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Title: The Little Savage

Author: Captain Marryat

Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6897]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on February 9, 2003]

Edition: 10

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE SAVAGE ***




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THE LITTLE SAVAGE

BY

CAPTAIN MARRYAT




THIS IS FAIRY GOLD, BOY; AND 'T WILL PROVE SO.

SHAKESPEARE




INTRODUCTION


There is a reference, in _The Life and Letters of Captain
Marryat_ by his daughter Florence Marryat, to "_The Little
Savage_, only two chapters of the second volume of which were
written by himself."

This sentence may be variously interpreted, but most probably
implies that Marryat wrote all Part I (of the first edition) and two
chapters of Part II, that is--as far as the end of Chapter xxiv. The
remaining pages may be the work of his son Frank S. Marryat, who
_edited_ the first edition, supplying a brief preface to Part II:--

"I cannot publish this last work of my late father without some
prefatory remarks, as, in justice to the public, as well as to
himself, I should state, that his lamented decease prevented his
concluding the second volume."

"The present volume has been for some time at press, but the
long-protracted illness of the author delayed its publication."

_The Little Savage_ opens well. The picture of a lad, who was
born on a desert island--though of English parents--and really
deserves to be called a savage, growing up with no other
companionship than that of his father's murderer, is boldly conceived
and executed with some power. The man Jackson is a thoroughly human
ruffian, who naturally detests the boy he has so terribly injured,
and bullies him brutally. Under this treatment Frank's animal
passions are inevitably aroused, and when the lightning had struck
his tyrant blind, he turns upon him with a quiet savagery that is
narrated with admirable detachment.

This original situation arrests the reader's attention and secures
his interest in Frank Henniker's development towards civilisation and
virtue. His experience of absolute solitude after Jackson's death
serves to bring out his sympathies with animals and flowers; while,
on the arrival of Mrs Reichardt, he proves himself a loyal comrade
under kind treatment.

It is much to be regretted that Marryat did not live to finish his
work.

R. B. J.

_The Little Savage_ originally appeared in 1848-49. Marryat,
who was born in 1792, died at Langham, Norfolk, August 9, 1848.

The following is the list of his published works:--

Suggestions for the Abolition of the Present System of Impressment
in the Naval Service, 1822; The Naval Officer, or Scenes and
Adventures in the Life of Frank Mildmay, 1829; The King's Own, 1830;
Newton Forster (from the _Metropolitan Magazine_), 1832; Jacob
Faithful (from the _Metropolitan Magazine_), 1834; Peter Simple,
1834; The Pacha of Many Tales, 1835; Midshipman Easy (from the
_Metropolitan Magazine_), 1836; Japhet in Search of a Father
(from the _Metropolitan Magazine_), 1836; The Pirate and The
Three Cutters, 1836; A Code of Signals for the Use of Vessels
employed in the Merchant Service, 1837; Snarleyyow, or The Dog Fiend,
1837; A Diary in America, with Remarks on its Institutions, 1839; The
Phantom Ship, 1839; Poor Jack, 1840; Olla Podrida (articles from the
_Metropolitan Magazine_), 1840; Joseph Rushbrook, or The Poacher,
1841; Masterman Ready, or The Wreck of the _Pacific_, 1841; Percival
Keene, 1842; Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet
in California, Sonora, and Western Texas, 1843; The Settlers in Canada,
1844; The Mission, or Scenes in Africa, 1845; The Privateer's Man, 1846;
The Children of the New Forest, 1847; The Little Savage (posthumous),
1848-49; Valerie (posthumous), 1849; Life and Letters, Florence Marryat,
1872.




THE LITTLE SAVAGE




Chapter I


I am about to write a very curious history, as the reader will agree
with me when he has read this book. We have more than one narrative
of people being cast away upon desolate islands, and being left to
their own resources, and no works are perhaps read with more
interest; but I believe I am the first instance of a boy being left
alone upon an uninhabited island. Such was, however, the case; and
now I shall tell my own story.

My first recollections are, that I was in company with a man upon
this island, and that we walked often along the sea-shore. It was
rocky and difficult to climb in many parts, and the man used to drag
or pull me over the dangerous places. He was very unkind to me, which
may appear strange, as I was the only companion that he had; but he
was of a morose and gloomy disposition. He would sit down squatted in
the corner of our cabin, and sometimes not speak for hours--or he
would remain the whole day looking out at the sea, as if watching for
something, but what I never could tell; for if I spoke, he would not
reply; and if near to him, I was sure to receive a cuff or a heavy
blow. I should imagine that I was about five years old at the time
that I first recollect clearly what passed. I may have been younger.
I may as well here state what I gathered from him at different times,
relative to our being left upon this desolate spot. It was with
difficulty that I did so; for, generally speaking, he would throw a
stone at me if I asked questions, that is, if I repeatedly asked them
after he had refused to answer. It was on one occasion, when he was
lying sick, that I gained the information, and that only by refusing
to attend him or bring him food and water. He would be very angry,
and say, that when he got well again, he would make me smart for it;
but I cared not, for I was then getting strong, whilst he was getting
weaker every day, and I had no love for him, for he had never shown
any to me, but always treated me with great severity.

He told me, that about twelve years before (not that I knew what he
meant by a year, for I had never heard the term used by him), an
English ship (I did not know what a ship was) had been swamped near
the island, in a heavy gale, and that seven men and one woman had
been saved, and all the other people lost. That the ship had been
broken into pieces, and that they had saved nothing--that they had
picked up among the rocks pieces of the wood with which it had been
made, and had built the cabin in which we lived. That one had died
after another, and had been buried (what death or burial meant, I had
no idea at the time), and that I had been born on the island; (How
was I born? thought I)--that most of them had died before I was two
years old; and that then, he and my mother were the only two left
besides me. My mother had died a few months afterwards. I was obliged
to ask him many questions to understand all this; indeed, I did not
understand it till long afterwards, although I had an idea of what he
would say. Had I been left with any other person, I should, of
course, by conversation, have learnt much; but he never would
converse, still less explain. He called me, Boy, and I called him,
Master. His inveterate silence was the occasion of my language being
composed of very few words; for, except to order me to do this or
that, to procure what was required, he never would converse. He did
however mutter to himself, and talk in his sleep, and I used to lie
awake and listen, that I might gain information; not at first, but
when I grew older. He used to cry out in his sleep constantly.--"A
judgment, a judgment on me for my sins, my heavy sins--God be
merciful!" But what judgment, or what sin was, or what was God, I did
not then know, although I mused on words repeated so often.

I will now describe the island, and the way in which we lived. The
island was very small, perhaps not three miles round; it was of rock,
and there was no beach nor landing place, the sea washing its sides
with deep water. It was, as I afterwards discovered, one of the group
of islands to which the Peruvians despatch vessels every year to
collect the guano, or refuse of the sea birds which resort to the
islands; but the one on which we were was small, and detached some
distance from the others, on which the guano was found in great
profusion; so that hitherto it had been neglected, and no vessel had
ever come near it. Indeed, the other islands were not to be seen from
it except on a very clear day, when they appeared like a cloud or
mist on the horizon. The shores of the island were, moreover, so
precipitous, that there was no landing place, and the eternal wash of
the ocean would have made it almost impossible for a vessel to have
taken off a cargo. Such was the island upon which I found myself in
company with this man. Our cabin was built of ship-plank and timber,
under the shelter of a cliff, about fifty yards from the water; there
was a flat of about thirty yards square in front of it, and from the
cliff there trickled down a rill of water, which fell into a hole dug
out to collect it, and then found its way over the flat to the rocks
beneath. The cabin itself was large, and capable of holding many more
people than had ever lived in it; but it was not too large, as we had
to secure in it our provisions for many months. There were several
bed-places level with the floor, which were rendered soft enough to
lie on, by being filled with the feathers of birds. Furniture there
was none, except two or three old axes, blunted with long use, a tin
pannikin, a mess kid and some rude vessels to hold water, cut out of
wood. On the summit of the island there was a forest of underwood,
and the bushes extended some distance down the ravines which led from
the summit to the shore. One of my most arduous tasks was to climb
these ravines and collect wood, but fortunately a fire was not often
required. The climate was warm all the year round, and there seldom
was a fall of rain; when it did fall, it was generally expended on
the summit of the island, and did not reach us. At a certain period
of the year, the birds came to the island in numberless quantities to
breed, and their chief resort was some tolerably level ground--
indeed, in many places, it was quite level with the accumulation of
guano--which ground was divided from the spot where our cabin was
built by a deep ravine. On this spot, which might perhaps contain
about twenty acres or more, the sea birds would sit upon their eggs,
not four inches apart from each other, and the whole surface of this
twenty acres would be completely covered with them. There they would
remain from the time of the laying of the eggs, until the young ones
were able to leave the nests and fly away with them. At the season
when the birds were on the island, all was gaiety, bustle, and noise,
but after their departure it was quiet and solitude. I used to long
for their arrival, and was delighted with the animation which
gladdened the island, the male birds diving in every direction after
fish, wheeling and soaring in the air, and uttering loud cries, which
were responded to by their mates on the nests.

But it was also our harvest time; we seldom touched the old birds,
as they were not in flesh, but as soon as the young ones were within
a few days of leaving the nests, we were then busy enough. In spite
of the screaming and the flapping of their wings in our faces, and
the darting their beaks at our eyes, of the old birds, as we robbed
them of their progeny, we collected hundreds every day, and bore as
heavy a load as we could carry across the ravine to the platform in
front of our cabin, where we busied ourselves in skinning them,
splitting them, and hanging them out to dry in the sun. The air of
the island was so pure that no putrefaction ever took place, and
during the last fortnight of the birds coming on the island, we had
collected a sufficiency for our support until their return on the
following year. As soon as they were quite dry they were packed up in
a corner of the cabin for use.

These birds were, it may be said, the only produce of the island,
with the exception of fish, and the eggs taken at the time of their
first making their nests. Fish were to be taken in large quantities.
It was sufficient to put a line over the rocks, and it had hardly
time to go down a fathom before anything at the end of it was seized.
Indeed, our means of taking them were as simple as their voracity was
great. Our lines were composed of the sinews of the legs of the
man-of-war birds, as I afterwards heard them named; and, as these were
only about a foot long, it required a great many of them knotted
together to make a line. At the end of the line was a bait fixed over
a strong fish-bone, which was fastened to the line by the middle; a
half-hitch of the line round one end kept the bone on a parallel with
the line until the bait was seized, when the line being taughtened,
the half-hitch slipped off and the bone remained crossways in the
gullet of the fish, which was drawn up by it. Simple as this
contrivance was, it answered as well as the best hook, of which I had
never seen one at that time. The fish were so strong and large, that,
when I was young, the man would not allow me to attempt to catch
them, lest they should pull me into the water; but, as I grew bigger,
I could master them. Such was our food from one year's end to the
other; we had no variety, except when occasionally we broiled the
dried birds or the fish upon the embers, instead of eating them dried
by the sun. Our raiment, such as it was, we were also indebted to the
feathered tribe for. The birds were skinned with the feathers on, and
their skins sewn together with sinews, and a fish-bone by way of a
needle. These garments were not very durable, but the climate was so
fine that we did not suffer from the cold at any season of the year.
I used to make myself a new dress every year when the birds came; but
by the time that they returned, I had little left of my last year's
suit, the fragments of which might be found among the rocky and steep
parts of the ravine where we used to collect firing.

Living such a life, with so few wants, and those periodically and
easily supplied, hardly varied from one year's end to another, it may
easily be imagined that I had but few ideas. I might have had more,
if my companion had not been of such a taciturn and morose habit; as
it was, I looked at the wide ocean, and the sky, and the sun, moon,
and stars, wondering, puzzled, afraid to ask questions, and ending
all by sleeping away a large portion of my existence. We had no tools
except the old ones, which were useless--no employment of any kind.
There was a book, and I asked what it was for and what it was, but I
got no answer. It remained upon the shelf, for if I looked at it I
was ordered away, and at last I regarded it with a sort of fear, as
if it were a kind of incomprehensible animal. The day was passed in
idleness and almost silence; perhaps not a dozen sentences were
exchanged in the twenty-four hours. My companion always the same,
brooding over something which appeared ever to occupy his thoughts,
and angry if roused up from his reverie.




Chapter II


The reader must understand that the foregoing remarks are to be
considered as referring to my position and amount of knowledge when I
was seven or eight years old. My master, as I called him, was a short
square-built man, about sixty years of age, as I afterwards estimated
from recollection and comparison. His hair fell down his back in
thick clusters and was still of a dark color, and his beard was full
two feet long and very bushy; indeed, he was covered with hair,
wherever his person was exposed. He was, I should say, very powerful
had he had occasion to exert his strength, but with the exception of
the time at which we collected the birds, and occasionally going up
the ravine to bring down faggots of wood, he seldom moved out of the
cabin unless it was to bathe. There was a pool of salt water of about
twenty yards square, near the sea, but separated from it by a low
ridge of rocks, over which the waves only beat when the sea was rough
and the wind on that side of the island. Every morning almost we went
down to bathe in that pool, as it was secure from the sharks, which
were very numerous. I could swim like a fish as early as I can
recollect, but whether I was taught, or learnt myself, I cannot tell.
Thus was my life passed away; my duties were trifling; I had little
or nothing to employ myself about, for I had no means of employment.
I seldom heard the human voice, and became as taciturn as my
companion. My amusements were equally confined--looking down into the
depths of the ocean, as I lay over the rocky wall which girded the
major portion of the island, and watching the motions of the finny
tribes below, wondering at the stars during the night season, eating,
and sleeping. Thus did I pass away an existence without pleasure and
without pain. As for what my thoughts were I can hardly say, my
knowledge and my ideas were too confined for me to have any food for
thought. I was little better than a beast of the field, that lies
down on the pasture after he is filled. There was one great source of
interest however, which was, to listen to the sleeping talk of my
companion, and I always looked forward to the time when the night
fell and we repaired to our beds. I would lie awake for hours,
listening to his ejaculations and murmured speech, trying in vain to
find out some meaning in what he would say--but I gained little; he
talked of "that woman"--appearing to be constantly with other men,
and muttering about something he had hidden away. One night, when the
moon was shining bright, he sat up in his bed, which, as I have
before said, was on the floor of the cabin, and throwing aside the
feathers upon which he had been lying, scratched the mould away below
them and lifted up a piece of board. After a minute he replaced
everything, and lay down again. He evidently was sleeping during the
whole time. Here, at last, was something to feed my thoughts with. I
had heard him say in his sleep that he had hidden something--this
must be the hiding place. What was it? Perhaps I ought here to
observe that my feelings towards this man were those of positive
dislike, if not hatred; I never had received one kind word or deed
from him, that I could recollect. Harsh and unfeeling towards me,
evidently looking upon me with ill-will, and only suffering me
because I saved him some trouble, and perhaps because he wished to
have a living thing for his companion,--his feelings towards me were
reciprocated by mine towards him. What age I was at the time my
mother died, I know not, but I had some faint recollection of one who
treated me with kindness and caresses, and these recollections became
more forcible in my dreams, when I saw a figure very different from
that of my companion (a female figure) hanging over me or leading me
by the hand. How I used to try to continue those dreams, by closing
my eyes again after I had woke up! And yet I knew not that they had
been brought about by the dim recollection of my infancy; I knew not
that the figure that appeared to me was the shadow of my mother; but
I loved the dreams because I was treated kindly in them.

But a change took place by the hand of Providence. One day, after we
had just laid in our yearly provision of sea birds, I was busy
arranging the skins of the old birds, on the flat rock, for my annual
garment, which was joined together something like a sack, with holes
for the head and arms to pass through; when, as I looked to seaward,
I saw a large white object on the water.

"Look, master," said I, pointing towards it.

"A ship, a ship!" cried my companion.

"Oh," thought I, "that is a ship; I recollect that he said they came
here in a ship." I kept my eyes on her, and she rounded to.

"Is she alive?" inquired I.

"You're a fool," said the man; "come and help me to pile up this
wood that we may make a signal to her. Go and fetch some water and
throw on it, that there may be plenty of smoke. Thank God, I may
leave this cursed hole at last!"

I hardly understood him, but I went for the water and brought it in
the mess kid.

"I want more wood yet," said he. "Her head is this way, and she will
come nearer."

"Then she is alive," said I.

"Away, fool!" said he, giving me a cuff on the head; "get some more
water and throw on the wood."

He then went into the cabin to strike a light, which he obtained by
a piece of iron and flint, with some fine dry moss for tinder. While
he was so employed, my eyes were fixed on the vessel, wondering what
it could be. It moved through the water, turned this way and that.
"It must be alive," thought I; "is it a fish or a bird?" As I watched
the vessel, the sun was going down and there was not more than an
hour's daylight. The wind was very light and variable, which
accounted for the vessel so often altering her course. My companion
came out with his hands full of smoking tinder, and putting it under
the wood, was busy blowing it into a flame. The wood was soon set
fire to, and the smoke ascended several feet into the air.

"They'll see that," said he.

"What then, it has eyes? it must be alive. Does it mind the wind?"
inquired I, having no answer to my first remark, "for look there, the
little clouds are coming up fast," and I pointed to the horizon,
where some small clouds were rising up and which were, as I knew from
experience and constantly watching the sky, a sign of a short but
violent gale, or tornado, of which we usually had one, if not two, at
this season of the year.

"Yes; confound it," replied my companion, grinding his teeth, "it
will blow her off! That's my luck."

In the meantime, the smoke ascended in the air and the vessel
approached nearer and nearer, until she was within, I suppose, two
miles of the island, and then it fell quite calm. My companion threw
more water on to increase the smoke, and the vessel now hauling up
her courses, I perceived that there were people on board, and while I
was arranging my ideas as to what the vessel might be, my companion
cried out--"They see us, they see us! there's hope now. Confound it,
I've been here long enough. Hurrah for old England!" and he commenced
dancing and capering about like a madman. At last he said,

"Look out and see if she sends a boat, while I go into the cabin."

"What's a boat?" said I.

"Out, you fool! tell me if you see anything,"

"Yes, I do see something," replied I. "Look at the squall coming
along the water, it will be here very soon; and see how thick the
clouds are getting up: we shall have as much wind and rain as we had
the time before last, when the birds came."

"Confound it," replied he, "I wish they'd lower a boat, at all
events;" and so saying, he went into the cabin, and I perceived that
he was busy at his bed-place.

My eyes were still fixed upon the squall, as I watched it advancing
at a furious speed on the surface of the water; at first it was a
deep black line on the horizon, but as it approached the vessel, it
changed to white; the surface of the water was still smooth. The
clouds were not more than ten degrees above the horizon, although
they were thick and opaque--but at this season of the year, these
tornadoes, as I may call them, visited us; sometimes we had one,
sometimes more, and it was only when these gusts came on that we had
any rain below. On board of the vessel--I speak now from my after
knowledge--they did not appear to be aware of the danger; the sails
were all set and flapping against the masts. At last, I perceived a
small object close to the vessel; this I presumed was the boat which
my companion looked for. It was like a young vessel close to the old
one, but I said nothing; as I was watching and wondering what effect
the rising wind would have upon her, for the observations of my
companion had made me feel that it was important. After a time, I
perceived that the white sails were disappearing, and that the forms
of men were very busy, and moving on board, and the boat went back to
the side of the vessel. The fact is, they had not perceived the
squall until it was too late, for in another moment almost, I saw
that the vessel bowed down to the fury of the gale, and after that,
the mist was so great that I couldn't see her any more.

"Is she sending a boat, boy?" cried my companion.

"I can't see her," replied I; "for she is hidden by the wind."

As I said this, the tornado reached to where we stood, and threw me
off my legs to the entrance of the cabin; and with the wind came down
a torrent of rain, which drenched us, and the clouds covered the
whole of the firmament, which became dark; the lightning darted in
every direction, with peals of thunder which were deafening. I
crawled into the cabin, into which the rain beat in great fury and
flowed out again in a small river.

My companion sat near me, lowering and silent. For two hours the
tornado lasted without interruption; the sun had set, and the
darkness was opaque. It was impossible to move against the force of
the wind and the deluge of water which descended. Speak, we did not,
but shut our eyes against the lightning, and held our fingers to our
ears to deaden the noise of the thunder, which burst upon us in the
most awful manner. My companion groaned at intervals, whether from
fear, I know not; I had no fear, for I did not know the danger, or
that there was a God to judge the earth.

Gradually the fury of the gale abated, the rain was only heavy at
intervals, and we could now hear the beating of the waves, as they
dashed against the rocks beneath us. The sky also cleared up a
little, and we could dimly discern the white foam of the breakers. I
crawled out of the cabin, and stood upon the platform in front,
straining my eyes to see the vessel. A flash of lightning, for a
second, revealed her to me; she was dismasted, rolling in the awful
breakers, which bore her down upon the high rocks, not a quarter of a
mile from her.

"There it is," exclaimed I, as the disappearance of the lightning
left me in darkness, more opaque than ever.

"She's done for," growled my companion, who, I was not till then
aware, stood by my side. "No hopes this time, confound it!" Then he
continued for some time to curse and swear awfully, as I afterwards
discovered, for I did not then know what was cursing and swearing.

"There she is again," said I, as another flash of lightning revealed
the position of the vessel.

"Yes, and she won't be there long; in five minutes she'll be dashed
to atoms, and every soul perish."

"What are souls?" inquired I.

My companion gave me no reply.

"I will go down to the rocks," said I, "and see what goes on."

"Go," said he, "and share their fate."




Chapter III


I left him, and commenced a careful descent of the precipices by
which we were surrounded, but, before I had gone fifty paces, another
flash of lightning was followed up by a loud shriek, which arrested
my steps. Where the noise came from, I could not tell, but I heard my
companion calling to me to come back. I obeyed him, and found him
standing where I had left him.

"You called me, master?"

"Yes, I did; take my hand, and lead me to the cabin."

I obeyed him, wondering why he asked me so to do. He gained his bed-place,
and threw himself down on it.

"Bring the kid full of water," said he--"quick!"

I brought it, and he bathed his head and face. After a time, he
threw himself back upon the bed-place, and groaned heavily.

"O God! it's all over with me," said he at last. "I shall live and
die in this cursed hole."

"What's the matter, master?" said I.

He gave me no answer, but lay groaning and occasionally cursing.
After a time, he was still, and then I went out again. The tornado
was now over, and the stars were to be seen here and there, but still
the wind was strong and the wild clouds flew fast. The shores of the
island were one mass of foam, which was dashed high in the air and
fell upon the black rocks. I looked for the vessel, and could see
nothing--the day was evidently dawning, and I sat down and waited its
coming. My companion was apparently asleep, for he lay without motion
or noise. That some misfortune had happened, I was convinced, but
what, I knew not, and I passed a long time in conjecture, dividing my
thoughts between him and the vessel. At last the daylight appeared--the
weather was moderating fast, although the waves still beat furiously
against the rocky shore. I could see nothing of the vessel, and I
descended the path, now slippery and insecure from the heavy fall of
rain, and went as near to the edge of the rocks as the breaking billows
would permit. I walked along, occasionally drenched by the spray,
until I arrived where I had last seen the vessel. The waves were
dashing and tossing about, as if in sport, fragments of timber, casks,
and spars; but that was all I could see, except a mast and rigging,
which lay alongside of the rocks, sometimes appearing above them
on the summit of the waves, then descending far out of my sight, for
I dared not venture near enough to the edge to look over. "Then the
vessel is dashed to pieces, as my companion said," thought I. "I wonder
how she was made." I remained about an hour on the rocks, and then
turned back to the cabin. I found my companion awake, and groaning
heavily.

"There is no ship," said I, "nothing but pieces of wood floating
about."

"I know that," replied he; "but what do I care now?"

"I thought by your making a smoke, that you did care."

"Yes, I did then, but now I am blind, I shall never see a ship or
anything else again. God help me! I shall die and rot on this cursed
island."

"Blind, what is blind?" inquired I.

"The lightning has burned out my eyes, and I can see nothing--I
cannot help myself--I cannot walk about--I cannot do anything, and I
suppose you will leave me here to die like a dog."

"Can't you see me?"

"No, all is dark, dark as night, and will be as long as I live." And
he turned on his bed-place and groaned. "I had hope, I lived in hope
--it has kept me alive for many weary years, but now hope is gone, and
I care not if I die to-morrow."

And then he started up and turned his face towards me, and I saw
that there was no light in his eyes.

"Bring me some more water, do you hear?" said he, angrily. "Be
quick, or I'll make you."

But I now fully comprehended his condition, and how powerless he
was. My feelings, as I have before said, were anything but cordial
towards him, and this renewed violence and threatening manner had its
effect. I was now, I suppose, about twelve or thirteen years old--
strong and active. I had more than once felt inclined to rebel, and
measure my strength against his. Irritated, therefore, at his angry
language, I replied--

"Go for the water yourself."

"Ah!" sighed he, after a pause of some seconds, "that I might have
expected. But let me once get you into my hands, I'll make you
remember it."

"I care not if I were in your hands," replied I; "I am as strong as
you." For I had thought so many a day, and meant to prove it.

"Indeed! well, come here, and let us try."

"No, no," replied I; "I'm not such a fool as you say I am--not that
I'm afraid of you; for I shall have an axe in my hand always ready,
and you will not find another."

"I wish that I had tossed you over the cliffs when you were a
child," said he, bitterly, "instead of nursing you and bringing you
up."

"Then why have you not been kind to me? As far back as I can
remember you have always treated me ill; you have made me work for
you; and yet never even spoken kindly to me. I have wanted to know
things, and you have never answered my questions, but called me a
fool, and told me to hold my tongue. You have made me hate you, and
you have often told me how you hated me--you know you have."

"It's true, quite true," replied he, as if talking to himself. "I
have done all that he says, and I have hated him. But I have had
cause. Come here, boy."

"No," replied I; "do you come here. You have been master, and I have
been boy, long enough. Now I am master and you are boy, and you shall
find it so."

Having said this, I walked out of the cabin and left him. He cried
out, "Don't leave me," but I heeded him not, and sat down at the edge
of the fiat ledge of the rock before the cabin. Looking at the white
dancing waves, and deep in my own thoughts, I considered a long while
how I should behave towards him. I did not wish him to die, as I knew
he must if I left him. He could not obtain water from the rill
without a great chance of falling over the cliff. In fact, I was now
fully aware of his helpless state; to prove it to myself, I rose and
shut my own eyes; tried if I could venture to move on such dangerous
ground, and I felt sure that I could not. He was then in my power; he
could do nothing; he must trust to me for almost everything. I had
said, let what would follow, I would be master and he boy; but that
could not be, as I must still attend upon him, or he would die. At
last the thought came suddenly upon me--I will be master,
nevertheless, for now he shall answer me all my questions, tell me
all he knows, or he shall starve. He is in my power. He shall now do
what I have ever tried to make him do, and he has ever refused.
Having thus arranged my plans, I returned to the cabin, and said to
him:

"Hear what I say--I will be kind to you, and not leave you to
starve, if you will do what I ask."

"And what is that?" replied he.

"For a long while I have asked you many questions, and you have
refused to answer them. Instead of telling me what I would know, you
have beaten or thrown stones at me, called me names, and threatened
me. I now give you your choice--either you shall promise to answer
every question that I put to you, or you may live how you can, for I
shall leave you to help yourself. If you do as I wish, I will do all
I can to help you, but if you will not, thank yourself for what may
happen. Recollect, I am master now; so take your choice."

"Well," replied he slowly, "it's a judgment upon me, and I must
agree to it. I will do what you wish."

"Well, then, to begin," said I, "I have often asked you what your
name was, and what was mine. I must call you something, and Master I
will not, for I am master now. What is your name?"

He groaned, ground his teeth, and then said, "Edward Jackson."

"Edward Jackson! very well; and my name?"

"No, I cannot bear the name. I cannot say it," replied he, angrily.

"Be it so," replied I. "Then I leave you."

"Will you bring me some water for my eyes? they burn," said he.

"No, I will not, nor anything else, unless you tell me my name."

"Frank Henniker--and curses on it."

"Frank Henniker. Well, now you shall have the water."

I went out, filled a kid, and put it by his side,

"There is the water, Jackson; if you want anything, call me. I shall
be outside."

"I have gained the mastery," thought I,--"it will be my turn now. He
don't like to answer, but he shall, or he shall starve. Why does he
feel so angry at my name? Henniker! what is the meaning of Henniker,
I wonder? I will make him tell me. Yes, he shall tell me everything."
I may here observe, that as for pity and compassion, I did not know
such feelings. I had been so ill-treated, that I only felt that might
was right; and this right I determined upon exercising to the utmost.
I felt an inconceivable pleasure at the idea of my being the master,
and he the boy. I felt the love of power, the pride of superiority. I
then revolved in my mind the daily task which I would set him, before
he should receive his daily sustenance. He should talk now as much as
I pleased, for I was the master. I had been treated as a slave, and I
was now fully prepared to play the tyrant. Mercy and compassion I
knew not. I had never seen them called forth, and I felt them not. I
sat down on the flat rock for some time, and then it occurred to me
that I would turn the course of the water which fell into the hole at
the edge of the cliff; so that if he crawled there, he would not be
able to obtain any. I did so, and emptied the hole. The water was now
only to be obtained by climbing up, and it was out of his power to
obtain a drop. Food, of course, he could obtain, as the dried birds
were all piled up at the farther end of the cabin, and I could not
well remove them; but what was food without water? I was turning in
my mind what should be the first question to put to him; and I had
decided that I would have a full and particular account of how the
vessel had been wrecked on the island, and who were my father and
mother, and why I was named Henniker--when I was roused by hearing
Jackson (as I shall in future call him) crying out, "Boy, boy!" "Boy,
indeed," thought I--"no longer boy," and I gave no reply. Again he
called, and at last he cried out, "Henniker," but I had been ruffled
by his calling me boy, and I would not answer him. At last he fairly
screamed my name, and then was silent. After a moment, I perceived
that he crawled out of his bed-place, and feeling by the sides of the
cabin, contrived on his hands and knees to crawl in the direction of
the hole into which the water had previously been received; and I
smiled at what I knew would be his disappointment when he arrived
there. He did so at last: put his hand to feel the edge of the hole,
and then down into it to feel for the water; and when he found that
there was none, he cursed bitterly, and I laughed at his vexation. He
then felt all the way down where the water had fallen, and found that
the course of it had been stopped, and he dared not attempt anything
further. He dashed his clenched hand against the rock. "Oh! that I
had him in this grasp--if it were but for one moment. I would not
care if I died the next."

"I do not doubt you," replied I to him, above, "but you have not got
me in your hands, and you will not. Go in to bed directly--quick,"
cried I, throwing a piece of rock at him, which hit him on the head.
"Crawl back as fast as you can, you fool, or I'll send another at
your head directly. I'll tame you, as you used to say to me."

The blow on the head appeared to have confused him; but after a time
he crawled back to his bed-place, and threw himself down with a heavy
groan.




Chapter IV


I then went down to the water's edge to see if I could find anything
from the wreck, for the water was smooth, and no longer washed over
the rocks of the island. Except fragments of wood, I perceived
nothing until I arrived at the pool where we were accustomed to
bathe; and I found that the sea had thrown into it two articles of
large dimensions--one was a cask of the size of a puncheon, which lay
in about a foot of water farthest from the seaward; and the other was
a seaman's chest. What these things were I did not then know, and I
wish the reader to recollect that a great portion of this narrative
is compiled from after knowledge. The cask was firm in the sand, and
I could not move it. The chest was floating; I hauled it on the rocks
without difficulty, and then proceeded to open it. It was some time
before I could discover how, for I had never seen a lock, or a hinge
in my life; but at last, finding that the lid was the only portion of
the chest which yielded, I contrived, with a piece of rock, to break
it open. I found in it a quantity of seamen's clothes, upon which I
put no value; but some of the articles I immediately comprehended the
use of, and they filled me with delight. There were two new tin
pannikins, and those would hold water. There were three empty wine
bottles, a hammer, a chisel, gimlet, and some other tools, also three
or four fishing-lines many fathoms long. But what pleased me most
were two knives, one shutting up, with a lanyard sheath to wear round
the waist; and the other an American long knife, in a sheath, which
is usually worn by them in the belt. Now, three or four years back,
Jackson had the remains of a clasp knife--that is, there was about an
inch of the blade remaining--and this, as may be supposed, he valued
very much; indeed, miserable as the article was, in our destitute
state it was invaluable.

This knife he had laid on the rock when fishing, and it had been
dragged into the sea as his line ran out; and he was for many days
inconsolable for its loss. We had used it for cutting open the birds
when we skinned them, and, indeed this remains of a knife had been
always in request. Since the loss of it, we had had hard work to get
the skins off the birds; I therefore well knew the value of these
knives, which I immediately secured. The remainder of the articles in
the chest, which was quite full, I laid upon the rocks, with the
clothes, to dry; of most of them I did not know the use, and
consequently did not prize them at the time. It was not until
afterwards, when I had taken them to my companion, that I learned
their value. I may as well here observe, that amongst these articles
were two books, and, from the positive commands of my companion, not
to touch the book in the cabin, I looked upon them with a degree of
awe, and hesitated upon taking them in my hand; but, at last, I put
them out to dry on the rocks, with the rest of the contents of the
chest.

I felt the knives, the blades were sharp; I put the lanyard of the
clasp knife round my neck; the sheath knife, which was a formidable
weapon, I made fast round my waist, with a piece of the fishing
lines, which I cut off; and I then turned my steps towards the cabin,
as night was coming on, though the moon was high in the heavens, and
shining brightly. On my return, I found Jackson in his bed-place; he
heard me come in, and asked me, in a quiet tone, whether I would
bring him some water? I answered,

"No, that I would not, for what he had said about me, and what he
would do, if he got me into his power. I'll tame you," cried I. "I'm
master now, as you shall find."

"You may be," replied he, quickly, "but still, that is no reason why
you should not let me have some water. Did I ever prevent you from
having water?"

"You never had to fetch it for me," I rejoined, "or you would not
have taken the trouble. What trouble would you take for me, if I were
blind now, and not you? I should become of no use to you, and you
would leave me to die. You only let me live that you might make me
work for you, and beat me cruelly. It's my turn now--you're the boy,
and I'm the master."

The reader must remember that I did not know the meaning of the word
"boy"; my idea of it was, that it was in opposition to "master," and
boy, with me, had the same idea as the word "slave."

"Be it so," replied he, calmly. "I shall not want water long."

There was a quietness about Jackson which made me suspect him, and
the consequence was, that although I turned into my bed-place, which
was on the ground at the side of the cabin opposite to his, I did not
feel inclined to go to sleep, but remained awake, thinking of what
had passed. It was towards morning when I heard him move; my face
being turned that way, I had no occasion to stir to watch his
motions. He crept very softly out of his bed-place towards me,
listening, and advancing on his knees, not more than a foot every ten
seconds. "You want me in your grasp," thought I, "come along," and I
drew my American knife from its sheath, without noise, and awaited
his approach, smiling at the surprise he would meet with. I allowed
him to come right up to me; he felt the side of my bed, and then
passed his right hand over to seize me. I caught his right hand with
my left, and passing the knife across his wrist, more than half
divided it from his arm. He gave a shriek of surprise and pain, and
fell back.

"He has a knife," exclaimed he, with surprise, holding his severed
wrist with the other hand.

"Yes, he has a knife, and more than one," replied I, "and you see
that he knows how to use it. Will you come again? or will you believe
that I'm master?"

"If you have any charity or mercy, kill me at once," said he, as he
sat up in the moonlight, in the centre of the floor of the cabin.

"Charity and mercy," said I, "what are they? I never heard of them."

"Alas! no," replied he, "I have shewed none--it's a judgment on me--
a judgment on me for my many sins; Lord, forgive me! First my eyes,
now my right hand useless. What next, O Lord of Heaven?"

