perceiving that at best the voyage would be hazardous, and that the least motion of even one of these boisterous children might upset it and cause us to be all drowned. In seeking for a remedy for this inconvenience, I recollected that savage nations make use of a paddle for preventing their canoes from upsetting. With this thought I once more set to work to make one of these, that the completion of a contrivance which promised safety to so many cherished beings might not be wanting.

I took two of the poles of equal length, upon which the sails of the vessel had been stretched, and fixed one of them at the head and the other at the stern of my floating machine, in such a manner as to enable us to turn them at pleasure to right or left, as should best answer the purpose of guiding our machine, and putting it out to sea. I stuck the end of each pole, or paddle, into the bung-hole of an empty brandy keg, which served to keep the paddles steady, and to prevent any interruption in the management of the machine.

There remained nothing more for me to do, but to find out in what way I could clear out from the incumbrance of the wreck and get completely to sea. I got into the first tub, and steered the head of the machine, so as to make it enter the cleft in the ship’s side where it could remain quiet. I then remounted the vessel, and sometimes with the saw and sometimes with the hatchet, I cleared away to right and left every thing that could obstruct our passage: and that being effected, we next secured some oars for our voyage the next morning.

We had spent the day in laborious exertions; it was already late; and as it would not have been possible to reach the land that evening, we were obliged, though much against our inclination, to pass a second night in the wrecked vessel, which at every instant threatened to fall to pieces. We now refreshed ourselves by a regular meal, for during the day’s work, we had scarcely allowed ourselves to take a bit of bread or a glass of wine. Being in a more tranquil and unapprehensive state of mind than the preceding day, we all abandoned ourselves to sleep; not however till I had used the precaution of tying the swimming apparatus round my three youngest boys and my wife, as a means of safety, if the storm should again come on and should put the finishing stroke to the destruction of the vessel. I also advised my wife to dress herself in the clothes of one of the sailors, which was so much more convenient for swimming, or any other exertions she might be compelled to engage in. She consented, but not without reluctance, and left us, to look for one that might best suit her size. In a quarter of an hour she returned, dressed in the clothes of a young man who had served as volunteer on board the ship, and which she had found in his chest. She approached us with a natural timidity: but I soon found means to reconcile her to the change, by representing the many advantages it gave her. At length she joined in the merriment her dress occasioned, and one and all crept into our separate hammocks, where a delicious repose prepared us for the renewal of our labours.

CHAPTER II.
A landing, and consequent occupations.

By break of day we were all awake and alert, for hope as well as grief, is unfriendly to lengthened slumbers. When we had finished our morning prayer, I said, We now, my best beloved, with the assistance of heaven, must enter upon the work of our deliverance. The first thing to be done, is to give to each poor animal on board, before we leave them, a hearty meal; we will then put food enough before them for several days; we cannot take them with us; but we will hope it may be possible, if our voyage succeeds, to return and fetch them. Are you now all ready? Bring together whatever we mean to take, whatever is absolutely necessary for our wants. It is my wish that our first cargo should consist of a barrel of gunpowder, three fowling-pieces, and three carbines, with as much small shot and lead and as many bullets as our boat will bear; two pair of pocket pistols and one of large ones, not forgetting a mould to cast balls in: each of the boys and their mother also should have a bag to carry game in; you will find plenty of these in the cabins of the officers. We added a chest containing cakes of portable soup, another full of hard biscuits, an iron pot, a fishing-rod, a chest of nails and another of different utensils, such as hammers, saws, pincers, hatchets, augers, &c. and lastly some sail-cloth to make a tent. In short, the boys brought so many things, that we were obliged to reject some of them, though I had already exchanged the worthless ballast for articles of use for our subsistence.

When all was ready, we stepped bravely each into a tub. At the moment of our departure we heard all the cocks and hens begin to crow, as if they were conscious that we had deserted them, yet willing to bid us a sorrowful adieu. This suggested to me the idea of taking the geese, ducks, fowls, and pigeons with us; observing to my wife, that if we could not find means to feed them, at least they would feed us.

We accordingly executed this plan. We put ten hens and an old and a young cock into one of the tubs, and covered it with planks; we set the rest of the poultry at liberty, in the hope that instinct would direct them towards the land, the geese and the ducks by water, and the pigeons by the air.

We were waiting for my wife, who had the care of this last part of our embarkation, when she joined us loaded with a large bag, which she threw into the tub which already contained her youngest son. I imagined that she intended it for him to sit upon, and also to confine him so as to prevent his being tossed from side to side. I therefore asked no questions concerning it. The order of our departure was as follows:

In the first tub at the boat’s head, my wife, the most tender and exemplary of her sex, placed herself.

In the second, our little Francis, a lovely boy six years old, full of the happiest dispositions, but whose character was not yet pronounced.

In the third, Fritz, our eldest boy, between fourteen and fifteen years of age, a handsome curl-pated youth full of intelligence and vivacity.

In the fourth was the barrel of gunpowder, with the cocks and hens and the sail-cloth.

In the fifth, the provisions for the support of life.

In the sixth, my son Jack, a light-hearted, enterprising, audacious, generous lad, about ten years old.

In the seventh, my son Ernest, a boy of twelve years old, of a rational reflecting temper, well informed, but somewhat disposed to indolence and the pleasures of the senses.

In the eighth, a father, to whose paternal care the task of guiding the machine for the safety of his beloved family was intrusted. Each of us had useful implements within reach; the hand of each held an oar, and near each was a swimming apparatus in readiness for what might happen. The tide was already at half its height when we left the ship, and I had counted on this circumstance as favourable to our want of strength. We held the two paddles longways, and thus we passed without accident through the cleft of the vessel into the sea. The boys devoured with their eyes the blue land they saw at a distance (for to us it appeared to be of this colour). We rowed with all our strength, but long in vain, to reach it: the boat only turned round and round: at length, however, I had the good fortune to steer in such a way that she proceeded in a straight line. The two dogs we had left on board, perceiving that we had abandoned them, plunged immediately into the sea and swam to the boat; they were too large for us to think of giving them admittance, and I dreaded lest they should jump in and upset us. Turk was an English dog, and Ponto of the Danish breed. I was in great uneasiness on their account, for I feared it would not be possible for them to swim so far. The dogs however managed the affair with perfect intelligence. When they found themselves fatigued, they rested their fore paws on one of the paddles, which were now turned crossways, and the rest of their bodies followed with very little effort.

Jack was disposed to refuse them this accommodation: but he soon yielded to my argument, that it was cruel and unwise to neglect creatures thrown on our protection, and who indeed might hereafter protect us in their turn by guarding us from harm, and assisting in our pursuit of animals for food. Besides, added I, animals are created beings, and God has given the dog to man to be his friend and faithful companion.

Our voyage proceeded securely, though slowly; but the nearer we approached the land, the more gloomy and unpromising we thought its aspect appeared. The coast was occupied by barren rocks, which seemed to offer nothing but hunger and distress. The sea was calm; the waves, gently agitated, washed the shore, and the sky was serene; in every direction we perceived casks, bales, chests, and other vestiges of shipwrecks, floating round us. In the hope of obtaining some good provisions, I determined on endeavouring to secure two of the casks. I bade Fritz have a rope, a hammer, and some nails ready, and to try to seize them as we passed. He succeeded in laying hold of two of them, and in such a way that we found it easy to draw them after us to the shore. Now that we were close on land, its hideous aspect was considerably softened, the rocks no longer appeared one undivided chain; Fritz with his hawk’s eyes already descried some trees, and exclaimed that they were palm trees. Ernest expressed his joy that he should now get much larger and better cocoa nuts than those of Europe. I for my part was venting audibly my regret, that I had not thought of bringing with us a telescope that I knew was in the captain’s cabin, when Jack drew a small spy-glass from his pocket, and, with a look of triumph that he was able to compensate this neglect, instantly presented it to me.

So, so, then, said I, you meant to keep this spy-glass for yourself, and to let no one else have the benefit of it! This was not fair; pleasures and pain, all should be in common in such a situation as ours. Jack assured me that he had forgot to give it to me sooner, and that he had taken it for the benefit of all. In reality, the glass was of great importance; for with its aid I was able to make the necessary observations, and consequently became more sure of the route I ought to take. I remarked that the shore before us had a desert and savage aspect, but that towards the left, the scene was much more agreeable: but when I attempted to steer in that direction, a current carried me irresistibly towards the coast that was rocky and barren. By and by we perceived a little opening between the rocks, near the mouth of a creek, towards which all our geese and ducks betook themselves; and I, relying on their sagacity, followed in the same course. This opening formed a little bay, the water of which was tranquil, and neither too deep nor too shallow to receive our boat. I entered it, and cautiously put on shore on a spot where the coast was about the same height above the water as our tubs, and where at the same time there was a quantity sufficient to keep us afloat. The shore extended inland in a shelving declivity in the form of an isosceles triangle, the upper angle of which terminated among the rocks, while the margin of the sea formed the basis.

All that had life in the boat jumped eagerly on land. Even little Francis, who had been wedged in his tub like a potted herring, now got up and sprang forward; but, with all his efforts, he could not succeed without his mother’s help. The dogs, who had swam on shore, received us as if they were appointed to do the honours of the place, jumping round us with every demonstration of joy: the geese kept up a loud continual cackling, to which the ducks, with their broad yellow beaks, contributed a perpetual thorough bass: the cocks and hens, which we had already set at liberty, clucked; the boys chattering all at once; produced all together an overpowering confusion of sounds: to this was added the disagreeable scream of some penguins and flamingos, which we now perceived, some flying over our heads, others sitting on the points of the rocks at the entrance of the bay. By and by the notes of the latter had the ascendant, from the superiority of their numbers; and their society became the more unpleasant, from a comparison we could not avoid making, between the sounds they uttered, with the harmony of the feathered musicians of our own country. I had however one advantage in perspective;—it was the reflection that, should we hereafter be short of food, these very birds might serve for our subsistence.

The first thing we did on finding ourselves safe on terra firma, was to fall on our knees, and return thanks to the Supreme Being who had preserved our lives, and to recommend ourselves with entire resignation to the care of his paternal kindness.

We next employed our whole attention in unloading the boat. Oh, how rich we thought ourselves in the little we had been able to rescue from the merciless abyss of waters! We looked every where for a convenient place to build a tent under the shade of the rocks; and having all consulted and agreed upon a place, we set to work. We drove one of our poles firmly into a fissure of the rock; this formed the ridge of our tent, and rested upon another pole, which was driven perpendicularly into the ground. A frame for a dwelling was thus made secure. We next threw some sail-cloth over the ridge; and, stretching it to a convenient distance on each side, fastened its extremities to the ground with stakes. By way of precaution, we left the chests of provisions and other heavy matters on the shore, and fixed some tenter-hooks near the edge of the sail-cloth in front, that we might be able to inclose the entrance during night. I next desired my sons to look about and collect all the grass and moss they could find, and spread it to dry in the sun, as it would then serve us for beds. During this occupation, in which even the little Francis could take a share, I erected at a small distance from the tent, and near a river from which I hoped to be supplied with fresh water, a kind of little kitchen. A few flat stones that I found in the bed of the river served for a fire-place. I got a quantity of dry branches: with the largest I made a small inclosure round it; and with the little twigs, added to some of our turf, I made a brisk cheering fire. We put some of the soup cakes, with water, into our iron pot, and placed it over the fire; and my wife, with her little Francis for a scullion, took charge of preparing the dinner. Francis, from their colour, had mistaken the soup cakes for glue. Why, papa, said he, what are you going to use glue for? I am going to make some soup of it, said his mother laughing. That is droll enough, answered he; for how shall we get any meat to put into it, here, where there is nothing like a butcher’s shop?

