Here is a curious extract from Robinson Crusoe's diary. It is not to be
found in the modern editions of the Adventures, and is omitted in the
old. This has always seemed to me to be a pity.
"The third day in the morning, the wind having abated during the night, I
went down to the shore hoping to find a typewriter and other useful
things washed up from the wreck of the ship; but all that fell in my way
was a piece of timber with many holes in it. My man Friday had many times
said that we stood sadly in need of a square table for our afternoon tea,
and I bethought me how this piece of wood might be used for that purpose.
And since during the long time that Friday had now been with me I was not
wanting to lay a foundation of useful knowledge in his mind, I told him
that it was my wish to make the table from the timber I had found,
without there being any holes in the top thereof.
[Illustration]
"Friday was sadly put to it to say how this might be, more especially as
I said it should consist of no more than two pieces joined together; but
I taught him how it could be done in such a way that the table might be
as large as was possible, though, to be sure, I was amused when he said,
'My nation do much better: they stop up holes, so pieces sugars not fall
through.'"
Now, the illustration gives the exact proportion of the piece of wood
with the positions of the fifteen holes. How did Robinson Crusoe make the
largest possible square table-top in two pieces, so that it should not
have any holes in it?