Part 5 (1/2)

I had a short jacket of goat's skin, the skirts cohs, and a pair of open-kneed breeches of the saoat, whose hair hung down such a length on either side that, like pantaloons, it reached to the s and shoes I had none, but had s, I scarce knehat to call thes, and lace on either side like spatterdashes, but of a most barbarous shape, as indeed were all the rest of oat's skin dried, which I drew together with two thongs of the sa on either side of this, instead of a sword and dagger, hung a little saw and a hatchet, one on one side and one on the other I had another belt not so broad, and fastened in the sa overtwo pouches, bothmy powder, in the other my shot At un, and over oat's-skin u I had about un As for my face, the colour of it was really not so ht expect fro within nine or ten degrees of the equinox My beard I had once suffered to grow till it was about a quarter of a yard long; but as I had both scissors and razors sufficient, I had cut it pretty short, except what grew on e pair of Mahometan whiskers, such as I had seen worn by soh the Turks did; of these h to hang th and shape land would have passed for frightful

But all this is by-the-bye; for as to ure, I had so few to observe me that it was of no manner of consequence, so I say no more of that In this kind of dress I went my new journey, and was out five or six days I travelled first along the sea-shore, directly to the place where I first broughtno boat now to take care of, I went over the land a nearer way to the sa forward to the points of the rocks which lay out, and which I was obliged to double with my boat, as is said above, I was surprised to see the sea all s, no motion, no current, any e loss to understand this, and resolved to spend so from the sets of the tide had occasioned it; but I was presently convinced hoas - viz that the tide of ebb setting froreat river on the shore,as the wind blew more forcibly from the west or from the north, this current ca thereabouts till evening, I went up to the rock again, and then the tide of ebb being ain as before, only that it ran farther off, being near half a league from the shore, whereas in my case it set close upon the shore, and hurriedwith it, which at another time it would not have done

This observation convincedand the flowing of the tide, and I ain; but when I began to think of putting it in practice, I had such terror upon er I had been in, that I could not think of it again with any patience, but, on the contrary, I took up another resolution, which was h more laborious - and this was, that I would build, or rather ua or canoe, and so have one for one side of the island, and one for the other

You are to understand that now I had, as I may call it, two plantations in the island - one my little fortification or tent, with the wall about it, under the rock, with the cave behind ed into several apartments or caves, one within another One of these, which was the driest and largest, and had a door out beyond my wall or fortification - that is to say, beyond where e earthen pots of which I have given an account, and with fourteen or fifteen great baskets, which would hold five or six bushels each, where I laid up my stores of provisions, especially my corn, some in the ear, cut off short from the straw, and the other rubbed out withstakes or piles, those piles grew all like trees, and were by this ti, and spread so very much, that there was not the least appearance, to any one's view, of any habitation behind the of round, lay my two pieces of corn land, which I kept duly cultivated and sowed, and which duly yielded me their harvest in its season; and whenever I had occasion foras fit as that

Besides this, I had my country seat, and I had now a tolerable plantation there also; for, first, I had my little bower, as I called it, which I kept in repair - that is to say, I kept the hedge which encircled it in constantly fitted up to its usual height, the ladder standing always in the inside I kept the trees, which at first were no rown very firrow thick and wild, and reeable shade, which they did effectually to , being a piece of a sail spread over poles, set up for that purpose, and which never wanted any repair or renewing; and under this I had made me a squab or couch with the skins of the creatures I had killed, and with other soft things, and a blanket laid on the, which I had saved; and a great watch-coat to cover me And here, whenever I had occasion to be absent from my chief seat, I took upto this I had oats, and I had taken an inconceivable deal of pains to fence and enclose this ground I was so anxious to see it kept entire, lest the goats should break through, that I never left off till, with infinite labour, I had stuck the outside of the hedge so full of small stakes, and so near to one another, that it was rather a pale than a hedge, and there was scarce rooh between therew, as they all did in the next rainy season, er than any wall

This will testify forto pass whatever appeared necessary forup a breed of taazine of flesh,as I lived in the place, if it were to be forty years; and that keeping thetheether; which by this method, indeed, I so effectually secured, that when these little stakes began to grow, I had planted theain

In this place also I had , which I principally depended on for my winter store of raisins, and which I never failed to preserve very carefully, as the best and reeable dainty of reeable, butto the last degree