Little blockhead, said I, what you have been thinking was glue, is in reality excellent meat, reduced as you see to a jelly, by the process of cookery, and which being dried, is in no danger of becoming stale. In this state it will bear long voyages by sea, where it would be difficult to take sufficient animals for the use of the ship’s company, who would otherwise be kept constantly on a less wholesome soup made from salted meat; but ours, I assure you, Francis, will be excellent. The poor child was hungry enough to believe he should partake of it with joy.

In the mean while Fritz had been reloading the guns, with one of which he had wandered along the side of the river. He had proposed to Ernest to accompany him; but Ernest replied that he did not like a rough and stony walk, and that he should go alone to the sea-shore. Jack took the road towards a chain of rocks which jutted out into the sea, with the intention of gathering some of the muscles which grew upon them. My own occupation was now an endeavour to draw the two floating casks on shore, but in which I could not succeed; for our place of landing, though convenient enough for our machine, was too steep for the casks. While I was looking about to find a more favourable spot, I heard loud cries proceeding from a short distance, and recognised the voice of my son Jack. I snatched my hatchet, and ran in an agony of apprehension to his assistance. I soon perceived him up to his knees in water in a shallow, and that a large sea lobster had fastened his claws in his leg. The poor boy screamed pitiably, and made useless efforts to disengage himself. I jumped instantly into the water; and the enemy was no sooner sensible of my approach, than he let go his hold, and would have scampered out to sea, but that I indulged the fancy of a little malice against him for the alarm he had caused us. I turned quickly upon him, and took him up by the body and carried him off, followed by Jack, who shouted our triumph all the way. He begged me at last to let him hold the animal in his own hand, that he might himself present so fine a booty to his mother. Accordingly, having observed how I held it to avoid the gripe, he laid his own hand upon it in exactly the same manner; but scarcely had he grasped it, than he received a violent blow on the face from the lobster’s tail, which made him lose his hold, and the animal fell to the ground. Jack again began to bawl out, while I could not refrain from laughing heartily. In his rage he took up a stone, and killed the lobster with a single blow. I was a little vexed at this conclusion to the scene. This is what we call killing an enemy when he is unable to defend himself, Jack, said I;—it is wrong to revenge an injury while we are in a state of anger: the lobster, it is true, had given you a bite; but then you on your part, would have eaten the lobster. So I think the game was equal. Another time I advise you to be both more prudent and more merciful. But pray, papa, let me carry it to my mother, said Jack, fearless now of further warfare; and accordingly he carried it to the kitchen, triumphantly exclaiming, Mamma, mamma, a sea-lobster!—Ernest, a sea-lobster! Where is Fritz? Where is Fritz? Take care, Francis, he will bite you. In a moment all were round him to examine the wonderful creature, and all proclaimed their astonishment at his enormous size; while they observed that its form was precisely that of the common lobster so much in use in Europe.

Yes, yes, said Jack, holding up one of his claws; you may well wonder at his size: this was the frightful claw which seized my leg, and I believe that if I had not had on my thick sea pantaloons, he would have bit it through and through; but I have taught him what it is to attack me: I have paid him well.

Oh, ho! Mr. Boaster, cried I, you give a pretty account of the matter. Now mine would be, that if I had not been near, the lobster would have shown you another sort of game; for the slap he gave you in the face compelled you, I think, to let go your hold. And it is well it should be thus; for he fought with the arms with which nature had supplied him, but you must have recourse to a great stone for your defence. Believe me, Jack, you have no great reason to boast of the adventure.

Ernest, ever eager about his meals, now bawled out that the lobster had better be put into the soup, which would give it an excellent flavour; but this his mother opposed, observing, that we must be more economical of our provisions than that, for the lobster of itself would furnish a dinner for the whole family. I now left them, and walked again to the scene of this adventure, and examined the shallow. I then made another attempt upon my two casks, and at length succeeded in getting them into the shallow, and in fixing them there securely on their bottoms.

On my return, I complimented Jack on his being the first to have procured us an animal that might serve for our subsistence, and I promised him for his own share, the famous claw which had already furnished us with so lively a discussion.

Ah! but I have seen something too that is good to eat, said Ernest; and I should have got it if it had not been in the water, so that I must have wetted my feet——;

Oh, that is a famous story, said Jack; I can tell you what he saw,—some nasty muscles: why, I would not eat one of them for the world.—Think of my lobster!

That is not true, Jack; for it was oysters, and not muscles, that I saw: I am sure of it, for they stuck against the foot of the rock, and I know they must be oysters.

Fortunate enough, my dainty gentleman, cried I, addressing myself to Ernest; and since you are so well acquainted with the place where these shell-fish can be found, you will be so obliging as to dismiss your fears about wetting your feet, and to return and procure us some. In such a situation as ours, every member of the family must be actively employed for the common good, and not be afraid of wetting his feet. Take example by Fritz and your father: they bear a greater evil, the scorching heat of the sun, without complaining.

I will do my best with all my heart, answered Ernest; and at the same time I will bring home some salt, of which I have seen immense quantities in the holes of the rocks, where I suppose it is dried by the sun. I tasted some of it, and it was excellent. Papa, is it not left there by the sea?

No doubt it is, Mr. Reasoner, for where else do you think it could come from? You would have done more wisely if you had brought us a bag of it, instead of spending your time in such profound reflections upon an operation so simple and obvious; and if you do not wish to dine upon a soup without flavour, you had better run and fetch us a little immediately.

He set off, and soon returned: what he brought had the appearance of sea salt, but was so mixed with earth and sand, that I was on the point of throwing it away. My wife however prevented me; and by dissolving and afterwards filtering some of it through a piece of muslin, we found it admirably fit for use.

Why could we not have used some seawater, said Jack, instead of having all this trouble?

Sea water, answered I, is even more bitter than it is salt; and it has besides a disagreeable sickly taste. While I was speaking, my wife tasted the soup with a little stick with which she had been stirring it, and pronounced that it was all the better for the salt, and now quite ready. But, said she, Fritz is not come in. And then, how shall we manage to eat our soup without spoons, or dishes? Why did we not remember to bring some from the ship?

Why did we not think of them?—Because, my dear, one cannot think of every thing at once. We shall be lucky if we do not discover that we have forgotten even more important things.

But indeed, said she, this is a matter which cannot easily be set to rights. How will it be possible for each of us to raise this large boiling pot to his lips?

A moment’s further reflection convinced me my wife was right. We all cast our eyes upon the pot with a sort of silent and stupid perplexity, and we looked a little like the fox in the fable, when the stork desires him to help himself from a vessel with a long neck. Silence was at length broken, by all bursting into a hearty laugh at our want of every kind of utensil, and at the thought of our own folly, in not recollecting that spoons and forks were things of absolute necessity.

Ernest observed, that if we could but get some cocoa-nuts, we might divide and empty them, and use the pieces of the shells for spoons.

Yes, yes, that is true enough, replied I; if we could but get,—but we have them not; our ifs will do but little good; and if wishing were to any purpose, I had as lief wish at once for a dozen silver spoons; but alas! of what use is wishing?

But at least, said the boy, we can use some oyster-shells for spoons.

Why, this is well, Ernest, said I, and is what I call a useful thought. Run then quickly, and get us some of them. But, gentlemen, I must give you notice, that no one of you must give himself airs because his spoon is without a handle, or if he should chance to grease his fingers in the soup.

Jack ran the first, and was up to his knees in the water before Ernest could reach the place. Jack tore off the fish with eagerness, and threw them to the slothful Ernest, who put them into his pocket handkerchief, having first secured in his pocket, one shell he had met with of a large size. The boys came back together with their booty.

Fritz not having yet returned, his mother was beginning to be uneasy, when we heard him shouting to us from a small distance, to which we answered by similar sounds. In a few minutes he was among us; his two hands behind him, and with a sort of would-be melancholy air, which none of us could well understand. What have you brought? asked his brothers; let us see your booty, and you shall see ours. Ah! said he, I have unfortunately nothing, for I have seen nothing. What! nothing at all? said I. Nothing at all, said he. But now, on fixing my eye upon him, I perceived a smile of proud success through his assumed dissatisfaction. At the same instant Jack, having stolen behind him, exclaimed: A sucking pig! A sucking pig! Fritz, finding his trick discovered, now proudly displayed his prize, which I immediately perceived, from the description I had read in different books of travels, was an agouti, an animal common in that country, and not a sucking pig, as the boys had supposed. The agouti, says M. de Courtills in his Voyage to St. Domingo, is of the size of a hare, and runs with the same swiftness; but its form is more like the pig, and he makes the same grunting noise. He is not a voracious animal, but is nice in the choice of his food. When his appetite is satiated, he buries what remains, and keeps it for another time. He is naturally of a gentle temper; but if provoked, his hair becomes erect, he bites, and strikes the ground with his hind feet like the rabbit, which he also resembles in digging himself a burrow under ground: but this burrow has but one entrance; he conceals himself in it during the hottest part of the day, taking care to provide himself with a store of patates and bananas. He is usually taken by coursing, and sometimes by dogs, or with nets. When it is found difficult to seize him, the sportsman has only to whistle. As soon as the agouti hears the sound, he is instantly still, remains resting on his hind feet, and suffers himself to be taken. His flesh is white, like that of the rabbit; but it is dry, has no fat, and never entirely loses a certain wild flavour, which is extremely disagreeable to Europeans. He is held in great esteem by the natives, particularly when the animal has been feeding near the sea on plants impregnated with salt. They are therefore caught in great numbers, and for this reason the species is much diminished.—Where did you find him? How did you get at him? Did he make you run a great way? asked all at once the young brothers. Tell me, tell us all.... &c. I, for my part, assumed a somewhat serious tone. I should have preferred, said I, that you had in reality brought us nothing, rather than to have heard you assert a falsehood. Never allow yourself, even in jest, my dear boy, to assert what you know to be an untruth. By such trifles as these, a habit of lying, the most disgusting and frightful of vices, may be induced. Now then that I have given you this caution, let us look at the animal. Where did you find it?

