articles; I could pull up or cut down as I pleased; what I planted was
for myself, and what I improved, was for my family; and having thus left
off the thoughts of wandering, I had not the least discomfort in any
part of my life, as to this world. Now I thought indeed, that I enjoyed
the middle state of life which my father so earnestly recommended to me,
a kind of heavenly life, something like what is described by the poet
upon the subject of a country life:
Free from vices, free from care,
Age has no pains, and youth no snare.
But in the middle of all this felicity, one blow from unforeseen
Providence unhinged me at once; and not only made a breach upon me,
inevitable and incurable, but drove me, by its consequence, upon a deep
relapse into the wandering disposition; which, as I may say, being born
in my very blood, soon recovered its hold of me, and, like the returns
of a violent distemper, came on with an irresistible force upon me; so
that nothing could make any more impression upon me. This blow was the
loss of my wife.
It is not my business here to write an elegy upon my wife, to give a
character of her particular virtues, and make my court to the sex by the
flattery of a funeral sermon. She was, in a few words, the stay of all
my affairs, the centre of all my enterprises, the engine that by her
prudence reduced me to that happy compass I was in, from the most
extravagant and ruinous project that fluttered in my head as above; and
did more to guide my rambling genius, than a mother’s tears, a father’s
instructions, a friend’s counsel, or all my own reasoning powers could
do. I was happy in listening to her tears, and in being moved by her
entreaties, and to the last degree desolate and dislocated in the world
by the loss of her.
When she was gone the world looked awkwardly round me, I was as much a
stranger in it in my thoughts as I was in the Brasils when I went first
on shore there; and as much alone, except as to the assistance of
servants, as I was in my island. I knew neither what to do, or what not
to do; I saw the world busy round me, one part labouring for bread, and
the other part squandering in vile excesses or empty pleasures, equally
miserable, because the end they proposed still fled from them; for the
men of pleasure every day surfeited of their vice, and heaped up work
for sorrow and repentance, and the men of labour spent their strength in
daily strugglings for bread to maintain the vital strength they laboured
with; so living in a daily circulation of sorrow, living but to work,
and working but to live, as if daily bread were the only end of a
wearisome life, and a wearisome life the only occasion of daily bread.
This put me in mind of the life I lived in my kingdom the island, where
I suffered no more corn to grow, because I did not want it; and bred no
more goats, because I had no more use for them; where the money lay in
the drawer till it grew mildewed, and had scarce the favour to be looked
upon in twenty years.
All these things, had I improved them as I ought to have done, and as
reason and religion had dictated to me, would have taught me to search
farther than human enjoyments for a full felicity, and that there was
something which certainly was the reason and end of life, superior to
all these things, and which was either to be possessed, or at least
hoped for, on this side the grave.
But my sage counsellor was gone, I was like a ship without a pilot, that
could only run before the wind; my thoughts run all away again into the
old affair, my head was quite turned with the whimsies of foreign
adventures; and all the pleasing innocent amusements of my farm and my
garden, my cattle and my family, which before entirely possessed me,
were nothing to me, had no relish, and were like music to one that has
no ear, or food to one that has no taste: in a word, I resolved to leave
off housekeeping, let my farm, and return to London; and in a few months
after I did so.
When I came to London I was still as uneasy as before; I had no relish
to the place, no employment in it, nothing to do but to saunter about
like an idle person, of whom it may be said, he is perfectly useless in
God’s creation, and it is not one farthing matter to the rest of his
kind whether he be dead or alive. This also was the thing which of all
circumstances of life was the most my aversion, who had been all my days
used to an active life; and I would often say to myself, “A state of
idleness is the very dregs of life;” and indeed I thought I was much
more suitably employed when I was twenty-six days making me a
deal board.
It was now the beginning of the year 1693, when my nephew, whom, as I
have observed before, I had brought up to the sea, and had made him
commander of a ship, was come home from a short voyage to Bilboa, being
the first he had made; he came to me, and told me, that some merchants
of his acquaintance had been proposing to him to go a voyage for them to
the East Indies and to China, as private traders; “And now, uncle,” says
he, “if you will go to sea with me, I’ll engage to land you upon your
old habitation in the island, for we are to touch at the Brasils.”
