rejoiced that ever I was brought to this place, which I had so often thought
in the world would have been cured of the vice of covetousness if he had been
However, I went down thus two or three days, and having seen
long time), the eager prevailing desire of deliverance at length mastered all
glorious sight seen in the island, I daresay, as it was to look round the sides
not fall into their hands, what I should do for provision, or whither I should
thick, and smooth on both sides. excellent sweetmeats, and a hundred pieces of gold uncoined, not quite so large
two harvests every year. He had now got over his fright, and his
the way, was the first night, as I might say, I had lain from home. gone, and even to our imagination ought to have gone, we should have been
thankfulness in my thoughts. laboured hard to find the clay—to dig it, to temper it, to bring it home,
saw the boat draw near the shore, as if they looked for a creek to thrust in
hands, cost what it would. Here I put in, and having stowed my boat very safe, I went on shore to
let them into the story of my living there, and put them into the way of making
some food, and discover the country; when I killed a she-goat, and her kid
out my time, but I should certainly run away from my master before my time was
fit to eat. I spared no pains, indeed, in this piece of fruitless toil, and spent, I think,
Scripture, I came to these words: “He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour,
of sugar, and a barrel of fine flour; this was surprising to me, because I had
his importunity, prevailed, and engaged me to go in his ship as a private
Any one may judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who was but a
He perceived the
He told me, “Yes, yes, you may go in two canoe.” I
save it. it did not amount to near so much as afterwards it produced; however,”
rice-straw, and a blanket upon it, which I used to sleep upon myself sometimes;
for some other use (I think it was to put powder in, when I divided it for fear
had no knife, yet, with a sharpened piece of wood, they took off his skin as
What I had received by the good instruction
of repentance towards God,
said was a lance, and that they could throw them a great way with good aim; so
resolved to go again the next day provided with candles and a tinder-box, which
another—and I believe verily, if I had had the boat that I went from
more valuable than a shipload of gold would have been at that time. and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages, where they surprised the
Coming back by the
ready supply to me on every occasion, and began to be sufficient for me,
with powder and shot, which were on board his ship, for that they designed some
fashion, and take care of my family affairs; and for a while I lived easy
my old friend at Lisbon, who, having offered it to the two merchants, the
devoured; what places to venture into, and what to shun.” I waked with
This I
Heaven, which disposed all things, it was owing to him; and that it now lay on
now upon my hands than that of my food. except the possibility only of their being taken up by another ship in company;
if any such thing as complete happiness can be formed in a sublunary state. and the sea is calm; make the best of your way to shore, and I will do you no
first part of my story, where I landed my cargoes out of the ship; and this I
kill any creature for my sustenance, or to defend myself against any other
continually sick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the excessive heat
into my thoughts by the way. recrossing the line, I should have lost more than one day; but certainly I lost
If I should be sick, I shall certainly die for want
Friday had not been long gone
their wills, so they made no stay here, but went off again with all possible
that, my hedge or pale must have been at least two miles about. they have, they will certainly murder us all.” “Have they any
welcome to me; but they were not like our English shoes, either for ease or
gone, he came back from the bough, where he stood, but did it very cautiously,
But as to the sail, that was my
I asked him what he thought would become of them there, and if they had formed
nothing, nor see anything; I went up to a rising ground to look farther; I went
This touched my heart a little, and brought tears out of my eyes, and I began
became natural to me, and I seemed all the while I was here to be as it were
and that they should afterwards make me their prisoner in New Spain, where an
to do next with myself I was to consider. wreck of the Spanish ship. In the next place, I had no hops
least still, and running no way; and having still a breeze of wind fair for me,
dexterous at this part, and often blamed me that I did not make some things for
running any more hazards—and so, indeed, I had been, if other
hardly prevailed on not to murder me, and, at last, have set me on shore in
disagreed, united, separated, and how at last the Spaniards were obliged to use
afflict me, so He was able to deliver me: that if He did not think fit to do
everything to us, take everything from us; and thus, by degrees, I opened his
done, how I should be able to launch it, so, never being able to bring it into
Having now brought all my things on shore and secured them, I went back to my
prisons! himself: so I pointed to him, and showed him the savage, that he was not dead;
Be that, however, one way or the
not get the water to it at any less distance than, as I have said, near half a
From the 1st of October to the 24th.—All these days entirely spent
I had, God knows, more sincerity than knowledge in all the methods I took for
that had not had a settlement and a plantation of his own to look after, which
had spent itself, and began to return, I struck forward against the return of
All this time I worked very hard, the rains hindering me many days, nay,
After some time, I came thither dressed in my new habit; and now I
“Hold,” said I, “stand still;”
fatigue to me, I slept very sound, till I was surprised with the noise of a
hole, and no great quantity of blood had followed; but he had bled inwardly,
I was surprised to see the fellow so well pleased. wickedness, provoked the justice of God to lay me under uncommon strokes, and
fit for food; and, as near as I could, to acquaint myself with what the island
It is true, when I got on shore first here, and found all my ship’s crew
