Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_.
[Illustration: (cover)]
ROBINSON CRUSOE
[Illustration: “_For a mile, or thereabouts, my raft went very
well_--”]
[Illustration:
ROBINSON CRUSOE
by
DANIEL DEFOE
_Pictures
by_ N. C. WYETH
]
NEW YORK
Cosmopolitan Book Corporation
M C M X X
ILLUSTRATOR’S PREFACE
The universal fame of The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is
second only to the Bible. Notwithstanding its simple narrative style,
as well as the absence of the supposedly indispensable _love_ motive,
no modern book can boast of such world-wide esteem.
Written by Daniel Defoe and published in England in 1719 by William
Taylor, the Life and Adventures won immediate popularity. Its
phenomenal success called forth five reprintings in rapid succession.
In the following year came translations into French, German and Dutch,
marking the beginning of an unprecedented series of translations into
many other languages and dialects.
And now, after two centuries, the story still stands secure and
enduring--a monumental human document.
Hundreds of illustrated editions of The Life and Adventures of Robinson
Crusoe have been published, and many more will follow, but I, like most
illustrators enthusiastic in their work, have anticipated for years the
opportunity which is now offered to me in the present edition.
The outstanding appeal of this fascinating romance to me personally is
the remarkably sustained sensation one enjoys of Crusoe’s contact with
the elements--the sea and the sun, the night and the storms, the sand,
rocks, vegetation and animal life. In few books can the reader breathe,
live and move with his hero so intensely, so easily and so consistently
throughout the narrative. In Robinson Crusoe we have it; here is a
story that becomes history, history living and moving, carrying with it
irresistibly the compelling motive of a lone man’s conquest over what
seems to be inexorable Fate.
Do my pictures add a little to the vividness of this story? Do I aid
a little in the clearer vizualization of Robinson Crusoe as he moves
about on his sunny island? That is the most I can hope for.
N. C. WYETH.
Chadd’s Ford, Pa., 1920.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I PAGE
ROBINSON’S FAMILY--HIS ELOPEMENT FROM HIS PARENTS 1
CHAPTER II
FIRST ADVENTURES AT SEA--EXPERIENCE OF A MARITIME LIFE--VOYAGE
TO GUINEA 8
CHAPTER III
ROBINSON’S CAPTIVITY AT SALLEE--ESCAPE WITH XURY--ARRIVAL AT
THE BRAZILS 21
CHAPTER IV
HE SETTLES IN THE BRAZILS AS A PLANTER--MAKES ANOTHER VOYAGE
AND IS SHIPWRECKED 42
CHAPTER V
ROBINSON FINDS HIMSELF ON A DESOLATE ISLAND AND PROCURES
A STOCK OF ARTICLES FROM THE WRECK--HE CONSTRUCTS HIS
HABITATION 61
CHAPTER VI
ROBINSON CARRIES ALL HIS RICHES, PROVISIONS, ETC., INTO HIS
HABITATION--DREARINESS OF SOLITUDE--CONSOLATORY REFLECTIONS
77
CHAPTER VII
ROBINSON’S MODE OF RECKONING TIME--DIFFICULTIES ARISING FROM
WANT OF TOOLS--HE ARRANGES HIS HABITATION 83
CHAPTER VIII
ROBINSON’S JOURNAL--DETAILS OF HIS DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND
CONTRIVANCES--SHOCK OF AN EARTHQUAKE 91
CHAPTER IX
ROBINSON OBTAINS MORE ARTICLES FROM THE WRECK--HIS ILLNESS AND
AFFLICTION 109
CHAPTER X
HIS RECOVERY--HIS COMFORT IN READING THE SCRIPTURES--HE MAKES
AN EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLAND--FORMS HIS
“BOWER” 120
CHAPTER XI
ROBINSON MAKES A TOUR TO EXPLORE HIS ISLAND--EMPLOYED IN BASKET
MAKING 139
CHAPTER XII
HE RETURNS TO HIS CAVE--HIS AGRICULTURAL LABORS AND SUCCESS
146
CHAPTER XIII
HIS MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY, AND CONTRIVANCES FOR BAKING BREAD
157
CHAPTER XIV
MEDITATES HIS ESCAPE FROM THE ISLAND--BUILDS A CANOE--FAILURE
OF HIS SCHEME AND RESIGNATION TO HIS CONDITION--HE MAKES
HIMSELF A NEW DRESS 164