Fritz related, that he had passed over to the other side of the river. Ah! continued he, it is quite another thing from this place; the shore is low, and you can have no notion of the quantity of casks, chests, and planks, and different sorts of things washed there by the sea. Ought we not to go and try to obtain some of these treasures? We ought also, said I, to make our little voyage to the vessel, and fetch away our animals; at least you will all agree that of the cow we are pretty much in want. If our biscuit were soaked in milk, it would not be so hard, but much improved, said our glutton Ernest. I must tell you too, said Fritz, that over on the other side there is as much grass for pasturage as we can desire, and besides a pretty wood, in the shade of which we could repose. Why then should we remain on this barren desert side? Patience, patience, replied I, there is a time for every thing, friend Fritz; we shall not be without something to undertake tomorrow, and even after tomorrow. But, above all, I am eager to know if you discovered in your excursion any traces of our ship companions. Not the smallest trace of man, dead or alive, on land or water; but I have seen some other animals that more resembled pigs than the one I have brought you, but with paws more like those of the hare: the animal I am speaking of, leaps from place to place on the grass, now sitting on his hind legs, rubbing his face with his front feet, and then seeking for roots and gnawing them like the squirrel. If I had not been afraid of his escaping me, I should have tried to catch him with my hands, for he appeared almost tame.

Ernest, with the look and manner of a deep observer, now turned the agouti backwards and forwards to examine him on all sides. After a long silence, he said with importance, I cannot be sure that this animal, as you all believe, is a sucking pig; his hair and his snout pretty much resemble, it is true, those of a pig: but pray observe his teeth; he has but four incisores in front similar to the genus Voracious animals: in general he has a greater resemblance to the rabbit than to the hare. I have seen an engraving of him in our book of natural history; if I am not mistaken he is named the agouti.

Ah! ha! said Fritz, here is a learned professor, profound in the subject of natural history!

And who this once is not mistaken? cried I. Spare your raillery, Fritz, for it is really an agouti. I do not myself know any thing of the animal: but by his description in books or engravings, with which his appearance perfectly corresponds; he is a native of America, lives under ground on the roots of trees, and is, as travellers report, excellent food. But of this we will judge for ourselves.

While we were speaking, Jack was trying with all his might to open one of the oysters with his knife; but he could not succeed. I laughed heartily at his disappointment, and put a few of them on the fire, where they soon opened of themselves. Now then, boys, you may have as fine and choice a regale as if you were in a palace. I swallowed one myself; but I have never been fond of oysters; and the boys, observing the wry face I made, all looked at me with surprise. I thought every body was fond of oysters, papa, said one of them. I do not mean to dispute the taste of others, replied I; but, for myself, nothing but a craving hunger could force me to make a meal of them; but you can yourselves try the experiment, and perhaps you will like them. This sort of shell-fish is so little agreeable to the eye of those unaccustomed to see them, that not one of the boys had any inclination to touch them. Shortly, however, Jack, in the character of the most courageous, swallowed one hastily, shutting and squeezing up his eyes as if it were a medicine, and the others followed his example; but one and all declared that the oyster was a fish not at all to their taste, and each hastened to dip his shell into the pot to get out a little soup; but, as I had foreseen, each drew out a scalded finger, and it was who could scream the loudest. Ernest was the only one who had been too cautious to expose himself to this misfortune; he quietly took his muscle-shell, as large and deep as a plate, from his pocket, and carefully dipping it into the pot, drew it out filled with as much soup as was his fair share; and casting a look of exultation on his brothers, he set it down to wait till it should be cold enough to eat.

You have taken excellent care of yourself, I perceive, said I. But now answer me, dear boy, is the advantage worth the pains you take to be better off than your companions? Yet this is the constant failing of your character. As your best friend, I feel it to be my duty to balk you of the expected success. I therefore adjudge your dish of delicious soup to our faithful followers, Turk and Ponto. For ourselves, we will all fare alike, you as well as the rest; we will simply dip our oyster-shells into the pot till hunger is appeased; but the picked dish for the dogs, Ernest, and all the rest alike!

This gentle reproach sunk, I perceived, into his heart; he placed the shell, filled with soup, upon the ground, and in the twinkling of an eye the dogs had licked up every drop. We on our parts were almost as sharp set as they, and every eye was fixed on the pot, watching when the steam would subside a little, that we might begin dipping; when on looking round we saw Turk and Ponto standing over the agouti, gnawing and tearing him fiercely with their teeth and paws. The boys all screamed together; Fritz seized his gun, and struck them with it; called them the unkindest names, threw stones at them, and was so furious, that, if I had not interfered, it is probable he would have killed them. He had already bent his gun with the blows he had aimed at them, and his voice was raised so high as to be reechoed from the rocks.

When he had grown a little cool, I seriously remonstrated with him on his violence of temper. I represented to him what distress he had occasioned his mother and myself for the event of a rage so alarming; that his gun, which might have been so useful, was now entirely spoiled; and that the poor animals, upon whose assistance we should probably so much depend, he had, no doubt, greatly injured. Anger, continued I, is always a bad counsellor, and may even lead the way to crimes; you are not ignorant of the history of Cain, who, in a moment of violent anger, killed his brother. Say no more, my dearest father, interrupted Fritz in a tone of horror.—Happy am I to recollect on this occasion, resumed I, that they were animals, and not human creatures, you treated thus. But an angry person never reasons; he scarcely knows whom he attacks. The most convincing proof of this, is, that you just now fell upon two dumb animals incapable of judgement, and who most likely thought that your agouti was placed there, as the soup had been before, for them to eat. Confess too, that it was vanity which excited the furious temper you exhibited. If another than yourself had killed the agouti, you would have been more patient under that accident. Fritz agreed that I was right, and, half drowned in tears, entreated my forgiveness.

Soon after we had taken our meal, the sun began to sink into the west. Our little flock of fowls assembled round us, pecking here and there what morsels of our biscuit had fallen on the ground. Just at this moment my wife produced the bag she had so mysteriously huddled into the tub. Its mouth was now opened,—it contained the various sorts of grain for feeding poultry—barley, peas, oats, &c., and also different kinds of seeds of vegetables for the table. In the fullness of her kind heart she scattered several handfuls at once upon the ground, which the innocent creatures began eagerly to seize. I complimented her on the benefit her foresight had secured for us; but I recommended a more sparing use of so valuable an acquisition, observing, that the grain, if kept for sowing, would produce a harvest, and that we could fetch from the ship spoiled biscuit enough to feed the fowls. Our pigeons sought a roosting place among the rocks; the hens, with the two cocks at their head, ranged themselves in a line along the ridge of the tent; and the geese and ducks betook themselves in a body, cackling and quacking as they proceeded, to a marshy bit of ground near the sea, where some thick bushes afforded them shelter.

A little later, we ourselves began to follow the example of our winged companions by beginning our preparations for repose. First, we charged our guns and pistols, and laid them carefully in the tent: next, we assembled all together and joined in offering up our thanks to the Almighty for the succour afforded us, and supplicating his watchful care for our preservation. With the last ray of the sun we entered our tent, and laid ourselves close to each other on the grass and moss we had collected in the morning.

The children observed, with surprise, that darkness came upon us all at once; that night succeeded to day without an intermediate twilight.—This, replied I, makes me suspect that we are not far from the equator, or at least between the tropics, where this is of ordinary occurrence; for the twilight is occasioned by the rays of the sun being broken in the atmosphere; the more obliquely they fall, the more their feeble light is extended and prolonged; while, on the other hand, the more perpendicular the rays the less their declination: consequently the change from day to night is much more sudden when the sun is under the horizon.

I looked once more out of the tent to see if all was quiet around us, and then carefully fastened the sail-cloth across the entrance. The old cock, awakened by the rising of the moon, chaunted our vespers, and then I lay down to sleep. In proportion as we had been during the day oppressed with heat, we were now in the night inconvenienced by the cold so that we were obliged to cling close to each other for warmth. A sweet sleep began to close the eyes of my beloved family; I was secretly endeavouring to keep awake till I was sure my wife’s solicitude had yielded to the same happy state, and then I closed my own. Thanks to the fatigue we had undergone, our first night in the desert island was very tolerably comfortable.

CHAPTER III.
Voyage of discovery.

I was awaked at the first dawn of day by the crowing of the cocks. I awoke my wife, and we consulted together as to our occupation for the day. We both agreed, that the thing of the most importance was to seek for such traces as might be found of our late ship companions, and at the same time to examine the nature of the soil on the other side of the river before we came to a determination about a fixed place of abode. My wife easily perceived that such an excursion could not be undertaken by all the members of the family; and full of confidence in the protection of Heaven, she courageously consented to my proposal of my leaving her with the three youngest boys, and proceeding myself with Fritz on a journey of discovery. I entreated her not to lose a moment in giving us our breakfast. She gave us notice that the share of each would be but small, there being no more soup prepared. What then, I asked, is become of Jack’s lobster? That he can best tell you himself, answered his mother. But now pray step and awake the boys, while I make a fire and put on some water.

The children were soon roused; even our slothful Ernest submitted to the hard fate of rising so early in the morning. When I asked Jack for his lobster, he ran and fetched it from a cleft in the rock in which he had carefully concealed it. I was determined, said he, that the dogs should not treat my lobster as they did the agouti, for I knew them for a sort of gentlemen to whom nothing comes amiss. I am glad to see, son Jack, said I, that that giddy head upon your shoulders can be prevailed upon to reflect. Happy is he who knows how to profit in the misfortunes of others, says the proverb. But will you not kindly give Fritz the great claw which bit your leg (though I promised it to you) to carry with him for his dinner on our journey?

What journey? asked all the boys at once. Ah! we will go too: a journey,—a journey—repeated they, clapping their hands and jumping round me like little kids. For this time, said I, it is impossible for all of you to go; we know not yet what we are to set about, nor whither we are going. Your eldest brother and myself shall be better able to defend ourselves in any danger without you; besides, that with so many persons we could proceed but slowly. You will then all three remain with your mother in this place, which appears to be one of perfect safety, and you shall keep Ponto to be your guard, while we will take Turk with us. With such a protector, and a gun well loaded, who shall dare treat us with disrespect? Fritz, make haste and tie up Ponto, that he may not follow us; and have your eye on Turk, that he may be at hand to accompany us, and get the guns ready.

At the word guns the colour rose in the cheeks of my poor boy. His gun was so curved as to be of no use; he took it up and tried in vain to straighten it; I let him alone for a short time; but at length I gave him leave to take another, perceiving with pleasure that the vexation had produced a proper feeling in his mind. A moment after, he attempted to lay hold of Ponto to tie him up; but the dog, recollecting the blows he had so lately received, began to snarl, and would not go near him. Turk behaved the same, and I found it necessary to call with my own voice to induce them to approach us. Fritz then in tears entreated for some biscuit of his mother, declaring that he would willingly go without his breakfast to make his peace with the dogs; he accordingly carried them some biscuit, stroked and caressed them, and in every motion seemed to ask their pardon. As of all animals, without excepting man, the dog is least addicted to revenge, and at the same time is the most sensible of kind usage, Ponto instantly relented, and began to lick the hands which fed him; but Turk, who was of a more fierce and independent temper, still held off, and seemed to feel a want of confidence in Fritz’s advances. Give him a claw of my lobster, cried Jack, for I mean to give it all to you for your journey.