Nothing can be a greater demonstration of a future state, and of the
existence of an invisible world, than the concurrence of second causes
with the ideas of things which we form in our minds, perfectly reserved,
and not communicated to any in the world.
My nephew knew nothing how far my distemper of wandering was returned
upon me, and I knew nothing of what he had in his thoughts to say, when
that very morning, before he came to me, I had, in a great deal of
confusion of thought, and revolving every part of my circumstances in my
mind, come to this resolution, viz. that I would go to Lisbon, and
consult with my old sea-captain; and so, if it was rational and
practicable, I would go and see the island again, and see what was
become of my people there. I had pleased myself also with the thoughts
of peopling the place, and carrying inhabitants from hence, getting a
patent for the possession, and I know not what; when in the middle of
all this, in comes my nephew, as I have said, with his project of
carrying me thither, in his way to the East Indies.
I paused awhile at his words, and looking steadily at him, “What devil,”
said I, “sent you of this unlucky errand?” My nephew startled, as if he
had been frighted at first; but perceiving I was not much displeased
with the proposal, he recovered himself. “I hope it may not be an
unlucky proposal, Sir,” says he; “I dare say you would be pleased to see
your new colony there, where you once reigned with more felicity than
most of your brother-monarchs in the world.”
In a word, the scheme hit so exactly with my temper, that is to say,
with the prepossession I was under, and of which I have said so much,
that I told him, in a few words, if he agreed with the merchants I would
go with him: but I told him I would not promise to go any farther than
my own island. “Why, Sir,” says he, “you don’t want to be left there
again, I hope?”—“Why,” said I, “can you not take me up again in your
return?” He told me, it could not be possible that the merchants would
allow him to come that way with a loaden ship of such value, it being a
month’s sail out of his way, and might be three or four: “Besides, Sir,
if I should miscarry,” said he, “and not return at all, then you would
be just reduced to the condition you were in before.”
This was very rational; but we both found out a remedy for it, which was
to carry a framed sloop on board the ship, which, being taken in pieces
and shipped on board the ship, might, by the help of some carpenters,
whom we agreed to carry with us, be set up again in the island, and
finished, fit to go to sea in a few days.
I was not long resolving; for indeed the importunities of my nephew
joined in so effectually with my inclination, that nothing could oppose
me: on the other hand, my wife being dead, I had nobody concerned
themselves so much for me, as to persuade me one way or other, except my
ancient good friend the widow, who earnestly struggled with me to
consider my years, my easy circumstances, and the needless hazard of a
long voyage; and, above all, my young children: but it was all to no
purpose; I had an irresistible desire to the voyage; and I told her I
thought there was something so uncommon in the impressions I had upon
my mind for the voyage, that it would be a kind of resisting Providence,
if I should attempt to stay at home; after which she ceased her
expostulations, and joined with me, not only in making provision for my
voyage, but also in settling my family affairs in my absence, and
providing for the education of my children.
In order to this I made my will, and settled the estate I had in such a
manner for my children, and placed in such hands, that I was perfectly
easy and satisfied they would have justice done them, whatever might
befal me; and for their education, I left it wholly to my widow, with a
sufficient maintenance to herself for her care: all which she richly
deserved; for no mother could have taken more care in their education,
or understood it better; and as she lived till I came home, I also lived
to thank her for it.
My nephew was ready to sail about the beginning of January 1694—5, and
I with my man Friday went on board in the Downs the 8th, having, besides
that sloop which I mentioned above, a very considerable cargo of all
kinds of necessary things for my colony, which if I did not find in good
condition, I resolved to leave so.
First, I carried with me some servants, whom I purposed to place there
as inhabitants, or at least to set on work there upon my own account
while I stayed, and either to leave them there, or carry them forward,
as they should appear willing; particularly, I carried two carpenters, a
smith, and a very handy, ingenious fellow, who was a cooper by trade,
but was also a general mechanic; for he was dexterous at making wheels,
and hand-mills to grind corn, was a good turner, and a good potmaker; he
also made any thing that was proper to make of earth, or of wood; in a
word, we called him our Jack of all Trades.