"Why, your other hand next," replied I, "if you try it again."

Jackson made no reply. He attempted to crawl back to his bed, but,
faint with loss of blood, he dropped senseless on the floor of the
cabin. I looked at him, and satisfied that he would make no more
attempts upon me, I turned away, and fell fast asleep. In about two
hours, I awoke, and looking round, perceived him lying on the floor,
where he had fallen the night before. I went to him and examined him--
was he asleep, or was he dead? He lay in a pool of blood. I felt him,
and he was quite warm. It was a ghastly cut on his wrist, and I
thought, if he is dead, he will never tell me what I want to know. I
knew that he bound up cuts to stop the blood. I took some feathers
from the bed, and put a handful on the wound. After I had done it, I
bound his wrist up with a piece of fishing-line I had taken to secure
the sheath knife round my waist, and then I went for some water. I
poured some down his throat; this revived him, and he opened his eyes.

"Where am I?" said he faintly.

"Where are you?--why, in the cabin," said I.

"Give me some more water."

I did so, for I did not wish to kill him. I wanted him to live, and
to be in my power. After drinking the water he roused himself, and
crawled back to his bed-place. I left him then, and went down to bathe.

The reader may exclaim--What a horrid tyrant this boy is--why, he is
as bad as his companion. Exactly--I was so--but let the reader
reflect that I was made so by education. From the time that I could
first remember, I had been tyrannised over; cuffed, kicked, abused
and ill-treated. I had never known kindness. Most truly was the
question put by me, "Charity and mercy--what are they?" I never heard
of them. An American Indian has kind feelings--he is hospitable and
generous--yet, educated to inflict, and receive, the severest
tortures to and from, his enemies, he does the first with the most
savage and vindictive feelings, and submits to the latter with
indifference and stoicism. He has, indeed, the kindlier feelings of
his nature exercised; still, this changes him not. He has been from
earliest infancy brought up to cruelty, and he cannot feel that it is
wrong. Now, my position was worse. I had never seen the softer
feelings of our nature called into play; I knew nothing but tyranny
and oppression, hatred and vengeance. It was therefore not surprising
that, when my turn came, I did to others as I had been done by.
Jackson had no excuse for his treatment of me, whereas, I had every
excuse for retaliation. He did know better, I did not. I followed the
ways of the world in the petty microcosm in which I had been placed.
I knew not of mercy, of forgiveness, charity, or goodwill. I knew not
that there was a God; I only knew that might was right, and the most
pleasurable sensation which I felt, was that of anxiety for
vengeance, combined with the consciousness of power.

After I had bathed, I again examined the chest and its contents. I
looked at the books without touching them. "I must know what these
mean," thought I, "and I will know." My thirst for knowledge was
certainly most remarkable, in a boy of my age; I presume for the
simple reason, that we want most what we cannot obtain; and Jackson
having invariably refused to enlighten me on any subject, I became
most anxious and impatient to satisfy the longing which increased
with my growth.




Chapter V


For three days did Jackson lie on his bed; I supplied him with
water, but he did not eat anything. He groaned heavily at times, and
talked much to himself, and I heard him ask forgiveness of God, and
pardon for his sins. I noted this down for an explanation. On the
third day, he said to me,

"Henniker, I am very ill. I have a fever coming on, from the wound
you have given me. I do not say that I did not deserve it, for I did,
and I know that I have treated you ill, and that you must hate me,
but the question is, do you wish me to die?"

"No," replied I; "I want you to live, and answer all my questions,
and you shall do so."

"I will do so," replied he. "I have done wrong, and I will make
amends. Do you understand me? I mean to say, that I have been very
cruel to you, and now I will do all you wish, and answer every
question you may put to me, as well as I can."

"That is what I want," replied I.

"I know it is, but my wound is festering and must be washed and
dressed. The feathers make it worse. Will you do this for me?"

I thought a little, and recollected that he was still in my power,
as he could not obtain water. I replied, "Yes, I will."

"The cord hurts it, you must take it off."

I fetched the kid of water, and untied the cord, and took away the
feathers, which had matted together with the flow of blood, and then
I washed the wound carefully. Looking into the wound, my desire of
information induced me to say, "What are these little white cords,
which are cut through?"

"They are the sinews and tendons," replied he, "by which we are
enabled to move our hands and fingers; now these are cut through, I
shall not have the use of my hand again."

"Stop a moment," said I, rising up, "I have just thought of
something." I ran down to the point where the chest lay, took a shirt
from the rock, and brought it back with me, and tearing it into
strips, I bandaged the wound.

"Where did you get that linen?" said Jackson.

I told him.

"And you got the knife there, too," said he, with a sigh. I replied
in the affirmative.

As soon as I had finished, he told me he was much easier, and said,

"I thank you."

"What is I thank you?" replied I.

"It means that I am grateful for what you have done."

"And what is grateful?" inquired I again. "You never said those
words to me before."

"Alas, no," replied he; "it had been better if I had. I mean that I
feel kindly towards you, for having bound up my wound, and would do
anything for you if I had the power. It means, that if I had my
eyesight, as I had a week ago, and was master, as I then was, that I
would not kick nor beat you, but be kind to you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," replied I, "I think I do; and if you tell me all I want to
know I shall believe you."

"That I will as soon as I am well enough; but now I am too ill--you
must wait a day or two, till the fever has left me."

Satisfied with Jackson's promise, I tended him carefully, and washed
and dressed his wound for the two following days. He said that he
felt himself much better, and his language to me was so kind and
conciliatory, that I hardly knew what to make of it; but this is
certain, that it had a good effect upon me, and gradually the hatred
and ill-will that I bore to him wore off, and I found myself handling
him tenderly, and anxious not to give him more pain than was
necessary, yet without being aware that I was prompted by better
feelings. It was on the third morning that he said,--

"I can talk to you now; what do you want to know?"

"I want to know the whole story of how we came to this island, who
my father and mother were, and why you said that you hated me and my
name?"

"That," said Jackson, after a silence of a few minutes, "will take
some time. I could soon tell it you if it were not for the last
question,--why I hated your name? But the history of your father is
so mixed up with mine, that I cannot well tell one without the other.
I may as well begin with my own history, and that will be telling you
both."

"Then tell it me," replied I, "and do not tell me what is not true."

"No; I will tell you exactly what it was," replied Jackson; "you may
as well know it as not.--Your father and I were both born in England,
which you know is your country by birth, and you also know that the
language we talk is English."

"I did not know it. Tell me something about England before you say
any more."

I will not trouble the reader with Jackson's description of England,
or the many questions which I put to him. It was night-fall before he
had finished answering, and before I was satisfied with the
information imparted. I believe that he was very glad to hold his
tongue, for he complained of being tired, and I dressed his wound and
wetted the bandage with cold water for him before he went to sleep.

I can hardly describe to the reader the effect which this
uninterrupted flow of language had upon me; I was excited in a very
strange way, and for many nights after could not sleep for hours. I
may say here, I did not understand a great proportion of the meaning
of the words used by Jackson; but I gathered it from the context, as
I could not always be interrupting him.

It is astonishing how fast ideas breed ideas, and how a word, the
meaning of which I did not understand when it was first used, became
by repetition clear and intelligible; not that I always put the right
construction on it, but if I did not find it answer when used at
another time to my former interpretation of it, I would then ask and
obtain an explanation. This did not however occur very often. As for
this first night, I was positively almost drunk with words, and
remained nearly the whole of it arranging and fixing the new ideas
that I had acquired. My feelings towards Jackson also were changed--
that is, I no longer felt hatred or ill-will against him. These were
swallowed up in the pleasure which he had afforded me, and I looked
upon him as a treasure beyond all price,--not but that many old
feelings towards him returned at intervals, for they were not so
easily disposed of, but still I would not for the world have lost him
until I had obtained from him all possible knowledge; and if his
wound did not look well when I removed the bandage, I was much more
distressed than he was. Indeed, there was every prospect of our
ultimately being friends, from our mutual dependence on each other.
It was useless on his part, in his present destitute condition, to
nourish feelings of animosity against one on whose good offices he
was now so wholly dependant, or on my part, against one who was
creating for me, I may say, new worlds for imagination and thought to
dwell on. On the following morning, Jackson narrated in substance (as
near as I can recollect) as follows:--

"I was not intended for a sailor. I was taught at a good school, and
when I was ten years old, I was put into a house of business as a
clerk, where I remained at the desk all day long, copying into
ledgers and day-books, in fact, writing what was required of me. This
house was connected with the South American trade."

"Where is South America?" said I.

"You had better let me tell my story," replied Jackson, "and after I
have done, you can ask any questions you like, but if you stop me, it
will take a week to finish it; yesterday we lost the whole day."

"That's very true," replied I, "then I will do so."

"There were two other clerks in the counting-house--the head clerk,
whose name was Manvers, and your father, who was in the counting-house
but a few months before me. Our master, whose name was Evelyn, was
very particular with both your father and myself, scanning our
work daily, and finding fault when we deserved it. This occasioned a
rivalry between us, which made us both very active, and I received
praise quite as often as he did. On Sunday, Mr Evelyn used to ask
your father and me to spend the day. We went to church in the
forenoon and dined with him. He had a daughter a little younger than
we were. She was your mother. Both of us, as we grew up, were very
attentive to her, and anxious to be in her good graces. I cannot say
which was preferred at first, but I rather think that if anything I
was the favourite, during the first two years of our being acquainted
with her. I was more lively and a better companion than your father,
who was inclined to be grave and thoughtful. We had been about four
years in the counting-house, when my mother died--my father had been
dead some time before I went into it--and at her death I found my
share of her property to amount to about L2500. But I was not yet
twenty-one years of age. I could not receive it for another year. Mr
Evelyn, who had till then every reason to be satisfied with my
conduct, used to joke with me, and say that as soon as I was of age,
he would allow me, if I chose it, to put the money in the business,
and thus obtain a small share in it--and such was my intention, and I
looked forward to bright prospects and the hope of one day being
married to your mother, and I have no doubt but such would have been
the case, had I still conducted myself properly. But, before I was of
age, I made some very bad acquaintances, and soon ran into expenses
which I could not afford--and the worst was, that I contracted a
habit of sitting up late at night, and drinking to excess, which I
never have since got over, which proved my ruin then, and has proved
my ruin through life. This little fortune of mine not only gave me
consequence, but was the cause of my thinking very highly of myself.
I now was more particular in my attentions to Miss Evelyn, and was
graciously received by her father; neither had I any reason to
complain of my treatment from the young lady. As for your father, he
was quite thrown into the back-ground. He had no property nor hope of
any, except what he might hereafter secure by his diligence and good
conduct; and the attention I received from Mr Evelyn, and also the
head clerk, who had an idea that I was to be a partner and
consequently would become his superior, made him very melancholy and
unhappy--for I believe that then he was quite as much in love with
Miss Evelyn as I was myself; and I must tell you, that my love for
her was unbounded, and she well deserved it. But all these happy
prospects were overthrown by my own folly. As soon as it was known
that I had property left to me, I was surrounded by many others who
requested to be introduced to me, and my evenings were passed in what
I considered very good company, but which proved the very reverse. By
degrees I took to gambling, and after a time, lost more money than I
could afford to pay. This caused me to have recourse to a Jew, who
advanced me loans at a large interest to be repaid at my coming of
age. Trying to win back my money, I at last found myself indebted to
the Jew for the sum of nearly L1000. The more that I became involved,
the more reckless I became. Mr Evelyn perceived that I kept late
hours, and looked haggard, as I well might; indeed, my position had
now become very awkward. Mr Evelyn knew well the sum that had been
left me, and how was I to account to him for the deficiency, if he
proposed that I should put it into the business? I should be ruined
in his opinion, and he never, I was convinced, would entrust the
happiness of his daughter to a young man who had been guilty of such
irregularities. At the same time, my love for her nearly amounted to
adoration. Never was there a more miserable being than I was for the
last six months previous to my coming of age, and to drown my misery
I plunged into every excess, and seldom, if ever, went to bed but in
a state of intoxication. Scheme after scheme did I propose to enable
me to conceal my fault, but I could hit upon nothing. The time
approached; I was within a few days of coming of age, when Mr Evelyn
sent for me and then spoke to me seriously, saying, that out of
regard to the memory of my father, with whom he had been very
intimate, he was willing to allow me to embark my little capital in
the business, and that he hoped that by my good conduct and
application I might soon become a useful partner. I stammered some
reply which surprised him; and he asked me to be more explicit. I
stated that I considered my capital too small to be of much use in
such a business as his, and that I preferred trying some quick method
of doubling it; that as soon as I had so done I would accept his
offer with gratitude. 'As you please,' replied he coolly; 'but take
care, that in risking all, you do not lose all. Of course, you are
your own master,' and so saying, he left me, apparently much
displeased and mortified. But circumstances occurred, which exposed
the whole affair. When in company with my evening companions, I
stated my intentions of trying my fortune in the East Indies, not
seriously, but talking at random. This came to the ears of the Jew of
whom I had borrowed the money; he thought that I intended to leave
the kingdom without taking up my bonds, and immediately repaired to
Mr Evelyn's counting-house, to communicate with the head clerk, and
ascertain if the report was correct, stating also the sums I was
indebted to him. The head clerk informed Mr Evelyn, and on the day
upon which I became twenty-one years of age, he sent for me into his
private room, and, after some remonstrances, to which I replied very
haughtily, it ended in my being dismissed. The fact was, that Mr
Evelyn had, since his last interview with me, made inquiries, and
finding out I had been living a very riotous life, he had determined
upon my leaving his service. As soon as my first burst of indignation
was over, I felt what I had lost; my attachment to Miss Evelyn was
stronger than ever, and I bitterly deplored my folly, but after a
time, as usual, I had recourse to the bottle, and to drowning my
cares in intemperance. I tried very hard to obtain an interview with
Miss Evelyn previous to my quitting the house, but this Mr Evelyn
would not permit, and a few days after, sent his daughter away, to
reside, for a time with a relation in the country. I embarked my
capital in the wine trade, and, could I have restrained myself from
drinking, should have been successful, and in a short time might have
doubled my property, as I stated to Mr Evelyn; but now, I had become
an irreclaimable drunkard, and when that is the case, all hope is
over. My affairs soon became deranged, and, at the request of my
partner, they were wound up, and I found myself with my capital of
L1500 reduced to L1000. With this, I resolved to try my fortune in
shipping; I procured a share in a brig, and sailed in her myself.
After a time, I was sufficiently expert to take the command of her,
and might have succeeded, had not my habit of drinking been so
confirmed. When at Ceylon, I fell sick, and was left behind. The brig
was lost, and as I had forgotten to insure my portion of her, I was
ruined. I struggled long, but in vain--intemperance was my curse, my
bane, the millstone at my neck, which dragged me down: I had
education, talents, and energy, and at one time, capital, but all
were useless; and thus did I sink down, from captain of a vessel to
mate, from mate to second mate, until I at last found myself a
drunken sailor before the mast. Such is my general history; to-morrow,
I will let you know how, and in what way, your father and I met again,
and what occurred, up to this present time."

But I was too much bewildered and confused with what he had told me,
to allow him to proceed, as he proposed.

"No, no," replied I. "I now recollect all you have said, although I
do not understand. You must first answer my questions, as to the
meaning of words I never heard of before. I cannot understand what
money is, what gaming is, and a great many more things you have
talked about, but I recollect, and can repeat every word that you
have said. To-morrow, I will recall it all over, and you shall tell
me what I cannot make out; after that, you can go on again."

"Very well," replied he, "I don't care how long it takes me to
answer your questions, for I am not very anxious to tell all about
your father and myself."




Chapter VI


I can hardly describe to the reader the effect which these
conversations with Jackson had upon me at first. If a prisoner were
removed from a dark cell, and all at once introduced into a garden
full of fruit and flowers, which he never before had an idea were in
existence, he could not have been more filled with wonder, surprise,
and pleasure. All was novelty and excitement, but, at the same time,
to a great degree, above my comprehension. I had neither language nor
ideas to meet it, and yet, I did, to a certain degree, comprehend. I
saw not clearly, but sometimes as through a mist, at others through a
dark fog, and I could discern little. Every day, however, my
increased knowledge of language and terms gave me an increased
knowledge of ideas. I gained more by context than I did by any other
means, and as I was by degrees enlightened, so my thirst for
information and knowledge became every day more insatiable.

That much that I considered I understood was erroneous, is certain,
for mine was a knowledge, as yet, of theory only. I could imagine to
myself, as far as the explanation I received, what such an object
might be, and, having made up my ideas on the matter, I was content;
further knowledge, would however incline me to think, and
occasionally to decide, that the idea I had formed was incorrect, and
I would alter it. Thus did I flounder about in a sea of uncertainty,
but still of exciting interest.

If any one who has been educated, and has used his eyes in a
civilised country, reads an account of people and things hitherto
unknown to him, he can, from the description and from his own general
knowledge, form a very correct idea of what the country contains. But
then he has used his eyes--he has seen those objects, between which
the parallel or the difference has been pointed out. Now I had not
that advantage. I had seen nothing but the sea, rocks, and sea-birds,
and had but one companion. Here was my great difficulty, which, I may
say, was never surmounted, until I had visited and mixed with
civilisation and men. The difficulty, however, only increased my
ardour. I was naturally of an ingenious mind, I had a remarkable
memory, and every increase of knowledge was to me a source of
delight. In fact, I had now something to live for, before I had not;
and I verily believe, that if Jackson had been by any chance removed
from me at this particular time, I should soon have become a lunatic,
from the sudden drying up of the well which supplied my inordinate
thirst for knowledge.

Some days passed before I asked Jackson to continue his narrative,
during which we lived in great harmony. Whether it was that he was
deceiving me, and commanding his temper till he had an opportunity of
revenge, or whether it was that his forlorn and helpless condition
had softened him down, I could not say, but he appeared gradually to
be forming an attachment to me; I was however on my guard at all
times. His wounded wrist had now healed up, but his hand was quite
useless, as all the tendons had been severed. I had therefore less to
fear from him than before. At my request that he would continue his
history, Jackson related as follows:--

"After sailing in vessel after vessel, and generally dismissed after
the voyage for my failing of intemperance, I embarked on board a ship
bound to Chili, and after having been on the coast for nearly a year,
we were about to proceed home with a cargo, when we anchored at
Valdivia, previous to our homeward voyage, as we had some few
articles to ship at that port. We were again ready for sea, when we
heard from the captain, that he had agreed to take two passengers, a
gentleman and his wife, who wished to proceed to England. The cabin
was cleared out, and every preparation made to receive them on board,
and in the evening the boat was sent on shore for the luggage. I went
in the boat, as I thought it likely that the gentleman would give the
boat's crew something to drink; nor was I wrong--he gave us four
dollars, which we spent immediately in one of the ventas, and were
all more or less intoxicated. It had been arranged that the luggage
should first be carried on board, and after that, we were to return
for the passengers, as we were to sail early in the morning. We
pulled off with the luggage, but on our arrival on board, I was so
drunk, that the captain would not allow me to return in the boat, and
I knew nothing of what had passed until I was roused up the next
morning to assist in getting the ship under weigh. We had been under
weigh two or three hours, and were clearing the land fast, when the
gentleman passenger came on neck; I was then coiling down a rope on
the quarter-deck, and as he passed by me, I looked at him, and I
recognised him immediately as your father. Years had passed--from a
stripling he had grown a man, but his face was not to be mistaken.
There he was, apparently a gentlemen of property and consideration;
and I, what was I? a drunken sailor. All I hoped was, that he would
not recognise me. Shortly afterwards he went down again, and returned
escorting his wife on deck. Again I took a furtive curious glance,
and perceived at once that she was that Miss Evelyn whom I had once
so loved, and by my folly had lost. This was madness. As they stood
on the deck enjoying the cool sea breeze, for the weather was
delightfully fine, the captain came up and joined them. I was so
confused at my discovery, that I knew not what I was about, and I
presume was doing something very awkwardly; for the captain said to
me--'Jackson, what are you about, you drunken hound? I suppose you
are not sober yet.' At the mention of my name, your father and mother
looked at me, and as I lifted up my head to reply to the captain,
they eyed me earnestly, and then spoke to each other in a low tone;
after which they interrogated the captain. I could not hear what they
said, but I was certain they were talking about me, and that they had
suspected, if they had not recognised me. I was ready to sink to the
deck, and, at the same time, I felt a hatred of your father enter my
heart, of which, during his life, I never could divest myself. It was
as I supposed; your father had recognised me, and the following
morning he came up to me as I was leaning over the gunwale
amidships, and addressed me,--'Jackson,' said he, 'I am sorry to
find you in this situation. You must have been very unfortunate to
have become so reduced. If you will confide your history to me,
perhaps I may, when we arrive in England, be able to assist you, and
it really will give me great pleasure.' I cannot say that I replied
very cordially. 'Mr Henniker,' said I, 'you have been fortunate by
all appearances, and can therefore afford compassion to those who
have not been so; but, sir, in our positions, I feel as if pity was
in reality a sort of triumph, and an offer of assistance an insult. I
am content with my present position, and will at all events not
change it by your interference. I earn my bread honestly. You can do
no more. Times may change yet. It's a long road that has no turning
to it. I wish you a good morning.' So saying, I turned from him, and
walked away forward, with my heart full of bitterness and anger. From
that hour he never spoke to me or noticed me again, but the captain
was more severe upon me, and I ascribed his severity most unjustly to
your father. We were about to go round Cape Horn, when the gale from
the S.E. came on, which ended in the loss of the vessel. For several
days we strove up against it, but at last the vessel, which was old,
leaked so much from straining, that we were obliged to bear up and
run before it, which we did for several days, the wind and sea
continuing without intermission. At last we found ourselves among
these islands, and were compelled occasionally to haul to the wind to
clear them. This made her leak more and more, until at last she
became water logged, and we were forced to abandon her in haste
during the night, having no time to take anything with us; we left
three men on board, who were down below. By the mercy of Heaven we
ran the boat into the opening below, which was the only spot where we
could have landed. I think I had better stop now, as I have a good
deal to tell you yet."

"Do then," replied I; "and now I think of it, I will bring up the
chest and all the things which were in it, and you shall tell me what
they are."

I went down and returned with the clothes and linen. There were
eight pair of trousers, nine shirts, besides the one I had torn up to
bandage his wounds with, two pair of blue trousers, and two jackets,
four white duck frocks, some shoes, and stockings. Jackson felt them
one by one with his hands, and told me what they were, and how worn.

"Why don't you wear some of them?" inquired I.

"If you will give me leave, I will," replied he. "Let me have a duck
frock and a pair of trousers."

I handed the articles to him, and then went back for the rest which
I had left on the rocks.

When I returned, with my arms full, I found that he had put them on,
and his other clothes were beside him. "I feel more like a Christian
now," said he.

"A Christian," said I, "what is that?"

"I will tell you by-and-bye. It is what I have not been for a long,
long while," replied he. "Now, what have you brought this time?"

"Here," said I, "what is this?"

"This is a roll of duck, to make into frocks and trousers," replied
he. "That is bees'-wax." He then explained to me all the tools,
sailing-needles, fish-hooks, and fishing-lines, some sheets of
writing-paper, and two pens, I had brought up with me. "All these are
very valuable," said he, after a pause, "and would have added much to
our comfort, if I had not been blind."

"There are more things yet," said I; "I will go and fetch them."

This time I replaced the remaining articles, and brought up the
chest. It was a heavy load to carry up the rocks, and I was out of
breath when I arrived and set it down on the cabin-floor.

"Now, I have the whole of them," said I. "Now, what is this?"

"That is a spy-glass--but, alas! I am blind--but I will show you how
to use it, at all events."

"Here are two books," said I.

"Give them to me," said he, "and let me feel them. This one is a
Bible, I am quite sure by its shape, and the other is, I think, a
Prayer-book."

"What is a Bible, and what is a Prayer-book?" replied I.

"The Bible is the Word of God, and the Prayer-book teaches us how to
pray to him."

"But who is God? I have often heard you say, 'O God!' and 'God damn'
--but who is he?"

"I will tell you to-night before we go to sleep," replied Jackson,
gravely.

"Very well, I shall remind you. I have found a little box inside the
chest, and it is full of all manner of little things--strings and
sinews."

"Let me feel them?"

I put a bundle into his hand.

"These are needles and thread for making and mending clothes--they
will be useful bye-and-bye."

At last the whole contents of the chest were overhauled and
explained: I could not well comprehend the glass bottles, or how they
were made, but I put them with the pannikins, and everything else,
very carefully into the chest again, and hauled the chest to the
farther end of the cabin, out of the way. Before we went to bed that
night, Jackson had to explain to me who God was, but as it was only
the commencement of several conversations on the subject, I shall not
at present trouble the reader with what passed between us. Jackson
appeared to be very melancholy after the conversation we had had on
religious matters, and was frequently agitated and muttering to
himself.




Chapter VII


I did not on the following day ask him to resume his narrative
relative to my father and mother, as I perceived that he avoided it,
and I already had so far changed as to have consideration for his
feelings. Another point had now taken possession of my mind, which
was, whether it were possible to learn to read those books which I
had found in the chest, and this was the first question that I put to
Jackson when we arose on that morning.

"How is it possible?" replied he. "Am I not blind--how can I teach
you?"

"Is there no way?" replied I, mournfully.

"Let me think.--Yes, perhaps there is a way--at all events we will
try. You know which book I told you was the Prayer-book?"

"Oh yes! the small, thin one."

"Yes--fetch it here. Now," said he, when I put it into his hand,
"tell me; is there a straight line down the middle of the page of the
book, so that the words and letters are on both sides of it?"

"Yes, there is," replied I; "in every page, as you call it, there is
a black line down the middle, and words and letters (I suppose they
are) on both sides."

"And among the letters, there are some larger than others,
especially at the side nearest to the margin."

"I don't know what margin is."

"I mean here," replied he, pointing to the margin of the page.

"Yes, there are."

"Well then, I will open the book as near as I can guess at the
Morning service, and you tell me if you can find any part of the
writing which appears to begin with a large round letter, like--what
shall I say?--the bottom of a pannikin."

"There is one on this leaf, quite round."

"Very well--now get me a small piece of stick, and make a point to
it."

I did so, and Jackson swept away a small place on the floor of the
cabin.

"Now," said he, "there are many other prayers which begin with a
round O, as the letter is called; so I must first ascertain if this
one is the one I require. If it is, I know it by heart, and by that
shall be able to teach you all the letters of the alphabet."

"What's an alphabet?"

"The alphabet is the number of letters invented to enable us to read
and write. There are twenty-six of them. Now look, Frank; is the next
letter to O the shape of this?" and he drew with the pointed stick
the letter U on the ground.

"Yes, it is," replied I.

"And the next is like this," continued he, drawing the letter R,
after he had smoothed the ground and effaced the U.

"Yes," replied I.

"Well then, to make sure, I had better go on. OUR is one word, and
then there is a little space between; and next you come to an F."

"Yes," replied I, looking at what he had drawn and comparing it with
the letter in the book.

"Then I believe that we are all right, but to make sure, we will go
on for a little longer."

Jackson then completed the word "Father," and "which art," that
followed it, and then he was satisfied.

"Now," said he, "out of that prayer I can teach you all the letters,
and if you pay attention, you will learn to read."

The whole morning was passed in my telling him the different
letters, and I very soon knew them all. During the day, the Lord's
Prayer was gone through, and as I learnt the words as well as the
letters, I could repeat it before night; I read it over to him twenty
or thirty times, spelling every word, letter by letter, until I was
perfect. This was my first lesson.

"Why is it called the Lord's Prayer?" said I.

"Because, when our Lord Jesus Christ was asked by His followers in
what way they ought to address God, He gave them this prayer to
repeat, as being the most proper that they could use."

"But who was Jesus Christ?"

"He was the Son of God, as I told you yesterday, and at the same
time equal with God."

"How could he be equal with God, if, as you said yesterday, God sent
him down to be killed?"

"It was with his own consent that he suffered death; but all this is
a mystery which you cannot understand at present."

"What's a mystery?"

"That which you cannot understand."

"Do you understand it yourself?"

"No, I do not; I only know that such is the fact, but it is above
not only mine, but all men's comprehension. But I tell you honestly
that, on these points, I am but a bad teacher; I have paid little
attention to them during my life, and as far as religion is
concerned, I can only give you the outlines, for I know no more."

"But I thought you said, that people were to be punished or rewarded
when they died, according as they had lived a bad or good life; and
that to live a good life, people must be religious, and obey God's
commands."

"I did tell you so, and I told you the truth; but I did not tell you
that I had led a bad life, as I have done, and that I have neglected
to pay obedience to God's word and command."

"Then you will be punished when you die, will you not?"

"Alas! I fear so, child," replied Jackson, putting his hands up to
his forehead and hiding his face. "But there is still time,"
continued he, after a pause, and "O God of mercy!" exclaimed he, "how
shall I escape?"

I was about to continue the conversation, but Jackson requested that
I would leave him alone for a time. I went out and sat on a rock,
watching the stars.

"And those, he says, were all made by God,"--"and God made
everything," thought I, "and God lives up beyond those stars." I
thought for a long while, and was much perplexed. I had never heard
anything of God till the night before, and what Jackson had told me
was just enough to make me more anxious and curious; but he evidently
did not like to talk on the subject. I tried after a time, if I could
repeat the Lord's Prayer, and I found that I could, so I knelt down
on the rock, and looking up to a bright star, as if I would imagine
it was God, I repeated the Lord's Prayer to it, and then I rose up
and went to bed.

This was the first time that I had ever prayed.

I had learnt so much from Jackson, latterly, that I could hardly
retain what I had learnt; at all events, I had a very confused
recollection in my brain, and my thoughts turned from one subject to
another, till there was, for a time, a perfect chaos; by degrees
things unravelled themselves, and my ideas became more clear; but
still I laboured under that half-comprehension of things, which, in
my position, was unavoidable.

But now my mind was occupied with one leading object and wish, which
was to learn to read. I thought no more of Jackson's history and the
account he might give me of my father and mother, and was as willing
as he was that it should be deferred for a time. What I required now
was to be able to read the books, and to this object my whole mind
and attention were given. Three or four hours in the earlier portion
of the day, and the same time in the latter, were dedicated to this
pursuit, and my attention never tired or flagged. In the course of, I
think, about six weeks, I could read, without hesitation, almost any
portion of the Bible or Prayer-Book. I required no more teaching from
Jackson, who now became an attentive hearer, as I read to him every
morning and evening a portion of the Gospel or Liturgy. But I cannot
say that I understood many portions which I read, and the questions
which I put to Jackson puzzled him not a little, and very often he
acknowledged that he could not answer them. As I afterwards
discovered this arose from his own imperfect knowledge of the nature
of the Christian religion, which, according to his statement to me,
might be considered to have been comprised in the following sentence:
"If you do good on earth, you will go to heaven and be happy; if you
do ill, you will go to hell and be tormented. Christ came down from
heaven to teach us what to do, and how to follow his example; and all
that we read in the Bible we must believe." This may be considered as
the creed imparted to me at that time. I believe that Jackson, like
many others, knew no better, and candidly told me what he himself had
been taught to believe.

But the season for the return of the birds arrived, and our stock of
provender was getting low. I was therefore soon obliged to leave my
books, and work hard for Jackson and myself. As soon as the young
birds were old enough, I set to my task. And now I found how valuable
were the knives which I had obtained from the seaman's chest; indeed,
in many points I could work much faster. By tying the neck and
sleeves of a duck frock, I made a bag, which enabled me to carry the
birds more conveniently, and in greater quantities at a time, and
with the knives I could skin and prepare a bird in one quarter of the
time. With my fishing-lines also, I could hang up more to dry at one
time, so that, though without assistance, I had more birds cured in
the same time than when Jackson and I were both employed in the
labour. The whole affair, however, occupied me from morning to
evening for more than three weeks, by which time the major portion of
my provender was piled up at the back of the cabin. I did not,
however, lose what I had gained in reading, as Jackson would not let
me go away in the morning, or retire to my bed in the evening,
without my reading to him a portion of the Bible. Indeed, he appeared
to be uncomfortable if I did not do so.

At last, the work was ended, and then I felt a strong desire return
to hear that portion of Jackson's history connected with my father
and mother, and I told him so. He did not appear to be pleased with
my communication, or at all willing to proceed, but as I pressed him
hard and showed some symptoms of resolution and rebellion, he
reluctantly resumed his narrative.




Chapter VIII


"I wish you to understand," said he, "that my unwillingness to go on
with my history, proceeds from my being obliged to make known to you
the hatred that subsisted between your father and me; but if you will
recollect, that we both had, in our early days, been striving to gain
the same object--I mean your mother--and also that he had taken, as
it were, what I considered to have been my place, in other points--
that he had been successful in life, and I had been unfortunate, you
must not then be surprised at my hating him as I did."

"I understand nothing about your feelings," replied I; "and why he
injured you by marrying my mother, I cannot see."

"Why I loved her."

"Well, suppose you did, I don't know what love is, and therefore
cannot understand it, so tell me the story."

"Well then, when I left off, I told you that we had ventured to land
upon this island by running the boat into the bathing-pond, but in so
doing, the boat was beaten to pieces, and was of no use afterwards.
We landed, eight persons in all--that is, the captain, your father,
the carpenter, mate, and three seamen, besides your mother. We had
literally nothing in the boat except three axes, two kids, and the
two pannikins, which we have indeed now, but as for provisions or
even water we had none of either. Our first object, therefore, was to
search the island to obtain water, and this we soon found at the rill
which now runs down by the side of the cabin. It was very fortunate
for us that we arrived exactly at the time that the birds had come on
the island, and had just laid their eggs; if not, we must have
perished with hunger, for we had not a fish-hook with us or even a
fathom of line.

"We collected a quantity of eggs, and made a good meal, although we
devoured them raw. While we were running about, or rather climbing
about, over the rocks, to find out what chance of subsistence we
might have on the island, the captain and your father remained with
your mother, who sat down in a sheltered spot near to the bathing-pool.
On our return in the evening, the captain called us all together
that he might speak to us, and he said that if we would do well we
must all act in concert; that it also would be necessary that one
should have the command and control of the others; that without
such was the case, nothing would go on well;--and he asked us if we
did not consider that what he said was true. We all agreed, although
I, for one, felt little inclination to do so, but as all the rest
said so, I raised no objections. The captain then told us that as we
were all of one opinion, the next point, was to decide as to who
should have the command--he said, that if it had been on ship-board,
he of course would have taken it himself, but now we were on shore he
thought that Mr Henniker was a much more competent person than he
was, and he therefore proposed that the command should be given to
him, and he, for one, would willingly be under his orders. To this
proposal, the carpenter and mate immediately agreed, and at last two
of the seamen. I was left alone, but I resisted, saying, that I was
not going to be ordered about by a landsman, and that if I were to
obey orders, it must be from a thorough-bred seaman. The other two
sailors were of my way of thinking, I was sure, although they had
given their consent, and I hoped that they would join me, which they
appeared very much inclined to do. Your father spoke very coolly,
modestly, and prudently. He pointed out that he had no wish to take
the command, and that he would cheerfully serve under the captain of
the vessel, if it would be more satisfactory to all parties that such
should be the case. But the captain and the others were positive,
saying that they would not have their choice disputed by such a
drunken vagabond as I was, and that if I did not like to remain with
them, I might go to any part of the island that I chose. This
conference ended by my getting in a passion, and saying that I would
not be under your father's orders; and I was seizing one of the axes
to go off with it, when the captain caught my arm and wrested it from
me, stating that the axe was his property, and then telling me that I
was welcome to go where I pleased.