I cannot think why you should give it all, said Ernest, for you need not be uneasy about their journey. Like Robinson Crusoe they will be sure enough to find some cocoa-nuts, which they will like much better than your miserable lobster: only think, a fine round nut, Jack, as big as my head, and with at least a tea-cup full of delicious sweet milk in it!

Oh! brother Fritz, pray do bring me some, said the little Francis.

We now prepared for our departure: we took each a bag for game, and a hatchet; I put a pair of pistols in the leather band round Fritz’s waist in addition to the gun, and provided myself with the same articles, not forgetting a stock of biscuit and a flask of fresh river water. My wife now called us to breakfast, when all attacked the lobster; but its flesh proved so hard, that there was a great deal left when our meal was finished, and we packed it for our journey without further regret from any one. The sea-lobster is an animal of considerable size, and its flesh much more nutritious, but much less delicate, than the common lobster.

Fritz urged me to set out before the excessive heat came on. With all my heart, said I, but we have forgotten one thing of importance. What is that? asked Fritz looking round him; I see nothing else to do but to take our leave of my mother and my brothers. I know what it is, said Ernest, we have not said our prayers this morning.

That is the very thing, my dear boy, said I. We are too apt to forget God, the parent of all, for the cares of this world; and yet never had we so much need of his support and protection as in our present situation, and particularly at the moment of undertaking a journey to an unknown soil.

Upon this, our little pickle Jack began to imitate the sound of church-bells, and to cry Bome! bome! bidi bome, bidiman, bome, To prayers, to prayers, bome, bome.—Thoughtless boy! cried I with a look of displeasure, will you then never learn that there is a sacredness in devotion, that, in a well disposed mind, banishes for the time every thought of levity or amusement? Recollect yourself, and let this be the last time you force from me a reproof on a subject of so grave a nature.

In about an hour we had completed all that was necessary to be done previous to our departure, and were ready to set out. I had loaded the guns we left behind, and I now enjoined my wife to keep by day as near the boat as possible, which in case of danger was the best and most speedy means of escape. My next concern was to shorten the moment of separation, judging by my own heart of the emotion of my dear wife; for it was impossible we could mutually be without the most painful apprehension, as to what new misfortune might occur on either side during the interval. We all melted into tears;—I seized this instant for drawing Fritz away, and in a few moments the sobs and often repeated adieus of those we left behind, were drowned in the noise of the waves which we were approaching on our way, and which now turned our thoughts upon ourselves and the immediate object of our journey.

The river we were about to pass, was on each side so steep as to be inaccessible, except by one narrow slip near the mouth, on one side, and from whence we had already drawn our supply of fresh water: but there was no means of effecting a passage across from this place, the opposite shore being an unbroken line of sharp, high, perpendicular rocks. We therefore walked on, following the course of the river till we arrived at an assemblage of rocks at which the stream formed a cascade: a few paces beyond, we observed some large fragments of rock which had fallen into the bed of the river; by stepping upon these, and making now and then some hazardous leaps, we at length contrived to reach to the other side. We had proceeded a short way along the rock we ascended in landing, forcing ourselves a passage through overgrown grass mixed with plants, and rendered more capable of resistance by being half dried up by the sun. Perceiving however, that walking on this kind of surface, joined to the heat, would soon exhaust our strength, we looked for a path by which we might descend and proceed along the river, in which direction we hoped to meet with fewer obstacles, and perhaps might discover traces of the boats and of our ship companions.

When we had walked about a hundred paces, we heard a loud noise behind us as if we were pursued, and perceived a rustling motion in the grass, which was almost as tall as ourselves. I confess I was a good deal alarmed, thinking that it was probably occasioned by some frightful serpent, a tiger, or other ferocious animal, which might instantly devour us. But I was well satisfied with the courage of Fritz, who, instead of being frightened and running away, stood still and firm to face the danger; the only motion he made being that of seeing that his piece was fit to be discharged, and turning himself to front the spot from whence the noise proceeded. Our alarm however was of short duration; for what was our joy on seeing rush out, not an enemy, but our faithful Turk whom in the distress of the parting scene we had quite forgotten, and whom no doubt our anxious relatives had sent on to us! We received the poor fellow with lively joy, and did not fail to commend both the bravery and discretion of my son, in not yielding to even a rational alarm, and for waiting till he was sure of the object before he resolved to fire: had he done otherwise, he might have destroyed a creature formed to afford us various kinds of aid, and to contribute by the kindness of his temper to the pleasures of our domestic scene. Observe, my dear boy, said I, to what dangers the tumult of the passions exposes us: the anger which over-powered you yesterday, and the terror natural to the occasion we have this moment witnessed, if you had unfortunately given way to it, might either of them have produced for us an irretrievable misfortune.

Fritz assured me he was sensible of truth and importance of my remarks; that he would watch constantly over the defects of his temper: and then he fell to caressing the faithful and interesting animal.

Conversing on such subjects as these, we pursued our way. On our left was the sea, and on our right, at the distance of half a league, the continuation of the ridge of rocks, which extended from the place of our debarkation in a direction nearly parallel with the shore, the summit every where adorned with a fresh verdure and a great variety of trees; and the space between, partly covered with tall grass and partly with small clumps of bushes, which on one side extended to the rocks, and on the other to the sea. We were careful to proceed in a course as near the shore as possible, fixing our eyes rather upon its smooth expanse than upon the land, at every instant in hopes to see something of the boats. We did not however wholly neglect the shore, where we looked about in all directions for the objects of our search: but our endeavours were all in vain; no sign appeared of their having been near the spot.

Fritz proposed to fire his gun from time to time, suggesting that, should they be any where concealed near us, they might thus be led to know of our pursuit.

This would be vastly well, answered I, if you could contrive for our friends to hear the report of the gun, and not the savages, who are most likely not far distant, and who would be induced by the alarm, to watch and surprise us. I am thinking, father, interrupted Fritz, that there is no good reason why we should give ourselves so much trouble and uneasiness about persons who abandoned us so cruelly, and thought only of their own safety.

There is not only one good reason, but many, replied I: first, we should not return evil for evil; next, it may be in their power to be of use and to assist us; and lastly, that they are most likely at this moment in the greatest want of our exertions. It was their lot to escape with nothing but their persons from the ship, if indeed they are still alive while we had the good fortune to secure provisions enough for present subsistence to a share of which they are as fully entitled as ourselves.

But, father, while we are wandering here and losing our time almost without a hope of benefit to them, might we not better employ ourselves in returning to the vessel and saving the lives of the animals on board?

When a variety of duties present themselves for our choice, we should always give the preference to that which can confer the most solid advantage. The saving of the life of a man, is a more exalted action than to be employed in contributing to the further comfort of some quadrupeds, whom we have already supplied with food for several days longer, particularly as the sea is in so calm a state, that we need entertain no apprehension that the ship will be sunk or go entirely to pieces just at present.

My son made no reply to what I said, and we each seemed by mutual silent consent to take a few moments for reflection.

When we had gone about two leagues, we entered a wood situated a little further from the sea: here we threw ourselves on the ground, and under the shade of a tree, by the side of a clear running stream, took out some provisions and refreshed ourselves. We heard on every side around us, the chirping, singing, and the motion of unknown birds among the leaves, and which in reality were more attractive by their splendid plumage than by any charm of note. Fritz assured me that between the branches of the bushes he saw some animals resembling apes: this indeed was further confirmed by the restless movements we had observed in Turk, who began to smell about him, and to bark so loud that the wood resounded with the noise. Fritz stole softly about to be sure, and raising his head to spy into the branches above his height, he stumbled on a small round body which lay on the ground: he took it up and brought it to me, observing that he thought it must be the nest of some bird. What makes you of that opinion? said I. It is, I think, much more like a cocoa-nut.

But I have read that there are some kinds of birds who build their nests quite round; and look, father, how the outside is crossed and twined!

That is true, Fritz; but it is wrong from a single view to be so positive. Do you not perceive that what you take for straws crossed and twined by the beak of a bird, is in fact a coat of fibres formed by the hand of nature? Do you not remember to have read that the nut of a cocoa shell is inclosed within a round fibrous covering, which again is surrounded by a skin of a thin and fragile texture? I see that in the one you hold in your hand, this skin has been destroyed by time, and this is the reason why the twisted fibres (or inner covering) are so apparent; but now let us break the shell, and you will see the nut inside.

We soon accomplished this; but the nut, alas, from lying on the ground had perished, and appeared but little different from a bit of dried skin, and not the least inviting to the palate.

Fritz was much amused at this discovery. How I wish Ernest could have been here! cried he. How he envied me the fine large cocoa-nuts I was to find, and the whole tea cup full of sweet delicious milk, which was to spring out upon me from the inside! But, father, I myself believed that the cocoa-nut contained a sweet refreshing liquid, a little like the juice of almonds; travellers surely tell untruths!

Travellers certainly do sometimes tell untruths, but on the subject of the cocoa-nut I believe them to be innocent. The cocoa-nut is well known to contain the liquid you describe, just before they are in a state of ripeness. It is the same with our European nuts, with only the difference of quantity; and the circumstance is common to both, that as the nut ripens, the milk diminishes, by thickening and becoming the same substance as the nut. If you put a ripe nut a little way under the earth in a good soil, the kernel will shoot and burst the shell; but if it remain above ground, or in a place that does not suit its nature, the principle of vegetation is extinguished by internal fermentation, and the nut perishes as you have seen.

I am now surprised that this principle is not extinguished in every nut; for the shell is so hard, it seems impossible for a softer substance to break it.

The peach stone is no less hard: the kernel notwithstanding never fails to break it, if it is placed in a well nurtured soil.

Now I begin to understand. The peach stone is divided into two parts like a muscle-shell; it has a kind of seam round it, which separates of itself when the kernel is swelled by moisture:—but the cocoa-nut in my hand is not so divided, and I cannot conceive of its separating.

I grant that the cocoa-nut is differently formed; but you may see by the fragments you have just thrown on the ground, that nature has in another manner stepped in to its assistance. Look near the stalk, and you will discover three round holes, which are not, like the rest of its surface, covered with a hard impenetrable shell, but are stopped by a spongy kind of matter; it is through these that the kernel shoots.

I will gather all the pieces and take them to Ernest, and tell him all these particulars; I wonder what he will say about it, and how he will like the withered nut.

Now the fancy of your father, my dear boy, would be to find you without so keen a relish for a bit of mischief. Joke with Ernest if you will about the withered nut; but I should like to see you heal the disappointment he will feel, by presenting him at last with a sound and perfect nut, provided we should have one to spare.