With these I carried a tailor, who had offered himself to go passenger
to the East Indies with my nephew, but afterwards consented to stay on
our new plantation, and proved a most necessary handy fellow as could
be desired, in many other businesses besides that of this trade; for, as
I observed formerly, necessity arms us for all employments.
My cargo, as near as I can recollect, for I have not kept an account of
the particulars, consisted of a sufficient quantity of linen, and some
thin English stuffs for clothing the Spaniards that I expected to find
there, and enough of them as by my calculation might comfortably supply
them for seven years: if I remember right, the materials which I carried
for clothing them, with gloves, hats, shoes, stockings, and all such
things as they could want for wearing, amounted to above two hundred
pounds, including some beds, bedding, and household-stuff, particularly
kitchen utensils, with pots, kettles, pewter, brass, &c. besides near a
hundred pounds more in iron-work, nails, tools of every kind, staples,
hooks, hinges, and every necessary thing I could think of.
I carried also a hundred spare arms, muskets, and fuzees, besides some
pistols, a considerable quantity of shot of all sizes, three or four
tons of lead, and two pieces of brass cannon; and because I knew not
what time and what extremities I was providing for, I carried an hundred
barrels of powder, besides swords, cutlasses, and the iron part of some
pikes and halberts; so that, in short, we had a large magazine of all
sorts of stores; and I made my nephew carry two small quarter-deck guns
more than he wanted for his ship, to leave behind if there was occasion;
that when they came there we might build a fort, and man it against all
sorts of enemies: and indeed I at first thought there would be need
enough of it all, and much more, if we hoped to maintain our possession
of the island, as shall be seen in the course of the story.
I had not such bad luck in this voyage as I had been used to meet with;
and therefore shall have the less occasion to interrupt the reader, who
perhaps may be impatient to hear how matters went with my colony; yet
some odd accidents, cross winds, and bad weather happened on this first
setting out, which made the voyage longer than I expected it at first;
and I, who had never made but one voyage, viz. my first voyage to
Guinea, in which I might be said to come back again as the voyage was at
first designed, began to think the same ill fate still attended me; and
that I was born to be never contented with being on shore, and yet to be
always unfortunate at sea.
Contrary winds first put us to the northward, and we were obliged to put
in at Galway, in Ireland, where we lay wind bound two-and-thirty days;
but we had this satisfaction with the disaster, that provisions were
here, exceeding cheap, and in the utmost plenty; so that while we lay
here we never touched the ship’s stores, but rather added to them: here
also I took several hogs, and two cows with their calves, which I
resolved, if I had a good passage, to put on shore in my island; but we
found occasion to dispose otherwise of them.
We set out the 5th of February from Ireland, and had a very fair gale of
wind for some days; as I remember, it might be about the 20th of
February in the evening late, when the mate having the watch, came into
the round-house, and told us he saw a flash of fire, and heard a gun
fired; and while he was telling us of it, a boy came in, and told us the
boatswain heard another. This made us all run out upon the quarter-deck,
where for a while we heard nothing, but in a few minutes we saw a very
great light, and found that there was some very terrible fire at a
distance. Immediately we had recourse to our reckonings, in which we all
agreed that there could be no land that way in which the fire shewed
itself, no, not for five hundred leagues, for it appeared at W.N.W. Upon
this we concluded it must be some ship on fire at sea; and as by our
hearing the noise of guns just before, we concluded it could not be far
off, we stood directly towards it, and were presently satisfied we
should discover it, because the farther we sailed the greater the light
appeared, though the weather being hazy we could not perceive any thing
but the light for a while; in about half an hour’s sailing, the wind
being fair for us, though not much of it, and the weather clearing up a
little, we could plainly discern that it was a great ship on fire in the
middle of the sea.