"I left them, therefore, and went away by myself to where the birds
were hatching, as I wished to secure a supply of eggs. When the night
closed in, I lay down upon the guano, and felt no cold, for the gale
was now over, and the weather was very mild.

"The next morning, when I awoke, I found that the sun had been up
some time. I looked for the rest of my companions whom I had quitted,
and perceived that they were all busily at work. The sea was quite
calm; and, when the vessel went down after we left, many articles had
floated, and had been washed to the island. Some of the men were busy
collecting spars and planks, which were near the rocks, and pushing
them along with the boat-hooks to the direction of the bathing pond,
where they hauled them over the ridge, and secured them. Your father
and mother, with the carpenter, were on this ledge where we now are,
having selected it as a proper place for building a shelter, and were
apparently very busy. The captain and one of the seamen were carrying
up what spars and timber could be collected to where your father was
standing with the carpenter. All appeared to be active, and working
into each others hands; and I confess that, as I looked on, I envied
them, and wished that I had been along with them; but I could not
bear the idea of obeying any orders given by your father; and this
alone prevented my joining them, and making my excuses for what I had
done and said the previous night. I therefore swallowed some more
birds' eggs raw, and sat down in the sun, looking at them as they
worked.

"I soon perceived that the carpenter had commenced operations. The
frame of this cabin was, with the assistance of your father, before
it was noon, quite complete and put up; and then they all went down
to the bathing place, where the boat was lying with her bottom beaten
out. They commenced taking her to pieces and saving all the nails;
the other men carried up the portions of the boat as they were ripped
off, to where the frame of the cabin had been raised. I saw your
mother go up with a load in her hand, which I believed to be the
nails taken from the boat. In a couple of hours the boat was in
pieces and carried up, and then your father and most of the men went
up to assist the carpenter. I hardly need tell what they did, as you
have the cabin before you. The roof, you see, is mostly built out of
the timbers of the boat; and the lower part out of heavier wood; and
a very good job they made of it. Before the morning closed in, one of
the sides of the cabin was finished; and I saw them light a fire with
the chips that had been cut off with the axes, and they then dressed
the eggs and birds which they had collected the first day.

"There was one thing which I had quite forgotten when I mutinied and
left my companions, which was, the necessity of water to drink; and I
now perceived that they had taken possession of the spot where the
only water had as yet been found. I was suffering very much from
thirst towards the close of the day, and I set off up the ravine to
ascertain if there was none to be found in that direction. Before
night I succeeded in finding some, as you know, for you have often
drunk from the spring when you have gone up for firewood. This gave
me great encouragement, for I was afraid that the want of water would
have driven me to submission. By way of bravado, I tore off, and cut
with my knife, as many boughs of the underwood on the ravine as I
well could carry, and the next morning I built a sort of wigwam for
myself on the guano, to show them that I had a house over my head as
well as they had; but I built it farther up to the edge of the cliff,
above the guano plain, so that I need not have any communication with
those who I knew would come for eggs and birds for their daily
sustenance.

"Before the night of the following day set in, the cabin was quite
finished.

"The weather became warmer every day, and I found it very fatiguing
to have to climb the ravine two or three times a day to procure a
drink of water, for I had nothing to hold water in, and I thought
that it would be better that I should take up my quarters in the
ravine, and build myself a wigwam among the brushwood close to the
water, instead of having to make so many journeys for so necessary an
article. I knew that I could carry eggs in my hat and pocket-handkerchief
sufficient for two or three days at one trip; so I determined that
I would do so; and the next morning I went up the ravine, loaded
with eggs, to take up my residence there. In a day or two I had built
my hut of boughs, and made it very comfortable. I returned for a
fresh supply of eggs on the third day, with a basket I had constructed
out of young boughs, and which enabled me to carry a whole week's
sustenance. Then I felt quite satisfied, and made up my mind that
I would live as a hermit during my sojourn on the island, however
long it might be; for I preferred anything to obeying the orders of
one whom I detested as I did your father.

"It soon was evident, however, how well they had done in selecting
your father as their leader. They had fancied that the birds would
remain on the island, and that thus they would always be able to
procure a supply. Your father, who had lived so long in Chili, knew
better, and that in a few weeks they would quit their nesting place.
He pointed this out to them, showing them what a mercy it was that
they had been cast away just at this time, and how necessary it was
to make a provision for the year. But this they could not imagine
that it was possible to do without salt to cure the birds with; but
he knew how beef was preserved without salt on the continent, and
showed them how to dry the birds in the sun. While therefore I was up
in the ravine, they were busy collecting and drying them in large
quantities, and before the time of the birds leaving they had laid up
a sufficient supply. It was he also that invented the fishing lines
out of the sinews of the legs of the birds, and your mother who
knotted them together. At first, they caught fish with some hooks
made of nails, but your father showed them the way to take them
without a hook, as you have learnt from me, and which he had been
shown by some of the Indians on the continent. Owing to your father,
they were well prepared when the birds flew away with their young
ones, while I was destitute. Previous to the flight, I had fared but
badly, for the eggs contained the young birds half formed, and
latterly so completely formed that I could not eat them, and as I had
no fire and did not understand drying them, I had no alternative but
eating the young birds raw, which was anything but pleasant. I
consoled myself, however, with the idea that your father and mother
and the rest were faring just as badly as myself, and I looked
forward to the time when the birds would begin to lay eggs again,
when I resolved to hoard up a much larger supply while they were
fresh. But my schemes were all put an end to, for in two days, after
a great deal of noise and flying about in circles, all the birds,
young and old, took wing, and left me without any means of future
subsistence.

"This was a horrid discovery, and I was put to my wits' ends. I
wandered over the guano place, and, after the third day of their
departure, was glad to pick up even a dead bird with which to appease
my hunger. At the same time, I wondered how my former companions got
on, for I considered that they must be as badly off as I was. I
watched them from behind the rocks, but I could perceive no signs of
uneasiness. There was your mother sitting quietly on the level by the
cabin, and your father or the captain talking with her. I perceived,
however, that two of the party were employed fishing off the rocks,
and I wondered where they got their fishing-lines, and at last I
concluded that it was by catching fish that they supported
themselves. This, however, did not help me--I was starving, and
starvation will bring down the pride of any man. On the fifth day, I
walked down to the rocks, to where one of the seamen was fishing, and
having greeted him, I told him that I was starving, and asked for
something to eat.

"'I cannot help you,' replied he; 'I have no power to give anything
away; it is more than I dare do. You must apply to Mr Henniker, who
is the governor now. What a foolish fellow you were to mutiny, as you
did; see what it has brought you to.'

"'Why,' replied I, 'if it were not for fishing, you would not be
better off than I am.'

"'Oh yes we should be; but we have to thank him for that--without
him, I grant, we should not have been. We have plenty of provisions,
although we fish to help them out.'

"This puzzled me amazingly, but there was no help for it. I could
starve no longer, so up I went to the level where your father was
standing with the captain, and in a swaggering sort of tone, said
that I had come back, and wanted to join my comrades. The captain
looked at me, and referred me to your father, who said that he would
consult with the rest when they came to dinner, as without their
permission he could do nothing, and then they both turned away. In
the meantime I was ravenous with hunger, and was made more so by
perceiving that two large fish were slowly baking on the embers of
the fire, and that your mother was watching them; however, there was
no help for it, and I sat down at some little distance, anxiously
waiting for the return of the rest of the party, when my fate would
be decided. My pride was now brought down so low that I could have
submitted to any terms which might have been dictated. In about two
hours they were all assembled to dinner, and I remained envying every
morsel that they ate, until the repast was finished; when after some
consultation, I was ordered to approach--which I did--and your father
addressed me: 'Jackson, you deserted us when you might have been very
useful, and when our labour was severe; now that we have worked hard,
and made ourselves tolerably comfortable, you request to join us, and
partake with us of the fruits of our labour and foresight. You have
provided nothing, we have--the consequence is that we are in
comparative plenty, while you are starving. Now I have taken the
opinion of my companions, and they are all agreed, that as you have
not assisted when you are wanted, should we now allow you to join us,
you will have to work more than the others to make up an equivalent.
It is therefore proposed that you shall join us on one condition,
which is, that during the year till the birds again visit the island,
it will be your task to go up to the ravine every day, and procure
the firewood which is required. If you choose to accept these terms,
you are permitted to join, always supposing that to all the other
rules and regulations which we have laid down for our guidance, you
will be subject as well as we are. These are our terms, and you may
decide as you think proper.' I hardly need say, that I gladly
accepted them, and was still more glad when the remnants of the
dinner were placed before me; I was nearly choked, I devoured with
such haste until my appetite was appeased.

"When this was done, I thought over the conditions which I had
accepted, and my blood boiled at the idea that I was to be in a
manner the slave to the rest, as I should have to work hard every
day. I forgot that it was but justice, and that I was only earning my
share of the years' provisions, which I had not assisted to collect.
My heart was still more bitter against your father, and I vowed
vengeance if ever I had an opportunity, but there was no help for it.
Every day I went up with a piece of cord and an axe, cut a large
faggot of wood, and brought it down to the cabin. It was hard work,
and occupied me from breakfast to dinner-time, and I had no time to
lose if I wanted to be back for dinner. The captain always examined
the faggot, and ascertained that I had brought down a sufficient
supply for the day's consumption."




Chapter IX


"A year passed away, during which I was thus employed. At last, the
birds made their appearance, and after we had laid up our annual
provision, I was freed from my task, and had only to share the labour
with others. It was now a great source of speculation how long we
were likely to remain on the island; every day did we anxiously look
out for a vessel, but we could see none, or if seen, they were too
far off from the island to permit us to make signals to them. At last
we began to give up all hope, and, as hope was abandoned, a settled
gloom was perceptible on most of our faces. I believe that others
would have now mutinied as well as myself, if they had known what to
mutiny about. Your father and mother were the life and soul of the
party, inventing amusements, or narrating a touching story in the
evenings, so as to beguile the weary time; great respect was paid to
your mother, which she certainly deserved; I seldom approached her;
she had taken a decided dislike to me, arising, I presume, from my
behaviour towards her husband, for now that I was again on a footing
with the others, I was as insolent to him as I dared to be, without
incurring the penalty attached to insubordination, and I opposed him
as much as I could in every proposal that he brought forward--but
your father kept his temper, although I lost mine but too often. The
first incident which occurred of any consequence, was the loss of two
of the men, who had, with your father's permission, taken a week's
provisions, with the intention of making a tour round the island, and
ascertaining whether any valuable information could be brought back;
they were the carpenter and one of the seamen. It appears that during
their return, as they were crossing the highest ridge, they, feeling
very thirsty, and not finding water, attempted to refresh themselves
by eating some berries which they found on a plant. These berries
proved to be strong poison, and they returned very ill--after
languishing a few days, they both died.

"This was an event which roused us up, and broke the monotony of our
life; but it was one which was not very agreeable to dwell upon, and
yet, at the same time, I felt rather pleasure than annoyance at it--I
felt that I was of more consequence, and many other thoughts entered
my mind which I shall not now dwell upon. We buried them in the
guano, under the first high rock, where, indeed, the others were all
subsequently buried. Three more months passed away, when the other
seaman was missing. After a search, his trousers were found at the
edge of the rock. He had evidently been bathing in the sea, for the
day on which he was missed, the water was as smooth as glass. Whether
he had seen something floating, which he wished to bring to land, or
whether he had ventured for his own amusement, for he was an
excellent swimmer, could never be ascertained--any more than whether
he had sunk with the cramp, or had been taken down by a shark. He
never appeared again, and his real fate is a mystery to this day, and
must ever remain so. Thus were we reduced to four men--your father,
the captain, the mate, and me. But you must be tired--I will stop
now, and tell you the remainder some other time."

Although I was not tired, yet, as Jackson appeared to be so, I made
no objection to his proposal, and we both went to sleep.

While I had read the Bible to Jackson, I had often been puzzled by
numbers being mentioned, and never could understand what was meant,
that is, I could form no of the quantity represented by seventy or
sixty, or whatever it might be. Jackson's answer was, "Oh! it means a
great many; I'll explain to you bye-and-bye, but we have nothing to
count with, and as I am blind, I must have something in my hand to
teach you." I recollected that at the bathing pool there were a great
many small shells on the rocks, about the size of a pea; there were
live fish in them, and they appeared to crawl on the rocks. I
collected a great quantity of these, and brought them up to the
cabin, and requested Jackson would teach me to count. This he did,
until he came to a thousand, which he said was sufficient. For many
days I continued to count up to a hundred, until I was quite perfect,
and then Jackson taught me addition and subtraction to a certain
degree, by making me add and take away from the shells, and count the
accumulation, or the remainder. At last, I could remember what I had
gained by manipulation, if I may use the term, but further, I could
not go, although addition had, to a degree, made me master of
multiplication, and subtraction gave me a good idea of division.

This was a new delight to me, and occupied me for three or four
weeks. At last I had, as I thought, learned all that he could teach
me in his blind state, and I threw away the shells, and sighed for
something more.

Of a sudden it occurred to me, that I had never looked into the book
which still lay upon the shelf in the cabin, and I saw no reason now
that I should not; so I mentioned it to Jackson, and asked him why I
might not have that book?

"To be sure you may," replied he; "but you never asked for it, and I
quite forgot it."

"But when I asked you before, you were so particular that I should
not open it. What was your reason then?"

Jackson replied--"I had no reason except that I then disliked you,
and I thought that looking into the book would give you pleasure. It
belonged to that poor fellow that was drowned; he had left it in the
stern-sheets of the boat when we were at Valdivia, and had forgotten
it, and we found it there when we landed on the island. Take it down,
it will amuse you."

I took down the book, and opened it. It was, if I recollect right,
called "Mavor's Natural History." At all events, it was a Natural
History of Beasts and Birds, with a plate representing each, and a
description annexed. It would be impossible for me to convey to the
reader my astonishment and delight. I had never seen a picture or
drawing in my life. I did not know that such things existed. I was in
an ecstasy of delight as I turned over the pages, hardly taking
sufficient time to see one object before I hastened on to another.
For two or three hours did I thus turn over leaves, without settling
upon any one animal; at last my pulse beat more regularly, and I
commenced with the Lion. But now what a source of amusement, and what
a multitude of questions had to be answered by my companion. He had
to tell me all about the countries in which the animals were found;
and the description of the animals, with the anecdotes, were a source
of much conversation; and, what was more, the foregrounds and
backgrounds of the landscapes with which the animals were surrounded
produced new ideas. There was a palm-tree, which I explained to
Jackson, and inquired about it. This led to more inquiries. The lion
himself occupied him and me for a whole afternoon, and it was getting
dark when I lay down, with my new treasure by my side. I had read of
the lion in the Scriptures, and now I recalled all the passages; and
before I slept I thought of the bear which destroyed the children who
had mocked Elisha the prophet, and I determined that the first animal
I would read about the next morning should be the bear.

I think that this book lasted me nearly two months, during which
time, except reading a portion every night and morning to Jackson,
the Bible and Prayer-book were neglected. Sometimes I thought that
the book could not be true; but when I came to the birds, I found
those which frequented the island so correctly described, that I had
no longer any doubt on the subject. Perhaps what interested me most
were the plates in which the barn-door fowls and the peacock were
described, as in the background of the first were a cottage and
figures, representing the rural scenery of England, my own country;
and in the second there was a splendid mansion, and a carriage and
four horses driving up to the door. In short, it is impossible to
convey to the reader the new ideas which I received from these slight
efforts of the draftsman to give effect to his drawing. The engraving
was also a matter of much wonder, and required a great deal of
explanation from Jackson. This book became my treasure, and it was
not till I had read it through and through, so as almost to know it
by heart, that at length I returned to my Bible. All this time I had
never asked Jackson to go on with his narrative; but now that my
curiosity was appeased, I made the request. He appeared, as before,
very unwilling; but I was pertinacious, and he was worried into it.

"There were but four of us left and your mother, and the mate was in
a very bad state of health; he fretted very much, poor fellow, for he
had left a young wife in England, and what he appeared to fear most
was, that she would be married again before he could get home. It
ended in a confirmed liver complaint, which carried him off nine
months afterwards; and thus was one more of our companions disposed
of. He died very quietly, and gave me his sleeve-buttons and watch to
deliver to his wife, if ever I should escape from the island. I fear
there is little chance of her ever receiving them."

"Where are they?" said I, recollecting how I had seen him lift up
the board under his bed-place.

"I have them safe," replied Jackson, "and if necessary, will tell
you where to find them."

This reply satisfied me, and I allowed him to proceed.

"We buried him in the guano, by the side of the two others, and now
we were but three. It was at this time that your mother was confined
and you were born; that is about three months after the death of the
mate. We had just finished laying in our stock of birds for the year
when she was taken ill, sooner than was expected, and it was supposed
that it was occasioned by over-exertion at the time. However, she got
up very well without any medical assistance, and your father was much
pleased at having a son, for he had been married five years without
any prospect of a family. I ought to observe that the loss of our
companions, one after another, had had the effect of bringing those
that remained much closer together; I was treated with more kindness
by both your father and mother, and the captain, and I returned it as
well as my feelings would permit me, for I could not altogether get
rid of my animosity to your father. However, we became much more
confidential, that is certain, and I was now treated as an equal.

"Six months passed away and you had become a thriving child, when a
melancholy occurrence"--here Jackson covered up his face with his
hands and remained for some time silent.

"Go on," said I, "Jackson, I know that they all died somehow or
another."

"Very true," replied he, recovering himself. "Well, your father
disappeared. He had gone to the rocks to fish, and when I was sent to
bring him home to dinner, he was nowhere to be found. It was supposed
that a larger fish than usual had been fast to his line, and that he
had been jerked off the rocks into the water and the sharks had taken
him. It was a dreadful affair," continued Jackson, again covering his
face.

"I think," replied I, "that any man in his senses would have allowed
the fish to have taken the line rather than have been dragged into
the water. I don't think that the supposed manner of his death is at
all satisfactory."

"Perhaps not," replied Jackson; "his foot may have slipped, who
knows? we only could guess; the line was gone as well as he, which
made us think what I said. Still we searched everywhere, but without
hope; and our search--that is the captain's and mine, for your poor
mother remained with you in her arms distracted--was the cause of
another disaster--no less than the death of the captain. They say
misfortunes never come single, and surely this was an instance of the
truth of the proverb."

"How did he die?" replied I, gravely, for somehow or other I felt
doubts as to the truth of what he was saying. Jackson did not reply
till after a pause, when he said--

"He was out with me up the ravine collecting firewood, and he fell
over the high cliff. He was so injured that he died in half an hour."

"What did you do?"

"What did I do--what could I do but go back and break the news to
your mother, who was distracted when she heard it; for the captain
was her friend, and she could not bear me."

"Well go on, pray," said I.

"I did all that I could to make your mother comfortable, as there
now were but her, you, and I, left on the island. You were then about
three years old; but your mother always hated me, and appeared now to
hate me more and more. She never recovered the loss of your father to
whom she was devotedly attached; she pined away, and after six months
she died, leaving you and me only on the island. Now you know the
whole history, and pray do not ask me any more about it."




Chapter X


Jackson threw himself back in his bed-place and was silent. So was
I, for I was recalling all that he had told me, and my doubts were
raised as to the truth of it. I did not like his hurrying over the
latter portion of his narrative in the way which he had done. What he
had said about my mother was not satisfactory. I had for some time
been gradually drawing towards him, not only shewing, but feeling,
for him a great increase of goodwill; but suspicion had entered my
mind, and I now began to feel my former animosity towards him
renewed. A night's sleep, however, and more reflection, induced me to
think that possibly I was judging him too harshly, and as I could not
afford to quarrel with him, our intercourse remained as amicable as
before, particularly as he became more and more amiable towards me
and did everything in his power to interest and amuse me.

I was one day reading to him the account of a monkey given in the
book of Natural History, in which it is said that that animal is fond
of spirits and will intoxicate itself, and Jackson was telling me
many anecdotes of monkeys on board of the vessel he had sailed in,
when it occurred to me that I had never thought of mentioning to him
or of ascertaining the contents of the cask which had been thrown
into the bathing-pool with the seaman's chest, and I did so then to
Jackson, wondering at its contents and how they were to be got at.

Jackson entered into the question warmly, explaining to me how and
where to bore holes with a gimlet, and making two spiles for me to
stop the holes with. As soon as he had done so, curiosity induced me
to go down to the pool where the cask had been lying so long, in
about a foot-and-half water. By Jackson's directions I took a
pannikin with me, that I might bring him a specimen of the contents
of the cask, if they should prove not to be water. I soon bored the
hole above and below, following Jackson's directions, and the liquor,
which poured out in a small stream into the pannikin, was of a brown
colour and very strong in odour, so strong, indeed, as to make me
reel as I walked back to the rocks with the pannikin full of it. I
then sat down, and after a time tasted it. I thought I had swallowed
fire, for I had taken a good mouthful of it. "This cannot be what
Jackson called spirits," said I. "No one can drink this--what can it
be?" Although I had not swallowed more than a table-spoonful of it,
yet, combined with the fumes of the liquor which I had inhaled when
drawing it off into the pannikin, the effect was to make my head
swim, and I lay down on the rock and shut my eyes to recover myself.
It ended in my falling asleep for many hours, for it was not much
after noon when I went to the cask, and it was near sunset when I
awoke, with an intense pain in my head. It was some time before I
could recollect where I was, or what had passed, but the pannikin
full of liquor by my side first reminded me; and then perceiving how
late it was, and how long I must have slept, I rose up, and taking
the pannikin in my hand, I hastened to return to the cabin.

As I approached, I heard the voice of Jackson, whose hearing, since
his blindness, I had observed, had become peculiarly acute.

"Is that you, Frank?"

"Yes," replied I.

"And what has kept you so long--how you have frightened me. God
forgive me, but I thought that I was to be left and abandoned to
starvation."

"Why should you have thought that?" replied I.

"Because I thought that some way or another you must have been
killed, and then I must have died, of course. I never was so
frightened in my life, the idea of dying here all alone--it was
terrible."

It occurred to me at the time that the alarm was all for himself,
for he did not say a word about how sorry he should have been at any
accident happening to me, but I made no remark, simply stating what
had occurred, and my conviction that the contents of the cask were
not drinkable.

"Have you brought any with you?" inquired he, sharply.

"Yes, here it is," said I, giving him the pannikin.

He smelt it, and raised it to his lips--took about a wine-glassful
of it, and then drew his breath.

"This is delightful," said he; "the best of old rum, I never tasted
so good. How big did you say that the cask was?"

I described it as well as I could.

"Indeed, then it must be a whole puncheon--that will last a long
while."

"But do you mean to say that you really like to drink that stuff?"
inquired I.

"Do I like to drink it? yes, it is good for men, but it's death to
little boys. It will kill you. Don't you get fond of it. Now promise
me that you will never drink a drop of it. You must not get fond of
it, or some sad accident will happen to you."

"I don't think you need fear my drinking it," replied I. "I have had
one taste, as I told you, and it nearly burnt my mouth. I shan't
touch it again."

"That's right," replied Jackson, taking another quantity into his
mouth. "You are not old enough for it; bye-and-bye, when you are as
old as I am, you may drink it, then it will do you good. Now, I'll go
to bed, it's time for bed. Bring the pannikin after me and put it by
my side. Take care you don't spill any of it."

Jackson crawled to his bed, and I followed him with the pannikin,
and put it by his side, as he requested, and I returned to my own
resting-place, without however having the least inclination to sleep,
having slept so long during the day.

At first Jackson was quiet, but I heard him occasionally applying to
the pannikin, which held, I should say, about three half-pints of
liquor. At last he commenced singing a sea song; I was much
surprised, as I had never heard him sing before; but I was also much
pleased, as it was the first time that I had ever heard anything like
melody, for he had a good voice and sang in good tune. As soon as he
had finished, I begged him to go on.

"Ah!" replied he, with a gay tone I had never heard from him before.
"You like songs, do you? my little chap. Well, I'll give you plenty
of them. 'Tis a long while since I have sung, but it's a 'poor heart
that never rejoiceth.' The time was when no one in company could sing
a song as I could, and so I can again, now that I have something to
cheer my heart. Yes, here's another for you. I shall rouse them all
out by-and-bye, as I get the grog in--no fear of that--you find the
stuff, and I'll find songs."

I was surprised at first at this unusual mirth; but recollecting
what Jackson had told me about his intemperance, I presumed that this
mirth which it produced was the cause why he indulged so much in it;
and I felt less inclined to blame him. At all events, I was much
pleased with the songs that he sang to me one after another for three
or four hours, when his voice became thick, and, after some muttering
and swearing, he was quite silent, and soon afterwards snored loudly.
I remained awake some time longer, and then I also sank into
forgetfulness.

When I awoke the next morning, I found Jackson still fast asleep. I
waited for him for our morning meal; but, as he did not wake, I took
mine by myself, and then I walked out to the rock, where I usually
sat, and looked round the horizon to see if there was anything in
sight. The spy-glass, from having been in sea water, was of no use,
and I did not know what to do with it; nor could Jackson instruct me.
After I had been out about an hour I returned, and found Jackson
still snoring, and I determined to wake him up. I pushed him for some
time without success; but, at last he opened his eyes, and said:

"My watch already?"

"No," said I; "but you have slept so long, that I have waked you up."

He paused, as if he did not know my voice, and then said:

"But I can't see anything; how's this?"

"Why, don't you know that you're blind, Jackson?" replied I, with
amazement.

"Yes, yes; I recollect now. Is there anything in the pannikin?"

"Not a drop," replied I; "why, you must have drunk it all."

"Yes, I recollect now. Get me some water, my good boy; for I am
dying with thirst."

I went for the water; he drank the whole pannikin, and asked for more.

"Won't you have something to eat?" said I.

"Eat? oh no; I can't eat anything. Give me drink;" and he held out
his hand for the pannikin. I perceived how it trembled and shook, and
I observed it to him.

"Yes," replied he, "that's always the case after a carouse, and I
had a good one last night--the first for many a year. But there's
plenty more of it. I wish you would get me a little more now, Frank,
just to steady me; just about two or three mouthfuls, no more; that
is, no more till night-time. Did I make much noise last night?"

"You sang several songs," replied I, "with which I was much amused."

"I'm glad that you liked them. I used to be considered a good singer
in my day; indeed, if I had not been such good company, as they term
it, I had not become so fond of drinking. Just go and fetch me about
half an inch high of the pannikin, my good fellow, that's all I want
now."

I went down to the cask, drew of the quantity that he requested, and
brought it to him. He drank it off; and, in a few moments, appeared
to be quite himself again. He then asked for something to eat, and
commenced telling me a variety of stories relative to what he termed
jolly parties in his former days; so that the day passed very
agreeably. As the night closed in, he said:

"Now, Frank, I know you want to hear some more songs; so go down and
bring me up a full pannikin, and I will sing you plenty."

I complied with his request, for I was anxious to be again amused as
I was the night before. The consequence was that this night was, in
the early portion of it, but a repetition of the previous one.
Jackson took the precaution to get into his bed-place before he
commenced drinking; and, as soon as he had taken his second dose, he
asked me what sort of songs I liked. My reply naturally was, that I
had never heard any one sing but him, and therefore could not say.

"What did I sing to you last night?" said he.

I replied as well as I could.

"Ah," said he, "they were all sea songs; but now I will give you
something better."

After a little thought, he commenced singing a very beautiful and
plaintive one, and certainly much better than he had sung the night
before; for he now was sober. The consequence was, that I was still
more delighted; and, at my request, he sang several others; but at
last his speech became rapid and thick, and he would not sing any
more, using some very coarse expressions to me when I asked him. For
a time he was silent, and I thought that he was going to sleep, and I
was reflecting upon the various effects which the liquor appeared to
have upon him, when I heard him talking and muttering, and I listened.

"Never mind how I got them," said he; "quite as honestly as other
people, Old Moshes. There they are, do you choose to buy them?" Then
there was a pause, after which he commenced: "They're as pure
diamonds as ever came out of a mine. I know that, so none of your
lies, you old Jew. Where did I come by them? that's no concern of
yours. The question is, will you give me the price, or will you not?
Well, then, I'm off. No, I won't come back, you old thief." Here he
swore terribly, and then was silent.

After a while he recommenced--

"Who can ever prove that they were Henniker's diamonds?"

I started up at the mention of my father's name; I rested with my
hands on the floor of the cabin, breathless as to what would come next.

"No, no," continued Jackson, "he's dead, and food for fishes--dead
men tell no tales--and she's dead, and the captain's dead, all dead--
yes, all;" and he gave a bitter groan and was silent.

The day was breaking, and I could just see him as he lay; but he
said no more, and appeared to breathe heavily. As the sun rose, I got
out of my bed-place; and, now that it was broad daylight, I looked at
Jackson. He was lying on his back; his brow was covered with large
drops of perspiration, and his hands were clenched together. Although
asleep, he appeared, by the convulsive twitching of the muscles of
his face, to be suffering and in great agony. Occasionally he groaned
deeply, and his lips appeared to move, but no sound proceeded from
them. I perceived that the pannikin of liquor was not finished, one-third
at least having been left.




Chapter XI


I then went out of the cabin and took my usual seat, and began to
reflect upon what I had heard. He had talked about diamonds; now I
knew what diamonds were, so far as they were of great value, for I
had read of them in the Bible, and Jackson had explained the value of
precious stones to me, and had told me of diamonds of very great
value indeed. Then he said that they were Henniker's diamonds--he
must have meant my father, that was positive. And that no one could
prove they were his--this implied that Jackson had no right to them;
indeed how could he have? And then I recalled to mind his having a
secret hiding place under his bed, where I presumed the diamonds were
deposited. I then turned over in my mind what he had told me relative
to the death of my father, the captain, and my mother, how confused
he was, and how glad he was to get rid of the subject, and how
unsatisfactory I thought his account was at the time. After much
cogitation, I made up my mind that Jackson had not told me the truth,
and that there was a mystery yet to be explained; but how was I to
get at it? There was but one way. The liquor made him talk. I would
supply him with liquor, and by degrees I would get the truth out of
him. At the same time I would not allow him to suppose that he had
said anything to commit himself, or that I had any suspicions.

How naturally do we fall into treachery and deceit, from the evil in
our own hearts, without any assistance or example from the world. How
could I have learnt deceit? Isolated as I had been, must it not have
been innate?

I returned to the cabin, and woke Jackson without much difficulty,
since he had not drunk so much as on the previous night.

"How are you this morning?" said I.

"Not very well; I have had some bad dreams."

"Well you sang me some beautiful songs," replied I.

"Yes, I recollect," said he; "but I fell asleep at last."

"Yes, you refused to sing any more, and went off in a loud snore."

Jackson got out of his bed-place, and I gave him his meal. We talked
during the whole day about singing, and I hummed the air which had
pleased me most.

"You have got the air pretty correct," said he; "you must have an
ear for music. Have you ever tried to sing?"

"No, never; you know I have not."

"You might have tried when I was not with you. Try now. I will sing
a tune, and then do you repeat it after me."

He did so, and I repeated it.

"Very good," said he. "Let's try the compass of your voice."

He ran up the gamut, and I followed him.

"I think you can go higher than I can," said he, "however you go
quite high enough, so now I'll give you a singing lesson."

Thus were we occupied at intervals during the whole day, for Jackson
would not allow me to try my voice too much at first. As the evening
fell, he again asked me to fetch some liquor, and as I had three
quart wine bottles, as I before mentioned, which I had found in the
chest, I took them down to fill, as it would save me many trips, and
be more convenient in every respect.

I brought them up full, and Jackson stopped them up with some of the
rags which I had torn to bind round his wrist, and put them all three
in his bed-place.

"That will be a much better arrangement," said he, "as now I can
pour out the liquor into the pannikin as I want it; besides, I mean
to take a little water with it in future. It's not quite so good with
water, but it lasts longer, and one don't go to sleep so soon. Well,
I little thought that I should have such a comfort sent me after all
my sufferings. I don't so much care now about staying here. Go and
fetch some water in the pannikin."

That night was a repetition of the first. Jackson sang till he was
intoxicated, and then fell fast asleep, not talking or saying a word,
and I was disappointed, for I remained awake to catch anything he
might say. It would be tedious to repeat what took place for about a
month;--suffice it to say it was very rarely, during that time, that
Jackson said anything in his sleep, or drunken state, and what he did
say I could make nothing of. He continued, in the daytime, to give me
lessons in singing, and I could now sing several songs very
correctly. At night, he returned to his usual habit, and was more or
less intoxicated before the night was over. I perceived, however,
that this excess had a great effect upon his constitution, and that
he had become very pale and haggard. Impatient as I felt to find out
the truth, I concealed my feelings towards him (which had certainly
very much changed again since the discovery I had made and the
suspicions I had formed) and I remained on the best of terms with
him, resolving to wait patiently. He had spoken once, and therefore I
argued that he would speak again, nor was I wrong in my calculations.

One night, after he had finished his usual allowance of liquor, and
had composed himself for sleep, I observed that he was unusually
restless, changing his position in his bed-place every few minutes,
and, at last, he muttered, "Captain James. Well, what of Captain
James, eh?"

A thought struck me that he might reply to a question.

"How did he die?" said I, in a low clear voice.

"Die?" replied Jackson, "he fell down the cliff. Yes, he did. You
can't say I killed him. No--never put my finger on him."

After that, he was silent for some time, and then he recommenced.

"She always said that I destroyed them both, but I did not--only one
--yes, one, I grant--but I hated him--no, not for his diamonds--no,
no--if you said his wife indeed--love and hate."

"Then you killed him for love of his wife, and hate of himself?"

"Yes, I did. Who are you that have guessed that? Who are you? I'll
have your life."

As he said this, he started up in his bed-place, awakened by his
dream, and probably by my voice, which he had replied to.

"Who spoke?" said he. "Frank Henniker, did you speak?"

I made no reply, but pretended to be sound asleep, as he still sat
up, as if watching me. I feigned a snore.

"It could not have been him," muttered Jackson, "he's quite fast.
Mercy, what a dream!"

He then sank down in his bed-place, and I heard the gurgling noise
which told me that he had put the bottle of liquor to his mouth, and
was drinking out of it. From the time that the gurgling lasted, he
must have taken a great deal. At last, all was quiet again.

"So I have discovered it at last," said I, as my blood boiled at
what I had heard. "He did murder my father. Shall I kill him while he
sleeps?" was the first thought that came into my troubled mind. "No,
I won't do that. What then, shall I tax him with it when he is awake,
and then kill him?" but I thought, that, as he was blind, and unable
to defend himself, it would be cowardly, and I could not do that.
What then was I to do? and as I cooled down, I thought of the words
of the Bible, that we were to return good for evil; for Jackson, of
whom, when I read it, I asked why we were told to do so, had
explained it to me, and afterwards when I came to the part which
said, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord," he had told me that there
was punishment for the wicked hereafter, and that was the reason why
we were not to obey the Jewish law of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth
for a tooth," which I had referred to. This portion of the Bible he
had well explained, and certain it is that it prevented my raising my
hand against him that night. Still, I remained in a state of great
excitement; I felt that it would be impossible for me to be any
longer on good terms with him, and I revolved the question in my
mind, till at last, worn out by excitement, I fell fast asleep.