After looking for some time, we had the good luck to meet with one single nut. We opened it, and finding it sound, we sat down and ate it for our dinner, by which means we were enabled to husband the provisions we had brought. The nut, it is true, was a little oily and rancid; yet, as this was not a time to be nice, we made a hearty meal, and then continued our route. We did not quit the wood, but pushed our way through it, being often obliged to cut a path through the bushes overrun by creeping plants, with our hatchet. At length we reached a plain, which afforded a more extensive prospect and a path less perplexed and intricate.

We next entered a forest to the right, and soon observed in it here and there some trees of a particular species. Fritz, whose sharp eye was continually on a journey of discovery, remarked that some of them were of so very extraordinary an appearance, that he could not resist the curiosity he felt to examine them closely. O heavens! father, he next exclaimed, what a singular kind of trees, with wens growing all about their trunks! We both walked up to some of them, and I perceived, with great surprise and satisfaction, that they were of the gourd tree kind, the trunks of which bear fruit. Fritz, who had never heard of such a tree, could not conceive the meaning of what he saw, and asked me if the fruit was a sponge or a wen. We will see, I replied, if we cannot unravel the mystery. Try to get down one of them, and we will examine them minutely.

I have got one, cried Fritz, and it is exactly like a gourd, only the rind is thicker and harder.

It then, like the rind of that fruit, can be used for making various utensils, observed I; plates, dishes, basons, flasks. We will give it the name of the gourd tree.

Fritz jumped for joy. O heavens! cried he in ecstasy, how happy my mother will be! She will no longer have the vexation, when she makes soup, of thinking that we shall all scald our fingers!

What, my boy, do you think is the reason that this tree bears its fruit only on the trunk and on its topmost branches?

I think it must be because the middle branches are too feeble to support such a weight.

You have guessed exactly right.

But are these gourds good to eat?

At worst they are, I believe, harmless; but they have not a very tempting flavour. The negro savages set as much value on the rind of this fruit as on gold, for its use to them is indispensable. These rinds serve them to keep their food and drink in, and sometimes they even cook their victuals in them.

Oh, father! it must be impossible to cook their victuals in them; for the heat of fire would soon consume such a substance.

I did not say the rind was put upon the fire.

How droll! Pray how are victuals to be cooked without fire?

Nor did I say that victuals could be cooked without a fire; and my meaning was, that there is no need to put the vessel that contains the food, upon the fire.

I have not the least idea of what you mean; there seems to be a miracle.

So be it, my son. A little tincture of enchantment is the lot of man. When he finds himself deficient in intelligence, or is too indolent to give himself the trouble to reflect, he is driven by his weakness to ascribe to a miracle, or to witchcraft, what is, most likely, nothing but the most ordinary operation of art or nature.

Well, father, I will then believe in what you tell me of these rinds.

That is, you will cut the matter short, by resolving to swear on the word of another; this is an excellent method for letting your own reason lie fallow. Come, come, no such idleness; let me help you to understand this amazing phenomenon. When it is intended to dress food in one of these rinds, the process is, to cut the fruit into two equal parts, and scoop out the whole of the inside; some water is put into one of the halves, and into the water some fish, a crab, or whatever else is to be dressed; then some stones red hot, beginning with one at a time, are thrown in, which impart sufficient heat to the water to dress the food, without the smallest injury to the pot.

But is not the food spoiled by ashes falling in, or by pieces of the heated stones separating in the water?

Certainly it is not very easy to make fine sauces or ragouts in such a vessel; but a dressing of the meat is actually accomplished, and the negroes and savages, who are principally the persons to make use of what is thus cooked, are not very delicate: but I can imagine a tolerable remedy for even the objection you have found. The food might be inclosed in a vessel small enough to be contained in our capacious half of a gourd, and thus be cooked upon the principle so much used in chemistry, the application of a milder heat than fire. And this method of cooking has also another advantage, that the thing contained cannot adhere to the sides or bottom of the vessel.

We next proceeded to the manufacture of our plates and dishes. I taught my son how to divide the gourd with a bit of string, which would cut more equally than a knife; I tied the string round the middle of the gourd as tight as possible, striking it pretty hard with the handle of my knife, and I drew tighter and tighter till the gourd fell apart, forming two regular shaped bowls or vessels; while Fritz, who had used a knife for the same operation, had entirely spoiled his gourd by the irregular strokes of his instrument. I recommended his making some spoons with the spoiled rind, as it was good for no other purpose. I, on my part, had soon completed two dishes of convenient size, and some smaller ones to serve as plates.

Fritz was in the utmost astonishment at my success. I cannot imagine, father, said he, how this way of cutting the gourd could occur to you!

I have read the description of such a process, replied I, in books of travels; and also, that such of the savages as have no knives, and who make a sort of twine from the bark of trees, are accustomed to use it for this kind of purpose. So you see what benefit may be derived from reading, and from afterwards reflecting on what we read.

And the flasks, father; in what manner are they made?

For this branch of their ingenuity they make preparation a long time beforehand. If a negro wishes to have a flask or bottle with a neck, he ties a very young gourd round in the proper place with a piece of string, of linen, bark of a tree, or any thing he can get hold of; he draws this bandage so tight, that the part at liberty soon forms itself to a round shape, while the part which is confined contracts, and remains ever after narrow. By this method it is that they obtain flasks or bottles of a perfect form.

Are then the bottle-shaped gourds I have seen in Europe trained by a similar preparation?

No, they are not; they are of another species, and what you have seen is their natural shape.

Our conversation and our labour thus went on together. Fritz had completed some plates, and was not a little proud of this achievement. Ah, how delighted my mother will be to eat upon them! cried he. But how shall we convey them to her? They will not, I fear, bear travelling well.

We must leave them here on the sand for the sun to dry them thoroughly; this will be accomplished by the time of our return this way, and we can then carry them with us; but care must be taken to fill them with sand, that they may not shrink or warp in so ardent a heat. My boy did not dislike this task; for he had no great fancy to the idea of carrying such a load on our journey of further discovery. Our sumptuous service of porcelain was accordingly spread upon the shore, and abandoned to its fate.

We amused ourselves as we walked along in endeavouring to fashion some spoons from the fragments of the gourd-rinds. I had the fancy to try my skill upon a piece of cocoa-nut; but I must needs confess that what we produced had not the least resemblance to those I had seen in the Museum at London, and which were shown there as the work of some of the islanders of the Southern Seas. A European without instruments must always find himself excelled in such attempts by the superior adroitness and patience of savages; in this instance too, of ourselves, we had the assistance of knives, while the savages have only sharp flat stones to work with.

My attempt has been scarcely more successful than your own, I cried; and to eat soup with either your spoon or mine, we ought to have mouths extending from ear to ear.

True enough, father, answered Fritz; but it is not my fault. In making mine, I took the curve of my bit of rind for a guide; if I had made it smaller, it would have been too flat, and it is still more difficult to eat with a shovel than with an oyster-shell. But I am thinking that they may serve till I have learned to improve upon my first attempt, and I am quite sure of the pleasure they will afford my mother. I imagine it pleases God sometimes to visit his creatures with distress, that they may learn to be satisfied with a little.

That is an excellent remark, my boy, said I, and gives me more pleasure than a hundred crowns would do. Fritz burst into a fit of laughter. You do not rate my remark very high when you say this, father, cried he, for of what use would a hundred crowns be to you at present? If you had said a good soup or a hundred cocoa-nuts, I should be much prouder for having made it.

But as it is, my son, you have a right to be proud. I am well pleased to find you are beginning to estimate things according to their real value and usefulness, instead of considering them as good or bad, like children, upon feeble views. Money is only a means of exchange in human society; but here on this solitary coast, nature is more generous than man, and asks no payment for the benefits she bestows.

While these different conversations and our labours had been going on, we had not neglected the great object of our pursuit,—the making every practicable search for our ship-companions. But all, alas, was in vain.

After a walk of about four leagues in all, we arrived at a spot where a slip of land reached far out into the sea, on which we observed a hill or rising piece of ground of considerable height. On a moment’s reflection we determined to ascend to its summit, which could not fail to give us a clear view of all adjacent parts; this would save us the fatigue of further rambles. We accordingly accomplished the design.

We did not reach the top of the hill without many courageous efforts and a plentiful perspiration: but when there, it presented a magnificent scene of wild and solitary beauty, comprehending a vast extent of land and water. It was, however, in vain that we made use of our spying glass; no trace of man appeared. A highly embellished nature presented herself; and though deprived of human succour, we were in the highest degree sensible of her thousand charms. The shore, rounded by a bay of some extent, the bank of which ended in a promontory on the further side; the agreeable blue tint of its surface; the sea, gently agitated with waves, in which the rays of the sun were reflected; the woods of variegated hues and verdure, formed altogether a picture of such new and exquisite delight, that if the recollection of our unfortunate companions, already perhaps ingulfed in this very ocean, had not intervened to damp our spirits, we should have yielded to the ecstasy the scene was calculated to inspire. In reality, from this moment we began to lose the consolatory hope we had hitherto entertained, and a certain sadness stole involuntarily into our hearts. We, however, became but the more sensible of the goodness of the Divine Being in the special protection afforded us, in permitting us to find a home where there seemed to be no cause for fear of danger from without, where we had not experienced even the want of food, and where there seemed to be a prospect of future safety for us all. We had encountered no venomous or ferocious animals; and as far as our sight could yet reach, we were not threatened by the approach of savages. I remarked to Fritz that we seemed destined to a solitary life, and that it was a rich country which appeared to be allotted us for a habitation; at least our habitation it must be, unless some vessel should happen to put on shore on the same coast, and be in a condition to take us back to our native land. And God’s will be done! added I, for he knows what is best for us.

Having left our native country, fixed in the intention of inhabiting some more propitious soil,^[*] it was natural to expect that we must at first encounter difficult adventures. Let us, therefore, consider our present situation as no disappointment in any essential respect. We can pursue our scheme for agriculture. We shall learn to invent arts. Our only want is numbers.

As for me, answered Fritz, I care but little about being so few of us. If I have the happiness of seeing you and my mother well and satisfied, I shall not give myself much uneasiness about those wicked unkind ship companions of ours.

Do not say that, my boy; they were not all bad people; and the greater part of them would have become better men here, because they would not have been exposed to the attacks of seduction. Social intercourse, common interests, united exertions, mutual services and counsels, together with the reflections which would have grown in such a state as this, are agents capable of powerfully contributing to the well-being of the individual, and to a happy and successful industry.

We, however, of ourselves, observed Fritz, form a larger society than was the lot of Adam before he had children; and as we grow older, we will perform all the necessary labour, while you and my mother enjoy a serene repose.

Your assurances are as kind as I can desire, and they encourage me to struggle with what hardships may present themselves. Who can foresee in what manner it may be the will of Heaven to dispose of us? In times of old, God said to one of his chosen: “I will cause a great nation to descend from thy loins.”

And why may not we too become patriarchs, if it please God to continue our lives?

Why not? you ask—and I have not now time to answer. But come along, my young patriarch, and let us find a shady spot, that we may not be consumed with the intensity of the sun’s heat before the patriarchal condition can be conferred upon us. Look yonder at that inviting wood: let us hasten thither to take a little rest, then eat our dinner, and return to our dear expecting family.