I was most sensibly touched with this disaster, though not at all
acquainted with the persons engaged in it; I presently recollected my
former circumstances, in what condition I was in when taken up by the
Portugal captain; and how much more deplorable the circumstances of the
poor creatures belonging to this ship must be if they had no other ship
in company with them: upon this I immediately ordered that five guns
should be fired, one soon after another, that, if possible, we might
give notice to them that there was help for them at hand, and that they
might endeavour to save themselves in their boat; for though we could
see the flame in the ship, yet they, it being night, could see
nothing of us.
We lay by some time upon this, only driving as the burning ship drove,
waiting for daylight; when on a sudden, to our great terror, though we
had reason to expect it, the ship blew up in the air, and immediately
sunk. This was terrible, and indeed an afflicting sight, for the sake of
the poor men, who, I concluded, must be either all destroyed in the
ship, or be in the utmost distress in their boats in the middle of the
ocean, which, at present, by reason it was dark, I could not see:
however, to direct them as well as I could, I caused lights to be hung
out in all the parts of the ship where we could, and which we had
lanterns for, and kept firing guns all the night long; letting them know
by this, that there was a ship not far off.
About eight o’clock in the morning we discovered the ship’s boats, by
the help of our perspective-glasses; and found there were two of them,
both thronged with people, and deep in the water; we perceived they
rowed, the wind being against them; that they saw our ship, and did the
utmost to make us see them.
We immediately spread our ancient, to let them know we saw them; and
hung a waft out, as a signal for them to come on board; and then made
more sail, standing directly to them. In a little more than half an hour
we came up with them, and in a word took them all in, being no less than
sixty-four men, women, and children; for there were a great many
passengers.
Upon the whole, we found it was a French merchant-ship of three hundred
tons, homeward-bound from Quebec, in the river of Canada. The master
gave us a long account of the distress of his ship, how the fire began
in the steerage by the negligence of the steersman; but, on his crying
out for help, was, as everybody thought, entirely put out: but they soon
found that some sparks of the first fire had gotten into some part of
the ship, so difficult to come at, that they could not effectually
quench it; and afterwards getting in between the timbers, and within the
ceiling of the ship, it proceeded into the hold, and mastered all the
skill and all the application they were able to exert.
They had no more to do then but to get into their boats, which, to their
great comfort, were pretty large; being their long-boat, and a great
shallop, besides a small skiff, which was of no great service to them,
other than to get some fresh water and provisions into her, after they
had secured themselves from the fire. They had indeed small hope of
their lives by getting into these boats at that distance from any land;
only, as they said well, that they were escaped from the fire, and had a
possibility, that some ship might happen to be at sea, and might take
them in. They had sails, oars, and a compass; and were preparing to make
the best of their way to Newfoundland, the wind blowing pretty fair; for
it blew an easy gale at S.E. by E. They had as much provisions and
water, as, with sparing it so as to be next door to starving, might
support them about twelve days; in which, if they had no bad weather,
and no contrary winds, the captain said, he hoped he might get to the
banks of Newfoundland, and might perhaps take some fish to sustain them
till they might go on shore. But there were so many chances against them
in all these cases; such as storms to overset and founder them; rains
and cold to benumb and perish their limbs; contrary winds to keep them
out and starve them; that it must have been next to miraculous if they
had escaped.
In the midst of their consultations, every one being hopeless, and ready
to despair, the captain with tears in his eyes told me, they were on a
sudden surprised with the joy of hearing a gun fire, and after that four
more; these were the five guns which I caused to be fired at first
seeing the light: this revived their hearts, and gave them the notice
which, as above, I designed it should, viz. that there was a ship at
hand for their help.
It was upon the hearing these guns, that they took down their masts and
sails; and the sound coming from the windward, they resolved to lie by
till morning. Some time after this, hearing no more guns, they fired
three muskets, one a considerable while after another; but these, the
wind being contrary, we never heard.
Some time after that again, they were still more agreeably surprised
with seeing our lights, and hearing the guns, which, as I have said, I
caused to be fired all the rest of the night: this set them to work with
their oars to keep their boats ahead, at least that we might the sooner
come up with them; and at last, to their inexpressible joy, they found
we saw them.