A short time before daylight, I started up at what I thought was a
faint cry, but I listened, and hearing nothing more, I again fell
asleep, and it was broad daylight when I arose; my first thoughts
were naturally of Jackson, and I looked at where he lay, but he was
no longer there--his bed-place was empty. I was astonished, and after
a moment's thought, I recollected the cry I had heard in the night,
and I ran out of the cabin and looked around me, but I could see
nothing of him. I then went to the edge of the flat rock upon which
the cabin was built and looked over it; it was about thirty feet from
this rock to the one below, and nearly perpendicular. I thought that
he must have gone out in the night, when intoxicated with liquor, and
have fallen down the precipice; but I did not see him as I peered
over. "He must have gone for water," thought I, and I ran to the
corner of the rock, where the precipice was much deeper, and looking
over, I perceived him lying down below without motion or apparent
life. I had, then, judged rightly. I sat down by the side of the pool
of water quite overpowered; last night I had been planning how I
should destroy him, and now he lay dead before me without my being
guilty of the crime. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord," were the
words that first escaped my lips; and I remained many minutes in deep
thought. At last it occurred to me that he might not yet be dead; I
ran down the cliff, and, clambering over the rocks, arrived
breathless at the spot where Jackson lay. He groaned heavily as I
stood by him.

"Jackson," said I, kneeling down by him, "are you much hurt?" for
all my feelings of animosity had vanished when I perceived his
unhappy condition. His lips moved, but he did not utter any sound. At
last he said, in a low voice, "Water." I hastened back as fast as I
could to the cabin, got a pannikin half full of water, and poured a
little rum in it out of the bottle. This journey and my return to him
occupied some ten minutes. I put it to his lips, and he seemed to
revive. He was a dreadful object to look at. The blood from a cut on
his head had poured over his face and beard, which were clotted with
gore. How to remove him to the cabin I knew not. It would be hardly
possible for me to carry him over the broken rocks which I had
climbed to arrive at where he lay; and there was no other way but
what was longer, and just as difficult. By degrees he appeared to
recover; I gave him more of the contents of the pannikin, and at last
he could speak, although with great pain and difficulty. As he did so
he put his hand to his side. He was indeed a ghastly object, with his
sightless eyeballs, his livid lips, and his face and beard matted
with blood.

"Do you think you could get to the cabin, if I helped you?" said I.

"I shall never get there--let me die where I am," said he.

"But the cut on your head is not very deep," replied I.

"No, I don't feel it;--but--my side--I bleed inwardly--I am--broken
to pieces," said he, pausing and gasping between each word.

I looked at his side, and perceived that it was already black and
much swollen. I offered him more drink, which he took eagerly, and I
then returned for a further supply. I filled two of the wine-bottles
with water and a small drop of spirits as before, and went back to
where he lay. I found him more recovered, and I had hopes that he
might still do well, and I told him so.

"No, no," replied he; "I have but a few hours to live--I feel that.
Let me die here, and die in peace."

He then sank into a sort of stupor, occasioned, I presume, by what I
had given him to drink, and remained quite quiet, and breathing
heavily. I sat by him waiting till he should rouse up again; for more
than an hour I was in a very confused state of mind, as may well be
imagined, after what had passed in the night.




Chapter XII


What I most thought of was obtaining from him, now that he was
dying, the full truth as to the deaths of my father and mother.

Jackson remained so long in this state of stupor, I feared that he
would die before I could interrogate him; but this, as it proved, was
not to be the case. I waited another hour, very impatiently I must
acknowledge, and then I went to him and asked him how he felt. He
replied immediately, and without that difficulty which he appeared
before to have experienced.

"I am better now--the inward bleeding has stopped; but still I
cannot live--my side is broken in, I do not think there is a rib that
is not fractured into pieces, and my spine is injured, for I cannot
move or feel my legs; but I may live many hours yet, and I thank God
for His mercy in allowing me so much time--short indeed to make
reparation for so bad a life, but still nothing is impossible with
God."

"Well, then," replied I, "if you can speak, I wish you would tell me
the truth relative to my father's death, and also about the death of
others; as for my father I know that you murdered him--for you said
so last night in your sleep."

After a pause, Jackson replied--"I am glad that I did, and that you
have told me so--I wished to make a full confession even to you, for
confession is a proof of repentance. I know that you must hate me,
and will hate my memory, and I cannot be surprised at it; but look at
me now, Frank, and ask your own heart whether I am not more an object
of pity than of hatred. 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord!' and has
not His vengeance fallen upon me even in this world? Look at me; here
I am, separated from the world that I loved so much, with no chance
of ever joining it--possessed of wealth which would but a few months
ago have made me happy--now blind, crushed to pieces by an avenging
God, in whose presence I must shortly appear to answer for all my
wickedness--all my expectations overthrown, all my hopes destroyed,
and all my accumulated sins procuring me nothing, but, it may be,
eternal condemnation. I ask you again, am I not an object of pity and
commiseration?"

I could but assent to this, and he proceeded.

"I will now tell you the truth. I did tell the truth up to the time
of your father and mother's embarkation on board of the brig, up to
when the gale of wind came on which occasioned eventually the loss of
the ship. Now give me a little drink.

"The vessel was so tossed by the storm, and the waves broke over her
so continually, that the between-decks were full of water, and as the
hatches were kept down, the heat was most oppressive. When it was not
my watch I remained below, and looked out for another berth to sleep
in. Before the cabin bulkheads on the starboard side, the captain had
fitted up a sort of sail-room to contain the spare sails in case we
should require them. It was about eight feet square, and the sails
were piled up in it, so as to reach within two feet of the deck
overhead; though the lower ones were wetted with the water, above
they were dry, and I took this berth on the top of the sails as my
sleeping place. Now the state-room in which your father and mother
slept was on the other side of the cabin bulkhead, and the straining
and rolling of the vessel had opened the chinks between the planks,
so that I could see a great deal of what was done in the state-room,
and could hear every word almost that was spoken by them. I was not
aware of this when I selected this place as my berth, but I found it
out on the first night, the light of the candle shining through the
chinks into the darkness by which I was surrounded outside. Of
course, it is when a man is alone with his wife that he talks on
confidential subjects; that I knew well, and hoped by listening to be
able to make some discovery;--what, I had no idea of; but, with the
bad feelings which stimulated me, I determined not to lose an
opportunity. It was not till about a week after I had selected this
berth, that I made any discovery. I had had the watch from six to
eight o'clock, and had gone to bed early. About nine o'clock your
father came into the state-room. Your mother was already in bed. As
your father undressed, your mother said, 'Does not that belt worry
you a great deal, my dear?'

"'No,' replied your father, 'I am used to it now; it did when I
first put it on, but now I have had it on four days, I do not feel
it. I shall keep it on as long as this weather lasts; there is no
saying what may happen, and it will not do to be looking for the belt
at a moment's warning.'

"'Do you think then that we are in danger?'

"'No, not particularly so, but the storm is very fierce, and the
vessel is old and weak. We may have fine weather in a day or two, or
we may not; at all events, when property of value is at stake, and
that property not my own, I should feel myself very culpable, if I
did not take every precaution.'

"'Well--I wish we were safe home again, my dear, and that my father
had his diamonds, but we are in the hands of God.'

"'Yes, I must trust to Him,' replied your father.

"This circumstance induced me to look through one of the chinks of
the bulkhead, so that I could see your father, and I perceived that
he was unbuckling a belt which was round his body, and which no doubt
contained the diamonds referred to. It was of soft leather, and about
eight inches wide, sewed lengthways and breadthways in small squares,
in which I presumed the diamonds were deposited. After a time your
mother spoke again.

"'I really think, Henniker, that I ought to wear the belt.'

"'Why so, my dear?'

"'Because it might be the means of my preservation in case of
accident. Suppose now, we were obliged to abandon the vessel and take
to the boats; a husband, in his hurry, might forget his wife, but he
would not forget his diamonds. If I wore the belt, you would be
certain to put me in the boat.'

"'That observation of yours would have force with some husbands, and
some wives,' retorted your father; 'but as I have a firm belief in
the Scriptures, it does not affect me. What do the Proverbs say? "The
price of a virtuous woman is far above rubies;" and a good ruby is
worth even more in the market than a diamond of the same size.'

"'Well, I must comfort myself with that idea,' replied your mother,
laughing.

"'Supposing we be thrown upon some out-of-the-way place,' said your
father, 'I shall then commit the belt to your charge. It might soon
be discovered on my person, whereas, on yours, it would stand every
chance of being long concealed. I say this because, even in a desert,
it would be dangerous to have it known by unscrupulous and
unprincipled men that anyone had so much wealth about him.'

"'Well,' replied your mother, 'that is also comfortable for me to
hear, for you will not leave me behind, because I shall be necessary
to conceal your treasure.'

"'Yes,' replied your father, laughing, 'there is another chance for
you, you see.'

"Your father then extinguished the light, and the conversation was
not renewed; but I had heard enough. Your father carried a great
treasure about his person--wealth, I took it for granted, that if I
once could obtain, and return to England, would save me from my
present position. My avarice was hereby excited, and thus another
passion equally powerful, and equally inciting to evil deeds, was
added to the hate which I already had imbibed for your father. But I
must leave off now."

Jackson drank a little more, and then remained quiet, and as I had
had no food that day, I took the opportunity of returning to the
cabin, with the promise that I would be back very soon. In half an
hour I returned, bringing with me the Bible and Prayer-book, as I
thought that he would ask me to read to him after he had made his
confession. I found him breathing heavily, and apparently asleep, so
I did not wake him. As I looked at him, and recalled to mind his
words, "Am not I an object of pity?" I confessed that he was, and
then I asked myself the question, Can you forgive him who was the
murderer of your father? After some reflection, I thought that I
could. Was he not already punished? Had not the murder been already
avenged? It was not possible to retain animosity against one so
stricken, so broken to pieces, and my heart smote me when I looked at
his disabled hand, and felt that I, boy as I was, had had a share in
his marring. At last he spoke.

"Are you there, Frank?"

"Yes," replied I.

"I have had a little sleep," said he.

"Do you feel easier?" inquired I kindly.

"Yes, I feel my side more numbed, and so it will remain till
mortification takes place. But let me finish my confession; I wish to
relieve my mind, not that I shall die to-night, or perhaps to-morrow,
but still I wish it over. Come nearer to me, that I may speak in a
lower voice, and then I shall be able to speak longer."

I did so, and he proceeded.

"You know how we were cast upon this island, and how I behaved at
first. When I afterwards took my place with the others, my evil
thoughts gradually quitted me, and I gave up all idea of any injury
to your father. But this did not last long. The deaths of so many,
and at last the captain your father and your mother being the only
ones left on the island besides myself, once more excited my
cupidity. I thought again of the belt of diamonds, and by what means
I should gain possession of it; and the devil suggested to me the
murders of the captain and of your father. I had ascertained that
your father no longer carried the belt on his person when we all used
to bathe at the bathing-pool; it was, therefore, as your father had
proposed, in your mother's keeping. Having once made up my mind, I
watched every opportunity to put my intentions into execution. It was
the custom for one of us to fish every morning, as your mother would
not eat the dried birds, if fish could be procured, and I considered
that the only chance I had of executing my horrible wish was when
your father went to fish off the rocks. We usually did so off the
ledge of rocks which divide the bathing-pool from the sea, but I
found out another place, where more fish, and of a better quality,
were to be taken, which is off the high wall of rocks just below. You
know where I mean, I have often sent you to fish there, but I never
could go myself since your father's death. Your father took his lines
there, and was hauling in a large fish, when I, who had concealed
myself close to where he stood, watched the opportunity as he looked
over the rock to see if the fish was clear of the water, to come
behind him and throw him off into the sea. He could not swim, I knew,
and after waiting a minute or two, I looked over and saw his body,
just as it sank, after his last struggles. I then hastened away, and
my guilty conscience induced me to ascend the ravine, and collect a
faggot of firewood to bring home, that no suspicions might be
entertained; but my so doing was the very cause of suspicion, as you
will afterwards perceive. I returned with the wood, and the captain
observed, when I came up to the cabin:

"'Why, it's something new for you to collect wood out of your turn,
Jackson. Wonders will never cease.'

"'The fact is, that I am becoming very amiable,' replied I, hardly
knowing what to say, and afraid to look either of them in the face,
for your mother, with you on her lap, was standing close by.

"'Has my husband caught any fish, do you know, Jackson?' said your
mother, 'for it is high time that he came home.'

"'How can I tell?' replied I. 'I have been up the ravine for wood.'

"'But you were down on the rock two hours ago,' replied your mother,
'for Captain James saw you coming away.'

"'That I certainly did,' replied the captain. 'Had he caught any
fish when you were with him?'

"They must have perceived my confusion when I said, 'Yes, I was on
the rocks, but I never went near Henniker, that I'll swear.'

"'You must have been near him, even when I saw you,' replied the
captain.

"'I never looked at him, if I was,' replied I.

"'Well, then, one of us had better go down and see what he is
about,' said the captain. 'Shall I leave Jackson with you?'

"'Yes, yes,' replied your mother, much agitated, 'for I have my
forebodings; better leave him here.'

"The captain hastened down to the rocks, and in a quarter of an hour
returned very much heated, saying, 'He is not there!'

"'Not there?' replied I, getting up, for I had seated myself in
silence on the rock during the captain's absence: 'that's very odd.'

"'It is,' replied the captain. 'Jackson, go and try if you see
anything of him, while I attend to Mrs Henniker.'

"Your mother, on the captain's return, had bowed her head down to
her knees, and covered her face with her hands. I was glad of an
excuse to be away, for my heart smote me as I witnessed her condition.

"I remained away half-an-hour, and then returned, saying that I
could see nothing of your father.

"Your mother was in the cabin, and the captain went in to her, while
I remained outside with all the feelings of Cain upon my brow.

"That was a dreadful day for all parties--no food was taken. Your
mother and the captain remained in the cabin, and I dared not, as
usual, go in to my own bed-place. I lay all night upon the rocks--
sleep I could not; every moment I saw your father's body sinking, as
I had seen it in the morning. The next morning the captain came out
to me. He was very grave and stern, but he could not accuse me,
whatever his suspicions might have been. It was a week before I saw
your mother again, for I dared not intrude into her presence; but,
finding there was no accusation against me, I recovered my spirits,
and returned to the cabin, and things went on as before."




Chapter XIII


"One thing, however, was evident, that your mother had an aversion--I
may say a horror--of me, which she could not conceal. She said
nothing, but she never could look at me; and to any question I put,
would seldom make reply. Strange to say this treatment of hers
produced quite a different effect from what might have been
anticipated, and I felt my former love for her revive. Her shrinking
from me made me more familiar towards her, and increased her disgust.
I assumed a jocose air with her, and at times Captain James
considered it his duty to interfere and check me. He was a very
powerful man, and in a contest would have proved my master; this I
knew, and this knowledge compelled me to be more respectful to your
mother in his presence, but when his back was turned I became so
disgustingly familiar, that at last your mother requested that
whether fishing or collecting wood, instead of going out by turns we
should both go, and leave her alone. This I could not well refuse, as
Captain James would in all probability have used force if I had not
consented, but my hatred to him was in consequence most unbounded.
However, an event took place which relieved me from the subjection
which I was under, and left me alone with you and your mother. Now I
must rest a little. Wait another hour, and you shall know the rest."

It was now late in the evening, but there was a bright moon which
shone over head, and the broad light and shadow made the rocks around
us appear peculiarly wild and rugged. They towered up one above the
other till they met the dark blue of the sky in which the stars
twinkled but faintly, while the moon sailed through the ether,
without a cloud to obscure her radiance. And in this majestic scenery
were found but two living beings--a poor boy and a mangled wretch--a
murderer--soon to breathe his last, and be summoned before an
offended God. As I remained motionless by his side, I felt, as I
looked up, a sensation of awe, but not of fear; I thought to myself--
"And God made all this and all the world besides, and me and him. The
Bible said so:" and my speculation then was as to what God must be,
for although I had read the Bible, I had but a confused idea, and had
it been asked me, as it was of the man in the chariot by Philip,
"Understandest thou what thou readest?" I most certainly should have
answered, No. I remained for nearly two hours in this reverie, and at
last fell asleep with my back against the rock. I was, however,
wakened up by Jackson's voice, when he asked in a low tone for water.

"There it is," said I, handing it to him. "Have you called long?"

"No," replied he; "I asked but once."

"I have been asleep," said I.

As soon as he had drunk, he said--

"I will finish now; my side begins to burn."

He then proceeded--

"It was about four months after your father's death that Captain
James and I went together to the ravine to collect firewood. We
passed under the wall of rock, which you know so well, and went
through the gap, as we call it, when Captain James left the water-course
and walked along the edge of the wall. I followed him; we both
of us had our pieces of rope in our hands with which we tied the
faggots. Of a sudden his foot slipped, and he rolled down to the edge
of the rock, but catching hold of a small bush which had fixed its
roots in the rocks, he saved himself when his body was hanging half
over the precipice.

"'Give me the end of your rope,' said he to me, perfectly collected,
although in such danger.

"'Yes,' replied I, and I intended so to do, as I perceived that if I
refused he could still have saved himself by the bush to which he
clung.

"But the bush began to loosen and give way, and Captain James
perceiving it cried out--

"'Quick, quick, the bush is giving way!'

"This assertion of his determined me not to give him the rope. I
pretended to be in a great hurry to do so, but entangled it about my
legs, and then appeared occupied in clearing it, when he cried again--

"'Quick!'--and hardly had he said the word when the root of the bush
snapped, and down he fell below.

"I heard the crash as he came to the rock beneath. See the judgment
of God--am I not now precisely in his position, lying battered and
crushed as he was? After a time I went down to where he lay, and
found him expiring. He had just strength to say 'God forgive you,'
and then he died. It was murder, for I could have saved him and would
not, and yet he prayed to God to forgive me. How much happier should
I have felt if he had not said that. His 'God forgive you' rang in my
ears for months afterwards. I returned to the cabin, and with a bold
air stated to your mother what had happened, for I felt I could say,
this time, I did not do the deed. She burst out into frantic
exclamations, accusing me of being not only his murderer but the
murderer of her husband. I tried all I could do to appease her, but
in vain. For many weeks she was in a state of melancholy and
despondency, that made me fear for her life; but she had you still to
bestow her affections upon, and for your sake she lived. I soon made
this discovery. She was now wholly in my power, but I was awed by her
looks even, for a time. At last I became bolder, and spoke to her of
our becoming man and wife; she turned from me with abhorrence. I then
resorted to other means. I prevented her from obtaining food; she
would have starved with pleasure, but she could not bear to see you
suffer. I will not detail my cruelty and barbarity towards her;
suffice to say, it was such that she pined away, and about six months
after the death of the captain she died, exhorting me not to injure
you, but if ever I had an opportunity, to take you to your
grandfather. I could not refuse this demand, made by a woman whom I
as certainly killed by slow means as I had your father by a more
sudden death. I buried her in the guano, by the side of the others.
After her death my life was a torture to me for a long while. I dared
not kill you, but I hated you. I had only one consolation, one hope,
which occasionally gave me satisfaction; the consolation, if so it
could be called, was--that I had possession of the diamonds; the hope
--that I should one day see England again. You see me now--are they
not all avenged?"

I could not but feel the truth of Jackson's last sentence. They were
indeed avenged.

After a short pause, he said to me--

"Now, Frank, I feel that the mortification in my side is making
great progress, and, in a short time I shall be in too great pain to
talk to you. I have made a full confession of my crimes; it is all
the reparation I can make to you. Now, can you forgive me? for I
shall die very miserable if you do not. Just look at me. Can you feel
resentment against one in my wretched state? Recollect that you pray
to be forgiven as you forgive others. Give me your answer."

"I think--yes, I feel that I can forgive you, Jackson," replied I.
"I shall soon be left alone on this island, and I am sure I should be
much more miserable than I shall be, if I do not forgive you. I do
forgive you."

"Thanks; you are a good boy, and may God bless you. Is it not nearly
daylight?"

"Yes, it is. I shall soon be able to read the Bible or Prayer-book
to you. I have them both here."

"The pain is too severe, and becomes worse every minute. I shall not
be able to listen to you now; but I shall have some moments of quiet
before I die; and then--"

Jackson groaned heavily, and ceased speaking.

For many hours he appeared to suffer much agony, which he vented in
low groans; the perspiration hung on his forehead in large beads, and
his breathing became laborious. The sun rose and had nearly set again
before Jackson spoke; at last he asked for some drink.

"It is over now," said he faintly. "The pain is subsiding, and death
is near at hand. You may read to me now; but, first, while I think of
it, let me tell you where you will find your father's property."

"I know," replied I; "in your bed-place under the board. I saw you
remove it when you did not see me."

"True. I have no more to say; it will all be over soon. Read the
burial service over me after I am dead; and now, while still above,
read me what you think I shall like best; for I cannot collect myself
sufficiently to tell you what is most proper. Indeed I hardly know.
But I can pray at times. Read on."

I did so, and came upon the parable of the prodigal son.

"That suits me," said Jackson. "Now let me pray. Pray for me, Frank."

"I don't know how," replied I; "you never taught me."

"Alas, no!"

Jackson was then silent. I saw his pale lips move for some time. I
turned away for a few moments; when I came back to him, he was no
more! His jaw had fallen; and this being the first time that I had
ever faced death, I looked upon the corpse with horror and dismay.

After a few minutes I left the body, and sat down on a rock at some
distance from it, for I was somewhat afraid to be near to it. On this
rock I remained till the sun was sinking below the horizon; when,
alarmed at the idea of being there when it was dark, I took up my
books and hastened back to the cabin. I was giddy from excitement,
and not having tasted food for many hours. As soon as I had eaten, I
lay down in my bed-place, intending to reflect upon what I was to do,
now that I was alone; but I was in a few moments fast asleep, and did
not wake until the sun was high. I arose much refreshed, and, seeing
my Bible and Prayer-book close to my bed-place, I recollected my
promise to Jackson that I would read the burial service over his
body. I found the place in the Prayer-book, for I had read it more
than once before; and, having just looked over it, I went with my
book to where the body lay. It presented a yet more hideous spectacle
than it had the night before. I read the service and closed the book.
"What can I do?" thought I. "I cannot bury him in the guano. It will
be impossible to carry the body over these rocks." Indeed, if it had
been possible, I do not think I could have touched it. I was afraid
of it. At last I determined that I would cover it up with the
fragments of rocks which lay about in all directions, and I did so.
This occupied me about two hours, and then, carrying the bottles with
me, I gladly hastened away from the spot, with a resolution never to
revisit it. I felt quite a relief when I was once more in the cabin.
I was alone, it was true, but I was no longer in contact with the
dead. I could not collect my thoughts or analyse my feelings during
the remainder of the day. I sat with my head resting on my hand, in
the attitude of one thinking; but at the same time my mind was
vacant. I once more lay down to sleep, and the following morning I
found myself invigorated, and capable of acting as well as thinking.
I had a weight upon my spirits which I could not at first account
for; but it arose from the feeling that I was now alone, without a
soul to speak to or communicate with; my lips must now be closed till
I again fell in with some of my fellow-creatures--and was that
likely? We had seen some of them perish not far from us, and that was
all, during a period of many years.




Chapter XIV


I was now, by Jackson's account, nearly fourteen years old. During
fourteen years but one vessel had been seen by us. It might be
fourteen more, or double that time might elapse, before I should
again fall in with any of my fellow-creatures. As these thoughts
saddened me, I felt how much I would have sacrificed if Jackson had
remained alive, were it only for his company; I would have forgiven
him anything. I even then felt as if, in the murderer of my father, I
had lost a friend.

That day I was so unsettled I could not do anything; I tried to
read, but I could not; I tried to eat, but my appetite was gone, I
sat looking at the ocean as it rolled wave after wave, sometimes
wondering whether it would ever bring a fellow-creature to join me;
at others I sat, and for hours, in perfect vacuity of thought. The
evening closed in; it was dark, and I still remained seated where I
was. At last I returned to my bed, almost brokenhearted; but
fortunately I was soon asleep, and my sorrows were forgotten.

Another morning was gladdened with a brilliant sun, the dark blue
ocean was scarcely ruffled by the breeze that swept over it, and I
felt my spirits much revived, and my appetite returned. After taking
a meal, I remembered what Jackson had told me about the belt with the
diamonds, and I went up to his bed-place, and turning out the bird's
skins and feathers, I raked up the gravel, which was not more than
two inches deep, and came to the board. I lifted it up, and found
underneath a hole, about a foot deep, full of various articles. There
were the watch and sleeve buttons of the mate, some dollars wrapped
in old rags, a tobacco-box, an old pipe, a brooch with hair forming
initials, some letters which were signed J. Evelyn, and which I
perceived were from my grandfather, and probably taken by Jackson
after my mother's death. I say letters, because they were such, as I
afterwards found out, but I had not then ever seen a letter, and my
first attempt to decipher written hand was useless, although I did
manage to make out the signature. There was in the tobacco-box a
plain gold wedding-ring, probably my mother's; and there was also a
lock of long dark hair, which I presumed was hers also. There were
three or four specimens of what I afterwards found out to be gold and
silver ores, a silver pencil-case, and a pair of small gold ear-rings.
At the bottom of the hole was the belt; it was of soft leather,
and I could feel a hard substance in it sewed in every square,
which of course I presumed were the diamonds, but I did not cut
one of the divisions open to see what was in them. It had on the
upper part of it, in very plain writing, "The property of Mr J.
Evelyn, 33, Minories, London." I examined all these articles one
after another, and having satisfied my curiosity, I replaced them in
the hole for a future survey. I covered the hole with the board, and
put back the gravel and the feathers into the bed-place. This
occupied me about two hours, and then I again took my former position
on the rocks, and remained in a state of listless inactivity of body
and mind the remainder of that day.

This state of prostration lasted for many days--I may say for weeks,
before it was altogether removed. I could find no pleasure in my
books, which were taken up, and after a few moments laid aside. It
was now within a month of the time that the birds should come to the
island. I was in no want of them for sustenance; there were plenty
left, but I almost loathed the sight of food. The reader may inquire
how it was that I knew the exact time of the arrival of the birds? I
reply that the only reckoning ever kept by Jackson and me was the
arrival of the full moons, and we also made a mark on the rock every
time that the moon was at the full. Thirteen moons were the quantity
which we reckoned from the time of the birds appearing on the island
one year, until their re-appearance the next; and twelve moons had
now passed. At length, tired with everything, tired of myself, and I
may say, almost tired of life, I one day took it into my head that I
would take some provisions with me and a bottle to hold water, and go
up the ravine, and cut firewood which should last me a long while;
and that I would remain up there for several days, for I hated the
sight of the cabin and of all that was near to it. The next day I
acted upon this resolution, and slinging my dry provisions on my
shoulder, I set off for the ravine. In an hour I had gained it; but
not being in a hurry to cut wood, I resolved upon climbing higher up,
to see if I could reach the opposite side of the island; that is, at
least, get over the brow of the hill, to have a good view of it. I
continued to climb until I had gained a smooth grassy spot, which was
clear of brushwood; and as I sat down to rest myself, I observed some
blue flowers which I had never seen before, indeed I did not know
that there was a flower on the island. As I afterwards discovered,
they were one of the varieties of Gentianellas. I looked at them,
admired them, and felt quite an affection for them; they were very
pretty, and they were, as well as myself, alone. Jackson, when I was
pointing out the English cottages in the landscapes of "Mavor's
Natural History," had told me a great deal about gardening in
England, and how wild flowers and trees were transplanted and
improved by culture; how roses and other plants were nailed up the
walls, as I had observed in the engravings, and how they were watered
and kept; and as I sat down looking at the flower, the thought
occurred to me, Why should I not take it with me, and keep it for
myself? I can water it, and take care of it. I resolved that I would
do so, for I already looked upon the plant as a treasure. I took it
up carefully with my American knife, leaving sufficient mould about
the roots, and then I proceeded to ascend the hill; but before I had
gone another hundred yards, I found at least a dozen more of these
plants in flower, all finer than the one I had dug up, and three or
four others very different from these, which were also quite new to
me. I was puzzled what to do; I put down the plants I had dug up and
continued my ascent, not having made up my mind. After half-an-hour's
climbing, I gained the summit, and could perceive the ocean on the
other side, and the other half of the island lying beneath me. It was
very grand from the height I stood on, but I observed little
difference between one side of the island and the other; all was
rugged barren rock as on my side, with the exception of the portion
close to me; this had brushwood in the ravine, which appeared to be a
sort of cleft through the island. All was silent and solitary; not a
bird was to be seen, and nothing that had life could I discover. I
was about to return, when I thought I might as well go down the
ravine facing me for a little way, and see what there was in it. I
did so, and discovered some other plants that I had not seen on my
side of the island. There were also some fern trees, and some twining
plants running up them, and I thought to myself, Why, these plants
are what I saw in the picture of the English cottages, or very like
them. I wonder if they would run up my cabin? and then all at once
the idea came to me that I would plant some of them round the cabin,
and that I would make a garden of flowers, and have plants of my own.
The reader can hardly imagine the pleasure that this idea gave me; I
sat down to ruminate upon it, and felt quite happy for the time. I
now recollected, however, that the cabin was built on the rock, and
that plants would only grow in the earth. At first this idea chilled
me, as it seemed to destroy all my schemes, but I resolved that I
would bring some earth to the rock, and make my garden in that way. I
at first thought of the guano, but Jackson had told me that it was
only used in small proportions to enrich the soil, and would kill
plants if used by itself. After an hour's consideration, during which
I called to mind all that Jackson had told me on the subject, I made
up my mind I would return to the cabin, and on my return ascertain
how low down the ravine I could obtain earth for my garden; I would
then carry the earth to the cabin, make a soil ready for the plants
and flowers, and then, when all was ready, I would go up the ravine,
collect what I could, and make my garden. I did so. I found that I
could get soil about one-third of the way up the ravine, a quarter of
a mile below where the brushwood grew; and having ascertained that, I
returned to the cabin, threw down my provisions which were to have
lasted me a week, and as it was late, I decided that I would not
commence operations until the following day.

I took out of the chest a duck frock, and tying up the sleeves and
collar, so as to form a bag of the body of the frock, I set off the
next morning to begin my task. That day I contrived to carry to the
cabin ten or twelve bags of mould, which I put round it in a border
about four feet wide, and about a foot deep. It occupied me a whole
week to obtain the quantity of earth necessary to make the bed on
each side of the cabin; it was hard work, but it made me cheerful and
happy to what I had been before. I found that the best cure for
melancholy and solitude was employment, so I thus obtained valuable
knowledge as well as the making of my garden. When I had finished
carrying the mould, I started off for the ravine with two bags to
hold the plants which I might collect, and after a day's toil, I
returned with my bags full of small shrubs, besides a bundle of
creepers to plant against the sides of the cabin. The following day
was occupied in planting everything I had procured. I was sorry to
see that the leaves and flowers hung down, but I watered them all
before I went to bed. The next morning I was delighted to perceive
that they had all recovered and were looking quite fresh. But my
garden was not full enough to please me, and I once more went up the
ravine, selecting other plants which had no flowers on them, and one
or two other shrubs, which I had not before observed. When these were
planted and watered, my garden looked very gay and full of plants,
and then I discovered the mould came down for want of support at the
edges; I therefore went and picked up pieces of rock of sufficient
size to make a border and hold up the mould, and now all was
complete, and I had nothing to do but to go on watering them daily.
This I did, and recollecting what Jackson had said about the guano, I
got a bag of it, and put some to each plant. The good effect of this
was soon observable, and before the birds came, my garden was in a
very flourishing condition.

I cannot express to the reader the pleasure I derived from this
little garden. I knew every plant and every shrub, and talked to them
as if they were companions, while I watered and tended them, which I
did every night and morning, and their rapid growth was my delight. I
no longer felt my solitude so irksome as I had done. I had something
to look after, to interest me, and to love; they were alive as well
as I was; they grew, and threw out leaves and flowers; they were
grateful for the care I bestowed upon them, and became my companions
and friends.

I mentioned before that during the latter portion of the time I was
with Jackson, he had taught me to sing several songs. Feeling tired,
in my solitude, of not hearing the human voice, I found myself at
first humming over, and afterwards singing aloud, the various airs I
had collected from him. This afforded me much pleasure, and I used to
sing half the day. I had no one to listen to me, it is true, but as
my fondness for my garden increased, I used to sit down and sing to
the flowers and shrubs, and fancy that they listened to me. But my
stock of songs was not very large, and at last I had repeated them so
often that I became tired of the words. It occurred to me that the
Prayer-book had the Psalms of David at the end of it, set to music. I
got the book, and as far as the airs that I knew would suit, I sang
them all; never were Psalms, probably, sung to such tunes before, but
it amused me, and there was no want of variety of language.

Every three or four days I would go up the ravine, and search
carefully for any new flower or shrub which I had not yet planted in
my garden, and when I found one, as I often did, it was a source of
great delight.




Chapter XV


At last the birds came, and I procured some of their eggs, which
were a very agreeable change, after living so long upon dried meat.
My want of occupation occasioned me also to employ some of my time in
fishing, which I seldom had done while Jackson was alive; and this
created a variety in my food, to which, for a long while, I had been
a stranger. Jackson did not care for fish, as to cook it we were
obliged to go up the ravine for wood, and he did not like the
trouble. When the birds came, I had recourse to my book on Natural
History, to read over again the accounts of the Man-of-War birds,
Gannets, and other birds mentioned in it; and there was a vignette of
a Chinaman with tame cormorants on a pole, and in the letter-press an
account of how they were trained and employed to catch fish for their
masters. This gave me the idea that I would have some birds tame, as
companions, and, if possible, teach them to catch fish for me; but I
knew that I must wait till the young birds were fit to be taken from
the nest.

I now resolved that during the time the birds were mating, I would
go to the ravine and remain there several days, to collect bundles of
firewood. The firewood was chiefly cut from a sort of low bush, like
the sallow or willow, fit for making baskets, indeed fit for anything
better than firewood; however, there were some bushes which were of a
harder texture, and which burnt well. It was Jackson who told me that
the former were called willow and used for making baskets, and he
also shewed me how to tie the faggots up by twisting the sallows
together. They were not, however, what Jackson said they were--from
after knowledge, I should say that they were a species of Oleander or
something of the kind.

Having roasted several dozen of eggs quite hard, by way of
provision, I set off one morning, and went to the ravine. As Jackson
had said before, I had to walk under a wall of rock thirty feet high,
and then pass through a water-course to get up to the ravine, which
increased the distance to where the shrubs grew, at least half a
mile. It was over this wall that the captain fell and was killed,
because Jackson would not assist him. I gained the thicket where the
bushes grew, and for three days I worked very hard, and had cut down
and tied about fifty large faggots, when I thought that I had
collected enough to last me for a long while; but I had still to
carry them down, and this was a heavy task, as I could not carry more
than one at a time. It occurred to me that if I threw my faggots over
the wall opposite to where they had been cut down, I should save
myself nearly a mile of carriage, as otherwise I had to walk all the
way to the water-course which divided the wall of rock, and then walk
back again. Indeed, where I cut down the wood was not more than a
quarter of a mile from the bathing-pool, and all down hill. I was
delighted at this idea, which I wondered had never occurred to
Jackson, and I commenced putting it into execution. The top of the
wall of rock was slippery from the constant trickling of the water
over the surface, but this was only in some places. I carried my
faggots down one by one, and threw them over, being careful not to
lose my footing in so doing. I had carried all but three or four, and
had become careless, when, on heaving one over, my heels were thrown
up, and before I could recover myself I slid down the remainder of
the ledge and was precipitated down below, a distance of more than
thirty feet. I must have remained there many hours insensible, but at
last I recovered and found myself lying on the faggots which I had
thrown down. It was my falling on the faggots, instead of the hard
rock, which had saved my life. I rose as soon as I could collect my
scattered senses. I felt very sore and very much shaken, and the
blood was running out of my mouth, but there were no bones broken. I
was, however, too ill to attempt anything more that day. I walked
home at a very slow pace and went to bed. A sound sleep restored me,
and in a day or two I was quite recovered. I watered my plants, which
I found drooping, as if they had grieved at my being so long away
from them, and then I returned to where my faggots had been left; and
to lighten my labour I resolved to carry them down to the bathing-pool
and stack them up there on the rocks near to it. I mention this
for reasons that the reader will comprehend bye-and-bye. This
occupied me two days, for I was not inclined, after my fall, to work
hard; and very glad was I when the labour was over.