CHAPTER XV
HE MAKES A SMALLER CANOE IN WHICH HE ATTEMPTS TO CRUISE ROUND
THE ISLAND--HIS PERILOUS SITUATION AT SEA--HE RETURNS HOME
180
CHAPTER XVI
HE REARS A FLOCK OF GOATS--HIS DIARY--HIS DOMESTIC HABITS AND
STYLE OF LIVING--INCREASING PROSPERITY 192
CHAPTER XVII
UNEXPECTED ALARM--CAUSE FOR APPREHENSION--HE FORTIFIES HIS
ABODE 203
CHAPTER XVIII
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST SURPRISE--ROBINSON DISCOVERS THAT HIS
ISLAND HAS BEEN VISITED BY CANNIBALS 215
CHAPTER XIX
ROBINSON DISCOVERS A CAVE, WHICH SERVES HIM AS A RETREAT
AGAINST THE SAVAGES 229
CHAPTER XX
ANOTHER VISIT OF THE SAVAGES--ROBINSON SEES THEM DANCING--HE
PERCEIVES THE WRECK OF A VESSEL 240
CHAPTER XXI
HE VISITS THE WRECK AND OBTAINS MANY STORES FROM IT--AGAIN
THINKS OF QUITTING THE ISLAND--HAS A REMARKABLE DREAM 249
CHAPTER XXII
ROBINSON RESCUES ONE OF THEIR CAPTIVES FROM THE SAVAGES, WHOM
HE NAMES FRIDAY, AND MAKES HIS SERVANT 266
CHAPTER XXIII
ROBINSON INSTRUCTS AND CIVILIZES HIS MAN FRIDAY AND ENDEAVORS
TO GIVE HIM AN IDEA OF CHRISTIANITY 279
CHAPTER XXIV
ROBINSON AND FRIDAY BUILD A CANOE TO CARRY THEM TO FRIDAY’S
COUNTRY--THEIR SCHEME PREVENTED BY THE ARRIVAL OF A PARTY
OF SAVAGES 294
CHAPTER XXV
ROBINSON RELEASES A SPANIARD--FRIDAY DISCOVERS HIS
FATHER--ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED FOR THESE NEW GUESTS,
WHO WERE AFTERWARD SENT TO LIBERATE THE OTHER
SPANIARDS--ARRIVAL OF AN ENGLISH VESSEL 310
CHAPTER XXVI
ROBINSON DISCOVERS HIMSELF TO THE ENGLISH CAPTAIN--ASSISTS HIM
IN REDUCING HIS MUTINOUS CREW, WHO SUBMIT TO HIM 335
CHAPTER XXVII
ATKINS ENTREATS THE CAPTAIN TO SPARE HIS LIFE--THE LATTER
RECOVERS HIS VESSEL FROM THE MUTINEERS, AND ROBINSON LEAVES
THE ISLAND 355
THE ILLUSTRATIONS
“For a mile, or thereabouts, my raft went very well--” _Frontispiece_
FACING
PAGE
“My father, a wise and grave man, gave me serious and excellent
counsel against what he foresaw was my design” 2
“--and making it into a great cross, I set it up on the shore
where I first landed--” 84
“All this while I sat upon the ground, very much terrified and
dejected” 106
“In the morning I took the Bible; and beginning at the New
Testament, I began seriously to read it--” 126
“I reaped it my way, for I cut nothing off but the ears, and
carried it away in a great basket which I had made” 154
“--and thus I every now and then took a little voyage upon the
sea” 182
“I stood like one thunderstruck, or as if I had seen an
apparition” 204
“I laid me down flat on my belly on the ground, and began to
look for the place” 242
“--and then he kneeled down again, kissed the ground, and
taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his head” 270
“--we cut and hewed the outside into the true shape of a boat”
302
“--and no sooner had he the arms in his hands but, as if they
had put new vigor into him, he flew upon his murderers like
a fury” 312
“At first, for some time I was not able to answer him one word;
but as he had taken me in his arms, I held fast by him, or
I should have fallen to the ground” 362
NOTE. _The paintings by Mr. N. C. Wyeth, reproduced
in this volume, are fully protected by copyright._
ROBINSON CRUSOE
CHAPTER I
_Robinson’s Family--His Elopement from His Parents_
I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family,
though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who
settled first at Hull. He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving
off his trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my
mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in that
country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the
usual corruption of words in England we are now called, nay, we call
ourselves, and write our name, Crusoe, and so my companions always
called me.