We descended from the hill, and having regained the shore, we made our way to the wood of palms, which I had just pointed out to Fritz; but not without considerable difficulty, for our path lay through a quantity of reeds, entwined with other plants, which greatly obstructed our march. We advanced slowly and cautiously, fearing at every step we might receive a mortal bite from some serpent that might be concealed among them. We made Turk go before us, to give us timely notice of any thing dangerous. I also cut myself a stalk of the reeds of uncommon length and thickness, the better to defend myself against an enemy that might attack me from the ground. It was not without astonishment that I perceived a glutinous kind of sap proceed from the divided end of the stalk. Prompted by curiosity, I tasted the sap, and found it sweet and of an agreeable flavour, so that not a doubt remained in my mind that we were passing through a fine plantation of sugar-canes. I again applied the cane to my lips, and sucked it for some moments, and soon after felt myself singularly refreshed and strengthened from its use. I determined not to tell Fritz immediately of the fortunate discovery I had made, preferring that he should find the pleasure out for himself. As he was at some distance on before, I called out to him to cut a reed for his defence. This he instantly did, and, without any remark, used it simply for a stick, striking lustily with it on all sides to clear a passage. This motion occasioned the sap to run out abundantly upon his hand, and he stopped to examine so strange a circumstance. He lifted it up, and still a larger quantity escaped. He now tasted what was on his fingers. Oh! then for the exclamations. Father, father, I have found some sugar!—some syrup! I have a sugar-cane in my hand! Run quickly, father! We were soon together, jointly partaking of the pleasure we had in store for his dear mother and the younger brothers. In the mean time Fritz eagerly devoured the single cane he had cut, till his relish for it was appeased. I thought this a profitable moment to say a word or two about excesses, of the wisdom of husbanding even our lawful pleasures, and of the advantages of moderation in even our most rational enjoyments.

But I was so thirsty, and the sap was so delicious!

Your excuse is like that of the drunkard, who tells you he drinks immoderately because he is thirsty, and because wine has a pleasant flavour; while, however good the excuse, it does not protect the person from being deprived of his reason.

Well, father, I will observe. But I will take home a good provision of sugar-canes, however. I shall only just taste of them once or twice as I walk along. But it will be so delightful to regale my mother and my little brothers with them!

I have not the least objection; but do not take too heavy a load, for recollect you have other things to carry, and we have yet far to go.

Counsel was given in vain. He persisted in cutting at least a dozen of the largest canes, tore off their leaves, tied them together, and, putting them under his arm, dragged them as well as he was able through thick and thin to the end of the plantation. We arrived without accident at the wood of palms, which we entered in search of a place of shade, where we might stretch our limbs on the ground, and finish our repast. We were scarcely settled, when suddenly a great number of large monkeys, terrified by the sight of us and the barking of Turk, stole so nimbly, and yet so quietly, up the trees, that we scarcely perceived them till they had reached the topmost parts. From this height they fixed their eyes upon us, grinding their teeth, making most horrible grimaces, and saluting us with frightful screams of hostile import. I observed that the trees were palms, bearing cocoa-nuts, and I instantly conceived the hope of obtaining some of this fruit in an unripe and milky state, through the monkeys. Fritz, on his part, prepared to shoot at them instantly. He threw his burdens on the ground, and it was with difficulty I could prevent him from firing, by pulling his arm in another direction. What are you going to do, said I, in this youthful ardour of yours? What use or what pleasure can it be to you to destroy one of these monkeys?

Ah, father, why did you not let me kill him? Monkeys are such malicious, mischievous animals! Look how they raise their backs in derision of us!

And is it possible that this can excite your vengeance, my most reasonable Mr. Fritz? To say the truth, I am not myself a patron of the race of monkeys, who, as you say, are naturally prone to be malicious. But as long as an animal does us no injury, or that his death can in no shape be useful in preserving our own lives, we have no right to destroy it, and still less to torment it for our amusement, or from an insensate desire of revenge.

We could as easily roast a monkey as any kind of game.

Many thanks for the hint! A fine repast you would have provided us! Thanks to our stars, too, we are each too heavily loaded to have carried the dead body to our kitchen, and I shrewdly suspect that it would not have found the way thither of its own accord. Does not your large bundle of sugar-canes convince you that I speak the truth? But the living monkeys we may perhaps find means to make contribute to our service.—See what I am going to do;—but step aside, for fear of your head. If I succeed, the monkeys will furnish us with plenty of our much desired cocoa-nuts.

I now began to throw some stones at the monkeys; and though I could not make them reach to half of the height at which they had taken refuge, they showed every mark of excessive anger. With their accustomed habit of imitation, they furiously tore off, nut by nut, all that grew upon the branches near them, to hurl them down upon us; so that it was with difficulty we avoided the blows; and in a short time a large quantity of cocoa-nuts lay on the ground round us. Fritz laughed heartily at the excellent success of our stratagem; and as the shower of cocoa-nuts began to subside, we set about collecting them. We chose a place where we could repose at our ease, to regale ourselves on this rich harvest. We opened the shells with a hatchet, but not without having first enjoyed the sucking of some of the milk through the three small holes, round which we found it easy to insert a knife, and let the milk escape. The milk of the cocoa-nut has not in reality a very pleasant flavour; but it is excellent for quenching violent thirst. What we liked best, was a kind of solid cream which adheres to the shell, and which we scraped off with our spoons. We mixed with it a little of the sap of our sugar-canes, and it made a delicious repast; while Turk obtained for his share, what remained of the sea-lobster, which we now regarded with disdain, and to which we added a small quantity of biscuit. All this, however, was insufficient to satisfy the hunger of so large an animal, and he sought about for bits of the sugar-canes and of the cocoa-nuts.

Our meal being finished, we prepared to leave the place. I tied together such of the cocoa-nuts as had retained the stalks, and threw them across my shoulder. Fritz resumed his bundle of sugar-canes. We divided the rest of the things between us, and continued our way towards home.

CHAPTER IV.
Return from the voyage of discovery. A nocturnal alarm.

My poor boy now began to complain heavily of fatigue; the bundle of sugar-canes galled his shoulders, and he was obliged to move it from place to place. At last, he stopped to take breath. No, cried he, I never could have thought that a few sugar-canes could be so heavy. How sincerely I pity the poor negroes who carry them in even larger quantities, and to a greater distance! I should however be so glad, if my mother and my brother could but partake of our booty!

A little patience and a little courage, dear Fritz, replied I, will enable you to accomplish this wish; recollect Esop’s bread-basket, which at first was so overwhelming a burden, but which at last became so light. We can cause it to be the same with your sugar-canes, if we consent to diminish them by sucking a certain number of them on the road; as a precedent, you may dispose of one to me, and I will use it at one moment as a walking-stick, and at another as a sugarplum. Take you one, also; the rest we will bind together and put at your back, hanging them upon the barrel of your gun, by which means you will carry them with ease.

In such a situation as ours we must learn to call forth all our intelligence; reflection and the faculty of invention must be made to compensate our want of means.

While we were conversing and proceeding on our way, Fritz perceived that from time to time I sucked the end of my sugar-cane, and he would needs do the same. It was in vain, however, that he tried; scarcely a drop of the sap reached his eager lips. What then is the reason, said he, that though the cane is full of juice, I cannot get out a drop?

The reason is, answered I, that you make use neither of reflection nor of your imagination.

Ah! I recollect now, is it not a question about air? Unless there were a particular opening in the cane, I may suck in vain, no juice will come.

You have well explained the difficulty: but how will you manage to set it right?

Father, lend me your cane an instant.

No, no, that will not do; what I wish is, that you should yourself invent the remedy.

Let me see; I imagine that I have only to make a little opening just above the first knot, and then the air can enter.

Exactly right. But tell me what you think would be the operation of this opening near the first knot; and in what manner can it make the juice get into your mouth?

The pith of the cane being completely interrupted by each knot in its growth, the opening that I might make below, could have no effect upon the part above; in sucking the juice, I draw in my breath, and thus exhaust the air in my mouth; the external air presses at the same time through the hole I have made, and fills this void: the juice of the cane forms an obstacle to this effort, and is accordingly driven into my mouth. But how shall I manage, when I have sucked this part dry, to get at the part above?

Oh, ho! Mr. Philosopher, what should prevent you, who have been reasoning so well about the force and fluidity of the air, from immediately conceiving so simple a process as that of cutting away the part of the cane you have already sucked dry, and making a second perforation in the part above, so that.....

Oh, I have it, I have it, I understand;—but if we should become too expert in the art of drawing out the juice, I fear but few of the canes will reach our good friends in the tent.

I also am not without my apprehensions, that of our acquisition we shall carry them only a few sticks for fire-wood; for I must bring another circumstance to your recollection: the juice of the sugar-cane is apt to turn sour soon after cutting, and the more certainly in such heat as we now experience; we may suck them therefore without compunction, and without regret at the diminution of their numbers.

Well then, if we can do no better with the sugar-canes, at least I will take them a good provision of the milk of cocoa-nuts, which I have here in a tin bottle; we shall sit round on the grass and drink it so deliciously!

In this too, my generous boy, I fear, you will also be disappointed. You talk of milk; but the milk of the cocoa-nut, no less than the juice of the sugar-cane, when exposed to the air and heat, turns soon to vinegar. I would almost wager that it is already sour; for the tin bottle which contains it, is particularly liable to become hot in the sun.

O heavens, how provoking! I must taste it this very minute. The tin bottle was lowered from his shoulder in the twinkling of an eye, and he began to pull the cork with all his strength; as soon as it was loose, the liquid flew upwards in a brisk stream, and with a loud noise and frothing like champain.

Bravo, Mr. Fritz! you have manufactured there a wine of some mettle. I must now caution you not to let it make you tipsy.

Oh, taste it, father, pray taste it; it is quite delicious; not the least like vinegar; it is rather like excellent new wine; its taste is sweet, and it is so sparkling! do take a little, father. Is it not good? If all the milk remains in this state, the treat will be better even than I thought.

I wish it may prove so: but I have my fears; its present state is what is called the first degree of fermentation; the same thing happens to honey dissolved in water, of which hydromel is made. When this first fermentation is past, and the liquid is clear, it is become a sort of wine, or other fermented liquor, the quality of which depends on the materials used. By the application of heat, there next results a second and more gradual fermentation, which turns the fluid into vinegar. But this may be prevented by extraordinary care, and by keeping the vessel that contains it in a cool place. Lastly, a third fermentation takes place in the vinegar itself, which entirely changes its character, and deprives it of its taste, its strength, and its transparency. In the intense temperature of this climate, this triple fermentation comes on very rapidly, so that it is not improbable that, on entering our tent, you might find your liquids turned to vinegar, or even to a thick liquid of ill odour: we may therefore venture to refresh ourselves with a portion of our booty, that it may not all be spoiled. Come then, I drink your health, and that of our dear family. I find the liquor at present both refreshing and agreeable; but I am pretty sure that, if we would arrive sober, we must not venture on frequent libations.