The young birds were now hatched, but I had to wait four or five
weeks before they were fit to be taken. I began again to find
solitude tedious. The flowers in my garden had all bloomed and
withered, and there was not so much to interest me. I recommenced
reading the Bible, and the narratives in the Old and New Testaments
again afforded me pleasure. I hardly need say to the reader that I
read the Bible as I would have read any other book--for amusement,
and not for instruction. I had learnt little from Jackson--indeed, as
regards the true nature of the Christian religion, I may say, nothing
at all. I do not believe that he knew anything about it himself. It
is true that the precepts in the New Testament struck me, and that I
was more interested about Our Saviour than anybody else; but I could
not comprehend him, or his mission. In short, I read in darkness; and
I may say that I almost knew the Bible by heart without understanding
it.--How could I? How many thousands are there who do the same,
without having an excuse to offer for their blindness!

At last the time for taking the birds arrived, and I had then
sufficient employment to keep me from being melancholy. I collected
quite as many as we had done when Jackson and I had to be provided
for; and with my new knives my labour was comparatively easy. As soon
as I had completed my provision, I went back to take the young birds
which already I had selected and left for that purpose. It was high
time, for I found that when I went to take them they were ready to
fly. However, after a good battle with the old birds (for I had taken
six young ones--two from each nest, which arrayed a force of six old
ones against me, who fought very valiantly in defence of their
offspring), I succeeded in carrying them off, but followed by the old
birds, who now screamed and darted close to me as they came pursuing
me to the cabin. As soon as I got safe back, I took the young birds
into the cabin, tying each of them by the leg with a piece of fishing
line, and the other end of the line I fastened to some pieces of rock
which I had collected ready on the platform outside of the cabin. The
old birds continued to persecute me till it was dark, and then they
went away, and I, tired with my day's labour, was not sorry to go to
sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I found the old birds on the
platform, in company with the young ones, I presume trying to
persuade them to fly away with them; but the lines on their legs
prevented that. They did not leave at my approach for some little
while; at last they all took wing, and went off to sea; but in the
course of a few minutes they returned with some small fish in their
mouths, with which they fed their young ones. They continued to do
this for the two following days, when there was a general break up,
announcing the departure of the main body, which, after much soaring
and wheeling in the air, flew off in a northerly direction. The six
parent birds, who were with their young ones at the cabin, appeared
for some time very uneasy, flying round and round and screaming
wildly; at last they soared in the air with loud shrieks, and flew
away after the main body, which was still in sight--their love for
their young overpowered by their instinctive habits. I was not sorry
when they were gone, as I wanted to have my new family all to myself.
I went down to the rocks and caught a fish, which was large enough to
supply them for three or four days. I fed them with the inside of the
fish, and they ate it very heartily. For several days they appeared
very uneasy; but gradually they settled, and not only appeared to
know me, but to welcome my coming, which was to me a source of great
pleasure.

I now neglected my flowers for the birds, which were the more
animated of the two; and I sat down for hours on the platform with my
six companions, who I must own were not over-lively and intelligent,
but they were alive, and had eyes. They seldom roused up, unless I
brought them fish, of which they had a supply four times a day, and
then they would stand on their legs and open their beaks far apart,
each waiting for its share. They were a great happiness to me, and I
watched their gradual increase of plumage and of size, which was very
rapid. I gave them all names out of my Natural History book. One was
Lion, then Tiger, Panther, Bear, Horse, and Jackass (at the time that
I named them, the last would have been very appropriate to them all);
and as I always called them by their names as I fed them, I soon
found, to my great joy, that they knew them well enough. This
delighted me. I read my books to them by way of amusement; I sang my
songs to them; I talked to them; I would even narrate the various
histories out of the Bible to them, such as that of Joseph and his
brethren, &c., and the stolid air with which the communications were
received made me almost imagine they were listened to.

After a time, I took the line off the legs of two of them, with the
precaution of first cutting their wings, and these two became much
more lively, following me into the cabin and generally staying there
during the night. As I found that no attempt was made to escape, I
let them all loose, after having cut their wings, and they all
behaved equally well with the two first to which I had given their
liberty.

The perfect obedience and good behaviour of my new companions again
gave me leisure that was not altogether desirable, as it left a
vacuum to fill up. But I returned to my garden. I could do no more at
present but water my plants and look at the increased daily growth of
the climbers, as they now boldly ascended the sides of the cabin; but
I thought it was high time to go up into the ravine and about the
island, to see if I could not add to my collection.

One morning I set off up the ravine. I was not successful, so I
contented myself with carrying, by the long road, those faggots which
I had left behind me on the day when I fell over the precipice. This
labour I finished, and then returned to the cabin, where I was met by
my birds with half-extended wings and open mouths, as if they were
very glad to see me, and very hungry into the bargain. I ought to
observe that my birds appeared now to separate into pairs, male and
female, as their difference of plumage denoted. Lion and Horse were
always side by side, as were Jackass and Bear, and Tiger and Panther.
I now fed them one by one, calling them by name, to which they
immediately responded, and if anyone came who was not called, it was
switched for its trouble.

The next morning I set off on another voyage of discovery after
plants, and this time I resolved upon trying what I could find among
the crevices of the rocks, for I had seen at a distance what appeared
to me to be a very pretty flower on the ledge of one of the clefts. I
did not go up the ravine this time, but commenced climbing the rocks
behind where the cabin was built. It was hard work, but I was not
easily discouraged, and after a couple of hours I arrived at a level
which I had in view when I commenced my labour, and here I was amply
rewarded, for I found several plants quite new to me, and a variety
of ferns, which I thought very beautiful, although they had no
flowers. The scene, from where I stood, was awful and beautiful. I
looked down upon the rocks below, and the cabin, which appeared very
small, and I thought that I could see my birds like dots upon the
platform. It was a bright day and smooth water, I could clearly
distinguish the other islands in the distance, and I thought that I
saw something like a white speck close to them--perhaps it was a
vessel. This made me melancholy, and I could not help asking myself
whether I was to remain all my life upon the island, alone, or if
there were any chance of my ever being taken off it. As I looked down
upon the cabin, I was surprised at the steepness of the rocks which I
had climbed, and felt alarmed, as if I never should be able to get
back again. But these thoughts were soon chased away. I turned from
the seaward, and looked inland. I found that on one side of me there
was a chasm between the rocks, the bottom of which was so far down
that I could not see it; and on the other side the rock rose up as
straight as a wall. My attention was soon diverted by discovering
another plant, and I now commenced my task of digging them all up. I
obtained, with the ferns, about twenty new varieties, which I made up
in a bundle ready for carrying down slung round my neck, for I knew
that I should require both hands to descend with. Then I sat down to
rest myself a little before I commenced my return, and after I had
been seated a few minutes, I thought I would sing a song by way of
amusement.




Chapter XVI


I have before said that, tired of repeating the words of the songs
which Jackson had taught me, I had taken those of Psalms in metre, at
the end of the Prayer-book, by way of variety; and, as far as metre
went, they answered very well, although people would have been
surprised to have heard Psalms sung to such quick and varied measure.
The Psalm I chose this time was the first--"How blest is he who ne'er
consents;" and I began accordingly; but when I came to the end of the
line, to my astonishment I heard a plaintive voice, at a distance,
repeat after me "con-sents." I looked round. I thought I must have
been deceived, so I continued--"By ill advice to walk." This time I
could not be mistaken--"to walk" was repeated by the same voice as
plainly as possible. I stopped singing, lost in wonder. There must be
somebody on the island as well as myself, thought I; for I never had
heard an echo before, except when it thundered, and such echoes I had
put down as a portion of the thunder. "Who's there?" cried I. "Who's
there?" replied the voice. "It's me!" "It's me!" was the answer. I
did not know what to make of it. I cried out again and again, and
again and again I heard what I said repeated, but no answer to my
questions. I thought I was insulted by somebody, and yet, when I
listened, the voice that spoke came from the face of the rock on the
other side of the chasm, and no one could be there without my seeing
them. This made me think that I was mistaken, and that there could
not be anybody, but still I could not solve the mystery. At last I
became frightened, and as the sun was now setting, I determined to
get back to the cabin. I did so, and went down much faster than I had
gone up, for as it grew dark I became the more alarmed. The only
thing that re-assured me was the softness and plaintiveness of the
voice--not like Jackson's, but as of someone who would not think of
injuring me.

Although I was, generally speaking, quiet and content with my
isolated position, yet it was only when I was employed or amused with
my favourites. At times, I could not find anything to do, and was
overcome by weariness. I would then throw away my books, and remain
for hours thinking upon the probability of my ever again seeing a
fellow creature; and a fit of melancholy would come over me, which
would last many days. I was in one of these moods, when it occurred
to me, that, although I had seen the other side of the island from
the summit, I had not gone down to the beach to explore it; and I
resolved that I would do so, making a trip of three or four days.
When my knives had become blunt, Jackson had told me how to sharpen
them, by rubbing the blades upon a hard flat piece of rock, wetted
with water. This I had found to answer very well, and I now
determined I would try and sharpen one of the old axes in the same
way, so as to make it serviceable, for I was very much afraid of
breaking my knives in cutting down the brushwood, and I knew how much
more rapidly it could be done with an axe. I picked out a large
stone, suitable for the purpose, and with a kid of water at hand, I
set-to to sharpen the axe. It was a long job, but in a day or two I
had succeeded admirably, and the axe was in good order. I then
thought how I could leave my birds for so many days, as they would
require food. At last, I considered that if I caught two large fish
and cut them up, they would be sufficient for their sustenance. I did
so, and provided with a packet of dried birds for food, tied up in a
duck frock, with my Natural History book for amusement, a pannikin to
get water in, my axe on my shoulder, and my knives by my side--I
first kissed all the birds, and told them to remain quiet and good
till I came back--I set off on a bright clear morning on my tour of
examination.

In a couple of hours I had gained the summit of the island, and
prepared for my descent, by sitting down and eating my dinner. I
observed that, as before, the water on the other side of the island
was quite smooth, compared to what it was on the side where I
resided. It was, in fact, from the prevailing winds during the year,
the lee side of the island. Having rested myself sufficiently, I
commenced my descent, which I accomplished in little less time than
it took me to ascend from the other side. As I neared the rocks by
the shore, I thought I perceived something occasionally moving about
on them. I was not mistaken, for as I came closer, I found that there
were several large animals lying on the rocks, and occasionally
dropping into the sea close to them.

The sight of anything living was to me of great interest. I
determined to get nearer, and ascertain what animals they were. At
last, by creeping along from rock to rock, I arrived to within forty
yards of them. I recollected some animals of the same shape in my
book of Natural History, which, fortunately, I had with me in the
duck frock, and sitting down behind the rock, I pulled it out, and
turned over the pages until I came to a print which exactly answered
to their appearance. It was the Seal. Having satisfied myself on that
point, I read the history of the animal, and found that it was easily
tamed, and very affectionate when taken young, and also might be
easily killed by a blow on the nose. These, at least, were for me the
two most important pieces of information. It occurred to me that it
would be very pleasant to have a young seal for a playmate (for the
Gannets, after all, were not very intelligent), and I resolved to
obtain one if I could. I put down my duck frock with my provisions
behind the rock, and taking my axe in my hand, I cautiously advanced
to where the animals lay. There were about twenty of them all
together on one rock, but they were all large, and seemed to be about
five or six feet long. I could not see a small one anywhere, so I
walked in behind the rocks farther to the right, towards another
rock, where I saw another batch of them lying. As I neared them, I
saw by herself a seal with a young one by her side, not more than two
feet long. This was what I wanted. They lay at some distance from the
water, upon a low rock. I watched them for some time, and was much
amused at the prattling which passed between the old and the young
one. I thought that to obtain the young one, I must of course kill
the old one, for I perceived that it had large teeth. I considered it
advisable to get between them and the water, that they might not
escape me, and I contrived so to do before I made my appearance. As
soon as the old one perceived me running to them, it gave a shrill
cry, and then floundered towards the water; as we came close
together, it showed its teeth, and rose upon its flappers to defend
itself and its young one, which kept close to its side; but a blow on
its nose with the axe rendered it motionless, and apparently dead.
Delighted with my success, I seized hold of the young one and took it
in my arms, and was carrying it away, when I found myself confronted
with the male seal, which, alarmed by the cry of the female, had come
to her assistance. It was much larger than the female, with more
shaggy hair about the neck and shoulders, and apparently very fierce.
I could not pass it, as it was in shore of me, and I had just time to
drop the young seal, and leap behind a rock on one side, with my axe
all ready. The animal reared itself on the rock to pass over to me,
when I saluted it with a blow on the head, which staggered it. I had
lost my presence of mind by the creature coming upon me so
unexpectedly, and my blow was not well aimed, but before it could
recover the first blow, another on its nose tumbled it over, to all
appearance lifeless. I then hastened to gain the other side of the
rock, where I had left the young seal, and found that it had crept to
its mother's body, and was fondling it. I took it in my arms, and
retreated to where I had left my duck frock, and throwing everything
else out, I put the animal in, and tied up the end, so that it could
not escape. I then sat down to recover myself from the excitement
occasioned by this first engagement I had ever been in, quite
delighted with my newly-acquired treasure.

I then thought what I should do. It was now within an hour of dark,
and was too late to return to the other side of the island, or I
would have done so, as I was anxious to get my seal home. At last I
decided that I would go farther from the beach, and take up my
quarters for the night. I collected my provision, and with my seal
under my arm, I walked away about one hundred yards from the water's
edge, and took up a position under a large rock; here I ate my
supper, and then untied the line which closed up the frock, and had a
parting look at my little friend before I went to sleep. He had
struggled a good deal at first, but was now quiet, although he
occasionally made attempts to bite me. I coaxed him and fondled him a
good deal, and then put him into his bag again, and made him secure,
which appeared to annoy him very much, as he was not half as quiet in
a bag as he was when I held him in my lap. I then took my book to
read over again the history of the seal, and I found that their skins
were valuable, and also that they gave a great deal of oil, but I had
no use for oil, though I thought that their skins might be very
comfortable in my bed-place. I shut my book and lay down to sleep,
but I could not obtain any till near daylight, I had been so excited,
and was so anxious about my treasure. The sun shining in my eyes woke
me up; I found my seal was lying very quiet; I touched him to see
that he was not dead, and the cry that he gave assured me to the
contrary. I then walked back to where I had left the bodies of the
parents. I found on examination that they were both dead, and also
that their furs were very beautiful, and I resolved that I would have
their skins. But here was a difficulty. If I took off the skins, I
could not carry them with me, and I was anxious to get the young one
home, lest it should die of hunger, so I decided that I would first
take home the young one, give it food and warm it, and then return
and skin the old ones.

I therefore made my breakfast, and leaving the remainder of my
provision in a cleft in the rock, that I might not have the trouble
of bringing it again, I set off on my return, and used such diligence
that I was back at the cabin by noon. I found my birds all well, and
apparently quite satisfied with the provision that I had left them,
for they were most of them asleep, and those that were awake did not
notice my arrival.

"Ah," thought I, "you only like me for what I give you; next time I
go away I will leave you hungry, and then when you see me come back,
you will all flutter your wings with gladness."

I was puzzled where to put my seal so as to keep him safe: at last I
decided upon opening the seaman's chest and putting him in that. I
did so, and gave him a piece of fish which the birds had not eaten.
The little creature devoured it eagerly, and I took my lines and went
down to catch some fish for a further supply. In half an hour I
returned with two large fish, and I then took the seal out of the
chest and fed him again. He ate very heartily; and I was glad to
perceive that he appeared much tamer already. I threw some of the
insides of the fish to the birds, who were now become of very
inferior interest to me. Having fed my animals, I then thought of
myself, and, as I took my meal, I arranged that the next morning I
would go over to the other side of the island, skin the two seals,
and spread out the skins on the rocks to dry, and would leave them
there till I had a better opportunity of bringing them to the cabin;
at present I could not be away from my new acquaintance, which I
wished to make tame and fond of me. Having fed him again in the
morning, I put down the lid of the chest, and then started for the
lee side of the island.




Chapter XVII


I arrived early, skinned both the seals, and dragged the skins up
from the water-side, though with difficulty, especially that of the
large one, to the rock where I had taken up my quarters the night
before. Here I spread them out to dry, putting large pieces of rock
upon the edges, that they might not be blown away. It was nearly dusk
when I had finished, but I set off, and an hour after dark arrived at
the cabin; for now that I knew my way so well, I got over the ground
twice as fast as I did before. I crawled into my bed-place in the
dark, and slept soundly after my fatigue. I awoke the next morning
with the plaintive cry of my seal in the chest, and I hastened to get
some fish to feed him with. I took him out and fed him; and was
astonished how tame the little animal had become already. He remained
very quietly with me after he had been fed, nestling close to my
side, as if I had been his mother, and even making a half attempt to
follow me when I left him.

My birds appeared very dull and stupid, and I observed also that
they were very dirty, and always rushed to the kid when it was full
of water, trying to get into it. This made me think that they
required bathing in salt water, and I took one down to the bathing-pool,
with a long line to its leg, and put it in. The manner in which
the poor creature floundered, and dipped and washed itself, for
several minutes, proved my supposition correct; so, after allowing it
half an hour for its recreation, I took it back, and went down with
the others until they had all indulged in the luxury of a bath; and
from that time, as I took them down almost every day, it was
astonishing how much brighter and sleeker their plumage became.

I remained a week in the cabin, taming my seal, which now was quite
fond of me; and one night, as I was going to bed, he crawled into my
bed-place, and from that time he was my bed-fellow. At the end of a
week I went over to the other side of the island, and contrived to
carry up the two skins to the summit. It was a hard day's work. The
day afterwards I conveyed them to the cabin, and, as they were quite
dry, I put them into my bed-place to lie down upon, as I did not like
the smell of the birds' feathers, although I had so long been
accustomed to them.

And now, what with my seal, my birds, and my garden, and the
occupation they gave me, the time passed quickly away, until, by my
reckoning, it was nearly the period for the birds to come again. I
observed, as the time drew near, that my birds were uneasy. They had
paired, as I mentioned before, and when their plumage was complete,
it was evident that they had paired male and female, as I had
supposed. They had not been tethered for a long while, and appeared
to me now very much inclined to fly, especially the male birds. At
first I thought that I would cut all their wings, as I was fearful
that they would join the other birds on their arrival, but observing
that they were so fond of their mates, I resolved to cut the wing of
the females only, as I did not think that the male birds would leave
them. I did so, and took my chance; for since I had the seal for a
companion, I did not care so much for the birds as before. At last
the birds came, and took possession of the guano-ground as usual, and
I went for fresh eggs; at the same time I found that my females were
scratching, as if they would make their nests, and a few days
afterwards they began to lay. I then thought that as soon as they had
young ones they would wish to go away, so I took the eggs that were
laid, to prevent them, but I found that as fast as I took away the
eggs they laid more, and this they did for nearly two months,
supplying me with fresh eggs long after the wild birds had hatched,
and left the island. The male birds, at the time that the females
first laid their eggs, tried their wings in short flights in circles,
and then flew away out to sea. I thought that they were gone, but I
was deceived, for they returned in about a quarter of an hour, each
with a fish in its beak, which they laid down before their mates. I
was much pleased at this, and I resolved that in future they should
supply their own food, which they did; and not their own food only,
but enough for the seal and me also when the weather was fine, but
when it was rough, they could not obtain any, and then I was obliged
to feed them. The way I obtained from them the extra supply of fish
was, that when they first went out, I seized, on their return, the
fish which they brought, and as often as I did this they would go for
more, until the females were fed.

But I had one difficulty to contend with, which was, that at the
time the birds could not obtain fish, which was when the weather was
rough, I could not either, as they would not take the bait. After
some cogitation, I decided that I would divide a portion of the
bathing-pool farthest from the shore, by a wall of loose rock which
the water could flow through, but which the fish could not get out
of, and that I would catch fish in the fine weather to feed the seal
and the birds when the weather was rough and bad. As soon as I had
finished curing my stock of provisions and got it safely housed in
the cabin, I set to work to make this wall, which did not take me a
very long while, as the water was not more than two feet deep, and
the pool about ten yards across. As soon as it was finished, I went
out every day, when it was fine, and caught as many fish as I thought
I might require, and put them into this portion of the bathing-pool.
I found the plan answer well, as the fish lived, but I had great
difficulty in getting them out when I wanted them, for they would not
take the bait.

As my birds were no longer a trouble to me, but rather, on the
contrary, a profit, I devoted my whole time to my seal. I required a
name for him, and reading in the book of Natural History that a
certain lion was called Nero, I thought it a very good name for a
seal, and bestowed it on him accordingly, although what Nero meant I
had no idea of. The animal was now so tame that he would cry if ever
I left him, and would follow me as far as he could down the rocks,
but there was one part of the path leading to the bathing-pool which
was too difficult for him, and there he would remain crying till I
came back. I had more than once taken him down to the bathing-pool to
wash him, and he was much pleased when I did. I now resolved that I
would clear the path of the rocks, that he might be able to follow me
down the whole way, for he had grown so much that I found him too
heavy to carry. It occupied me a week before I could roll away and
remove the smaller rocks, and knock off others with the axe, but I
finished it at last, and was pleased to find that the animal followed
me right down and plunged into the water. He had not been down since
I had made the wall of rock to keep the fish in, and as soon as he
was in, he dived and came out with one of the fish, which he brought
to land. "So now," thought I, "I shall know how to get the fish when
I want them--I shall bring you down, Nero." I may as well here
observe that Nero very soon obeyed orders as faithfully as a dog. I
had a little switch, and when he did wrong, I would give him a slight
tap on the nose. He would shake his head, show his teeth, and growl,
and then come fondly to me. As he used to follow me every day down to
the pool, I had to break him off going after the fish when I did not
want them taken, and this I accomplished. No one who had not
witnessed it, could imagine the affection and docility of this
animal, and the love I had for him. He was my companion and playmate
during the day, and my bedfellow at night. We were inseparable.

It was at the latter portion of the second year of my solitude that
a circumstance occurred, that I must now relate. Nero had gone down
to the pool with me, and I was standing fishing off the rocks, when
he came out of the pool and plunged into the sea, playing all sorts
of gambols, and whistling with delight. I did not think anything
about it. He plunged and disappeared for a few minutes, and then
would come up again close to where my line was, but he disturbed the
fish and I could not catch any. To drive him farther off, I pelted
him with pieces of rock, one of which hit him very hard, and he dived
down. After a time I pulled up my line, and whistling to him to
return, although I did not see him, I went away to the cabin, fully
expecting that he would soon follow me, for now he could walk (after
his fashion) from the cabin to the pool as he pleased. This was early
in the morning, and I busied myself with my garden, which was now in
great luxuriance, for I had dressed it with guano; but observing
about noon that he had not returned, I became uneasy, and went down
to the pool to look for him. He was not there, and I looked on the
sea, but could not perceive him anywhere. I called and whistled, but
it was of no use, and I grew very much alarmed at the idea that my
treasure had deserted me. "It could not be because I threw the pieces
of rock at him," thought I; "he would not leave me for that." I
remained for two or three hours, watching for him, but it was all in
vain; there was no seal--no Nero,--my heart sank at the idea of the
animal having deserted me, and for the first time in my life, as far
as I can recollect, I burst into a flood of tears. For the first time
in my life, I may say, I felt truly miserable--my whole heart and
affections were set upon this animal, the companion and friend of my
solitude, and I felt as if existence were a burden without him. After
a while, I retraced my steps to the cabin, but I was miserable, more
so than I can express. I could not rest quiet. Two hours before
sunset, I went down again to the rocks, and called till I was hoarse.
It was all in vain; night closed in, and again I returned to the
cabin, and threw myself down in my bed-place in utter despair.

"I thought he loved me," said I to myself, "loved me as I loved him;
I would not have left him in that way." And my tears burst out anew
at the idea that I never should see my poor Nero again.

The reader may think that my grief was inordinate and unwarrantable,
but let him put himself in my position--a lad of sixteen, alone on a
desolate island, with only one companion--true, he was an animal, and
could not speak, but he was affectionate; he replied to all my
caresses; he was my only companion and friend, the only object that I
loved or cared about. He was intelligent, and I thought loved me as
much as I loved him, and now he had deserted me, and I had nothing
else that I cared about or that cared for me. My tears flowed for
more than an hour, till at last I was wearied and fell asleep.




Chapter XVIII


It was early in the morning, and yet dark, when I felt something
touch me. I started up--a low cry of pleasure told me at once that it
was Nero, who was by my side. Yes, it was Nero, who had come back,
having climbed up again the steep path to the cabin, to return to his
master. Need I say that I was overjoyed, that I hugged him as if he
had been a human being, that I wept over him, and that in a few
minutes afterwards we were asleep together in the same bed-place.
Such was the fact, and never was there in my after life, so great a
transition from grief to joy.

"Oh! now, if you had left me,"--said I to him, the next morning,
when I got up; "you naughty seal, to frighten me and make me so
unhappy as you did!" Nero appeared quite as happy as I was at our
reunion, and was more affectionate than ever.

I must now pass over many months in very few words, just stating to
the reader what my position was at the end of three years, during
which I was alone upon the island. I had now arrived at the age of
near seventeen, and was tall and strong for my years. I had left off
wearing my dress of the skins of birds, having substituted one of the
seaman's shirts, which I had found in the chest. This, however, was
the whole of my costume, and although, had it been longer it would
have been more correct, still, as I had no other companion but Nero,
it was not necessary to be so very particular, as if I had been in
society. During these three years, I think I had read the Bible and
Prayer-book, and my Natural History book, at least five or six times
quite through, and possessing a retentive memory, could almost repeat
them by heart; but still I read the Bible as a sealed book, for I did
not understand it, having had no one to instruct me, nor any grace
bestowed upon me. I read for amusement, and nothing more.

My garden was now in a most flourishing condition, the climbing
plants had overrun the cabin, so as to completely cover the whole of
the roof and every portion of it, and they hung in festoons on each
side of the door-way. Many of the plants which I had taken up small,
when I moved them, had proved to be trees, and were now waving to the
breeze, high above the cabin roof; and everything that I had planted,
from continual watering and guano, had grown most luxuriantly. In
fact, my cabin was so covered and sheltered, that its original form
had totally disappeared, it now looked like an arbour in a clump of
trees, and from the rocks by the bathing-pool it had a very
picturesque appearance.

I had, of course, several times gone up the ravine, and now that my
axe had become useful, I had gradually accumulated a large stock of
wood down by the bathing-pool, more than I could use for a long
while, as I seldom lighted a fire, but the cutting it was employment,
and employment was to me a great source of happiness. I had been
several times to the other side of the island, and had had more
encounters with the seals, of which I killed many, for I found their
skins very comfortable and useful in the cabin. I had collected about
three dozen of the finest skins, which were more than I required, but
I had taken them for the same reason that I had collected the
firewood, for the sake of employment, and in this instance, I may
add, for the sake of the excitement which the combats with the seals
afforded me.

I have not narrated any of these conflicts, as I thought that they
might weary the reader, I must, however, state what occurred on one
occasion, as although ludicrous, it nearly cost me my life. I had
attacked a large male seal, with a splendid fur, for I always looked
out for the best skinned animals. He was lying on a rock close to the
water, and I had gone into the water to cut him off and prevent his
escape by plunging in, as he would otherwise have done; but as I
aimed the usual blow at his nose, my foot slipped on the wet rock,
and I missed the animal, and at the same time fell down on the rock
with the axe in my hand. The animal, which was a male of the largest
size, seized hold of my shirt (which I then wore) with his teeth,
and, plunging with me into the sea, dived down into the deep water.
It was fortunate that he had seized my shirt instead of my body, and
also that I could swim well. He carried me along with him--the shirt,
for a few seconds, drawn over my head, when, disembarrassing myself
of the garment, by slipping my head and arms out, I left it in his
possession, and regained the surface of the water, almost suffocated.
It was fortunate that I did not wear sleeve-buttons; had I had them,
I could not have disengaged myself, and must have perished. I climbed
the rock again, and turning round, I perceived the seal on the
surface, shaking the shirt in great wrath. This was a sad
discomfiture, as I lost not only my shirt but my axe, which I dropped
when I was dragged into the water; nothing was saved except my knife,
which I carried by a lanyard round my neck. Why I mention this
circumstance particularly, is, that having felt great inconvenience
for want of sleeve-buttons to hold the wristbands of my shirt
together, I had thought of making use of those of the mate, which the
reader may recollect had been given with his watch into Jackson's
care, to take home to his wife; but on second consideration I thought
it very possible I might lose them, and decided that the property was
in trust, and that I had no right to risk it. This correct feeling on
my part, therefore, was probably the saving of my life.

I have only now to mention my birds, and of them I can merely say
that they went on as before; they bathed constantly, at the right
season they laid eggs, the male birds caught fish and brought them to
the cabin, and they were just as stupid and uninteresting as they
were at first; however, they never left me, nor indeed shewed any
intention to leave me, after the first season of the birds returning
to the island. They were useful but not very ornamental, and not at
all interesting to one who had such an intelligent companion as Nero.

Having now brought up my history, in a few words, until the time
referred to, I come to the narrative of what occurred to produce a
change in my condition. I have said that in the chest there was a
spy-glass, but it had been wetted with salt-water, and was useless.
Jackson had tried to shew me how to use it, and had shewn me
correctly, but the glasses were dimmed by the wet and subsequent
evaporation from heat. I had taken out all the glasses and cleaned
them, except the field-glass as it is called, but that being composed
of two glasses, the water had penetrated between them, and it still
remained so dull that nothing could be distinguished through it, at
the time that Jackson was shewing me how to use the instrument; it
was therefore put on one side as useless. A year afterwards, I took
it out, from curiosity, and then I discovered that the moisture
between the two glasses had been quite dried up, and that I could see
very clearly through it, and after a little practice I could use it
as well as anybody else. Still I seldom did use it, as my eyesight
was particularly keen, and I did not require it, and as for any
vessel coming off the island, I had gradually given up all thoughts
of it. It was one evening when the weather was very rough and the sea
much agitated, that I thought I saw something unusual on the water,
about four miles distant. I supposed at first it might be a
spermaceti whale, for numbers used to play round the island at
certain seasons, and I used to watch their blowing and their gambols,
if I may use the term, and Jackson often told me long stories about
the whale fisheries; but a ray of the setting sun made the object
appear white, and I ran for the glass, and made out that it was a
boat or a very small vessel, with a sail out, and running before the
gale right down to the island. I watched it till it was dark with
much interest, and with thoughts of various kinds chasing each other;
and then I began to consider what was best to do. I knew that in an
hour the moon would rise, and as the sky was not cloudy, although the
wind and sea were high, I should probably be able to see it again.
"But they never can get on shore on this side of the island," thought
I, "with so much sea. Yes they might, if they ran for the bathing-pool."
After thinking a while, I decided that I would go down to the
bathing-pool, and place lighted faggots on the rocks on each side of
the entrance, as this would shew them where to run for, and how to
get in. I waited a little longer, and then taking my spy-glass and
some tinder with me, I went down to the pool, carried two faggots to
the rocks on each side, and having set them on fire and taken up
others to replace them as soon as they were burnt out, I sat down
with my spy-glass to see if I could make out where the boat might be.

As the moon rose, I descried her now within a mile of the island,
and her head directed towards the beacon lights made by the burning
faggots. I threw another faggot on each and went down for a further
supply. The gale had increased, and the spray now dashed over the
rocks to where the faggots were burning, and threatened to extinguish
them, but I put on more wood and kept up a fierce blaze. In a quarter
of an hour I could distinguish the boat; it was now close to the
island, perhaps three hundred yards distant, steering not directly
for the lights, but more along shore. The fact was that they had
hauled up, not knowing how they could land until they had observed
the two lights clear of each other, and then they understood why they
had been made; and a moment afterwards they bore up right for the
entrance to the bathing-pool, and came rushing on before the rolling
seas. I still trembled for them, as I knew that if the sea receded at
the time that they came to the ledge of rocks at the entrance, the
boat would be dashed to pieces, although their lives might be saved,
but fortunately for them, it was not so--on the contrary, they came
in borne up on a huge wave which carried them clear over the ledge,
right up to the wall of rock which I had made across the pool, and
then the boat grounded.

"Hurrah! well done, that," said a voice from the boat. "Lower away
the sail, my lads; all's right."

The sail was lowered down, and then, by the light of the fire, I
discovered that there were several people in the boat. I had been too
much excited to say anything; indeed, I did not know what to say. I
only felt that I was no more alone, and the reader may imagine my joy
and delight.




Chapter XIX


As soon as the sail was lowered, the men leaped over the sides of
the boat into the water, and waded to the rocks.

"Who are you?" said one of the men, addressing me, "and how many of
you are there here?"

"There is no one on the island but myself," replied I; "but I'm so
glad that you have come."

"Are you? Then perhaps you'll tell us how to get something to eat,
my hearty?" replied he.

"Oh yes, wait a little, and I'll bring you plenty," replied I.

"Well, then, look smart, that's a beauty, for we are hungry enough
to eat you, if you can find us nothing better."

I was about to go up to the cabin for some birds, when another man
called out--

"I say--can you get us any water?"

"Oh yes, plenty," replied I.

"Well then, I say, Jim, hand us the pail out of the boat."

The one addressed did so, and the man put it into my hands, saying,
"Bring us that pail, boy, will you?" I hastened up to the cabin,
filled the pail full of water, and then went for a quantity of dried
birds, with which I hastened down again to the bathing-pool; I found
the men had not been idle, they had taken some faggots off the stack
and made a large fire under the rocks, and were then busy making a
sort of tent with the boat's sails.

"Here's the water, and here's some birds," said I, as I came up to
them.

"Birds! what birds?" said the man who had first spoken to me, and
appeared to have control over the rest. He took one up and examined
it by the light of the fire, exclaiming, "Queer eating, I expect."

"Why, you didn't expect a regular hotel when you landed, did you,
mate?" said one of the men.

"No, if I had, I would have called for a glass of grog," replied he.
"I suspect I might call a long while before I get anyone to bring me
one here."

As I knew that Jackson called the rum by the name of grog, I said,
"There's plenty of grog, if you want any."

"Is there, my hearty,--where?"

"Why, in that cask that's in the water on the other side of your
little ship," replied I. "I can draw you some directly."

"What! in that cask? Grog floating about in salt water, that's too
bad. Come here all of you--You're in earnest, boy--no joking I hope,
or you may repent it."

"I'm not joking," said I--"there it is."

The man, followed by all the rest, excepting one of the party, waded
into the water, and went to the cask of rum.

"Take care," said I, "the spiles are in."

"So I see--never fear, my hearty--come now all of us." So saying,
the whole of them laid hold of the cask by the chains, and lifting it
up, they carried it clean out of the water, and placed it on the
rocks by the side of the pool.

"Hand us the little kid out of the boat, Jim," said the man; "we'll
soon see if it's the right stuff."

He took out the spiles, drew off some of the liquor, and tasting it,
swore it was excellent. It was then handed round, and all the men
took some.

"We're in luck to-night; we're fallen upon our legs," said the first
man. "I say, Jim, put them dried chickens into the pitch-kettle along
with some taters out of the bag--they'll make a good mess; and then
with this cask of grog to go to, we shan't do badly."

"I say, old fellow," said he, turning to me, "you're a regular
trump. Who left you on shore to get all ready for us?"

"I was born here," replied I.