As this was also about half-way between my other habitation and the place where I had laid up enerally stayed and lay here in my way thither, for I used frequently to visitto her in very good order Sometimes I went out in her to divert o, scarcely ever above a stone's cast or two fro hurried out of ain by the currents or winds, or any other accident But now I come to a new scene oftowards ly surprised with the print of a man's naked foot on the shore, which was very plain to be seen on the sand I stood like one thunderstruck, or as if I had seen an apparition I listened, I looked round ; I went up to a rising ground to look farther; I went up the shore and down the shore, but it was all one; I could see no other iain to see if there were any ht not be my fancy; but there was no room for that, for there was exactly the print of a foot - toes, heel, and every part of a foot How it caine; but after innuhts, like a man perfectly confused and out of , as we say, the ground I went on, but terrified to the last degree, looking behindevery bush and tree, and fancying every stump at a distance to be a man Nor is it possible to describe how ination represented things to me in, how many wild ideas were found every e, unaccountable whihts by the way

When I came to my castle (for so I think I called it ever after this), I fled into it like one pursued Whether I went over by the ladder, as first contrived, or went in at the hole in the rock, which I had called a door, I cannot re, for never frightened hare fled to cover, or fox to earth, with more terror of ht; the farther I was froreatercontrary to the nature of such things, and especially to the usual practice of all creatures in fear; but I was so e, that I forh I was now a great way off Sometimes I fancied it must be the devil, and reason joined in within huht them? What marks were there of any other footstep? And hoas it possible a man should come there? But then, to think that Satan should take human shape upon him in such a place, where there could be no manner of occasion for it, but to leave the print of his foot behind him, and that even for no purpose too, for he could not be sure I should see it - this was an aht have found out abundance of other ways to have terrified le print of a foot; that as I lived quite on the other side of the island, he would never have been so simple as to leave a mark in a place where it was ten thousand to one whether I should ever see it or not, and in the sand too, which the first surge of the sea, upon a high wind, would have defaced entirely All this see itself and with all the notions we usually entertain of the subtlety of the devil

Abundance of such things as these assisted to arguethe devil; and I presently concluded then that it erous creature - viz that it es of the mainland opposite who had wandered out to sea in their canoes, and either driven by the currents or by contrary winds, had one away again to sea; being as loath, perhaps, to have stayed in this desolate island as I would have been to have had the in hts that I was so happy as not to be thereabouts at that time, or that they did not see my boat, by which they would have concluded that some inhabitants had been in the place, and perhaps have searched farther for ination about their having found out my boat, and that there were people here; and that, if so, I should certainly have thereater numbers and devour me; that if it should happen that they should not find me, yet they would find my enclosure, destroy all oats, and I should perish at last for ious hope, all that former confidence in God, which was founded upon such wonderful experience as I had had of His goodness; as if He that had fed me by miracle hitherto could not preserve, by His power, the provision which He had oodness I reproached myself with my laziness, that would not sow any more corn one year than would just serve me till the next season, as if no accident could intervene to prevent round; and this I thought so just a reproof, that I resolved for the future to have two or three years' corn beforehand; so that, whatever ht not perish for want of bread

How strange a chequer-work of Providence is the life of s are the affections hurried about, as different circumstances present! To-day we love what to-morroe hate; to-day we seek what to-morroe shun; to-day we desire what to-morroe fear, nay, even tremble at the apprehensions of This was exeinable; for I, whose only affliction was that I seemed banished from human society, that I was alone, circumscribed by the boundless ocean, cut off from mankind, and condemned to what I call silent life; that I was as one who, or to appear a the rest of His creatures; that to have seen one ofthat Heaven itself, next to the supre of salvation, could bestow; I say, that I should now tre a round at but the shadow or silent appearance of aset his foot in the island

Such is the uneven state of hureat many curious speculations afterwards, when I had a little recovered my first surprise I considered that this was the station of life the infinitely wise and good providence of God had determined for me; that as I could not foresee what the ends of Divine wisdonty; who, as I was His creature, had an undoubted right, by creation, to govern and dispose of ht fit; and who, as I was a creature that had offended Hiht to condeht fit; and that it was nation, because I had sinned against Hihteous but oht fit thus to punish and afflict me, so He was able to deliver me: that if He did not think fit to do so, it was n myself absolutely and entirely to His will; and, on the other hand, it was my duty also to hope in Him, pray to Him, and quietly to attend to the dictates and directions of His daily providence, These thoughts took me up many hours, days, nay, I itations on this occasion I cannot ohts about es, I found it discomposed me very much; upon which these words of the Scripture cahts, ”Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” Upon this, rising cheerfully out of uided and encouraged to pray earnestly to God for deliverance: when I had done praying I took upit to read, the first words that presented to ood cheer, and He shall strengthen thy heart; wait, I say, on the Lord” It is iave me In answer, I thankfully laid down the book, and was no more sad, at least on that occasion

