there was no Bridge to go over; the River was very deep: at the sight
therefore of this River the Pilgrims were much stounded; but the men
that went with them said, You must go through, or you cannot come at
the Gate.
The Pilgrims then began to enquire if there was no other way to the
Gate; to which they answered, Yes, but there hath not any, save two,
to wit, _Enoch_ and _Elijah_, been permitted to tread that path, since
the foundation of the World, nor shall, untill the last Trumpet shall
sound. The Pilgrims then, especially _Christian_, began to dispond in
his mind, and looked this way and that, but no way could be found by
them by which they might escape the River. Then they asked the men if
the Waters were all of a depth? They said, No; yet they could not help
them in that case, for said they, _you shall find it deeper or
shallower, as you believe in the King of the place_.
They then addressed themselves to the Water; and entring, _Christian_
began to sink, and crying out to his good friend _Hopeful_, he said, I
sink in deep Waters; the Billows go over my head, all his Waves go
over me, _Selah_.
Then said the other, Be of good chear, my Brother, I feel the bottom,
and it is good. Then said _Christian_, Ah my friend, the sorrows of
death have compassed me about, I shall not see the land that flows
with milk and honey. And with that a great darkness and horror fell
upon _Christian_, so that he could not see before him. Also here he in
great measure lost his senses, so that he could neither remember, nor
orderly talk of any of those sweet refreshments that he had met with
in the way of his Pilgrimage. But all the words that he spake, still
tended to discover that he had horror of mind, and heart-fears that he
should die in that River, and never obtain entrance in at the Gate.
Here also, as they that stood by perceived, he was much in the
troublesome thoughts of the sins that he had committed, both since and
before he began to be a Pilgrim. 'Twas also observed that he was
troubled with apparitions of Hobgoblins and evil Spirits, for ever and
anon he would intimate so much by words. _Hopeful_ therefore here had
much adoe to keep his Brother's head above water; yea sometimes he
would be quite gone down, and then ere a while he would rise up again
half dead. _Hopeful_ also would endeavour to comfort him, saying,
Brother, I see the Gate, and men standing by to receive us. But
_Christian_ would answer, 'Tis you, 'tis you they wait for, you have
been _hopeful_ ever since I knew you. And so have you, said he to
_Christian_. Ah Brother, said he, surely if I was right, he would now
arise to help me; but for my sins he hath brought me into the snare,
and hath left me. Then said _Hopeful_, My Brother, you have quite
forgot the Text, where it is said of the wicked, _There is no band in
their death, but their strength is firm, they are not troubled as
other men, neither are they plagued like other men_. These troubles
and distresses that you go through in these Waters are no sign that
God hath forsaken you, but are sent to try you, whether you will call
to mind that which heretofore you have received of his goodness, and
live upon him in your distresses.
Then I saw in my Dream, that _Christian_ was as in a muse a while. To
whom also _Hopeful_ added this word, _Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ
maketh thee whole_; and with that _Christian_ brake out with a loud
voice, Oh I see him again, and he tells me, _When thou passest through
the Waters, I will be with thee; and through the Rivers, they shall
not overflow thee_. Then they both took courage, and the Enemy was
after that as still as a stone untill they were gone over. _Christian_
therefore presently found ground to stand upon, and so it followed
that the rest of the River was but shallow. Thus they got over. Now
upon the bank of the River on the other side, they saw the two shining
men again, who there waited for them; wherefore being come out of the
River, they saluted them saying, _We are ministring Spirits, sent
forth to minister for those that shall be heirs of salvation._ Thus
they went along towards the Gate. Now you must note that the City
stood upon a mighty Hill, but the Pilgrims went up that Hill with ease
because they had these two men to lead them up by the arms; also they
had left their Mortal Garments behind them in the River, for though
they went in with them, they came out without them. They therefore
went up here with much agility and speed, though the foundation upon
which the City was framed was higher than the Clouds. They therefore
went up through the Regions of the Air, sweetly talking as they went,
being comforted, because they safely got over the River, and had such
glorious Companions to attend them.