"Born here! well, we'll hear all about that to-morrow--just now,
we'll make up for lost time, for we've had nothing to eat or drink
since Wednesday morning. Look alive, my lads! get up the hurricane-house.
Jim, put the pail of water into the kettle, and send the islander
here for another pailful, for grog."

The pail was handed to me, and I soon returned with it full, and, as
I did not see that they had a pannikin, I brought one down and gave
it to them.

"You're a fine boy," said the mate; (as I afterwards found out that
he was). "And now, I say, where do you hold out? Have you a hut or a
cave to live in?"

"Yes," replied I; "I have a cabin, but it is not large enough for
all of you."

"No, no! we don't want to go there--we are very well where we are,
alongside of the cask of rum, but you see, my lad, we have a woman
here."

"A woman!" said I; "I never saw a woman. Where is she?"

"There she is, sitting by the fire."

I looked round, and perceived that there was one of the party
wrapped up in a blanket, and with a wide straw hat on the head, which
completely concealed the form from me. The fact is, that the woman
looked like a bundle, and remained by the fire quite as inanimate. At
my saying that I never saw a woman, the man burst into a loud laugh.

"Why, did you not say that you were born on the island, boy?" said
the mate at last. "Were you born without a mother?"

"I cannot recollect my mother--she died when I was very young; and
therefore I said, that I had never seen a woman."

"Well, that's explained; but you see, my lad--this is not only a
woman, but a very particular sort of a woman; and it will not do for
her to remain here after we have had our supper--for after supper,
the men may take a drop too much, and not behave themselves; so I
asked you about your cabin, that you might take her there to sleep.
Can you do that?"

"Yes," replied I; "I will take her there, if she wishes to go."

"That's all right then, she'll be better there than here, at all
events. I say, boy, where did you leave your trousers?"

"I never wear any."

"Well then, if you have any, I advise you to put them on, for you
are quite old enough to be breeched."

I remained with them while the supper was cooking, asking all manner
of questions, which caused great mirth. The pitch kettle, which was a
large iron pot on three short legs, surprised me a good deal, I had
never seen such a thing before, or anything put on the fire. I asked
what it was, and what it was made of. The potatoes also astonished
me, as I had never yet seen an edible root.

"Why, where have you been all your life?" said one of the men.

"On this island," replied I, very naively.

I waded into the water to examine the boat as well as I could by the
light of the fire, but I could see little, and was obliged to defer
my examination till the next day. Before the supper was cooked and
eaten, I did, however, gain the following information.

That they were a portion of the crew of a whaler, which had struck
on a reef of rocks about seventy miles off, and that they had been
obliged to leave her immediately, as she fell on her broadside a few
minutes afterwards; that they had left in two boats, but did not know
what had become of the other boat, which parted company during the
night. The captain and six men were in the other boat, and the mate
with six men in the one which had just landed--besides the lady.

"What's a lady?" said I.

"I mean the woman who sits there; her husband was killed by some of
the people of the Sandwich Isles, and she was going home to England.
We have a consort, another whaler, who was to have taken our cargo of
oil on board, and to have gone to England with that and her own
cargo, and the missionary's wife was to have been sent home in her."

"What's a missionary?" inquired I.

"Well, I don't exactly know; but he is a preacher who goes out to
teach the savages."

By this time the supper was cooked, and the odour from the pitch
kettle was more savoury than anything that I had ever yet smelt. The
kettle was lifted off the fire, the contents of it poured into a kid,
and after they had given a portion in the small kid to the woman, who
still remained huddled up in the blanket by the fire, they all sat
round the large kid, and commenced their supper.

"Come, boy, and join us," said the mate, "you can't have had your
supper; and as you've found one for us, it's hard but you should
share it with us."

I was not sorry to do as he told me, and I must say that I never
enjoyed a repast so much in my life.

"I say, boy, have you a good stock of them dried chickens of yours?"
said the mate.

"Yes, I have a great many, but not enough to last long for so many
people."

"Well, but we can get more, can't we?"

"No!" replied I, "not until the birds come again, and that will not
be for these next five moons."

"Five moons! what do you mean?"

"I mean, five full moons must come, one after another."

"Oh, I understand; why then we must not remain on the island."

"No," replied I, "we must all go, or we shall starve; I am so glad
that you are come, and the sooner you go the better. Will you take
Nero with you?"

"Who is Nero?"

"Nero--my seal--he's very tame."

"Well, we'll see about it; at all events," said he, turning to the
other men, "we must decide upon something, and that quickly, for we
shall starve if we remain here any time."

It appeared that they had left the whaler in such a hurry, that they
had only had time to throw into the boat two breakers of water, four
empty breakers to fill with saltwater for ballast to the boat, and
the iron pitch kettle, with a large sack of potatoes.

As soon as supper was finished, they went to the cask for the rum,
and then the mate said to me--

"Now I'll go and speak to the woman, and you shall take her to sleep
in your cabin."

During the whole of this time the woman, as the mate called her, had
never spoken a word. She had taken her supper, and eaten it in
silence, still remaining by the fire, huddled up in the blanket. On
the mate speaking to her, she rose up, and I then perceived that she
was much taller than I thought she could have been; but her Panama
hat still concealed her face altogether.

"Now then, my lad," said the mate, "shew the lady where she is to
sleep, and then you can join us again if you like."

"Will you come with me?" said I, walking away.

The woman followed me up the path. When we arrived at the platform
opposite the cabin, I recollected Nero, whom I had ordered to stay
there till my return.

"You won't be afraid of the seal," said I, "will you? he is very
good-natured. Nero, come here."

It was rather dark as Nero came shuffling up, and I went forward to
coax him, for he snarled a little at seeing a stranger.

"Have you no light at hand?" said my companion, speaking for the
first time in a very soft, yet clear voice.

"No, I have not, but I will get some tinder, and make a fire with
one of the faggots, and then you will be able to see."

"Do so, then, my good lad," replied she.

I thought her voice very pleasing.

I soon lighted the faggot and enabled her to see Nero (who was now
quite quiet) and also the interior of the cabin.

She examined the cabin and the bed-places, and then said,

"Where do you sleep?"

I replied by shewing her my bed-place. "And this," said I, pointing
to the one opposite, "was Jackson's, and you can sleep in that. Nero
sleeps with me. Here are plenty of seal skins to keep you warm if you
are cold. Are your clothes wet?"

"No, they are quite dry now," replied she; "if you will get me some
seal skins, I will lie down on them, for I am very tired."

I spread five or six skins one on the other, in Jackson's bed-place,
and then I went out and threw another faggot on the fire, that we
might have more light.

"Do you want anything else?" said I.

"Nothing, I thank you. Are you going to bed now?"

"I was meaning to go down again to the men, but now I think of it, I
do not like to leave you alone with Nero, as he might bite you. Are
you afraid of him?"

"No, I'm not much afraid, but still I have no wish to be bitten, and
I am not used to sleep with such animals, as you are."

"Well then, I'll tell you how we'll manage it. I will take some
skins outside, and sleep there. Nero will not leave me, and then you
won't be afraid. The weather is clearing up fast, and there's very
little wind to what there was--besides, it will be daylight in three
or four hours."

"As you please," was the reply.

Accordingly I took some seal skins out on the platform, and
spreading them, I lay down upon them, wishing her good-night, and
Nero soon joined me, and we were both fast asleep in a few minutes.




Chapter XX


Nero, who was an early riser, woke me up at day-break, or I should
have slept much longer; for I had been tired out with the fatigue and
excitement of the night before. As soon as I was up, I looked into
the cabin, and found the woman was fast asleep; her straw hat was
off, but she had lain down in her clothes. Her black hair was hanging
about her shoulders. Having only seen Jackson with his bushy beard, I
had been somewhat surprised when I first saw the men on their landing
so comparatively clear of hair on their face; my astonishment at the
clear white skin of a woman--and in this instance, it was peculiarly
white and pallid--was very great. I also perceived how much more
delicate her features were than those of the men; her teeth, too,
were very white, and Jackson's were discoloured and bad; I longed to
see her eyes, but they were closed. Any other difference I could not
perceive, as she had drawn the blanket close up to her chin.

"This is then a woman," said I to myself: "yes, and it's very like
what I used to see in my dreams." I looked a little longer, and then,
hearing Nero coming into the cabin behind me, and afraid that she
would awake, I made a hasty retreat.

I remained at this part of the cabin considering what I should do. I
thought I would light a fire, and go down for a fish to broil on the
embers for her breakfast, so I called Nero to come down with me. On
arriving at the pool, I found all the seamen fast asleep under the
tent they had made with the boat's sails; and they appeared to be
much the same as Jackson used to be after he had got drunk the night
before; I presumed therefore, that such was their state, and was not
far wrong. Nero went into the pool and brought out a fish, as I
ordered him, and I then walked to the boat to examine it. This took
me half an hour, and I was sorry that none of the men were awake,
that so I might ask any questions I wished. I examined the pitch-kettle,
and the boat's sails, and the breakers. Breakers are small casks,
holding about six to seven gallons of water, and are very handy
for boats. I remained about an hour, and then went back to the
cabin, carrying a faggot on my shoulder, Nero following with the fish
in his mouth. We were met by the woman, who came out of the cabin;
she no longer had the blanket round her, for it was a beautiful
bright morning, and very warm.

"Nero is bringing you your breakfast," said I, "so you ought to like
him."

"I dare say I shall, if we are to be companions in future," replied
she.

"Do you want anything?" said I.

"Yes, a little water, if you can get me some."

I filled the kid from the spring, put it down by her, and then took
out the inside of the fish, and fed the birds, who were crowding
round me.

The woman washed her face and hands, braided up her hair, and then
sat down on the rock. In the meantime, I had lighted my faggot,
cleaned the fish, and waited till the wood was burnt to ashes before
I put the fish on the fire. Having then nothing to do, I thought that
reading would amuse the woman, and I went in for the Bible.

"Shall I read to you?" said I.

"Yes," replied she, with some astonishment in her looks.

I read to her the history of Joseph and his brethren, which was my
favourite story in the Bible.

"Who taught you to read?" said she, as I shut the book, and put the
fish on the embers.

"Jackson," said I.

"He was a good man, was he not?" replied she.

I shook my head. "No, not very good," said I, at last. "If you knew
all about him, you would say the same; but he taught me to read."

"How long have you been on this island?" said she.

"I was born on it, but my father and mother are both dead, and
Jackson died three years ago--since that I have been quite alone,
only Nero with me."

She then asked me a great many more questions, and I gave her a
short narration of what had passed, and what Jackson had told me; I
also informed her how it was I procured food, and how we must soon
leave the island, now that we were so many, or the food would not
last out till the birds came again.

By this time the fish was cooked, and I took it off the fire and put
it into the kid, and we sat down to breakfast; in an hour or so, we
had become very sociable.

I must however now stop a little to describe her. What the men had
told me was quite true. She had lost her husband, and was intending
to proceed to England. Her name was Reichardt, for her husband was a
German, or of German family. She was, as I have since ascertained,
about thirty-seven years old, and very tall and elegant; she must
have been very handsome when she was younger, but she had suffered
much hardship in following her husband as she had done, through all
the vicissitudes of his travels.

Her face was oval; eyes black and large; and her hair black as the
raven's wing; her features were small and regular; her teeth white
and good; but her complexion was very pallid, and not a vestige of
colour on her cheeks. As I have since thought, it was more like a
marble statue than anything I can compare her to. There was a degree
of severity in her countenance when she did not smile, and it was
seldom that she did. I certainly looked upon her with more awe than
regard, for some time after I became acquainted with her; and yet her
voice was soft and pleasant, and her manners very amiable; but it
must be remembered I had never before seen a woman. After breakfast
was over, I proposed going down to where the seamen lay, to see if
they were awake, but I told her I thought that they would not be.

"I will go with you, as I left a basket with some things of mine in
the boat, and it will be as well to bring them up at once."

We therefore set off together, I having ordered Nero to stay in the
cabin. On our arrival at the pool we found the men still fast asleep;
and by her directions I went into the water to the boat, and brought
out a basket and a small bundle which she pointed out.

"Shall I wake them?" said I.

"No, no," replied she; "so long as they sleep, they will be doing no
harm. But," said she, "we may as well take some potatoes up with us;
fill both these handkerchiefs," continued she, taking two out of the
bundle. I did so, and she took one and I the other, and we returned
to the cabin.

"Are these all the birds that you have for food?" said she, looking
at the pile in the cabin.

"Yes," replied I. "But what are we to do with the potatoes?"

"We can roast them by the fire if we like," said she; "but at
present we had better take them into the cabin. Did you plant all
these flowers and creepers which grow over the cabin?"

"Yes," replied I. "I was alone and had nothing to do, so I thought I
would make a garden."

"They are very pretty. Now that I am back, you can go down to the
men if you please, and tell them, when they wake up, that I wish to
have the smallest of the boat's sails, to make a screen of. Tell the
mate, he is the most civil."

"I will," said I. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, bring up a few more potatoes; they will let you take them if
you say that I told you."

"Shall I take Nero with me?"

"Yes, I do not want his company, for I am a little afraid of him."

I called Nero, who came after me, and went down to the pool, when I
found that the men had all woke up, and were very busy, some lighting
a fire, some washing potatoes, and some trying to catch the fish in
the pool.

"Oh, here he is. Come, boy, what have you got for our breakfast?
We've been trying to catch some of these fish, but they're as quick
as eels."

"Nero will soon catch you what you want," replied I. "Here, Nero, in."

Nero plunged in, and soon brought out a fish, and I then sent him in
for another.

"Thanks, lad," said the mate; "that will be enough for our
breakfast. That seal of yours is a handy fellow, and well trained."

While the other men were getting breakfast, one of them went up to
Nero, I believe with the intention of making friends with him, but
Nero rejected his advances, and showed his sharp teeth, snapping at
him several times. The man became angry, and caught up a piece of
rock to throw at the seal. He aimed at the animal's nose, and
narrowly missed hitting it. Had he done so, he would probably have
killed it. This made me very angry, and I told the man not to do so
again; upon this, he caught up another, and was about to throw it,
when I seized him by the collar with my left hand, and with my right
drawing my American knife, I threatened to stab him with it, if he
attacked the beast. The man started back, and in so doing, fell over
a piece of rock, on his back. This quarrel brought the mate to us,
along with two or three of the men. My knife was still lifted up,
when the mate said--

"Come, my hearty, no knives, we don't allow them. That's not
English. Put it up, no one shall hurt the beast, I promise you. Bob,
you fool, why couldn't you leave the animal alone? You forget you are
among savages, here."

At this, the other men burst out into a laugh.

"Yes," observed one; "I can swear, when I get back, that the natives
of this island are savages, who eat raw flesh, have seals for
playmates, and don't wear clothes enough for common decency."

This made them laugh more, and the man who had attacked Nero, and
who had got upon his legs again, joined with the others; so all was
again good-humour. The men sat down to their breakfast, while I
examined the boat again, and afterwards asked many questions, with
which they were much amused, every now and then observing, "Well, he
is a savage!"

After they had breakfasted, I made Nero catch another fish and sent
him up to the cabin with it, as I was afraid that the man might do
him an injury, and then told the mate that the woman had desired me
to bring up some potatoes.

"Take them," said he; "but you have nothing to carry them up with.
Here, fill the pail, and I will go to the cabin with you."

"She told me that I was to ask you for a small boat's sail, to hang
up as a screen."

"Well, she shall have the boat's mizen. We don't want it. I'll carry
it up."

The mate threw the sail and yard over his shoulder, and followed me
up to the cabin. On our arrival, we found the missionary's wife
sitting on the platform, Nero lying not far from her, with the fish
beside him. The mate took off his hat, and saluted my new companion,
saying, "That he hoped she was comfortable last night."

"Yes," replied she, "as much so as I could expect; but I turned this
good lad out of his cabin, which I do not wish to do again, and
therefore I requested the sail for a screen. Now, John Gough, what do
you intend to do?" continued she.

The mate replied, "I came up here to see what quantity of provisions
the lad might have. By his account, it will not last more than a
month, and it will take some time before we can reach where we are
likely to fall in with any vessel. Stay here we cannot, for we shall
only eat the provision and lose time, therefore, the sooner we are
off the better."

"If you take all the provision, of course you will take the lad with
you?" replied she.

"Of course we will."

"And my chest, and my seal?" inquired I.

"Yes, your chest, certainly, but as for your seal, I do not know
what to say to that--he will be starved in the boat, and if you give
him his liberty, he will do well enough."

"What you say is very true," replied the woman. "I am afraid, boy,
that you will have to part with your friend. It will be better for
both of you."

I made no reply, for it cut me to the heart to think of parting with
Nero; but still I had sense enough to perceive that what they said
was right.

The mate then went into the cabin, and examined the heap of dried
birds which I had collected, and having made his calculation, said
that there were sufficient for three weeks, but not more.

"And when do you think of leaving this island?" inquired the woman.

"The day after to-morrow, if I can persuade the men, madam," replied
he; "but you know they are not very easy to manage, and very
thoughtless, especially now that they have so unexpectedly fallen in
with liquor."

"That I admit," replied she; "but as they will probably take the
liquor in the boat, that will not make so great a difference."

"I shall go down and speak to them now they're all sober," replied
the mate, "and will let you know in the evening, or to-morrow
morning, perhaps, will be better." The mate then saluted her by
touching his hat, and left us.




Chapter XXI


There was one thing which had made a great impression on me in the
conversation with the men in the morning. They called me a Savage,
and said that I had not sufficient clothes on; and as I observed that
they were all dressed in jackets and trousers, which covered them
from head to foot, I took it for granted that my shirt, which was all
that I wore, was not a sufficient clothing. This had never occurred
to me before, nor can the reader be surprised at it. I had been like
our first parents in Eden--naked but not ashamed--but now that I had
suddenly come in contact with my fellow-men, I felt as if something
were amiss. The consequence was, that I went to the chest and got out
a pair of white trousers, and put them on. I thought them very
uncomfortable and very unnecessary articles, but others wore them,
and I felt that I must do so also. They were rather long for me, but
I rolled up the bottoms of the legs, as I observed that the seamen
did, and then came out on the platform, where the missionary's wife
was still seated, looking out upon the waves as they lashed the
rocks. She immediately observed the addition that I had made to my
dress, and said,

"That is a great improvement. Now you look like other people. What
is your name? you have not told me."

When I had answered the question, I said to her--

"I have brought up more of the potatoes, as you call them; what am I
to do with them?"

"First tell me, have you any spot that you know about the island
where there is mould--that is, earth, like you have in your garden--
where we can plant them?"

"Yes," replied I, "there is some up there," and I pointed to one-third
up the ravine. "I brought all this earth from there, and there is
plenty of it; but what is the good of planting them?"

"Because," said she, "one of the potatoes planted will, in a very
short time, grow, and then it will produce perhaps thirty or forty
potatoes at its roots as large as these; they are excellent things
for food, and where there is nothing else to be had, may be the means
of preserving life."

"Well, that may be," replied I, "and if we were going to remain on
the island, it would be well to plant them, but as we are going away
the day after to-morrow, what's the use of it? I know that they are
very nice, for I had some for supper last night."

"But are we only to think of ourselves in this world, and not of
others?" replied she. "Suppose, two or three years hence, another
boat were to be cast away on this island, and not find, as we have,
you here, with provisions ready for them, they would starve
miserably; whereas, if we plant these potatoes, they may find plenty
of food and be saved. Only think how glad your father and mother
would have been to have found potatoes on the island when they were
thrown on it. We must not live only for ourselves, but we must think
and try to do good to others--that is the duty of a Christian."

"I think you are very right," replied I, "and a very kind person
too. If you wish it I will go and plant the potatoes this day. How am
I to plant them?"

"They have a shovel in the boat," said she, "for I saw them throwing
the water out with it. Go down and get it, and then I will go with
you and show you."

I went down and the mate gave me the shovel, which I carried up to
her. I found her cutting the potatoes into pieces, and she showed me
how she cut them, leaving an eye in each piece, and explained the
reason for it. I was soon very busy cutting away alongside of her,
and before long the pail of potatoes was all ready to be planted.

We then walked to the ravine, and she showed me how to use the
shovel, and I made the holes. Before noon we had planted all that we
had cut, but we had still the two handkerchiefs full that we had at
first brought up with us. We returned to the cabin, and I prepared
the fish for dinner. After it was on the embers, she wished to have
the screen put up beside her bed-place.

"Go down to the mate," said she, "and ask him for the hammer and
three or four nails. I know they have them in the boat."

"I may as well take them down some birds for their dinner," replied
I, "for they will want them."

"Yes, do so; and then come back to me as soon as you can."

The mate gave me the hammer, an article I had never seen before, and
five or six nails, with which I returned to the cabin, and nailed up
the sail as a screen.

"Now you will be able to sleep in your own bed-place to-night," said
she.

I made no reply, but I could not imagine why I could not have done
so the night before, for I had only gone out of the cabin that she
might not be frightened by Nero being so close to her.

After we had eaten our dinner, she said to me--

"How could you contrive to live on this island, if you had no dried
birds?"

"How?" replied I; "why, very badly. I might catch fish; but there
are times in the year when you can catch no fish, they won't take
bait, neither will they when the weather is rough. Besides, I have
only two lines, and I might lose them both--then what would become of
me? I should starve."

"Well, then, you see under all circumstances, it was just as well to
plant the potatoes, for other people may come here and be in your
position."

"Yes, that is true, but we shall not be here long now, and you don't
know how glad I am to go. I want to see all the things that I have
read about in my books. I want to go to England and look for
somebody; but you don't know all that I know; some day I will tell
you all--everything. I am so tired of living here by myself--nothing
to say--no one to talk to--no one to care for, except Nero, and he
can't speak. I can't bear the idea of parting with him though."

"Would you rather stay on the island with Nero, than go away without
him?"

"No," replied I; "go I must, but still I do not like to part with
him. He is the only friend that I ever had, that I can remember."

"When you have lived longer, and mixed more with the world, my poor
boy, you will then find how many sacrifices you will be obliged to
make, much more serious than parting with an animal that you are
attached to. I suppose you expect to be very happy if ever you get
back to England?"

"Of course I do; why should I not be?" replied I; "I shall be always
happy."

The Missionary's wife shook her head. "I fear not. Indeed, I think
if you live long enough, you will acknowledge that the happiest of
your days were passed on this barren rock."

"Jackson said otherwise," replied I. "He was always grieving at
being on the island, and not able to get back to England, and he told
me so many stories about England, and what is done there, and what a
beautiful place it is, that I'm sure I shall like it better than
being here, even if I had somebody with me."

"Well, you are in the hands of God, and you must put your trust in
him. He will do with you as he thinks best for you--that you know, as
you read your Bible."

"No, I didn't know that," replied I. "God lives beyond the stars, a
long way off."

"Is that all you have gained by reading your Bible?" inquired she,
looking me in the face.

"No, not all," replied I; "but I do not understand a great deal that
I read, I want some one to tell me. I am so glad you came with the
men in the boat, for I never saw a woman before. I used to see
somebody in my dreams, and now I know it was a woman. It was my
mother, but I have not seen her for a long while now, and I have
nobody but Nero."

"My poor boy, you have a father in heaven."

"Yes," replied I; "I know he is in heaven, and so is my mother, for
Jackson said that they were both very good."

"I mean your Heavenly Father, God. Do you not say in the Lord's
Prayer, 'Our Father which art in heaven.' You must love him."

I was about to reply, when John Gough, the mate, came up, and told
my companion that he had been speaking to the men, and they had
agreed that the day after the next they would, if the weather
permitted, leave the island; that they had examined the boat, and
found it required very little repair, and that all would be ready the
next day.

"I hope that they will not overload the boat," said she.

"I fear that they will, but I must do all I can to prevent it. The
cask of rum was rather an unfortunate discovery, and we had been
better without it. Leave it they will not, so we must put out of the
boat all that we can possibly do without, for we shall be nine of us,
and that will be plenty of weight with the addition of the cask."

"You promised to take my chest, you remember," said I.

"Yes, I will do so if I possibly can; but recollect, I may not be
able to keep my promise--for now that they have the liquor, the men
do not obey me as they did before, ma'am," said the mate. "Perhaps he
had better take the best of his clothes in a bundle, in case they
should refuse to take in the chest; and I must say that, loaded as
the boat will be, they will be much to blame if they do not refuse,
for the boat is but small for stowage, and there's all the provisions
to put in her, which will take up a deal of room."

"That is very true," replied the woman. "It will be better to leave
the chest here, for I do not think that the boat will hold it. You
must not mind your chest, my good boy; it is of no great value."

"They take my rum and all my birds, and they ought to take both me
and my chest."

"Not if it takes up too much room," replied the woman. "You cannot
expect it. The wishes of one person must give way to the wishes of
many."

"Why they would have starved if it had not been for me," replied I,
angrily.

"That's very true, boy," replied the mate; "but you have to learn
yet, that might is right; and recollect that what you did this
morning has not made you any great favourite with them."

"What was that?" inquired my companion.

"Only that he nearly drove his knife through one of the men, that's
all," replied the mate; "English sailors ar'n't fond of knives."

He then touched his hat, and went down again to the pool, desiring
me to follow him with a kid for our share of the supper. I did so,
and on my return she asked me why I had drawn my knife upon the
seaman, and I narrated how it occurred. She pointed out to me the
impropriety of what I had done, asking me whether the Bible did not
tell us we were to forgive injuries.

"Yes," replied I; "but is it not injuries to ourselves? I did
forgive Jackson; but this was to prevent his hurting another."

"Another! why you talk of Nero as if the animal was a rational
being, and his life of as much consequence as that of a fellow-creature.
I do not mean to say but that the man was very wrong, and that you
must have felt angry if an animal you were so fond of had been
killed; but there is a great difference between the life of an
animal and that of a fellow-creature. The animal dies, and there is
an end of it; but a man has an immortal soul, which never perishes,
and nothing can excuse your taking the life of a man, except in
self-defence. Does not the commandment say, 'Thou shalt not kill?'"

She then talked to me a long while upon the subject, and fully made
me understand that I had been very wrong, and I confessed that I had
been so.




Chapter XXII


I now resolved to speak to her relative to the belt which contained
the diamonds; and I was first obliged to narrate to her in a few
words what Jackson had told me. She heard me with great interest, now
and then asking a question. When I had told her all, I said--

"Now, as they talk of not taking my chest, what shall I do? Shall I
wear the belt myself, or shall I put it in the bundle? or will you
wear it for me, as my mother would have done, if she had been alive?"

She did not reply for some time, at last she said, as if talking to
herself, and not to me--

"How unsearchable are thy ways, O God!"

Indeed, although I did not feel it at the time, I have afterwards
thought, and she told me herself, how great her surprise was at
finding in the unshorn little Savage, thus living alone upon a
desolate rock, a lad of good birth, and although he did not know it,
with a fortune in his charge, which would, in all probability, be
ultimately his own. This is certain, that the interest she felt
towards me increased every hour, as by degrees I disclosed my history.

"Well," replied she, "if you will trust me, I will take charge of
your belt. To-morrow we will select out of the chest what will be
best to take with you, and then we will arrange as you wish."

After about an hour's more conversation, she went into the cabin,
and retired behind the screen which had been fixed up, telling me
that she did not mind Nero, and that I might go to bed when I
pleased. As I was not much inclined to go down to the seamen, I
followed her advice and went to bed; but I could not sleep for a long
time from the noise which the men made, who were carousing at the
bathing-pool. The idea of parting with Nero also lay heavy upon my
heart, though the woman had almost satisfied me that as soon as I was
gone, the animal would resume its natural habits, and care nothing
for me.

I was up the next morning early, and went down with Nero to obtain
the fish which we required. I left some on the rocks for the seamen's
breakfast (for they were all sound asleep), and then returned to the
cabin, and prepared for our own. Mrs Reichardt, as I shall now call
her, soon came out to me, and when breakfast was over, proposed that
we should plant the remainder of the potatoes before we packed up the
things in the chest. As soon as they were all cut, we set off to the
ravine, and had finished our task before noon, at which time there
were but few of the seamen stirring, they had remained up so long the
night before, drinking. The mate was one of those who were on their
legs, and he asked me if I thought we should have smooth water to
launch the boat on the following day. I replied in the affirmative,
and went with Mrs Reichardt to the cabin, and putting down the
shovel, I hauled my chest out on the platform to select what articles
I should take.

While we were thus employed, and talking at times, the men came up
for the dried birds to take down ready for putting them in the boat
on the following day, and in two trips they had cleared out the whole
of them.

"Have you used all the potatoes you brought up?" said one of the
men; "for we shall be short of provisions."

Mrs Reichardt replied that we had none left.

"Well then," said the man, "the mate says you had better bring down
that brute of yours to catch the rest of the fish in the pond, that
we may cook them before we start, as they will make two days' meals
at least."

"Very well," replied I; "I will come down directly." I did so, and
Nero, in a quarter of an hour, had landed all the fish, and I then
returned with him to the cabin. Mrs R. had selected the best of the
clothes, and made them up in a tight bundle, which she sewed up with
strong thread. My books she had left out, as well as the spy-glass,
and the tools I had, as they might be useful. I asked her whether I
should carry them down to the bathing-pool, but she replied that on
the morning when we embarked would be quite time enough. I then went
to the hole under Jackson's bed-place, and brought out the belt and
the few articles that were with it. Mrs R., after having examined
them, said that she would take care of them all; the watch and other
trinkets she put in her basket, the belt she took to the bed-place,
and secreted it.

She appeared very silent and thoughtful, and on my asking her
whether I should not take down the shovel, and the pail, and hammer,
she replied, "No, leave all till we are ready to go to the boat. It
will be time enough."

Shortly afterwards, the mate brought us up some of the fish which
they had cooked for supper, and when we had eaten it we went to bed.

"This is the last night we shall sleep together, Nero," said I,
kissing my favourite, and the thought brought tears into my eyes.
"But it can't be helped." I was however soon fast asleep with my arm
round the animal.

When I went out the next morning, I found that the weather was
beautifully fine, the water smooth, and only rippled by a light
breeze. As Mrs R. had not yet made her appearance, I went down to the
bathing-pool, where I found all the men up and in full activity. The
boat had been emptied out, the oars, masts, and sails, were on the
rocks and the men were turning the bows to the seaward in readiness
for launching her over the ledge of rocks. The dried birds lay in a
heap by the side of the cask of rum, and the fish which had been
baked were in a large kid. The six breakers were also piled up
together, and the mate and some of the men were disputing as to how
many of them should be filled with water. The mate wanted them all
filled; the men said that three would be sufficient, as the boat
would be so loaded. At last the mate gained his point, and the men
each took a breaker, and went up to the cabin for the water. I went
with them to fill the breakers, and also to see that they did no
mischief, for they appeared very unruly and out of temper; and I was
afraid that they would hurt Nero, who was at the cabin, if I was not
there to prevent them; but with the exception of examining the cabin,
and forcing themselves in upon Mrs Reichardt, they did nothing. When
the breakers were full, which took at least half an hour, they did
indeed try to catch the birds, and would have wrung their necks, but
the males flew away, and the females I put into the bed-place that
was screened off in the cabin, and near which Mrs Reichardt was
sitting. They all appeared to have a great awe and respect for this
woman, and a look from her was more effectual than were any words of
the mate.

"We don't want you," said one of the men, as they went down to the
bathing-pool with the breakers on their shoulders. "Why don't you
keep up with the lady? You're quite a lady's man, now you've white
trousers on."

The others who followed him laughed at this latter remark.

"I'm of no use up there, at present," said I; "and I may be down
below."

The men set down the breakers on the rocks by the pool, and then,
under the directions of the mate, prepared to launch the boat over
the ledge. The masts of the boat were placed athwartships, under her
keel, for her to run upon, and being now quite empty, she was very
light. She was what they call a whale-boat, fitted for the whale
fishery, pointed at both ends, and steered by an oar; she was not
very large, but held seven people comfortably, and she was remarkably
well fitted with sails and masts, having two lugs and a mizen. As
soon as they were all ready, the men went to the side of the boat,
and in a minute she was launched into the sea without injury. The
mate said to me, as they brought her broadside to the ledge--

"Now, my lad, we don't want you any more; you may go up to the cabin
till we are ready, and then we will send for you and the lady."

"Oh! but I can be of use here," replied I; "and I am of none up
there."

The mate did not reply, and the men then went to the rum cask, and
rolled it towards the boat; and when they had it on the ledge, they
parbuckled it, as they term it, into the boat with a whale-line that
they happened to have, and which was of great length. After the cask
of rum was got in amidships, (and it took up a great deal of space,
reaching from one gunnel to the other, and standing high above the
thwarts) they went for the breakers of water, which they put in,
three before and three behind the cask, upon the floor of the boat.

"She will be too heavy," said one of the men, "with so much water."

"We can easily get rid of it," replied the mate. "If you had said
she would be too heavy with so much liquor on board, you had better
explained the matter; however, you must have your own ways, I suppose."

The next articles that they brought to stow away were the
provisions. The kid of fish was put amidships on the breakers, and
the dried birds, which they carried down in their arms, were packed
up neatly in the stern-sheets. They were soon up to the gunnel, and
the mate said,

"You had better stow away forward now--there will be little room for
the lady as it is."

"No, no, stow them all aft," replied one of the men, in a surly
tone; "the lady must sit where she can. She's no better than we."

"Shall this go in?" said I, pointing to the coil of whale-line, and
addressing the mate.

"No, no; we must leave that," replied one of the men in the boat;
"we shall be wedged enough as it is; and I say, Jim, throw that old
saw and the bag of nails out of the boat--we can have no use for them."

The masts were then stepped, and the rigging set up to the gunnel of
the boat, the yards and sails handed in, and hooked on the halyards
ready for hoisting. In fact the boat was now all ready for starting;
they had only the iron kettle and two or three other articles to put
in.

"Shall we have the mizen?" inquired one of the men, pointing to the
mast, which lay on the rocks.

"No, she steers quite as well without it," replied the mate. "We'll
leave it. And now, lads, hand the oars in."

They were brought to the boat, but owing to the puncheon of rum in
the centre, they could not lie flat, and after a good deal of arguing
and disputing, four oars and a boat-hook were lashed to the gunnel
outside, and the rest were left on the rocks.

At this time there was some consultation between the mate and some
of the men--the mate being evidently opposed by the others. I could
not hear what it was about, but the mate appeared very angry and very
much annoyed. At last he dashed his hat down on the rocks in a great
passion, saying,

"No good will come of it. Mark my words. No good ever did or ever
will. Be it so, you are too many for me; but I tell you again, no
good will come of it."

The mate then sat down on the rocks by himself, and put his head
down on his knees, covering it with his hands.

The man with whom he had been disputing went to the others in the
boat, and spoke to them in a low tone, looking round at me, to
ascertain if I was within hearing.

After a minute or two they all separated, and then one of them said
to me--

"Now, my lad, we're all ready. Go up to the cabin and bring down
your bundle and her basket, and tell the lady we are waiting for her."

"There's the shovel," said I, "and the boat's sail--must I bring
them down?"

"Oh yes, bring them down, and also two or three sealskins for the
lady to sit upon."

Off I went on my errand, for I was delighted with the idea of
leaving the island, and my patience had been almost exhausted at the
time they had taken in the stowage of the boat. As I hastened up the
path, I heard loud contention, and the mate's voice speaking very
angrily, and I stopped for a short time to listen, but the noise
ceased, and I went on again. I found Nero on the platform, and I
stopped a minute to caress him. "Good bye, my poor Nero, we shall
never see one another again," said I. "You must go back to the sea,
and catch fish for yourself;" and the tears started in my eyes as I
gave the animal a farewell kiss.

I then went into the cabin, where I found Mrs Reichardt sitting very
quietly.