I had two elder brothers, one of which was lieutenant-colonel to an
English regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly commanded by the famous
Colonel Lockhart, and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk against the
Spaniards; what became of my second brother I never knew, any more than
my father and mother did know what was become of me.
Being the third son of the family, and not bred to any trade, my head
began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts. My father, who
was very old, had given me a competent share of learning, as far as
house-education and a country free school generally goes, and designed
me for the law; but I would be satisfied with nothing but going to
sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will,
nay, the commands, of my father, and against all the entreaties and
persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed to be
something fatal in that propension of nature tending directly to the
life of misery which was to befall me.
[Illustration: “_My father, a wise and grave man, gave me serious and
excellent counsel against what he foresaw was my design_”]
My father, a wise and grave man, gave me serious and excellent counsel
against what he foresaw was my design. He called me one morning into
his chamber, where he was confined by the gout, and expostulated very
warmly with me upon this subject. He asked me what reasons more than a
mere wandering inclination I had for leaving my father’s house and my
native country, where I might be well introduced, and had a prospect of
raising my fortunes by application and industry, with a life of ease
and pleasure. He told me it was for men of desperate fortunes on one
hand, or of aspiring, superior fortunes on the other, who went abroad
upon adventures, to rise by enterprise, and make themselves famous in
undertakings of a nature out of the common road; that these things were
all either too far above me, or too far below me; that mine was the
middle state or what might be called the upper station of low life,
which he had found by long experience was the best state in the world,
the most suited to human happiness, not exposed to the miseries and
hardships, the labor and sufferings, of the mechanic part of mankind,
and not embarrassed with the pride, luxury, ambition, and envy of the
upper part of mankind. He told me I might judge of the happiness of
this state by this one thing, viz., that this was the state of life
which all other people envied; that kings have frequently lamented the
miserable consequences of being born to great things, and wished they
had been placed in the middle of the two extremes, between the mean and
the great; that the wise man gave his testimony to this as the just
standard of true felicity, when he prayed to have neither poverty nor
riches.
He bid me observe it, and I should always find, that the calamities
of life were shared among the upper and lower part of mankind; but
that the middle station had the fewest disasters, and was not exposed
to so many vicissitudes as the higher or lower part of mankind. Nay,
they were not subjected to so many distempers and uneasiness either
of body or mind as those were who, by vicious living, luxury, and
extravagances on one hand, or by hard labor, want of necessaries, and
mean or insufficient diet on the other hand, bring distempers upon
themselves by the natural consequences of their way of living; that
the middle station of life was calculated for all kind of virtues
and all kind of enjoyments; that peace and plenty were the handmaids
of a middle fortune; that temperance, moderation, quietness, health,
society, all agreeable diversions, and all desirable pleasures, were
the blessings attending the middle station of life; that this way men
went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfortably out of
it, not embarrassed with the labors of the hands or of the head, not
sold to the life of slavery for daily bread, or harassed with perplexed
circumstances, which rob the soul of peace, and the body of rest; not
enraged with the passion of envy, or secret burning lust of ambition
for great things; but in easy circumstances sliding gently through the
world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living, without the bitter,
feeling that they are happy, and learning by every day’s experience to
know it more sensibly.