It is impossible for me to express the several gestures, the strange
ecstasies, the variety of postures, which these poor delivered people
ran into, to express the joy of their souls at so unexpected a
deliverance; grief and fear are easily described; sighs, tears, groans,
and a very few motions of head and hands, make up the sum of its
variety: but an excess of joy, a surprise of joy, has a thousand
extravagances in it; there were some in tears, some raging and tearing
themselves, as if they had been in the greatest agonies of sorrow; some
stark raving and downright lunatic; some ran about the ship stamping
with their feet, others wringing their hands; some were dancing, several
singing, some laughing, more crying; many quite dumb, not able to speak
a word; others sick and vomiting, several swooning, and ready to faint;
and a few were crossing themselves and giving God thanks.
I would not wrong them neither; there might be many that were thankful
afterward; but the passion was too strong for them at first, and they
were not able to master it; they were thrown into ecstasies and a kind
of frenzy, and so there were but a very few who were composed and
serious in their joy.
Perhaps also the case may have some addition to it, from the particular
circumstance of the nation they belonged to; I mean the French, whose
temper is allowed to be more volatile, more passionate, and more
sprightly, and their spirits more fluid, than of other nations. I am not
philosopher to determine the cause, but nothing I had ever seen before
came up to it: the ecstasies poor Friday, my trusty savage, was in, when
he found his father in the boat, came the nearest to it; and the
surprise of the master, and his two companions, whom I delivered from
the two villains that set them on shore in the island, came a little way
towards it; but nothing was to compare to this, either that I saw in
Friday, or any where else in my life.
It is farther observable, that these extravagances did not shew
themselves in that different manner I have mentioned, in different
persons only: but all the variety would appear in a short succession of
moments, in one and the same person. A man that we saw this minute dumb,
and, as it were, stupid and confounded, should the next minute be
dancing and hallooing like an antic; and the next moment a-tearing his
hair, or pulling his clothes to pieces, and stamping them under his feet
like a madman; a few minutes after that, we should have him all in
tears, then sick, then swooning; and had not immediate help been had,
would in a few moments more have been dead; and thus it was, not with
one or two, or ten or twenty, but with the greatest part of them; and,
if I remember right, our surgeon was obliged to let above thirty of
them blood.
There were two priests among them, one an old man, and the other a young
man; and that which was strangest was, that the oldest man was
the worst.
As soon as he set his foot on board our ship, and saw himself safe, he
dropped down stone dead, to all appearance; not the least sign of life
could be perceived in him; our surgeon immediately applied proper
remedies to recover him; and was the only man in the ship that believed
he was not dead: and at length he opened a vein in his arm, having first
chafed and rubbed the part, so as to warm it as much as possible: upon
this the blood, which only dropped at first, flowed something freely; in
three minutes after the man opened his eyes; and about a quarter of an
hour after that he spoke, grew better, and, in a little time, quite
well; after the blood was stopped he walked about, told us he was
perfectly well, took a dram of cordial which the surgeon gave him, and
was, what we called, come to himself; about a quarter of an hour after
this they came running into the cabin to the surgeon, who was bleeding a
French woman that had fainted, and told him the priest was gone stark
mad. It seems he had begun to revolve the change of his circumstances in
his mind, and this put him into an ecstasy of joy: his spirits whirled
about faster than the vessels could convey them; the blood grew hot and
feverish; and the man was as fit for Bedlam as any creature that ever
was in it; the surgeon would not bleed him again in that condition, but
gave him something to doze and put him to sleep, which, after some time,
operated upon him, and he waked next morning perfectly composed
and well.
The younger priest behaved himself with great command of his passion,
and was really an example of a serious, well-governed mind; at his first
coming on board the ship, he threw himself flat on his face,
prostrating himself in thankfulness for his deliverance; in which I
unhappily and unseasonably disturbed him, really thinking he had been in
a swoon: but he spoke calmly; thanked me; told me he was giving God
thanks for his deliverance; begged me to leave him a few moments, and
that next to his Maker he would give me thanks also.