"They are all ready," said I, "and have sent me up for you but I am
to bring down the boat's sail and some seal skins for you to sit
upon. I can carry both if you can carry my bundle. Have you put the
belt on?"

"Yes," replied she, "I am quite ready. I will carry the bundle, and
the books and spy-glass, as well as my basket; but we must pack them
close," added she, "and roll the sail up round the yard, or you will
not be able to carry it."

We took the sail down, and got it ready for carrying, and I rolled
up the two best seal skins, and tied them with a piece of fishing
line, and then we were all ready. I shouldered my burden, and Mrs
Reichardt took the other articles, as proposed, and we left the cabin
to go down the path to the bathing-pool.

"Good bye, Nero--good bye, birds--good bye, cabin--and good bye,
garden," said I, as I went along the platform; and having so done,
and ordered Nero back with a tremulous voice, I turned my head in the
direction of the bathing-pool. I stared and then screamed, dropping
my burden, as I lifted up my hands in amazement--

"Look!" cried I to my companion. "Look!" repeated I, breathless.

She did look, and saw as I did--the boat under all sail, half a mile
from the pool, staggering under a fresh breeze, which carried her
away at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour.

They had left us--they had deserted us. I cried out, like a madman,
"Stop! stop! stop!" and then, seeing how useless it was, I dashed
myself on the rock, and for a minute or two was insensible.

"Oh!" groaned I, at last, as I came to my senses.

"Frank Henniker," said a sweet firm voice.

I opened my eyes, and saw Mrs Reichardt standing by me.

"It is the will of Heaven, and you must submit to it patiently,"
continued she.

"But so cruel, so treacherous!" replied I, looking at the fast-receding
boat.

"I grant, most cruel, and most treacherous, but we must leave them
to the judgment of God. What can they expect from him in the way of
mercy when they have shewn none? I tell you candidly, that I think we
are better in our present forlorn state upon this rock, than if in
that boat. They have taken with them the seeds of discord, of
recklessness, and intemperance, in an attempt which requires the
greatest prudence, calmness, and unanimity, and I fear there is
little chance of their even being rescued from their dangerous
position. It is my opinion, and I thought so when I first knew they
had found the cask, that liquor would prove their ruin, and I say
again, that boat will never arrive at its destination, and they will
all perish miserably. It has pleased God that they should leave us
here, and depend upon it, it has been so decided for the best."

"But," replied I, looking again at the boat, "I was tired of being
here--I was so anxious to get off--and now to be left! And they have
taken all our provisions, everything, even the fish in the pool. We
shall starve."

"I hope not," replied she, "and I think not; but we must exert
ourselves, and trust to Heaven."

But I could not heed her--my heart was bursting. I sobbed, as I sat
with my hands covering up my face.

"All gone!" cried I. "No one left but you and I."

"Yes," replied she, "one more."

"Who?" cried I, looking up.

"God!--who is with us always."




Chapter XXIII


I heard what she said, but my head was too confused to weigh the
words. I remained silent, where I was. A few seconds elapsed, and she
spoke again:

"Frank Henniker, rise, and listen to me."

"We shall starve," muttered I.

As I said this, one of the male birds returned from the sea with a
large fish, of which Mrs Reichardt took possession, as she had seen
me do, and the gannet flew away again to obtain more. Immediately
afterwards, the other two birds returned with fish, which were in a
like way secured by my companion.

"See how unjust and ungrateful you are," observed she. "Here are the
birds feeding us, as the ravens did Elijah in the wilderness, at the
very time that you are doubting the goodness and mercy of God. There
is a meal for us provided already."

"My head! my head!" exclaimed I, "it is bursting, and there is a
heavy weight rolling in it--I cannot see anything."

And such was the fact: the excitement had brought on a determination
of blood to the head, and my senses were rapidly departing. Mrs
Reichardt knelt by my side, and perceiving that what I had said was
the case, went into the cabin and brought out a cloth, which she
wetted with water from the spring, and laid across my forehead and
temples. I remained motionless and nearly senseless for half an hour,
during which she continued to apply fresh cold water to the cloth,
and by degrees I recovered from my stupor. In the meantime, the
weather being so fine and the water smooth, the gannets continued to
return with the fish they caught, almost all of which were taken from
them by my companion, until she had collected more than a dozen fish,
from half a pound to a pound weight, which she put away, so that the
birds and seal might not devour them.

I was still in a half dozing state, when the breathing and cold nose
of Nero touched my cheek, and the murmurings of my favourite roused
me up, and I opened my eyes.

"I am better now," said I to Mrs Reichardt. "How kind you have been!"

"Yes, you are better, but still, you must remain quiet. Do you think
that you could walk to your bed-place?"

"I'll try," replied I, and with her assistance I rose up; but, when
I afterwards gained my feet, I should have fallen if she had not
supported me; but, assisted by her, I gained my bed and sank down
again.

She raised my head higher, and then applied the linen cloth and cold
water as before.

"Try now," said she, "if you cannot go to sleep. When you awake
again, I will have some dinner ready for you."

I thanked her and shut my eyes. Nero crawled to my bed-place, and
with my hand upon his head, I fell asleep, and remained so till near
sunset, when I awoke with very little pain in my head, and much
refreshed. I found Mrs Reichardt by my side.

"You are better now," said she. "Can you eat any dinner? I must make
friends with Nero, for he has been disputing my right to come near
your bedside, and his teeth are rather formidable. However, I gave
him the inside of the fish when I cleaned them, and we are better
friends already. There is your dinner."

Mrs Reichardt placed before me some of the fish, broiled on the
embers, and I ate very heartily.

"It is very kind of you," said I, "to be working for me, when I
ought to be working for you--but you must not do it again."

"Only my share of the work when you are well," replied she; "but my
share I always shall do. I cannot be idle, and I am strong enough to
do a great deal; but we will talk about that to-morrow morning. You
will be quite well by that time, I hope."

"Oh! I feel well now," replied I, "only I am very weak."

"You must put your trust in God, my poor boy. Do you ever pray to
him?"

"Yes, I try a little sometimes--but I don't know how. Jackson never
taught me that."

"Then I will. Shall I pray now for both of us?"

"Will God hear you? What was it that you said just before I forgot
everything this morning?"

"I told you that there was another here besides ourselves, a good
and gracious God, who is always with us and always ready to come to
our assistance if we call upon him."

"You told me God lived beyond the stars."

"My poor boy, as if he were a God who was afar off and did not
attend to our prayers! Such is not the case. He is with us always in
spirit, listening to all our prayers, and reading every secret
thought of our hearts."

I was silent for some time, thinking upon what she had told me; at
last I said--

"Then pray to him."

Mrs Reichardt knelt down and prayed in a clear and fervent voice,
without hesitation or stop. She prayed for protection and support in
our desolate condition, that we might be supplied with all things
needful for our sustenance, and have a happy deliverance from our
present position. She prayed that we might be contented and resigned
until it should please him to rescue us--that we might put our whole
trust and confidence in him, and submit without murmuring to whatever
might be his will. She prayed for health and strength, for an
increase of faith and gratitude towards him for all his mercies. She
thanked him for our having been preserved by being left on the
desolate rock, instead of having left it in the boat with the seamen.
(This surprised me.) And then she prayed for me, entreating that she
might be the humble instrument of leading me to my Heavenly Father,
and that he would be pleased to pour down upon me his Holy Spirit, so
that I might, by faith in Christ, be accepted, and become a child of
God and an inheritor of eternal bliss.

There was something so novel to me and so beautiful in her fervency
of prayer, that the tears came into my eyes, and about a minute after
she had finished, I said--

"I now recollect, at least, I think I do--for the memory of it is
very confused-that my mother used to kneel down by me and pray just
as you have done. Oh, how I wish I had a mother!"

"My child," replied she, "promise me that you will be a good and
obedient son, and I will be a mother to you."

"Will you? Oh! how kind of you. Yes, I will be all you wish; I will
work for you day and night if it is necessary. I will do everything,
if you will but be my mother."

"I will do my duty to you as a mother most strictly," replied she;
"so that is agreed upon. Now, you had better go to sleep, if you can."

"But I must first ask you a question. Why did you thank God for the
seamen having left us here, instead of taking us with them?"

"Because the boat was overloaded as it was; because the men, having
liquor, would become careless and desperate, and submit to no
control; and therefore I think there is little or no chance of their
ever arriving anywhere safe, but that they will perish miserably in
some way or another. This, I consider, is the probability, unless the
Almighty in his mercy should be pleased to come to their assistance,
and allow them to fall in with some vessel soon after their departure."

"Do you think, then, that God prevented our going with them on
purpose that we might not share their fate?"

"I do! God regulates everything. Had it been better for us that we
should have gone, he would have permitted it; but he willed it
otherwise, and we must bow to his will with a full faith, that he
orders everything for the best."

"And you say that God will give us all that we ask for in our
prayers?"

"Yes, if we pray fervently and in faith, and ask it in the name of
Jesus Christ; that is, he will grant all we pray for, that is good
for us, but not what is not good for us; or when we ask anything, we
do not know that we are asking what is proper or not--but he does. We
may ask what would be hurtful to us, and then, in his love for us, he
denies it. For instance, suppose you had been accustomed to pray, you
must have prayed God that he would permit you to leave this island in
the boat, as you are so anxious to go away; but supposing that boat
is lost, as I imagine it will be, surely it would have been a
kindness in God, who knew that it would be lost, not to grant your
prayer. Is it not so?"

"Yes, I see now, thank you; now I will go to sleep--good-night."




Chapter XXIV


I awoke the next morning quite recovered from my illness of the day
before, and was out of the cabin before Mrs Reichardt, who still
remained behind the screen which she had put up after I had gone to
sleep. It was a beautiful morning, the water was smooth, and merely
rippled with a light breeze, and the sun shone bright. I felt well
and happy. I lighted a fire to broil the fish for breakfast, as there
was a sufficiency left, and then got my fishing-lines ready to catch
some larger fish to reinhabit my pond at the bathing pool. Mrs
Reichardt came out of the cabin and found me playing with Nero.

"Good morning, dear mother," said I, for I felt most kindly towards
her.

"Good morning, my dear boy," replied she. "Are you quite well?"

"Quite well; and I have got my lines all ready, for I have been
thinking that until the birds come, we must live on fish altogether,
and we can only take them in fine weather like this; so we must not
lose such a day."

"Certainly not. As soon as we have breakfasted, we will go down and
fish. I can fish very well, I am used to it. We must both work now;
but first go for your Bible, that we may read a little."

I did so, and after she had read a chapter she prayed, and I knelt
by her side; then we breakfasted, and as soon as we had breakfasted,
we set off to the bathing-pool.

"Do you know if they left anything behind them, Frank?"

"Yes," replied I, "they left some oars, I believe, and a long line
and we have the shovel, and the hammer, and the boat's small sail, up
at the cabin."

"Well, we shall see very soon," replied she, as we went down the path.

When we arrived at the bathing-pool, the first thing that met my
eyes made me leap with joy. "Oh! mother! mother! they've left the
iron pot; I did so long for it; and as I lay awake this morning, I
thought that if I prayed for anything, it would be for the iron pot.
I was tired of dried birds, and they ate so different when they were
boiled up in the pot with potatoes."

"I am equally glad, Frank, for I do not like victuals uncooked; but
now let us first see what else they have thrown out of the boat."

"Why they have put on shore three of the little casks of water,"
said I; "they took them all on board."

"They have so, I suppose, because the boat was too heavy, and they
would not part with the liquor. Foolish men, they will now not have
more than six days' water, and will suffer dreadfully."

We then looked round the rocks and found that they had left the iron
kettle, three breakers, five oars, and a harpoon and staffs; a gang-board,
a whale line of 200 fathoms, an old saw, a bag of broad-headed
nails, and two large pieces of sheet-iron.

"That saw may be very useful to us," said Mrs Reichardt, "especially
as you have files in your chest. Indeed, if we want them, we may
convert one-half of the saw into knives."

"Into knives! How?"

"I will shew you; and these pieces of sheet-iron I could use again.
You see the sheet-iron was put on to repair any hole which might be
made in the boat, and they have thrown it out, as well as the hammer
and nails. I wonder at John Gough permitting it."

"I heard them quarrelling with him as I came out yesterday to fetch
you down; they would not mind what he said."

"No, or we should not have been left here," replied she; "John Gough
was too good a man to have allowed it, if he could have prevented it.
That sheet-iron will be very useful. Do you know what for? to broil
fish on, or anything else. We must turn up the corners with the
hammer. But now we must lose no more time, but fish all day long, and
not think of eating till supper time."

Accordingly we threw out our lines, and the fish taking the bait
freely, we soon hauled in more than a dozen large fish, which I put
into the bathing-pool.

"What use can we make of that long line which they have left?"

"A good many; but the best use we can make of it, is to turn it into
fishing-lines, when we require new ones."

"But how can we do that, it is so thick and heavy?"

"Yes, but I will show you how to unlay it, and then make it up
again. Recollect, Frank, that I have been the wife of a Missionary,
and have followed my husband wherever he went; sometimes we have been
well off, sometimes as badly off as you and I are now--for a
Missionary has to go through great dangers, and great hardships, as
you would acknowledge if you ever heard my life, or rather that of my
husband."

"Won't you tell it to me?"

"Yes, perhaps I will, some day or another; but what I wish to point
out to you now is, that being his wife, and sharing his danger and
privation, I have been often obliged to work hard and to obtain my
living as I could. In England, women do little except in the house,
but a Missionary's wife is obliged to work with the men, and as a man
very often, and therefore learns to do many things of which women in
general are ignorant. You understand now?"

"Oh yes. I have thought already that you appear to know more than
Jackson did."

"I should think not; but Jackson was not fond of work I expect, and
I am. And now, Frank, you little thought that when you so tardily
went to work the other day to plant potatoes for the benefit of any
one that might hereafter come to the island, that you were planting
for yourself, and would reap the benefit of your own kind act; for if
you had not assisted, of course I could not have done it by myself:
so true it is, that even in this world you are very often rewarded
for a good action."

"But are not you always?"

"No, my child, you must not expect that; but if not rewarded in this
world, you will be rewarded in the next."

"I don't understand that."

"I suppose that you hardly can, but I will explain all that to you,
if God spare my life; but it must be at a more seasonable time."

We continued fishing till late in the afternoon, by which time we
had taken twenty-eight large fish, about seven to nine pounds'
weight; Mrs Reichardt then proposed that we should leave off, as we
had already provision for a fortnight.

I hauled out one more fish, which she took with her to cook for our
supper, and having coiled up my lines, I then commenced, as she had
told me to do, carrying up the articles left by the boat's crew at
the bathing-pool. The first thing I seized upon was the coveted iron
kettle; I was quite overjoyed at the possession of this article, and
I had good reason to be. In my other hand I carried the saw and the
bag of nails. As soon as I had deposited them at the cabin, I went
down again, and before supper was ready I had brought up everything
except the three breakers of water, which I left where they were, as
we did not want them for present use, whatever we might hereafter. We
were both rather tired, and were glad to go to bed after we had taken
our supper.




Chapter XXV


When we met the following morning, my mother, as I shall in future
call her, said to me, "This will be a busy day, Frank, for we have a
great many arrangements to make in the cabin, so that we may be
comfortable. In future the cabin must be kept much more clean and
tidy than it is--but that is my business more than yours. Let us get
our breakfasts, and then we will begin."

"I don't know what you want me to do," replied I; "but I will do it
if I can, as soon as you tell me."

"My dear boy, a woman requires a portion of the cabin to herself, as
it is not the custom for women to live altogether with men. Now, what
I wish is, that the hinder part of the cabin, where you used to stow
away your dried birds, should be made over to me. We have oars with
which we can make a division, and then nail up seal skins, so that I
may have that part of the cabin to myself. Now, do you understand
what I want?"

"Yes, but the oars are longer than the cabin is wide," observed I.
"How shall we manage it?"

"We have the old saw, and that will do well enough to cut them off,
without its being sharpened."

"I never saw one used," replied I, "and I don't understand it."

"I will soon show you. First, we must measure the width of the
cabin. I shall not take away more than one third of it."

My mother went into the cabin, and I followed her. With a piece of
fishing-line, she took the width of the cabin, and then the height up
to the rafters for the door posts. We then went out, and with the
saw, which she showed me how to use, and which astonished me very
much, when I perceived its effects, the oars were cut up to the
proper length. Gimlets I had already from the sea-chest, and nails
and hammer we had just obtained from the boat, so that before the
forenoon was over, the framework was all ready for nailing on the
seal skins. The bag of broad-headed short nails, which had been
thrown on the rocks, were excellent for this purpose, and, as I had
plenty of skins, the cabin was soon divided off, with a skin between
the door-jambs hanging down loose, so that any one might enter. I
went inside after it was complete. "But," said I, "you have no light
to see what you are about."

"Not yet, but I soon will have," replied my mother. "Bring the saw
here, Frank. Observe, you must cut through the side of the cabin
here, a square hole of this size; three of the planks cut through
will be sufficient. Begin here."

I did as she directed me, and in the course of half an hour, I had
cut out of the south side of the cabin a window about two feet
square, which admitted plenty of light.

"But won't it make it cold at night?" said I.

"We will prevent that," replied she, and she took out a piece of
white linen, and with some broad-headed nails, she nailed it up, so
as to prevent the air from coming in, although there was still plenty
of light. "There," said she, "that is but a coarse job, which I will
mend bye-and-bye, but it will do for the present."

"Well, it is very nice and comfortable now," said I, looking round
it. "Now what shall I bring in?"

"Nothing for the bed but seal skins," said she. "I do not like the
feathers. The seal skins are stiff at present, but I think we may be
able to soften them bye-and-bye. Now, Frank, your chest had better
come in here, as it is of no use where it is, and we will make a
storeroom of it, to hold all our valuables."

"What, the diamonds?" replied I.

"My dear boy, we have articles to put into the chest, which, in our
present position, are more valuable to us than all the diamonds in
the world. Tell me now, yourself, what do you prefer and set most
value upon, your belt of diamonds, or the iron kettle?"

"The iron kettle, to be sure," replied I.

"Exactly so; and there are many things in our possession as valuable
as the iron kettle, as you will hereafter acknowledge. Now do you go
and get ready some fire for us, and I will finish here by myself.
Nero, keep out, sir--you are never to come into this cabin."

I went with Nero for a fish and when I returned, I determined that I
would use the iron kettle. I put it on with water and boiled the
fish, and I thought that it ate better than broiled on the embers,
which made it too dry.

As we sat at our meal, I said, "Dear mother, what are we to do next?"

"To-morrow morning we will put the cabin into better order, and put
away all our things instead of leaving them about the platform in
this way. Then I will carefully look over all that we have got, and
put them away in the chest. I have not yet seen the contents of the
chest."

The next day it was very cloudy and, rough weather, blowing fresh.
After breakfast we set to work. We cleared out the floor of the
cabin, which was strewed with all manner of things, for Jackson and I
had not been very particular. The whale line was coiled up and put
into one corner, and every thing else was brought in and a place
found for it.

"We must contrive some shelves," said my mother, "that we may put
things on them, or else we never can be tidy; and we have not one
except that which holds the books. I think we can manage it. We have
two oars left besides the boat's yard; we will nail them along the
side of the cabin, about a foot or more from it, and then we will cut
some of the boat's sail, and nail the canvas from the side of the
cabin to the oars, and that will make a sort of shelf which will hold
our things."

I brought in the oars, they were measured and cut off and nailed up.
The canvas was then stretched from the side of the cabin to the oar,
and nailed with the broad-headed nails, and made two capital shelves
on each side of the cabin, running from one end to the other.

"There," said my mother, "that is a good job. Now we will examine
the chest and put everything away and in its place."

My mother took out all the clothes, and folded them up. When she
found the roll of duck which was at the bottom, she said--

"I am glad to find this as I can make a dress for myself much better
for this island than this black stuff dress which I now wear, and
which I will put by to wear in case we should be taken off the island
some of these days, for I must dress like other people when I am
again among them. The clothes are sufficient to last you for a long
while, but I shall only alter two shirts and two pair of trousers to
your present size, as you will grow very fast. How old do you think
you are now?"

I replied, "About sixteen years old, or perhaps more."

"I should think that was about your age."

Having examined and folded up every article of clothing in the
chest, the tools, spyglass, &c., were put by me on the shelves, and
then we examined the box containing the thread, needles, fishhooks,
and other articles, such as buttons, &c.

"These are valuable," said she; "I have some of my own to put along
with them. Go and fetch my basket, I have not yet had time to look
into it since I left the ship."

"What is there in it?"

"Except brushes and combs, I can hardly say. When I travelled about,
I always carried my basket, containing those things most requisite
for daily use, and in the basket I put everything that I wished to
preserve, till I had an opportunity to put it away. When I embarked
on board of the whaler, I brought my basket on my arm as usual, but
except opening it for my brushes and combs or scissors, I have not
examined it for months."

"What are brushes and combs and scissors?"

"That I will shew you," replied she, opening the lid of the basket.
"These are the brushes and combs for cleaning the hair, and these are
scissors. Now we will take everything out."

The basket did indeed appear to contain a wonderful quantity of
things, almost all new to me. There were two brushes, twelve combs,
three pair of scissors, a penknife, a little bottle of ink, some
pens, a woman's thimble, a piece of wax, a case of needles, thread
and silk, a piece of India ink, and a camel's-hair brush, sealing-wax,
sticking plaster, a box of pills, some tape and bobbin, paper of
pins, a magnifying glass, silver pencil case, some money in a purse,
black shoe ribbon, and many other articles which I have forgotten.
All I know is that I never was so much interested ever after at any
show as I was with the contents of this basket, all of which were
explained to me by my mother, as to their uses, and how they were
made. There were several little papers at the bottom of the basket
which she said were seeds of plants, which she had collected to take
to England with her, and that we would plant them here. As she shook
the dust out of the basket after it was empty, two or three white
things tumbled out, which she asked me to pick up and give to her.

"I don't know how they came here," said she, "but three of them are
orange-pips which we will sow to-morrow, and the other is a pea, but
of what kind I know not, we will sow that also--but I fear it will
not come up, as it appears to me to be one of the peas served out to
the sailors on board ship, and will be too old to grow. We can but
try. Now we will put into the chest, with the other things that you
have, what we do not want for present use, and then I can drive a
nail into the side of my bedroom and hang my basket on it."

"But," said I, "this round glass--what is that for?"

"Put it on one side," replied she, "and to-morrow, if it is fine, I
will shew you the use of it; but there are some things we have
forgotten, which are your belt and the other articles you gave me to
take for you when you thought we were to leave the island. They are
in the bed-place opposite to yours."

I brought them, and she put away the mate's watch and sleeve
buttons, and the other trinkets, &c., saying that she would examine
the letters and papers at another time. The belt was examined,
counting how many of the squares had stones in them, and then, with
her scissors, she cut open one of the squares, and took out a white
glittering thing like glass as it appeared to me, and looked at it
carefully.

"I am no great judge of these things," said she, "but still I have
picked up some little knowledge. This belt, if it contain all stones
like this, must be of considerable value; now I must get out my
needle and thread and sew it up again." She did, and put the belt
away with the other articles in the chest. "And now," said she, "we
have done a good day's work, and it is time to have something to eat."




Chapter XXVI


I must say that I was much better pleased with the appearance of the
cabin, it was so neat and clean to what it had been, and everything
was out of the way. The next day was a calm and clear day, and we
went down to fish. We were fortunate, and procured almost as many as
we had done at the previous fishing--they were all put in the bathing
pool as before. When we went up to the cabin, as soon as the fish was
put on the fire, under the direction of my mother, I turned up the
sides of one of the pieces of sheet iron, so as to make a sort of
dish. The other piece I did the same to, only not so high at the
sides, as one piece was kept for baking the fish on and the other as
a dish to put our dinner upon when cooked. That day we had been too
busy with fishing to think of anything else, but on the following I
recollected the magnifying glass, and brought it to her. She first
showed me the power it had to magnify, with which I was much amused
for a time, and she explained as well as she could to me the cause of
its having that power, but I could not well understand her; I was
more pleased with the effect than cognisant of the cause. Afterwards
she sent me to the cabin for some of the dried moss which I used for
tinder, and placing the glass so as to concentrate the rays of the
sun, to my astonishment I saw the tinder caught fire. It was
amazement more than astonishment, and I looked up to see where the
fire came from. My mother explained to me, and I, to a certain
degree, comprehended, but I was too anxious to have the glass in my
own hands and try experiments. I lighted the tinder again-then I
burnt my hand--then I singed one of the gannet's heads, and lastly,
perceiving that Nero was fast asleep in the sun, I obtained the focus
on his cold nose. He started up with a growl, which made me retreat,
and I was perfectly satisfied with the result of my experiments. From
that time, the fire was, when the sun shone, invariably lighted by
the burning-glass, and very useful did I find it. As it was so
portable, I always carried it with me, and when I had nothing to do,
I magnified, or set fire, according to the humour of the moment.

Although I have not mentioned it, not a morning rose, but before
breakfast, I read the Scriptures to my mother.

"There's so much in that book which I cannot understand," said I,
one morning.

"I suspect that, living as you have, alone on this island, and
having seen nothing of the world," replied my mother, "that there are
not many books that you would understand."

"But I understand all that is said in the Beast and Bird Book,"
replied I.

"Perhaps you may, or think you do; but, Frank, you must not class
the Bible with other books. The other books are the works of man, but
the Bible is the word of God. There are many portions of that book
which the cleverest men, who have devoted their lives to its study,
cannot understand, and which never will be understood as long as this
world endures. In many parts the Bible is a sealed book."

"But will it never be understood then by anybody?"

"There is quite as much of the Bible as is necessary for men to
follow its precepts, and this is so clear that anybody may understand
it--it contains all that is necessary for salvation; but there are
passages, the true meaning of which we cannot explain, and which God,
for his own purposes, will not permit us to. But if we do not know
them now, we shall probably hereafter, when we have left this world,
and our intellects more nearly approach God's."

"Well, I don't understand why we should not understand it."

"Frank," replied she, "look at that flower just in bloom. Do you
understand how it is that that plant keeps alive--grows every year
--every year throws out a large blue flower? Why should it do so? why
should the flower always be blue? and whence comes that beautiful
colour? Can you tell me? You see, you know that it does do so; but
can you tell me what makes it do so?"

"No."

"Look at that bird. You know it is hatched from an egg. How is it
that the inside of an egg is changed into a bird? How is it that the
bird is covered with feathers, and has the power to fly? Can you
explain to me yourself? You can walk about just as you please--you
have the power of reasoning, and thinking, and of acting; but by what
means is it that you possess that power? Can you tell? You know that
is so, but you know no more. You can't tell why or how or what causes
produce these effects--can you?"

"No."

"Well, then, if you are surrounded by all manner of things, living
and dead, and see every day things which you cannot explain, or
understand, why should you be surprised that, as God has not let you
know by what means these effects are produced, that in his written
word he should also keep from you that which for good purposes you
are not permitted to know. Everything here is by God's will, and that
must be sufficient for us. Now do you understand?"

"Yes, I see now what you mean, but I never thought about these
things before. Tell me some more about the Bible."

"Not now. Some day I will give you a history of the Bible, and then
you will understand the nature of the book, and why it was written;
but not at present. Suppose, as we have nothing particular to do, you
tell me all you know about yourself from Jackson, and all that
happened while you lived with him. I have heard only part, and I
should like to know all."

"Very well," replied I. "I will tell you everything, but it will
take a long while."

"We shall have plenty of time to spare, my dear boy, I fear, before
we leave this place; so, never mind time--tell me everything."

I commenced my narrative, but I was interrupted.

"Have you never been able to call your own mother to your memory?"
said she.

"I think I can now, since I have seen you, but I could not before. I
now can recollect a person dressed like you, kneeling down and
praying by my side; and I said before, the figure has appeared in my
dreams, and much oftener since you have been here."

"And your father?"

"I have not the slightest remembrance of him, or anybody else except
my mother."

I then proceeded, and continued my narrative until it was time to go
to bed; but as I was very circumstantial, and was often interrupted
by questions, I had not told a quarter of what I had to say.




Chapter XXVII


Mrs Reichardt had promised to give me a history of the Bible; and
one day, when the weather kept us both at home, she thus commenced
her narrative:--

"The Bible is a history of God's doings for the salvation of man. It
commences with the fall of man by disobedience, and ends with the
sacrifice made for his reinstatement. As by one man, Adam, sin came
into the world, so by one man, Jesus Christ, was sin and death
overcome. If you will refer to the third chapter of Genesis, at the
very commencement of the Bible, you will find that at the same time
that Adam receives his punishment, a promise is made by the Lord,
that the head of the serpent shall hereafter be bruised. The whole of
the Bible, from the very commencement, is an announcement of the
coming of Christ; so that as soon as the fault had been committed,
the Almighty, in his mercy, had provided a remedy. Nothing is unknown
or unforeseen by God.

"Recollect, Frank, that the Bible contains the history of God's
doings, but it does not often tell us why such things were done. It
must be sufficient for us to know that such was the will of God; when
he thinks proper, he allows us to understand his ways, but to our
limited capacities, most of his doings are inscrutable. But, are we
to suppose that, because we, in our foolishness, cannot comprehend
his reasons, that therefore they must be cavilled at? Do you
understand me, Frank?"

"Yes," replied I; "I do pretty well."

"As I pointed out to you the other day, you see the blade of grass
grow, and you see it flower, but how it does so you know not. If then
you are surrounded all your life with innumerable things which you
see but cannot comprehend--when all nature is a mystery to you--even
yourself--how can you expect to understand the dealings of God in
other things? When, therefore, you read the Bible, you must read it
with faith."

"What is faith? I don't quite understand, mother."

"Frank, I have often told you of many things that are in England,
where you one day hope to go. Now, if when you arrive in England, you
find that everything that I have told you is quite true, you will be
satisfied that I am worthy of belief."

"Yes."

"Well, suppose some one were to tell you something relative to any
other country, which you could not understand, and you came to me and
asked me if such were the case, would you, having found that I told
you truth with regard to England, believe that what you had been told
of this other country was true, if I positively asserted that it was
so?"

"Of course I should, mother."

"Well, then, Frank, that would be faith; a belief in things not only
not seen, but which you cannot understand. But to go on, I mention
this because some people are so presumptuous as to ask the why and
the wherefore of God's doings, and attempt to argue upon their
justice, forgetting that the little reason they have is the gift of
God, and that they must be endowed with intellect equal to the
Almighty, to enable them to know and perceive that which he decides
upon. But if God has not permitted us to understand all his ways,
still, wherever we can trace the finger of God, we can always
perceive that everything is directed by an all-wise and beneficent
hand; and that, although the causes appear simple, the effects
produced are extraordinary and wonderful. We shall observe this as we
talk over the history of the Jews, in the Bible. But, I repeat, that
we must study the whole of the Bible with faith, and not be
continually asking ourselves, 'Why was this done?' If you will turn
to the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, you will see what
the Apostle Paul says on the subject: 'Nay but, O man, who art thou
that repliest against God?' Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed it, 'Why hast thou made me thus?' Do you not understand in
what spirit the Bible should be read?"

"Yes, I do. We must read it as the Word of God, and believe all that
we read in it."

"Exactly;--now we will proceed. After Adam's fall, the earth became
so wicked that God destroyed it, leaving but Noah and his family to
re-people it; and as soon as this was done, the Almighty prepared for
his original intention for the future salvation of men. He selected
Abraham, who was a good man, and who had faith, to be the father of a
nation chosen for his own people--that was the Jewish nation. He told
him that his seed should multiply as the stars in the heavens, and
that all the nations of the earth should be blessed in him; that is,
that from his descendants should Christ be born, who should be the
salvation of men. Abraham's great-grandchildren were brought into
Egypt, to live apart in the land of Goshen. You have read the history
of Joseph and his brethren?"

"Oh yes; I know that well."

"Well, the Almighty wished the Jews should be a nation apart from
others, and for that purpose he brought them into Egypt. But observe,
Frank, by what simple and natural causes this was effected. It was by
a dream of Joseph's, which, when he told them of it, irritated his
brothers against him; they sold him as a slave, and he was sent into
Egypt. There, having explained the dream of Pharaoh, he was made a
ruler over Egypt, and saved that country from the famine which was in
every other land. His brothers come down to buy corn, and he
recognises them. He sends for his father and all the family, and
establishes them in the land of Goshen, as shepherds, apart from the
Egyptians. Here they multiplied fast; but after Joseph's elevation
they were cruelly treated by the Egyptians, who became afraid of
their rapid increase, and eventually the Kings of Egypt gave orders
that all the male children of the Jews should be destroyed. It was at
this time, when they were so oppressed and cruelly treated by the
Egyptians, that God interfered and sent for Moses. Moses, like all
the rest of the Jews, knew nothing of the true God, and was difficult
to persuade, and it was only by miracles that he was convinced."

"Why did God keep the Jews apart from the Egyptians, and have them
thrown in bondage?"

"Because he wished to prepare them to become his own peculiar
people. By their being descended from Abraham, and having never
intermarried with other nations, they had become a pure race; by
being in bondage and severely treated, they had suffered and become
united as a people. They knew no Gods but those worshipped by the
Egyptians, and these Gods it was now the intention of the Almighty to
confound, and prove to the Jews as worthless. At the same time he
worked with his own nation in mystery, for when Moses asked him what
God he was to tell his people that he was, the Almighty only replied
by these words--_I am_; having no name like all the false Gods
worshipped by the Egyptians. He was now about to prove, by his
wonderful miracles, the difference between himself and the false Gods."

"What are miracles?"

"A miracle is doing that which man has no power of doing, proving
that the party who does it is superior to man: for instance--to
restore a dead man to life is a miracle, as none but God, or those
empowered by God could do. Miracles were necessary, therefore, to
prove to the Jews that the Almighty was the true God, and were
resorted to by him in this instance, as well as in the coming of Our
Saviour, when it was also necessary to prove that he was the Son of
God. When the Almighty sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand that the
Israelites should have permission to sacrifice in the desert, he
purposely hardened the heart of Pharaoh that he might refuse the
request."

"But why did he so?"

"Because he wanted to prove to the Israelites that he was the only
true God and had Pharaoh consented to their going away, there would
have been no opportunity of performing those miracles by which the
Israelites were to be delivered, and by which they were to
acknowledge him as their God."

Mrs Reichardt often renewed this conversation, till I became
acquainted with Scriptural History.




Chapter XXVIII


The following morning, I went with Nero to take a couple of fish out
of the pool. As soon as Nero had caught them, he went into the other
part of the bathing pool to amuse himself, while I cleaned the fish,
which I generally did before I went up to the cabin, giving him the
heads and insides for his share, if I did not require any portion for
the birds. Nero was full of play that morning, and when I threw the
heads to him, as he frolicked in the water, he brought them out to
the rocks, but instead of eating them, as usual, he laid them at my
feet. I threw them in several times, and he continued to bring them
out, and my mother, coming down to me, was watching him.

"I think," said she, "you must teach Nero to fetch and carry like a
dog--try. Instead of the heads, throw in this piece of wood;" which
she now broke off the boat-hook staff.

I did so, and Nero brought it out, as he had done the heads of the
fish. I patted and coaxed the animal, and tried him again several
times with success.

"Now," said my mother, "you must accustom him to certain words when
you send him for anything. Always say, 'Fetch it, Nero!' and point
with your finger."

"Why am I to do that, mother?" I asked.

"Because the object to be gained is, not that the animal should
fetch out what you throw in, but what you send it to bring out which
you have not thrown in. Do you understand?"

"Yes," replied I. "You mean if there were anything floating near on
the sea, I should send him for it."

"Exactly. Then Nero would be of some use."

"I will soon teach him," replied I; "to-morrow I will send him into
the sea after the piece of spar. I've no fear that he will go away
now."