The talk they had with the Shining Ones was about the glory of the
place, who told them that the beauty and glory of it was
inexpressible. There, said they, is the Mount _Sion_, the heavenly
_Jerusalem_, the innumerable company of Angels, and the Spirits of
Just Men made perfect. You are going now, said they, to the Paradice
of God, wherein you shall see the Tree of Life, and eat of the
never-fading fruits thereof; and when you come there, you shall have
white Robes given you, and your walk and talk shall be every day with
the King, even all the days of Eternity. There you shall not see again
such things as you saw when you were in the lower Region upon the
earth, to wit, sorrow, sickness, affliction, and death, _for the
former things are passed away_. You are now going to _Abraham_, to
_Isaac_, and _Jacob_, and to the Prophets, men that God hath taken
away from the evil to come, and that are now resting upon their Beds,
each one walking in his righteousness. The men then asked, What must
we do in the holy place? To whom it was answered, You must there
receive the comfort of all your toil, and have joy for all your
sorrow; you must reap what you have sown, even the fruit of all your
Prayers and Tears, and sufferings for the King by the way. In that
place you must wear Crowns of Gold, and enjoy the perpetual sight and
vision of the Holy One, _for there you shall see him as he is_. There
also you shall serve him continually with praise, with shouting, and
thanksgiving, whom you desired to serve in the World, though with much
difficulty, because of the infirmity of your flesh. There your eyes
shall be delighted with seeing, and your ears with hearing the
pleasant voice of the Mighty One. There you shall enjoy your friends
again, that are gone thither before you; and there you shall with joy
receive even every one that follows into the holy place after you.
There also shall you be cloathed with Glory and Majesty, and put into
an equipage fit to ride out with the King of Glory. When he shall come
with sound of Trumpet in the Clouds, as upon the wings of the Wind,
you shall come with him; and when he shall sit upon the Throne of
Judgement, you shall sit by him; yea, and when he shall pass sentence
upon all the workers of Iniquity, let them be Angels or Men, you also
have a voice in that Judgement, because they were his and your
Enemies. Also when he shall again return to the City, you shall go
too, with sound of Trumpet, and be ever with him.
Now while they were thus drawing towards the Gate, behold a company of
the Heavenly Host came out to meet them; to whom it was said by the
other two Shining Ones, These are the men that have loved our Lord
when they were in the World, and that have left all for his holy Name,
and he hath sent us to fetch them, and we have brought them thus far
on their desired Journey, that they may go in and look their Redeemer
in the face with joy. Then the Heavenly Host gave a great shout,
saying, _Blessed are they that are called to the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb_. There came out also at this time to meet them several of
the King's Trumpeters, cloathed in white and shining Raiment, who with
melodious noises and loud, made even the Heavens to echo with their
sound. These Trumpeters saluted _Christian_ and his fellow with ten
thousand welcomes from the World, and this they did with shouting and
sound of Trumpet.
This done, they compassed them round on every side; some went before,
some behind, and some on the right hand, some on the left, (as 't were
to guard them through the upper Regions) continually sounding as they
went with melodious noise, in notes on high: so that the very sight
was to them that could behold it, as if Heaven itself was come down to
meet them. Thus therefore they walked on together; and as they walked,
ever and anon these Trumpeters, even with joyful sound, would, by
mixing their musick with looks and gestures, still signify to
_Christian_ and his Brother, how welcome they were into their company,
and with what gladness they came to meet them; and now were these two
men as 't were in Heaven before they came at it, being swallowed up
with the sight of Angels, and with hearing of their melodious notes.
Here also they had the City itself in view, and they thought they
heard all the Bells therein ring to welcome them thereto. But above
all, the warm and joyful thoughts that they had about their own
dwelling there, with such company, and that for ever and ever. Oh, by
what tongue or pen can their glorious joy be expressed! And thus they
came up to the Gate.