Our regale imparted to our exhausted frames an increase of strength and cheerfulness; we pursued our way with briskness, to the place where we had left our gourd utensils upon the sands; we found them perfectly dry, as hard as bone, and not the least mis-shapen. We now therefore could put them into our game bags conveniently enough; and this done, we continued our way. Scarcely had we passed through the little wood in which we breakfasted, when Turk sprang furiously away to seize upon a troop of monkeys, who were skipping about and amusing themselves without observing our approach toward the place of their merriment. They were thus taken by surprise; and before we could get to the spot, our ferocious Turk had already seized one of them: it was a female monkey who held a young one in her arms, which she was caressing almost to suffocation, and which incumbrance in reality deprived her of the power of escaping. The poor creature was killed, and afterwards devoured; the young one hid himself in the grass, and looked on grinding his teeth all the time that this horrible achievement was performing. Fritz flew like lightning to force the ferocious Turk from his prey. He lost his hat, threw down his tin bottle, canes, and other burdens, but all in vain; he arrived too late to prevent the murder of the interesting mother.

The next scene that presented itself was of a different nature, and comical enough; it afforded me considerable amusement. The young monkey, on perceiving Fritz, sprang nimbly on his shoulders, and fastened his feet securely in the stiff curls of his hair; nor could the squalls of Fritz, nor all the shaking he gave him, make him let go his hold. I ran to them, laughing heartily, for I saw that the animal was too young to be capable of doing him any injury, while the expression of the panic in the features of the boy, made the most diverting contrast with the grimaces of the monkey, whom I in vain endeavoured to disengage. There is no remedy, Fritz, said I, but to submit quietly and carry him; he will furnish an addition to our stock of provisions, though less alluring, I must needs confess, than that we could wish to take to your mother. The conduct of the little animal displays a very surprising intelligence; he has lost his mother, and he adopts you for his father; perhaps he discovered in you something of the air of a father of a family.

Or rather the little rogue found out that he had to do with a chicken-hearted fellow, who shrinks with aversion from the idea of ill-treating an animal which has thrown itself on his protection. But I assure you, father, he is giving me some terrible twitches, and I shall be obliged to you to try once more to get him off.

With a little gentleness and management I found means to succeed. I took the creature in my arms as one would an infant, and I confess I could not help pitying and caressing him. He was not larger than a kitten, and quite unable to help himself: its mother appeared to us to be at least as tall as Fritz.

What shall I do with thee, poor orphan? cried I, and how in our state of necessity shall I be able to maintain thee? We have already more mouths to fill, than food to put into them, and our workmen are too young to afford us soon much hope from their exertions.

Father, cried Fritz, do let me have this little animal in my own keeping. I will take the greatest care of him; I will give him all my share of the milk of the cocoa-nuts till we get our cows and goats; and who knows? his monkey instinct may one day assist us in discovering some different kinds of wholesome fruits.

I have not the least objection, answered I. You have conducted yourself throughout this tragi-comic adventure as a lad of courage and sensibility, and I am well satisfied with every circumstance of your behaviour. It is therefore but just that the little dependent should be given up to your management and discretion; much will depend on your manner of educating him; by and by we shall see whether he will be fittest to aid us with his intelligence, or to injure us by his malice; in this last case we shall have nothing to do but to get rid of him.

While Fritz and I were conversing on the subject of his adoption of the young monkey, Turk was employed in taking his fill of the remains of its unfortunate mother. Fritz would have driven him away from so cannibal-like a repast: but besides the difficulty of restraining him, we had to consider, that we might ourselves be in danger from the pressing hunger of so powerful an animal; all the food we had before given him in the day seeming to be nothing for his voracious and unbounded appetite.

We now again thought of resuming our journey, and accordingly left the ferocious Turk to pursue his sanguinary dispositions; the little orphan jumped again on the shoulder of his protector, while I on my part relieved my boy of the bundle of canes. Scarcely had we proceeded a quarter of a league when Turk overtook us full gallop. Fritz and I received him without the usual marks of kindness, and reproached him with the cruel action he had committed, as if he could feel, and understand us; but he showed no sign of giving himself any concern about the matter, following quietly behind Fritz with an air of cool and perfect satisfaction. The young monkey appeared uneasy, from seeing him so near, and passed round and fixed himself on his protector’s bosom, who did not long bear with so great an inconvenience without having recourse to his invention for a remedy. He tied some string round Turk’s body in such a way, as to admit of the monkey’s being fastened on his back with it, and then in a tone really pathetic addressed the dog as follows: Now, Mr. Turk, since it was you who had the cruelty to destroy the mother, it is for you to take every care of her child. At first the dog was restive and resisted; but by degrees, partly by menaces and partly by caresses, we succeeded in gaining his good will, and he quietly consented to carry the little burden; and the young monkey, who also had made some difficulties, at length found himself perfectly accommodated. Fritz put another string round Turk’s neck, by which he might lead him, a precaution he used to prevent him from going out of sight. I must needs confess, we had not the sin of too great haste to answer for, so that I had sufficient leisure for amusing myself with the idea, that we should arrive at our home with something of the appearance of keepers of rare animals for show. I enjoyed in foresight the jubilations of our young ones when they should see the figure we made. Ah! cried Fritz, I promise you, brother Jack will draw from the occasion materials enough for future malicious jokes. Do you then, my son, said I, take your materials for a model from your admirable mother, who never fails to make allowance for the buoyant spirits so natural to youth. Your reflections on their faults, which, thanks be to heaven, are such as to do injury to none, give me no pleasure; I am aware of their existence without the aid of your observations, and I beg you will leave to me the task of correcting them.

May I however observe, father, that I wish we could cure Turk of his passion for attacking living animals, and tearing them to pieces? It was, I assure you, a most frightful spectacle; the more so, that monkeys so much resemble our own species that I could scarcely convince myself he was not killing a man.

There was reason enough to be disgusted with the sight, though it were only an animal you saw so treated; but, for all this, it would in our situation be dangerous to teach our dogs not to attack and kill, if they can, what unknown animals they meet with. You will see that Turk will soon regard your little monkey as a member of our family; already he is content to carry him on his back; but I assure you we must not discourage him in his fancy for attacking wild beasts. Heaven bestowed the dog on man for his safe-guard and defence, and the horse the same: they may be considered as our allies against the different tribes of pernicious animals. How conspicuous is the goodness of the Almighty in the natural dispositions he has bestowed on these useful creatures, who at all times discover so much affection for man, and so easily submit to the slavery of serving him! A man on horseback, and accompanied by a troop of well conditioned dogs, has no occasion to fear any species of wild beasts, not even the lion, nor the hyena; he may even baffle the voracious rapidity of the tiger.

I see clearly how fortunate we are in the possession of two such creatures, who feel the strongest attachment to our persons and are ever ready to protect us from danger; but what a pity it was that the horses we had on board should have died during our voyage, and have left us with only an ass!

Let us take care how we treat even our ass with disdain. I wish we had him safe on land. Fortunately he is a powerful creature of his species, and not of the common kind. We may train him to do us the same services as are performed by the horse; and it is not improbable that he will even improve under our care, and from the excellent pasture he will find in this climate.

In such conversation as this, on subjects equally interesting to both, we forgot the length of our journey, and soon found ourselves on the bank of the river and near our family before we were aware. Ponto on the other side announced our approach by a violent barking, and Turk replied so heartily, that his motions disturbed the tranquillity of his little burden, who, in his fright, jumped the length of his string from his back to Fritz’s shoulder, which he could not afterwards be prevailed upon to leave. Turk, who began to be well acquainted with the country, ran off to meet his companion and announce our arrival; and shortly after our much-loved family appeared in sight on the opposite shore, exhibiting every demonstration of unbounded joy at our safe return. They advanced along by the course of the river, till they on one side, and we on the other, had reached the place where we had crossed it in the morning. We re-passed it again in safety, and threw ourselves into each other’s arms. Scarcely had the young ones joined their brother, than they again began their joyful exclamations: A monkey, a live monkey! Papa, mamma, a live monkey! Oh, how delightful! how happy shall we be! How did you catch him? What a droll face he has! He is very ugly, said little Francis, half afraid to touch him. He is much prettier than you, retorted Jack; only see, he is laughing; I wish I could see him eat. Ah! if we had but some cocoa-nut! said Ernest; could you not find any? Are they nice? Have you brought me any milk of almonds? said Francis. Have you met with any unfortunate adventure? asked my wife. In this manner, questions and exclamations succeeded to each other without interval, and with such rapidity as not to leave us time to answer them.

At length when all became a little tranquil I answered them thus: Most happy am I to return to you again, my best beloved, and God be praised! without having encountered any new misfortune. We have even the pleasure of presenting you with many valuable acquisitions; but in the object nearest my heart, the discovering what has become of our ship-companions, or of any individual of them, we have entirely failed.

Since it pleases God that it should be so, said my wife, let us endeavour to be content, and let us be grateful to him for having saved us from their unhappy fate, and for having once more brought us all together: I have laboured this day under an unusual uneasiness about your safety, and imagined a thousand evils that might beset you. The day appeared an age. But now I see you once more safe and well, I trust I shall again resume my tranquillity. But put down your burdens; we will all help you; for though we have not, I assure you, spent the day in idleness, we are less fatigued than you. Quick then, my boys, and help to take the loads from your father and your brother. Now then sit down and tell us your adventures.

Jack received my gun, Ernest the cocoa-nuts, Francis the gourd-rinds, and my wife my game-bag. Fritz distributed the sugar-canes, and put his monkey on the back of Turk, to the great amusement of the children, at the same time begging Ernest to relieve him of his gun. But Ernest, ever careful of his own accommodation, assured him, that the large heavy bowls with which he was loaded, were the most he had strength to carry. His mother, a little too indulgent to his lazy humour, relieved him of them: and thus we proceeded all together to our tent.

Fritz whispered to me, that if Ernest had known what the large heavy bowls were, he would not so readily have parted with them. Then turning to his brother, Why, Ernest, cried he, do you know that these bowls are cocoa-nuts, your dear much-desired cocoa-nuts, and each containing the sweet nice milk you have so much wished to taste?

Are they indeed? are they really and truly cocoa-nuts, brother? Oh! mamma, return them to me quickly; I will carry them if you please, and I can carry the gun too without finding it heavy.

No, no, Ernest, answered his mother, I do not intend to be teased with hearing any more of your heavy sighs and moanings about your being fatigued; for I am certain you would begin again before we had gone a hundred paces. Ernest would willingly have asked his mother to give him the cocoa-nuts and take the gun herself, but this he dared not do:—I have only, said he, to get rid of these sticks, and carry the gun in my hand.

I would advise you not to give up the sticks either, said Fritz drily; I know you will be sorry if you do; and for this good reason—the sticks are sugar-canes!

Sugar-canes! cried he. Sugar-canes! exclaimed they all; and, surrounding Fritz, made him give them full instructions on the sublime art of sucking sugar-canes.