In the itations, apprehensions, and reflections, it caht be a ht be the print of my own foot, when I came on shore froan to persuadeelse but ht I not co that way to the boat? Again, I considered also that I could by no means tell for certain where I had trod, and where I had not; and that if, at last, this was only the print of my own foot, I had played the part of those fools who try to htened at thee, and to peep abroad again, for I had not stirred out of an to starve for provisions; for I had little or nothing within doors but sooats wanted to bediversion: and the poor creatures were in great pain and inconvenience for want of it; and, indeed, it almost spoiled sobut the print of one of ht be truly said to start at ain, and went to my country house to milk my flock: but to see hat fear I went forward, how often I looked behind me, hoas ready every now and then to lay down my basket and run for ht I was haunted with an evil conscience, or that I had been lately htened; and so, indeed, I had However, I went down thus two or three days, and having seen nothing, I began to be a little bolder, and to think there was really nothing in it but ination; but I could not persuade ain, and see this print of a foot, and measure it by my own, and see if there was any siht be assured it was my own foot: but when I came to the place, first, it appeared evidently to me, that when I laid up my boat I could not possibly be on shore anywhere thereabouts; secondly, when I came to e by a great deal Both these things filled ain to the highest degree, so that I shook with cold like one in an ague; and I went hoain, filled with the belief that some man or men had been on shore there; or, in short, that the island was inhabited, and I ht be surprised before I are; and what course to take for my security I knew not

Oh, what ridiculous resolutions men take when possessed with fear! It deprives them of the use of thoseI proposed to myself was, to thron my enclosures, and turn all my tame cattle wild into the woods, lest the enemy should find them, and then frequent the island in prospect of the sa up rain there, and still be prompted to frequent the island: then to dees of habitation, and be prompted to look farther, in order to find out the persons inhabiting

These were the subject of the first night's cogitations after I was coain, while the apprehensions which had so overrun my mind were fresh upon er is ten thousand tier itself, when apparent to the eyes; and we find the burden of anxiety greater, by much, than the evil which we are anxious about: and orse than all this, I had not that relief in this trouble that fronation I used to practise I hoped to have I looked, I thought, like Saul, who complained not only that the Philistines were upon him, but that God had forsaken him; for I did not now take due ways to co upon His providence, as I had done before, for my defence and deliverance; which, if I had done, I had at least been more cheerfully supported under this new surprise, and perhaps carried through it with hts keptI fell asleep; and having, by the amusement of my mind, been as it were tired, and my spirits exhausted, I slept very soundly, and waked much better coan to think sedately; and, upon debate with ly pleasant, fruitful, and no farther from the mainland than as I had seen) was not so entirely abandoned as I h there were no stated inhabitants who lived on the spot, yet that there ht sometin, or perhaps never but when they were driven by cross winds, ht come to this place; that I had lived there fifteen years now and had not ure of any people yet; and that, if at any time they should be driven here, it was probable they went away again as soon as ever they could, seeing they had never thought fit to fix here upon any occasion; that the er fro people from the main, who, as it was likely, if they were driven hither, were here against their wills, so they ain with all possible speed; seldoht on shore, lest they should not have the help of the tides and daylight back again; and that, therefore, I had nothing to do but to consider of soes land upon the spot

Now, I began sorely to repent that I had dug ain, which door, as I said, came out beyond wherethis, therefore, I resolved to draw me a second fortification, in the manner of a semicircle, at a distance from my wall, just where I had planted a double row of trees about twelve years before, of which Ibeen planted so thick before, they wanted but few piles to be driven between theer, and my ould be soon finished So that I had now a double wall; and my outer as thickened with pieces of ti I could think of, toas I ht put my arm out at In the inside of this I thickenedearth out ofupon it; and through the seven holes I contrived to plant the ot seven on shore out of the shi+p; these I planted like my cannon, and fitted thee, so that I could fire all the seven guns in two minutes' ti, and yet never thought myself safe till it was done

When this was done I stuck all the ground without th every way, as full with stakes or sticks of the osier- like wood, which I found so apt to grow, as they could well stand; insoht set in near twenty thousand of thee space between theht have rooht have no shelter fro trees, if they attempted to approach my outer wall

Thus in two years' tirove; and in five or six years' ti sothat it was indeed perfectly iine that there was anything beyond it, much less a habitation As for the hich I proposed to o in and out (for I left no avenue), it was by setting two ladders, one to a part of the rock which was low, and then broke in, and left room to place another ladder upon that; so when the two ladders were taken down nohimself mischief; and if they had come down, they were still on the outside of my outer wall

Thus I took all the est for th that they were not altogether without just reason; though I foresaw nothing at that tiested to me

CHAPTER XII

- A CAVE RETREAT