Now when they were come up to the Gate, there was written over it in
Letters of Gold, _Blessed are they that do his Commandments, that they
may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the Gates
into the City_.
Then I saw in my Dream, that the Shining Men bid them call at the
Gate; the which when they did, some from above looked over the Gate,
to wit, _Enoch_, _Moses_, and _Elijah_, _&c._ to whom it was said,
These Pilgrims are come from the City of _Destruction_ for the love
that they bear to the King of this place; and then the Pilgrims gave
in unto them each man his Certificate, which they had received in the
beginning; those therefore were carried in to the King, who when he
had read them, said, Where are the men? To whom it was answered, They
are standing without the Gate. The King then commanded to open the
Gate, _That the righteous nation_, said he, _that keepeth Truth may
enter in_.
Now I saw in my Dream that these two men went in at the Gate: and loe,
as they entered, they were transfigured, and they had Raiment put on
that shone like Gold. There was also that met them with Harps and
Crowns, and gave them to them, the Harps to praise withall, and the
Crowns in token of honor. Then I heard in my Dream that all the Bells
in the City rang again for joy, and that it was said unto them, _Enter
ye into the joy of your Lord_. I also heard the men themselves, that
they sang with a loud voice, saying, _Blessing, Honour, Glory, and
Power be to him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb for ever
and ever_.
Now just as the Gates were opened to let in the men, I looked in after
them, and behold, the City shone like the Sun; the Streets also were
paved with Gold, and in them walked many men, with Crowns on their
heads, Palms in their hands, and golden Harps to sing praises withall.
There were also of them that had wings, and they answered one another
without intermission, saying, _Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord_. And
after that they shut up the Gates. Which when I had seen, I wished
myself among them.
Now while I was gazing upon all these things, I turned my head to look
back, and saw _Ignorance_ come up to the River-side; but he soon got
over, and that without half that difficulty which the other two men
met with. For it happened that there was then in that place one
_Vainhope_ a Ferry-man, that with his Boat helped him over; so he, as
the other I saw, did ascend the Hill to come up to the Gate, only he
came alone; neither did any man meet him with the least incouragement.
When he was come up to the Gate, he looked up to the writing that was
above, and then began to knock, supposing that entrance should have
been quickly administered to him; but he was asked by the men that
lookt over the top of the Gate, Whence came you? and what would you
have? He answered, I have eat and drank in the presence of the King,
and he has taught in our Streets. Then they asked him for his
Certificate, that they might go in and shew it to the King. So he
fumbled in his bosom for one, and found none. Then said they, Have you
none? But the man answered never a word. So they told the King, but he
would not come down to see him, but commanded the two Shining Ones
that conducted _Christian_ and _Hopeful_ to the City, to go out and
take _Ignorance_, and bind him hand and foot, and have him away. Then
they took him up, and carried him through the air to the door that I
saw in the side of the Hill, and put him in there. Then I saw that
there was a way to Hell even from the Gates of Heaven, as well as from
the City of _Destruction_. So I awoke, and behold it was a Dream.
ROBINSON CRUSOE
ROBINSON CRUSOE IS SHIPWRECKED
_By Daniel Defoe_
Our ship was about a hundred and twenty tons' burthen, carried six
guns and fourteen men, besides the master, his boy, and myself. We had
on board no large cargo of goods, except of such toys as were fit for
our trade with the negroes,--such as beads, bits of glass, shells, and
odd trifles, especially little looking-glasses, knives, scissors,
hatchets, and the like.
The same day I went on board we set sail, standing away to the
northward upon our own coast, with design to stretch over for the
African coast, when they came about ten or twelve degrees of northern
latitude, which, it seems, was the manner of their course in those
days. We had very good weather, only excessive hot, all the way upon
our own coast, till we came the height of Cape St. Augustino, from
whence, keeping farther off at sea, we lost sight of land, and steered
as if we were bound for the Isle Fernando de Noronha, holding our
course N.E. by N., and leaving those isles on the east. In this course
we passed the line in about twelve days' time, and were, by our last
observation, in 7° 22' northern latitude, when a violent tornado, or
hurricane, took us quite out of our knowledge. It began from the
southeast, came about to the northwest, and then settled into the
northeast, from whence it blew in such a terrible manner that for
twelve days together we could do nothing but drive, and, scudding away
before it, let it carry us where-ever fate and the fury of the winds
directed; and during these twelve days, I need not say that I expected
every day to be swallowed up, nor, indeed, did any in the ship expect
to save their lives.