My wife also, who had always entertained a high respect for the article of sugar in her household management, was perfectly astonished, and earnestly entreated we would explain to her all about it. I instantly complied with her request, giving her every explanation and particular respecting our journey, and our new acquisitions, which I alternately exhibited for her inspection. No one of them afforded her more pleasure than the plates and dishes, because to persons of decent habits they were articles of indispensable necessity. We now adjourned to our little kitchen, and with great delight observed the preparations going forward in it for an excellent repast. On one side of the fire we saw a turnspit, which my wife had contrived by driving two forked pieces of wood into the ground, and placing a long even stick sharpened at one end across them. By this invention she was enabled to roast different kinds of fish, or other food, with the help of little Francis, who was intrusted with the care of turning it round from time to time. On the occasion of our return she had prepared us the treat of a goose, the fat of which ran down into some oyster-shells placed there to serve the purpose of a dripping-pan. And besides a dish of fish, which the little ones had caught, the iron pot was upon the fire, provided with a good soup, the agreeable odour of which increased our appetite. By the side of these most exhilarating preparations, stood one of the casks which we had recovered from the waves, the head of which my wife had knocked out, so that it exposed to our view a cargo of the finest sort of Dutch cheeses contained in round tins. All this display was made to excite the appetite of the two travellers, who had fared but scantily during the day; and I must needs observe, that the whole was very little like such a dinner as one should expect to see on a desert island.

You indeed but barely did yourselves justice, my dear ones, in saying that you had not been idle during our absence, cried I. I see before me what must have cost you considerable labour. I am however a little sorry that you have killed one of our geese so soon; we must employ the utmost economy in the use of our poultry, which may be of service in a time of need.

Do not make yourself uneasy on this subject, said my wife; for what you see is not one of our geese, but a kind of wild bird, and is the booty of your son Ernest, who calls him by a singular name, and assures me that it is good to eat.

Yes, father, I believe that the bird which I have caught is a kind of penguin, or we might distinguish him by the surname of Stupid. He showed himself to be a bird so destitute, of even the least degree of intelligence, that I killed him with a single blow with my stick.

What is the form of his feet, and of his beak? asked I.

His feet were formed for swimming; in other words, he was what is called web-footed; the beak was long, small, and a little curved downwards: I have preserved his head and neck, that you might examine it yourself; it reminds me exactly of the penguin, described as so stupid a bird in my book of natural history.

You now then perceive, my son, of what use it is to read, and to extend our knowledge, particularly on subjects of natural history and the productions of nature in general; by this study and knowledge, we are enabled to recognise at the moment, the objects which chance throws in our way, whether we have seen them before or not. Tell me now what birds there are with feet formed like those which you have just described, and which are so formed to enable the creature to strike the water and prevent himself from sinking.

There are the man of war bird, cormorants, and pelicans, father.

By what mark do you distinguish the kind to which you just now said the penguin or Stupid belonged?

Upon my word, interrupted his mother, I must give the answer myself: and it will consist of a petition, that you will take some other time for your catechism on birds: when once you have begun on any particular subject, one never sees the end of it. Now to my mind there is a time for every thing; Ernest killed the bird, and was able to tell his kind; we on our parts shall eat him; what more therefore is necessary? Do you not see that the poor child is thinking all the while of his cocoa-nuts? Let me intercede on his behalf, and prevail upon you to let him have the pleasure of examining and tasting them.

Ah! thank you, my good mother; I shall be very glad if papa will consent.

Father.—Well, well, you have my full permission. But first you will be obliged to learn from Fritz the best manner of opening them, so as to preserve the milk: and one word more; I recommend to you not to forget the young monkey, who has no longer his mother’s milk for food.

Jack.—I cannot prevail upon him to taste a bit; I have offered him every thing we have.

Father.—It cannot well be otherwise, for he has not yet learned how to eat; you must feed him with the milk of cocoa-nuts till we can procure something more proper for him to eat.

Jack.—I will give the poor little creature my share with all my heart.

Ernest.—I have however the greatest desire to taste this milk myself, just to know what it is like.

And so have I, said the little Francis.

However, gentlemen, the monkey must live, said Jack a little maliciously.

And we and our children must live too, answered their mother. Come then, the supper is ready, and the cocoa-nuts shall be for the dessert.

We seated ourselves on the ground; my wife had placed each article of the repast in one of our newly manufactured dishes, the neat appearance of which exceeded all our expectations. My sons had not patience to wait, but had broken the cocoa-nuts, and already convinced themselves of their delicious flavour; and then they fell to making spoons with the fragments of the shells. The little monkey, thanks to the kind temper of Jack, had been served the first, and each amused himself with making him suck the corner of his pocket-handkerchief, dipped in the milk of the cocoa-nut. He appeared delighted with the treatment he received, and we remarked with satisfaction, that we should most likely be able to preserve him.

The boys were preparing to break some more of the nuts with the hatchet, after having drawn out the milk through the three little holes which I have already observed are found near the stalk of the cocoa-nut, and which are guarded by a soft substance which may easily be pierced. I pronounced the word halt, and bade them bring me a saw; the thought struck me, that by dividing the nuts carefully with this instrument, the two halves when emptied, would remain with the form of some well looking tea-cups or basons already made to our hands. Jack, who was on every occasion the most active, brought me a saw. I performed my undertaking in the best manner I could, and in a short time each of us was provided with a convenient receptacle for food. Accordingly my wife put the share of soup which belonged to each, into those basons or vessels. The excellent creature appeared delighted that we should no longer be under the necessity, as before, of scalding our fingers by dipping into the pot; and I firmly believe, that never did the most magnificent service of china occasion half the pleasure to its possessor, as our utensils, manufactured by our own hands from gourds and cocoa-nuts, excited in the kind heart of my wife. Fritz asked me if he might not invite our company to taste his fine champain, which he said would not fail to make us all the merrier.

I have not the least objection, answered I, but remember to taste it yourself, before you serve it to your guests.

He ran to draw out the stopple and to taste it.......How unfortunate! said he, it is already turned to vinegar.

What is it? vinegar, did you say? exclaimed my wife. How lucky! it will make the most delicious sauce for our bird, mixed with the fat which has fallen from it in roasting, and will be as good a relish as a salad. No sooner said than done. This vinegar produced from cocoa-nut proved a most agreeable corrective of the wild and fishy flavour of the penguin, and without which I am afraid we should have found it not very palatable. The same sauce considerably improved our dish of fish also. Each boasted most of what he himself had been the means of procuring; it was Jack and Francis who had caught the fish in one of the shallows, while Ernest was employed with very little trouble to himself in securing his penguin the stupid. My poor wife had herself performed the most difficult task of all, that of rolling the cask of Dutch cheeses into the kitchen, and then knocking out its head. But if it was she who had most exerted herself, it was she also who received the highest commendations; for one and all agreed, that nothing we had tasted since we left the ship, was half so agreeable to our appetites as this cheese which she served for our dessert.

By the time we had finished our meal, the sun was retiring from our view; and recollecting how quickly the night would fall upon us, we were in the greatest haste to regain our place of rest. My wife had considerately procured for us a tenfold quantity of dry grass, which she had spread in the tent, so that we anticipated with joy the prospect which was now afforded, of stretching our limbs on a substance somewhat approaching to the quality of mattresses, while, the night before, our bodies seemed to touch the ground. Our whole flock of fowls placed themselves as they had done the preceding evening; we said our prayers, and, with an improved serenity of mind, lay down in the tent, taking the young monkey with us, who was become the little favourite of all. Fritz and Jack contended for a short time which should enjoy the honour of his company for the night; and it was at last decided that he should be laid between them; after which, each would have a hand in covering him carefully, that he might not catch cold. We now all lay down upon the grass, in the order of the night before, myself remaining last to fasten the sail-cloth in front of the tent; when heartily fatigued by the exertions of the day, I as well as the rest soon fell into a profound and refreshing sleep.

But I had not long enjoyed this pleasing state, when I was awakened by the motion of the fowls on the ridge of the tent, and by a violent barking of our vigilant safeguards, the dogs. I rushed out instantly; my wife and Fritz, who had also been alarmed by the noise, followed my example: we each took a gun, and sallied forth to their assistance. Shall you, my dearest, have the courage to fire, if it should be necessary? said I to my wife.

Most certainly, said she, if, as you say, it should be necessary. I can depend upon myself for daring to do whatever can be the means of preservation to our dear children. At the same time it would perhaps be better that I should leave to you the task of firing, while I can undertake to load your guns, and to hand them to you as fast as you may want them.

Best of all, said I; so let us not lose a moment in examining what enemy it is we have to deal with. Our dogs continued barking with the same violence, and at intervals even howled. We had not proceeded many steps from the tent, when, to our great astonishment, we perceived by the light of the moon a terrible combat. At least a dozen of jackalls had surrounded our brave dogs, who defended themselves with an almost unexampled courage. Already the fierce champions had laid three or four of their adversaries on the ground, while those which remained began to make a timid kind of noise, as if imploring pity and forbearance. Meanwhile they did not the less endeavour to entangle and surprise the dogs, when thrown off their guard, and thus secure themselves the advantage. But our watchful combatants were not so easily to be deceived; they took good care not to let the enemy approach them too nearly.

I, for my part, apprehended something much worse than jackalls. We shall soon manage to set these gentlemen at rest, said I. Let us fire both together, my boy; but let us take care how we aim, for fear of killing the dogs; your mother shall give us the word of command; mind how you fire, that you may not miss, and I shall do the same. We fired, and two of the intruders fell instantly dead upon the sands. The others made their escape; but we perceived it was with great difficulty, in consequence, no doubt, of being wounded. Turk and Ponto afterwards pursued them, and put the finishing stroke to what we had begun; and thus the battle ended: but the dogs, true Caribees by nature, made a hearty meal on the flesh of their fallen enemies. Their doing this was a proof of the keen hunger they experienced; for dogs do not readily feed on foxes, and the jackall is a more fierce and mischievous species of the fox, than the animal known by that name in Europe. My wife, seeing that all was now quiet, entreated us to lie down again and finish our night’s sleep; but Fritz asked my permission to let him first drag the jackall he had killed, towards the tent, that he might be able to exhibit him the next morning to his brothers. Having obtained my consent, he ran to fetch him, and, with great difficulty, succeeded in his plan, the animal being of the size of a large dog. I however observed to Fritz, that if Turk and Ponto were still hungry, we ought to give them this last jackall in addition, as a recompense for their courageous behaviour.

We had now done with this affair. The body of the jackall was left on the rock, by the side of the tent, in which were the little sleepers, who had not once awaked during the whole of the scene which had been passing. Having therefore nothing further to prevent us, we lay down by their side till day began to break, and till the cocks, with their shrill morning salutation, awoke us both. The children being still asleep, afforded us an excellent opportunity to consult together respecting the plan we should pursue for the ensuing day.

CHAPTER V.
Return to the wreck.