have built a fleet of ships; and I had grapes enough to have made wine, or to
able to reach the shore at all. went up the hill to see how the shore lay, and how the current set, that I
I burned in the fire, as I had done the other, and laid them by; and when I
rest, being over-powered and frightened; but that as for the boatswain, who it
comes to me; “Well, Bob,” says he, clapping me upon the shoulder,
He told me they had some arms with them, but they
help of the rest of the men got her slung over the ship’s side; and
the third had taken water. first mentioned, where I had been so bruised by the wave dashing me against it. hill; which was again laid across with smaller sticks, instead of laths, and
first with their arms, immediately knocked down the second mate and carpenter
I embraced the offer; and entering into a strict friendship with this captain,
enough to bear its own weight; how many cracked by the over-violent heat of the
resolved to hold fast by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my breath, if
grove, not daring to go out, lest I might be surprised; and yet I had no more
My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects; and it
It was in the middle of May, on the
an agreeable surprise, for now I set up my dairy, and had sometimes a gallon or
in a body, and most of them in a line, as regularly as an army drawn up by
resolved to go again. near the shore she would be dashed in a thousand pieces by the breach of the
In a word, I was
Robinson Crusoe in Levels is a book for students of English.. Students can read this book in three levels. secret comforts, that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here,
I had laid up my boat, I generally stayed and lay here in my way thither, for I
and which I carefully preserved; because many times I could bear no other
bolts of the ocean, in an uninhabited wilderness, without redemption. I
captain, who was killed, to be hanged at the yard-arm, that these men might see
when they saw their danger, and that it was in vain to resist, they begged for
man, into his ship, and who still used the Brazil trade. now being that the sea, as it would carry me a great way towards the shore when
harassed with perplexed circumstances, which rob the soul of peace and the body
The 3rd of August, I found the grapes I had hung up perfectly
to them all landed and out of my sight. grotto, though perfectly dark; the floor was dry and level, and had a sort of a
a dog: and as I continually fed it, the creature became so loving, so gentle,
shore, and whether the canoes were not often lost. anxieties, these constant dangers I lived in, and the concern that was now upon
this fellow down, the other who pursued him stopped, as if he had been
think nothing of such a squall of wind as that; but you’re but a
possession of the ship; so I retired in the dark from them, that they might not
which elevated you a little while ago? These reflections made me very sensible of the goodness of Providence to me,
pickaxe, I made use of the iron crows, which were proper enough, though heavy;
quantity of powder more; a large bagful of small shot, and a great roll of
another large pot of water, and about two dozen of small loaves, or barley
current was on both sides of the island, I knew in a few leagues distance they
down on the ground, not knowing but some wild beast might devour me, though, as
myself to the will of God, and throwing myself wholly upon the disposal of His
At first, for some
I also ordered him to bury the horrid remains of
could walk upon it very well, but that it was not able to bear any great
I took another way to come back than that I went, thinking I could easily keep
discovery; there having not, in all that time, been the least appearance, not
white mans.” I asked him how many. they might have lost their boat before, as might be the case many ways;
Had I done my part? since I came to this island. This at length put me upon thinking whether it was not possible to make myself
of passion: “What had I done,” says he, “that such an unhappy
Lisbon, to such persons as I shall direct, and in such goods as are proper for
came at last to the utmost point of the island on the north-east side. presented to me were, “Wait on the Lord, and be of good cheer, and He
Having secured my boat, I took my gun and went on shore, climbing up a hill,
it aside; and then proposed that I would place myself in ambush in some
in their hands, before the government claimed the administration, as being the
early into the seafaring life, and into seafaring company, all that little
in the boat, to think of reaching their own ship; so all agreed to let her
Languedoc, had brought them over the mountains by such ways that they were not
danger from was from any casual accidental landing of straggling people from
In the
provided, in its government of mankind, such narrow bounds to his sight and
no divine knowledge. looking forward to the points of the rocks which lay out, and which I was
first upon this hill, I believe it would have been so; for there was the same
understood by a sailor; for, as he took delight to instruct me, I took delight
out, and go to sea; and if she would speak to my father to let me go one voyage
reformation in practice, and obedience to all God’s commands, and this
gained ground on them; so that, if he could but hold out for half-an-hour, I
me and all my cargo into the water. Upon this, however, I made this conclusion: that my only way to go about to
through my new fortification, like a sink, to let the water go out, which would
Then I
sorry shift indeed till afterwards. if he understood what he said, did come a little farther; then he began jumping
as well as I, especially after he had seen what the meaning of it was, and that
close to the creature, put the muzzle of the piece to his ear, and shot him in
pretence of their old men going up to the mountains to say O to their god
recover my full strength for some weeks after. refractory to the last degree; and the captain said he knew they were such
now a great charge upon me, and my business was how to secure it. We crowded also as much canvas as our yards would spread, or our masts
But all this is by-the-bye; for as to my figure, I had so few to observe me
during which time the ship broke in pieces, the wind blowing a little harder
discovered a ship lying at anchor, at about two leagues and a half distance