In this distress we had, besides the terror of the storm, one of our
men die of the calenture, and one man and the boy washed overboard.
About the twelfth day, the weather abating a little, the master made
an observation as well as he could, and found that he was in about
eleven degrees north latitude, but that he was twenty-two degrees of
longitude difference west from Cape St. Augustino; so that he found he
was gotten upon the coast of Guiana, or the north part of Brazil,
beyond the river Amazon, toward that of the river Orinoco, commonly
called the Great River, and began to consult with me what course he
should take, for the ship was leaky and very much disabled, and he was
going directly back to the coast of Brazil.
I was positively against that; and looking over the charts of the
sea-coast of America with him, we concluded there was no inhabited
country for us to have recourse to till we came within the circle of
the Caribbee Islands and therefore resolved to stand away for
Barbadoes, which by keeping off at sea, to avoid the indraft of the
Bay or Gulf of Mexico, we might easily perform, as we hoped, in about
fifteen days' sail; whereas we could not possibly make our voyage to
the coast of Africa without some assistance, both to our ship and to
ourselves.
With this design we changed our course, and steered away N.W. by W. in
order to reach some of our English islands, where I hoped for relief;
but our voyage was otherwise determined; for being in the latitude of
12° 18', a second storm came upon us, which carried us away with the
same impetuosity westward, and drove us so out of the very way of all
human commerce that had all our lives been saved as to the sea, we
were rather in danger of being devoured by savages than ever returning
to our own country.
In this distress, the wind still blowing very hard, one of our men
early in the morning cried out, "Land!" and we had no sooner ran out
of the cabin to look out, in hopes of seeing whereabouts in the world
we were, but the ship struck upon a sand, and in a moment, her motion
being so stopped, the sea broke over her in such a manner that we
expected we should all have perished immediately; and we were
immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the
very foam and spray of the sea.
It is not easy for any one who has not been in the like condition to
describe or conceive the consternation of men in such circumstances.
We knew nothing where we were, or upon what land it was we were
driven, whether an island or the main, whether inhabited or not
inhabited; and as the rage of the wind was still great, though rather
less than at first, we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold
many minutes without breaking in pieces, unless the winds, by a kind
of miracle, should turn immediately about. In a word, we sat looking
one upon another, and expecting death every moment, and every man
acting accordingly, as preparing for another world; for there was
little or nothing more for us to do in this. That which was our
present comfort, and all the comfort we had, was that, contrary to our
expectation, the ship did not break yet, and that the master said the
wind began to abate.
Now, though we thought that the wind did a little abate, yet the ship
having thus struck upon the sand, and sticking too fast for us to
expect her getting off, we were in a dreadful condition indeed, and
had nothing to do but to think of saving our lives as well as we
could. We had a boat at our stern just before the storm, but she was
first staved by dashing against the ship's rudder, and in the next
place she broke away, and either sunk or was driven off to sea, so
there was no hope from her; we had another boat on board, but how to
get her off into the sea was a doubtful thing. However, there was no
room to debate, for we fancied the ship would break in pieces every
minute, and some told us she was actually broken already.
In this distress, the mate of our vessel lays hold of the boat, and
with the help of the rest of the men they got her slung over the
ship's side; and getting all into her, let go, and committed
ourselves, being eleven in number, to God's mercy and the wild sea;
for though the storm was abated considerably, yet the sea went
dreadful high upon the shore, and might well be called _den wild Zee_,
as the Dutch call the sea in a storm.