After this, he pressed me earnestly, and in the most affectionate
manner, not to play the young man, not to precipitate myself into
miseries which Nature and the station of life I was born in seemed to
have provided against; that I was under no necessity of seeking my
bread; that he would do well for me, and endeavor to enter me fairly
into the station of life which he had been just recommending to me;
and that if I was not very easy and happy in the world it must be my
mere fate or fault that must hinder it, and that he should have nothing
to answer for, having thus discharged his duty in warning me against
measures which he knew would be to my hurt; in a word, that as he would
do very kind things for me if I would stay and settle at home as he
directed, so he would not have so much hand in my misfortunes, as to
give me any encouragement to go away. And to close all, he told me
I had my elder brother for an example, to whom he had used the same
earnest persuasions to keep him from going into the Low Country wars,
but could not prevail, his young desires prompting him to run into
the army, where he was killed; and though he said he would not cease
to pray for me, yet he would venture to say to me, that if I did take
this foolish step, God would not bless me, and I would have leisure
hereafter to reflect upon having neglected his counsel when there
might be none to assist in my recovery.
I observed in this last part of his discourse, which was truly
prophetic, though I suppose my father did not know it to be so
himself--I say, I observed the tears run down his face very
plentifully, and especially when he spoke of my brother who was killed;
and that when he spoke of my having leisure to repent, and none to
assist me, he was so moved, that he broke off the discourse, and told
me, his heart was so full he could say no more to me.
I was sincerely affected with this discourse, as, indeed, who could be
otherwise; and I resolved not to think of going abroad any more, but to
settle at home according to my father’s desire.
But alas! a few days wore it all off; and, in short, to prevent any of
my father’s farther importunities, in a few weeks after I resolved to
run quite away from him. However, I did not act so hastily neither as
my first heat of resolution prompted, but I took my mother, at a time
when I thought her a little pleasanter than ordinary, and told her,
that my thoughts were so entirely bent upon seeing the world, that I
should never settle to anything with resolution enough to go through
with it, and my father had better give me his consent than force me to
go without it; that I was now eighteen years old, which was too late to
go apprentice to a trade, or clerk to an attorney; that I was sure if I
did, I should never serve out my time, and I should certainly run away
from my master before my time was out, and go to sea; and if she would
speak to my father to let me go but one voyage abroad, if I came home
again and did not like it, I would go no more, and I would promise by a
double diligence to recover that time I had lost.
This put my mother into a great passion. She told me, she knew it would
be to no purpose to speak to my father upon any such subject; that he
knew too well what was my interest to give his consent to anything so
much for my hurt, and that she wondered how I could think of any such
thing after such a discourse as I had had with my father, and such kind
and tender expressions as she knew my father had used to me; and that,
in short, if I would ruin myself there was no help for me; but I might
depend I should never have their consent to it; that for her part, she
would not have so much hand in my destruction, and I should never have
it to say that my mother was willing when my father was not.
Though my mother refused to move it to my father, yet, as I have heard
afterwards, she reported all the discourse to him, and that my father,
after showing a great concern at it, said to her with a sigh, “That boy
might be happy if he would stay at home, but if he goes abroad he will
be the miserablest wretch that was ever born: I can give no consent to
it.”
It was not till almost a year after this that I broke loose, though in
the meantime I continued obstinately deaf to all proposals of settling
to business, and frequently expostulating with my father and mother
about their being so positively determined against what they knew my
inclinations prompted me to. But being one day at Hull, where I went
casually, and without any purpose of making an elopement that time;
but I say, being there, and one of my companions being going by sea to
London, in his father’s ship, and prompting me to go with them, with
the common allurement of seafaring men, viz., that it should cost me
nothing for my passage, I consulted neither father nor mother any more,
nor so much as sent them word of it; but leaving them to hear of it as
they might, without asking God’s blessing, or my father’s, without any
consideration of circumstances or consequences, and in an ill hour, God
knows.