And now our case was very dismal indeed, for we all saw plainly that
the sea went so high that the boat could not live, and that we should
be inevitably drowned. As to making sail, we had none; nor if we had,
could we have done anything with it; so we worked at the oar towards
the land, though with heavy hearts, like men going to execution, for
we all knew that when the boat came nearer the shore, she would be
dashed in a thousand pieces by the breach of the sea. However, we
committed our souls to God in the most earnest manner; and the wind
driving us towards the shore, we hastened our destruction with our own
hands, pulling as well as we could towards land.
What the shore was, whether rock or sand, whether steep or shoal, we
knew not; the only hope that could rationally give us the least shadow
of expectation was, if we might happen into some bay or gulf, or the
mouth of some river, where by great chance we might have run our boat
in, or got under the lee of the land, and perhaps made smooth water.
But there was nothing of this appeared; but as we made nearer and
nearer the shore, the land looked more frightful than the sea.
After we had rowed, or rather driven, about a league and a half, as we
reckoned it, a raging wave, mountain-like, came rolling astern of us,
and plainly bade us expect the _coup de grâce_. In a word, it took us
with such a fury that it overset the boat at once; and separating us,
as well from the boat as from one another, gave us not time hardly to
say, "O God!" for we were all swallowed up in a moment.
Nothing can describe the confusion of thought which I felt when I sunk
into the water; for though I swam very well, yet I could not deliver
myself from the waves so as to draw breath, till that wave having
driven me, or rather carried me, a vast way on towards the shore, and
having spent itself, went back, and left me upon the land almost dry,
but half dead with the water I took in. I had so much presence of
mind, as well as breath left, that seeing myself nearer the mainland
than I expected, I got upon my feet, and endeavored to make on towards
the land as fast as I could, before another wave should return and
take me up again. But I soon found it was impossible to avoid it; for
I saw the sea come after me as high as a great hill, and as furious as
an enemy, which I had no means or strength to contend with. My
business was to hold my breath, and raise myself upon the water, if I
could; and so, by swimming, to preserve my breathing, and pilot myself
towards the shore, if possible; my greatest concern now being that the
sea, as it would carry me a great way towards the shore when it came
on, might not carry me back again with it when it gave back towards
the sea.
The wave that came upon me again buried me at once twenty or thirty
feet deep in its own body, and I could feel myself carried with a
mighty force and swiftness towards the shore a very great way; but I
held my breath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all my
might. I was ready to burst with holding my breath when, as I felt
myself rising up, so, to my immediate relief, I found my head and
hands shoot out above the surface of the water; and though it was not
two seconds of time that I could keep myself so, yet it relieved me
greatly, gave me breath and new courage. I was covered again with
water a good while, but not so long but I held it out; and finding the
water had spent itself, and began to return, I struck forward against
the return of the waves, and felt ground again with my feet. I stood
still a few moments to recover breath, and till the water went from
me, and then took to my heels and ran with what strength I had farther
towards the shore. But neither would this deliver me from the fury of
the sea, which came pouring in after me again, and twice more I was
lifted up by the waves and carried forwards as before, the shore being
very flat.
The last time of these two had well near been fatal to me; for the
sea, having hurried me along as before, landed me, or rather dashed
me, against a piece of a rock, and that with such force as it left me
senseless, and indeed helpless as to my own deliverance; for the blow
taking my side and breast, beat the breath as it were quite out of my
body; and had it returned again immediately, I must have been
strangled in the water. But I recovered a little before the return of
the waves, and seeing I should be covered again with the water, I
resolved to hold fast by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my
breath, if possible, till the wave went back. Now as the waves were
not so high as at first, being near land, I held my hold till the wave
abated, and then fetched another run, which brought me so near the
shore that the next wave, though it went over me, yet did not so
swallow me up as to carry me away, and the next run I took I got to
the mainland, where, to my great comfort, I clambered up the cliffs of
the shore, and sat me down upon the grass, free from danger, and quite
out of the reach of the water.