"I was thinking last night, Frank, whether they had taken the pail
with them in the boat."

"The pail," said I; "I know where it is, but I quite forgot it. We
left it up the ravine the last day we planted the potatoes."

"We did so, now I recollect. I will go for it while you get the
breakfast ready."

We had now been for many weeks on a fish diet, and I must confess
that I was tired of it, which was not the case when I lived upon the
dried birds during the whole of the year. Why so I cannot tell, but
I was soon to learn to relish fish, if I could obtain them.

It was not often that the wind blew direct on the shore, but coming
from the northward and eastward, it was in a slanting direction, but
occasionally, and chiefly about the time of the Equinoxes, the gales
came on very heavy from the eastward, and then the wash of the seas
upon the rocky coast was tremendous. Such was the case about this
time. A fierce gale of wind from the eastward raised a sea which
threw the surf and spray high over the loftiest of the rocks, and the
violence of the wind bore the spray far inland. The gale had come on
in the evening, and my mother and I, when we rose in the morning,
were standing on the platform before the cabin, admiring the grandeur
of the scene, but without the least idea that it was to be productive
of so much misery to ourselves. My mother pointed out to me some
passages in the Psalms and Old Testament bearing strongly upon the
scene before us; after a time I called Nero, and went down with him
to take fish out of the pool for our day's consumption. At that time
we had a large supply in the pool--more than ever, I should say.
When I arrived at the pool, I found the waves several feet in height
rolling in over the ledges, and the pool one mass of foam, the water
in it being at least two or three feet higher than usual; still it
never occurred to me that there was any mischief done, until I had
sent Nero in for the fish, and found that, after floundering and
diving for some time, he did not bring out one. My mind misgave me,
and I ordered him in again. He remained some time and then returned
without a fish, and I was then satisfied that from the rolling in of
the waves, and the unusual quantity of the water in the pool, the
whole of the fish had escaped, and that we were now without any
provisions or means of subsistence, until the weather should settle,
and enable us to catch some more.

Aghast at the discovery, I ran up to the cabin, and called to my
mother, who was in her bedroom.

"Oh, mother, all the fish have got out of the pool, and we have
nothing to eat. I told you we should be starved."

"Take time, Frank, and take breath," replied she, "and then tell me
what has happened, to cause this alarm and dismay, that you appear to
be in."

I explained to her what had happened, and that Nero could not find
one fish.

"I fear that what you say must be correct," replied she; "but we
must put our trust in God. It is his will, and whatever he wills
must be right."

I cannot say I was Christian enough at the time to acknowledge the
truth of her reply, and I answered, "If God is as good and as
gracious as you say, will he allow us to starve? Does he know that
we are starving?" continued I.

"Does he know, Frank?" replied my mother; "what does the Bible say--
that not a sparrow falls to the ground without his knowledge; and of
how much more worth are you than many sparrows? Shame upon you,
Frank!"

I was abashed but not satisfied, I therefore replied quietly, "We
have nothing to eat, mother."

"Granted that we have lost all our fish, Frank, still we are not yet
starving; the weather may moderate tomorrow, and we may catch some
more, or even if it should not till the day afterwards, we can bear
to be two days without food. Let us hope for the best and put our
trust in God--let us pray to him and ask him for his assistance. He
can rebuke these stormy waters--he can always find means of helping
those who put confidence in him, and will send us aid when all hope
appears gone. Pray, Frank, as I will do, fervently, and believing
that your prayer is heard--pray with faith, and your prayer will be
answered."

"It is not always so," replied I; "you have told me of many people
who have died of starvation."

"I grant it, and for all wise purposes they were permitted so to do,
but the Almighty had reasons for permitting it, unknown to us, but
which you may depend upon it, were good. We cannot fathom his
decrees. He may even now decide that such is to be our fate; but if
so, depend upon it, Frank, all is right, and what appears to you now
as cruel and neglectful of you, would, if the future could be looked
into by us, prove to have been an act of mercy."

"Do you think, then, that we shall starve?"

"I do not--I have too much faith in God's mercy, and I do not think
that he would have preserved our lives by preventing the men from
taking us into the boat, if we were now to starve. God is not
inconsistent; and I feel assured that, forlorn as our present
position appears to be, and tried as our faith in him may be, we
shall still be preserved, and live to be monuments of his gracious
love and kindness."

These words of my mother and the implicit confidence which she
appeared to have, much revived me. "Well," said I, "I hope you are
right, my dear mother, and now I think of it," continued I,
brightening up at the idea, "if the worst come to the worst, we can
eat the birds; I don't care much for them now, and if I did, you
should not starve, mother."

"I believe you would not hesitate to sacrifice the birds, Frank, but
a greater sacrifice may be demanded of you."

"What?" inquired I; and then after a little thought, I said, "You
don't mean Nero, mother?"

"To tell the truth, I did mean Nero, Frank, for the birds will not
be a support for more than a day or two."

"I never could kill Nero, mother," replied I gloomily, and walking
away into the cabin, I sat down very melancholy at the idea of my
favourite being sacrificed; to me it appeared quite horrible, and my
mother having referred to it, made her fall very much in my good
opinion. Alas! I was indeed young and foolish, and little thought
what a change would take place in my feelings. As for the birds, as I
really did not care for them, I resolved to kill two of them for our
day's meal, and returning to the platform I had laid hold of the two
that were there and had seized both by the neck, when my mother asked
me what I was going to do.

"Kill them, and put them in the pot for our dinner," replied I.

"Nay, Frank! you are too hasty. Let us make some little sacrifice,
even for the poor birds. We surely can fast one day without very
great suffering. To-morrow will be time enough."

I dropped the birds from my hand, tacitly consenting to her
proposal. It was not, however, for the sake of the birds that I did
so, but because one day's respite for the birds would be a day's
respite for Nero.

"Come," said my mother, "let us go into the cabin and get some work.
I will alter some of the clothes for you. What will you do?"

"I don't know," replied I, "but I will do whatever you tell me."

"Well, then, I perceive that the two fishing-lines are much worn,
and they may break very soon, and then we shall be without the means
of taking fish, even if the weather is fine, so now we will cut off
some of the whale line, and when it is unravelled, I will show you
how to lay it up again into fishing line; and, perhaps, instead of
altering the clothes, I had better help you, as fishing-lines are now
of more consequence to us than anything else."

This was an arrangement which I gladly consented to. In a short time
the whale line was unravelled, and my mother showed me how to lay it
up in three yarns, so as to make a stout fishing line. She assisted,
and the time passed away more rapidly than I had expected it would.

"You are very clever, mother," said I.

"No, my child, I am not, but I certainly do know many things which
women in general are not acquainted with; but the reason of this is,
I have lived a life of wandering, and occasional hardships. Often
left to our own resources, when my husband and I were among
strangers, we found the necessity of learning to do many things for
ourselves, which those who have money usually employ others to do for
them; but I have been in situations where even money was of no use,
and had to trust entirely to myself. I have therefore always made it
a rule to learn everything that I could; and as I have passed much of
my life in sailing over the deep waters, I obtained much useful
knowledge from the seamen, and this of laying up fishing lines is one
of the arts which they communicated to me. Now, you see, I reap the
advantage of it."

"Yes," replied I; "and so do I. How lucky it was that you came to
this island!"

"Lucky for me, do you mean, Frank?"

"No, mother! I mean how lucky for me."

"I trust that I have been sent here to be useful, Frank, and with
that feeling I cheerfully submit to the will of God. He has sent me
that I may be useful to you, I do not doubt; and if by my means you
are drawn towards him, and, eventually, become one of his children, I
shall have fulfilled my mission."

"I do not understand you quite, mother."

"No, you cannot as yet, but everything in season," replied she,
slowly musing; "'First the blade, then the ear, and then the full
corn in the ear,'"

"Mother," said I, "I should like to hear the whole story of your
life. You know I have told you all that I know about myself. Now
suppose you tell me your history, and that of your husband. You did
say that perhaps, one day you would. Do you recollect?"

"Yes, I do recollect that I did make a sort of promise, Frank, and I
promise you now that some day I will fulfil it; but I am not sure
that you will understand or profit by the history now, so much as you
may bye-and-bye."

"Well, but mother, you can tell me the story twice, and I shall be glad
to hear it again, so tell it to me now, to amuse me, and bye-and-bye
that I may profit by it."

My mother smiled, which she very seldom did, and said--

"Well, Frank, as I know you would at any time give up your dinner to
listen to a story, and as you will have no dinner to-day, I think it
is but fair that I should consent to your wish. Who shall I begin
with--with my husband or with myself?"

"Pray begin with your own history," replied I.




Chapter XXIX


"I am the daughter of a parish clerk in a small market town near the
southern coast of England, within a few miles of a large seaport."

"What is a parish clerk?" I asked, interrupting my mother at the
commencement of her promised narrative.

"A parish clerk," she replied, "is a man who is employed in the
parish or place to which he belongs, to fulfil certain humble duties
in connection with the church or place of worship where the people
meet together to worship God."

"What does he do there?" I inquired.

"He gives out the psalms that are to be sung, leads the congregation
in making their responses to the minister appointed to perform the
services of the church; has the custody of the registry of births,
deaths, and burials of the inhabitants, and the care of the church
monuments, and of other property belonging to the building. In some
places he also fulfils the duties of bell-ringer and grave-digger;
that is to say, by ringing a large bell at the top of the church, he
summons the people to their devotions, during their lives, and digs a
hole in consecrated ground, surrounding the sacred building, to
receive their bodies when dead."

I mused on this strange combination of offices, and entertained a
notion of the importance of such a functionary, which I afterwards
found was completely at variance with the real state of the case.

"My father," she resumed, "not only fulfilled all these duties, but
contrived to perform the functions of schoolmaster to the parish
children."

"What are parish children?" I asked eagerly. "I know what children
are, as Jackson represented to me that I was the child of my father
and mother, but what makes children, parish children?"

"They are the children of the poor," Mrs Reichardt replied, "who,
not being able to afford them instruction, willingly allow them to be
taught at the expense of the people of the parish generally."

I thought this a praiseworthy arrangement. I knew nothing of poors-rates,
and the system of giving relief to the poor of the parish, so long
used in England, afterwards explained to me, but the kindness and
wisdom of this plan of instruction became evident to my understanding.
I was proceeding to ask other questions, when my mother stopped them
by saying, that if I expected her to get through her story, I must
let her proceed without further interruption; for many things would
be mentioned by her which demanded explanation, for one so completely
unaware of their existence as myself, and that it would be impossible
to make me thoroughly acquainted with such things within any reasonable
time; the proper explanations, she promised, should follow. She then
proceeded.

"My father, it may be thought, had enough on his hands, but in an
obscure country town, it is not unusual for one man to unite the
occupations of several, and this was particularly the case with my
father, who, in addition to the offices I have enumerated, was the
best cattle-doctor and bone-setter within ten miles; and often earned
his bread at different kinds of farmer's work, such as thatching,
hedging, ditching and the like. Nevertheless, he found time to read
his Bible, and bring up his only daughter religiously. This daughter
was myself."

"What had become of your mother?" I asked, as I thought it strange
Mrs Reichardt should only mention one parent.

"She had died very soon after my birth," she answered, "and I was
left at first to the care of a poor woman, who nursed me; as soon,
however, as I could run about, and had exhibited some signs of
intelligence, my father began to get so partial to me, that he very
reluctantly allowed me to go out of his sight. He took great pains in
teaching me what he knew, and though the extent of his acquirements
was by no means great, it was sufficient to lay a good foundation,
and establish a desire for more comprehensive information, which I
sought every available means to obtain.

"I remember that at a very early age I exhibited an extraordinary
curiosity for a child; constantly asking questions, not only of my
father, but of all his friends and visitors, and, as they seemed to
consider me a quick and lively child, they took pleasure in
satisfying my inquisitive spirit. In this way I gained a great deal
of knowledge, and, by observation of what passed around me, a great
deal more.

"It soon became a source of pride and gratification with my father,
to ask me to read the Bible to him. This naturally led to a good many
inquiries on my part, and numerous explanations on his. In course of
time, I became familiar with all the sacred writings, and knew their
spirit and meaning much better than many persons who were more than
double my age.

"My fondness for such studies, and consequent reputation, attracted
the attention of Dr Brightwell, the clergyman of our parish, who had
the kindness to let me share the instructions of his children, and
still further advanced my education, and still more increased my
natural predilection for religious information. By the time I was
thirteen, I became quite a prodigy in Christian learning, and was
often sent for to the parsonage, to astonish the great people of the
neighbourhood, by the facility with which I answered the most
puzzling questions that were put to me, respecting the great
mysteries of Christianity."




Chapter XXX


It was about this time that I first became acquainted with an orphan
boy, an inmate of the workhouse, who had been left to the care of the
parish by the sudden death of his parents, a German clock-maker and
his wife, from a malignant fever which had visited the neighbourhood,
and taken off a considerable portion of the labouring population. I
had been sent on errands from my father, to the master of the
workhouse, a severe, sullen man, of whom I had a great dread, and I
noticed this child, in consequence of his pale and melancholy
countenance, and apparently miserable condition. I observed that no
one took any notice of him; and that he was allowed to wander about
the great straggling workhouse, among the insane, the idiotic, and
the imbecile, without the slightest attention being paid to his going
and coming; in short, he lived the wretched life of a workhouse boy.

"I see that you are eager to ask what is a workhouse boy," said my
mother, "so I will anticipate your question. There is, in the various
parishes of the country to which we both belong, a building expressly
set apart for the accommodation and support of the destitute and
disabled poor. It usually contains inmates of all ages, from the
infant just born, to the very aged, whose infirmities shew them to be
on the verge of the grave. They are all known to be in a state of
helpless poverty, and quite unable to earn a subsistence for
themselves. In this building they are clothed and fed; the younger
provided with instruction necessary to put them in the way of earning
a livelihood; the elders of the community enjoying the consolations
of religion, accorded to them by the regular visits of the chaplain."

"I suppose," I here observed, "that the people who lived there, were
deeply impressed with their good fortune in finding such an asylum?"

"As far as I could ever ascertain," Mrs Reichardt replied, "it was
exactly the reverse. It was always thought so degrading to enter a
workhouse, that the industrious labourer would endure any and every
privation rather than live there. An honest hard-working man must be
sorely driven indeed, to seek such a shelter in his distress."

"That seems strange," I observed. "Why should he object to receive
what he so much stands in need of?"

"When he thus comes upon the funds of the parish," answered my
mother, "he becomes what is called a pauper, and among the English
peasantry of the better sort, there is the greatest possible aversion
to be ranked with this degraded class. Consequently, the inmates of
the workhouses are either those whose infirmities prevent their
earning a subsistence, or the idle and the dissolute, who feel none
of the honest prejudices of self-dependence, and care only to live
from day to day on the coarse and meagre fare afforded them by the
charity of their wealthier and more industrious fellow-creatures.

"The case of this poor boy I thought very pitiable. I found out that
his name was Heinrich Reichardt. He could speak no language but his
own, and therefore his wants remained unknown, and his feelings
unregarded. He had been brought up with a certain sense of comfort
and decency, which was cruelly outraged by the position in which he
found himself placed by the sudden death of his parents. I observed
that he was often in tears, and his fair features and light hair
contrasted remarkably with the squalid faces and matted locks of his
companions. His wretchedness never failed to make a deep impression
on me.

"I brought him little presents, and strove to express my sympathy
for his sufferings. He seemed, at first, more surprised than
grateful, but I shortly discovered that my attentions gave him
unusual pleasure, and he looked upon my visits as his only solace and
gratification.

"Even at this period I exercised considerable influence over my
father, and I managed to interest him in the case of the poor foreign
boy to such an extent, that he was induced to take him out of the
workhouse, and find him a home under his own roof. He was at first
reluctant to burden himself with the bringing up of a child, who,
from his foreign language and habits, could be of little use to him
in his avocations; but I promised to teach him English, and all other
learning of which he stood most in need, and assured my father that
in a prodigious short time I would make him a much abler assistant
than he was likely to find among the boys of the town.

"My father's desire to please me, rather than any faith he reposed
in my assertions, led him to allow me to do as I pleased in this
affair. I lost no time, therefore, in beginning my course of
instruction, and in a few weeks ascertained that I had an apt pupil,
who was determined to proceed with his education as fast as
circumstances would admit. We were soon able to express our ideas to
each other, and in a few months read together the book out of which I
had received so many invaluable lessons.

"In a short time, I became not less proud of, than partial to, my
pupil. I took him through the same studies which I had pursued under
the auspices of our clergyman, and was secretly pleased to find, not
only that he was singularly quick in imbibing my instructions, but
displayed a strong natural taste for those investigations towards
which I had shown so marked a bias.

"Day after day have we sat together discoursing of the great events
recorded in Holy Writ: going over every chapter of its marvellous
records, page by page, till the whole was so firmly fixed upon our
minds, that we had no necessity during our conversations for
referring to the Sacred Book. We found examples we held up to
ourselves for imitation; we found incidents we regarded as promises
of Divine protection; we found consolation and comfort, as well as
exhortation and advice; and, moreover, we found a sort of instruction
that led us to select for ourselves duties that apparently tended to
bring us nearer to the Great Being whose goodness we had so
diligently studied.

"My father seemed as much pleased with my successful teaching, as he
had been with my successful learning; and when young Reichardt turned
out a remarkably handy and intelligent lad, to whose assistance in
some of his avocations he could have recourse with perfect confidence
in his cleverness and discretion, he grew extremely partial to him.
Dr Brightwell also proved his friend, and in a few years, the
condition of the friendless workhouse boy was so changed, he could
not have been taken for the same person.

"He was a boy of a very grateful spirit, and always regarded me with
the devotion of a most thankful heart. Often would he contrast the
wretchedness of his previous condition, with the happiness he now
enjoyed, and express in the warmest terms his obligations to me for
the important service I had rendered him in rescuing him from the
abject misery of the workhouse. Under these circumstances, it is not
extraordinary, that we should learn to regard each other with the
liveliest feelings of affection, and while we were still children,
endured all the transports and torments which make up the existence
of more experienced lovers."

"I do not like interrupting you," I here observed, "but I certainly
should like to know what is meant by the word lovers?"

"I can scarcely explain it to you satisfactorily at present," said
Mrs Reichardt, with a smile; "but I have no doubt, before many years
have passed over your head--always provided that you escape from this
island--you will understand it without requiring any explanation. But
I must now leave my story, as many things of much consequence to our
future welfare now demand my careful attention."

I could not then ascertain from her what was meant by the word whose
meaning I had asked. It had very much excited my curiosity, but she
left me to attend to her domestic duties, of which she was extremely
regardful, and I had no opportunity at that time of eliciting from
her the explanation I desired.




Chapter XXXI


It is impossible for me to overrate the value of Mrs Reichardt's
assistance. Indeed had it not been for her, circumstanced as I was at
this particular period, I should in all probability have perished.
Her exhortations saved me from despair, when our position seemed to
have grown quite desperate. But example did more, even, than precept.
Her ingenuity in devising expedients, her activity in putting them in
force, her unfailing cheerfulness under disappointment, and Christian
resignation under privation, produced the best results. I was enabled
to bear up against the ill effects of our crippled resources,
consequent upon the ill conduct of the sailors of the whaler, and the
failure of our fish-pond.

She manufactured strong lines for deep sea fishing, and having
discovered a shelf of rock, little more than two feet above the sea,
to which with a good deal of difficulty I could descend, I took my
stand one day on the rock with my lines baited with a piece of one of
my feathered favourites, whom dire necessity had at last forced me to
destroy. I waited with all the patience of a veteran angler. I knew
the water to be very deep, and it lay in a sheltered nook or corner
of the rocks about ten feet across; I allowed the line to drop some
three or four yards, and not having any float, could only tell I had
a bite by feeling a pull at the line, which was wound round my arm.

After some time having been passed in this way, my attention was
withdrawn from the line, and given to the narrative I had so lately
heard--that is to say, though my eyes were still fixed upon the line,
I had completely given up my thoughts to the story of the poor German
boy, who had been snatched from poverty by the interference of the
parish clerk's daughter, and I contrived to speculate on what I
should have done under such circumstances, imagining all sorts of
extravagances in which I should have indulged, to testify my
gratitude to so amiable and benevolent a friend.

A singular course of ideal scenes followed each other in quick
succession in my mind--as I fancied myself the hero of a similar
adventure. I regarded my imaginary benefactress with feelings of such
intensity as I had never before experienced; and it seemed that I was
to her the exciting object of sentiments of a like nature, the
knowledge of which awoke in our hearts the most agreeable sensations.

I was rudely disturbed out of this day-dream by finding myself
suddenly plunged into the deep water beneath me. The shock was so
startling, that some seconds elapsed before I could comprehend my
situation; and then it became clear that I must have hooked a fish,
that had not only succeeded in pulling me off my balance, but the
line by which he was held being round my arm, cutting painfully into
the flesh, threatened drowning by keeping me under water. With great
difficulty I managed to rise to the surface, and loosened the
windings of the line from my limb; then, anxious to retain possession
of what from its force must have been a fish well worth some trouble
in catching, I held on with both hands, and pulled with all my
strength.

At first, by main force I was drawn through the water; then when I
found the strain slacken, I drew in the line. This manoeuvre was
repeated several times, till I succeeded in obtaining a view of what
I had caught; or, more properly speaking, of what had caught me. It
was merely a glimpse; for the fish, which was a very large one,
getting a sight of me within a few yards of him, made some desperate
plunges, and again darted off, dragging me along with him, sometimes
under the water, and sometimes on the surface.

His body was nearly round, and about seven or eight feet long--rather
a formidable antagonist for close quarters; nevertheless, I was most
eager to get at him, the more so, when I ascertained that his resistance
was evidently decreasing. I continued to approach, and at last got
near enough to plunge my knife up to the haft in his head, which at
once put an end to the struggle.

But now another difficulty presented itself. In the ardour of the
chase I had been drawn nearly a mile from the island, and I found it
impossible to carry back the produce of my sport, exhausted as I was
by the efforts I had made in capturing him. I knew I could not swim
with such a burthen for the most inconsiderable portion of the
distance. My fish therefore must be abandoned. Here was a bountiful
supply of food, as soon as placed within reach, rendered totally
unavailable.

I thought of Mrs Reichardt. I thought how gratified she would have
been, could I have brought to her such an excellent addition to our
scanty stock of food. Then I thought of her steadfast reliance upon
Providence, and what valuable lessons of piety and wisdom she would
read me, if she found me depressed by my disappointment.




Chapter XXXII


As soon as I could disconnect my tackle from the dead fish, I turned
my face homewards, and struck out manfully for the shore; luckily I
did not observe any sharks. I landed safely without further
adventure, and immediately sought my kind friend and companion, whom
I found, as usual, industriously employed in endeavouring to secure
me additional comforts. If she was not engaged in ordinary women's
work, making, mending, cleaning, or improving, in our habitation, she
was sure to be found doing something in the immediate neighbourhood,
which, though less feminine, shewed no less forethought, prudence,
and sagacity.

Our garden had prospered wonderfully under her hands. The ground
seemed now stocked with various kinds of vegetation, of which I
neither knew the value, nor the proper mode of cultivation; and we
seemed about to be surrounded with shrubs and plants--many of very
pleasing appearance--that must in a short time entirely change the
aspect of the place.

She heard my adventure with a good deal of interest, only
remonstrating with me upon my want of caution, and dwelling upon the
fatal consequences that must have ensued to herself, had I been
drowned or disabled by falling from the rock, or devoured by the
sharks.

"You may consider yourself, my dear son," she observed, with serious
earnestness, "to have been under the Divine care. Nothing can be
clearer than that a wise and kind Providence is continually watching
over his creatures when placed in unusual or perilous circumstances.
He occasionally affords them manifestations of his favour, to
encourage them when engaged in good works. This shews the
comprehensive eye of the master of many workmen, who overlooks the
labours of his more industrious servants, and indicates to them his
regard for their welfare and appreciation of their labours."

"But surely," I interposed, "if I had been under the superintendence
of the Providence of which you speak, I should not have been obliged
to abandon so capital a fish, when I had endured such trouble to
capture it, and when its possession was so necessary to our comfort,
nay, even to our existence."

"The very abandonment of so unwieldy a creature," she replied, "is
unanswerable evidence of a Divine interposition in your favour; for
had you persisted in your intention of carrying it to the shore,
there is but little doubt that its weight would have overpowered you,
and that you would have been drowned; and then what would have become
of me? A woman left in this desolate spot to her own resources, must
soon be forced to give up the struggle for existence, from want of
physical strength. Nevertheless, there are numerous instances on
record, of women having surmounted hardships which few men could
endure. Supported by our Heavenly Father, who is so powerful a
protector of the weak, and friend of the helpless, the weakest of our
weak sex may triumph over the most intolerable sufferings. I,
however, am not over confident of being so supported, and therefore,
I think it would be but shewing a proper consideration for your
fellow exile, to act in every emergency with as much circumspection
and prudence as possible."

I promised that for the future I would run no such risks, and added
many professions of regard for her safety. They had the desired
effect; I pretended to think no more of my disappointment,
nevertheless, I found myself constantly dwelling on the size of my
lost fish, and lamenting my being obliged to abandon him to his more
voracious brethren of the deep. These thoughts so filled my mind that
at night I continued to dream over again the whole incident,
beginning with my patient angling from the rock, and concluding with
my disconsolate swim to shore--and pursued my scaly antagonist quite
as determinedly in my sleep as I had done in the deep waters.

I rose early after having passed so disturbed a night, and soon made
my way to the usual haunt of Nero, whom I discovered in the sea near
the rocks making all sorts of strange tumblings and divings,
apparently after some dark object that was floating in the water. I
called him away, to examine what it was that had so attracted his
attention, and my surprise may be imagined when I made out the huge
form of my enemy of the preceding day. My shouts and exclamations of
joy soon brought Mrs Reichardt to the scene, and when she discovered
the shape of this prodigious fish, her surprise seemed scarcely less
than my own.

How to land him was our first consideration; and after some debate
on the ways and means, I got a rope and leaped into the water with
it, fastened a noose round his gills, and then swimming back and
climbing the rock; we jointly tried to pull him up on to the shore.
We hauled and tugged with all our force for a considerable time, but
to very little effect; he was too heavy to pull up perpendicularly.
At last we managed to drag him to a low piece of rock, and there I
divided him into several pieces, which Mrs Reichardt carried away to
dry and preserve in some way that she said would make the fish
capital eating all the year round.

It was very palatable when dressed by her, and as she changed the
manner of cooking several times, I never got tired of it. By its
flavour, as far as I could judge from subsequent knowledge, the
creature was something of the sturgeon kind of fish, but its proper
name I never could learn; nor was I ever able to catch another,
therefore, I must presume that it was a stranger in those seas.
Nevertheless, he proved most acceptable to us both, for we should
have fared but ill for some time, had it not been for his
providential capture.

It was one afternoon, when we had been enjoying a capital meal at
the expense of our great friend, that I led the subject to Mrs
Reichardt's adventures, subsequently to where she broke off in the
story of herself and the poor German boy; and though not without
considerable reluctance, I induced her to proceed with her narrative.




Chapter XXXIII


"Our good minister Dr Brightwell," she commenced, "was a man of
considerable scholastic attainments, and he delighted in making a
display of them. At one time, he had been master of an extensive
grammar school, and now he employed a good deal of his leisure in
teaching those boys and girls of the town, who indicated the
possession of anything like talent. The overseers used to talk
jestingly to my father of the Doctor teaching plough-boys Greek and
Latin; and wenches, whose chief employment was stone-picking in the
fields, geography and the use of the globes. Even the churchwardens
shook their heads, and privately thought the Rector a little out of
his seven senses for wasting his learning upon such unprofitable
scholars. Nevertheless, he continued his self-imposed task, without
meeting any reward beyond the satisfaction of his own conscience. It
was not till he added to his pupils myself and young Reichardt, that
he felt he was doing his duty with some prospect of advantage.

"The spirit of emulation roused both of us to make extraordinary
efforts to second our worthy master's endeavours: and this did not,
as is usually the case, proceed from rivalry--it arose entirely from
a desire of the one to stand well in the estimation of the other. In
this way we learned the French and Latin languages, geography, and
the usual branches of a superior education: but our bias was more
particularly for religious knowledge, and our preceptor encouraged
this, till we were almost as good theologians as himself.

"While this information was being carefully arranged and digested,
there sprung up in our hearts so deep a devotion for each other, that
we were miserable when absent and enjoyed no gratification so much as
being in each other's society. We knew not then the full power and
meaning of this preference, but, as we changed from boy and girl-hood
to adult life, our feelings developed themselves into that attachment
between the sexes, which from time immemorial has received the name
of love."

"I think I know what that means, now," said I, as my day-dream,
which was so rudely disturbed by my fall into the sea occurred to me.

"It would be strange if you did," she replied, "considering that it
is quite impossible you should have become acquainted with it."

"Yes, I am certain I understand it very well," I rejoined, more
confidently, and then added, not without some embarrassment, "If I
were placed in the position of Heinrich Reichardt, I am quite sure I
should feel towards any young female, who was so kind to me, the
deepest regard and affection. I should like to be constantly near
her, and should always desire that she should like me better than
anyone else."

"That is quite as good an explanation of the matter, as I could
expect from you," she observed, smiling. "But to return to my story.
Our mutual attachment attracted general attention, and was the
subject of much observation. But we had no enemies: and when we were
met strolling together in the shady lanes, gathering wild flowers, or
wandering through the woods in search of wild strawberries, no one
thought it necessary to make any remark if we had our arms round each
other's waist. My father, if he heard anything about it, did not
interfere. Young Reichardt had made himself so useful to him, and
shewed himself so remarkably clever in everything he undertook, that
the old man loved him as his own son.

"It was a settled thing between us, that we were to become man and
wife, as soon as we should be permitted. And many were our plans and
schemes for the future. Heinrich considered himself to be in the
position of Jacob, who served such a long and patient apprenticeship
for Rachel; and though he confessed he should not like to wait so
long for his wife as the patriarch had been made to do, he
acknowledged he would rather serve my father to the full period, than
give up all hope of possessing me.

"This happy state of things was, however, suddenly put an end to, by
Dr Brightwell one day sending for my father. It was a long time
before he came back, and when he did, he looked unusually grave and
reserved. In an hour or so he communicated to me the result of his
long interview with the Rector. The Doctor had resolved to send young
Reichardt to a distant place, where many learned men lived together
in colleges, for the purpose of further advancing his education, and
fitting him for a religious teacher, to which vocation he had long
expressed a desire to devote himself. The idea of separation seemed
very terrible, but I at last got reconciled to it, in the belief that
it would be greatly for Heinrich's advantage, and we parted at last
with many tears, many protestations, some fears, but a great many
more hopes.

"For some days after he had left me, everything seemed so strange,
every one seemed so dull, every place seemed so desolate, that I felt
as if I had been transported into some dismal scene, where I knew no
one, and where there was no one likely to care about me in the
slightest degree. My father went about his avocations in a different
spirit to what he had so long been used to exhibit; it was evident he
missed Heinrich as much as I did, and the villagers stared whenever I
passed them--as though my ever going about without Heinrich, was
something which they had never anticipated.

"In course of time, however, to all appearance, everything and every
one went on in their daily course, as though no Heinrich had ever
been heard of. My father would sometimes, when overpressed by
business, refer to the able assistant he had lost, and now and then I
heard a conjecture hazarded by some one or other of his most
confidential friends, as to what young Reichardt was doing with
himself. My conjectures, and my references to him, were far from
being so occasional; there was scarce an hour of the day I did not
think of him; but, believing that I should please him most by
endeavouring to improve as much as possible during his absence, I did
not give myself up to idle reflections respecting the past, or
anticipations, equally idle, respecting the future.

"My great delight was in hearing from him. At first, his letters
expressed only his feelings for me; then he dwelt more largely on his
own exertions for preparing himself for the profession he desired to
adopt; and after a time, his correspondence was almost entirely
composed of expositions of his views of a religious life, and
dissertations on various points of doctrine. He evidently was growing
more enthusiastic in religion, and less regardful of our attachment.

"Yet I entertained no apprehensions or misgivings. I did not think
it necessary to consider myself slighted because the thoughts of my
future husband were evidently raised more and more above me; the
knowledge of this only made me more anxious to raise myself more and
more towards the elevation to which his thoughts were so intently
directed.

"Things went on in this way for two or three years. I never saw him
all this time; I heard from him but seldom. He excused his limited
correspondence on the plea that his studies left him no time for
writing. I never blamed him for this apparent neglect--indeed I
rather encouraged it, for my exhortations were always that he should
address his time and energies towards the attainment of the object I
knew him to have so much at heart--his becoming a minister of our
Lord's Gospel.

"One day my father came home from the rectory with a troubled
countenance. Dr Brightwell was very indignant because Heinrich had
joined a religious community that dissented from the Articles of the
Church of England. The Doctor had offered to get him employment in
the Church, if he would give up his new connections: but the more
earnest character of his new faith exerted so much influence over his
enthusiastic nature, that he willingly abandoned his bright prospects
to become a more humble labourer in a less productive vineyard.

"My father, as the clerk of the parish, seemed to think himself
bound to share in the indignation of his pastor for this desertion,
and Heinrich was severely condemned by him for displaying such
ingratitude to his benefactor: I was commanded to think no more of him.

"This, however, was not so easy a matter, although our correspondence
appeared to have entirely ceased. I knew not where to address a letter
to him and was quite unaware of what his future career was now to be."




Chapter XXXIV


"Time passed on. With all, except myself, Heinrich Reichardt
appeared to be forgotten; in the opinion of all, except myself, he
had forgotten our house, and all the friends he had once made there.
Our good Rector had been removed by death from the post he had so
ably filled; and my father being incapacitated by age and infirmity
from attending his duties in the church, had his place filled by
another. He had saved sufficient to live upon, and had built himself
a small cottage at the end of the village, where we lived together in
perfect peace, if not in perfect happiness.

"I had long grown up to womanhood, and having some abilities, had
been employed as one of the teachers of the girls' school, of which I
had raised myself to be mistress. I conducted myself so as to win the
respect of the chief parochial officers, from more than one of whom I
received proposals of marriage: but I never could reconcile myself to
the idea of becoming the wife of any man but the long-absent
Heinrich, and the new clerk and the overseer were fain to be content
with my grateful rejection of their proposals.

"I determined to wait patiently till I could learn from Heinrich's
own lips that he had abandoned his early friend. I could never get
myself to believe in the possibility of his unfaithfulness; and the
remembrances of our mutual studies in the Book of Truth seemed always
to suggest the impossibility of his acting so completely at variance
with the impressions he had thence received.

"I was aware that if I had mentioned my hopes of his one day coming
to claim me, I should be laughed at by everyone who knew anything of
our story--so I said nothing; but continued the more devotedly in my
heart to cherish that faith which had so long afforded me support
against the overwhelming evidence of prolonged silence and neglect.

"There was a congregation of Dissenters in the town, and I had been
once or twice prevailed on to join their devotions. One day I heard
that proceedings of extraordinary interest would take place at the
meeting-house. A minister of great reputation had accepted the
situation of Missionary to preach the Gospel to the heathen, and he
was visiting the different congregations that lay in his route to the
seaport whence he was to embark to the Sandwich Islands. He was
expected to address a discourse to the Dissenters of our parish, and
I was induced to go and hear him.

"The meeting-house was very much crowded, but I contrived to get a
seat within a short distance of the speakers, and waited with much
interest to behold the man, who, like some of the first preachers,
had chosen the perilous task of endeavouring to convert a nation of
savage idolaters to the faith of the true Christ.

"After a short delay he appeared on a raised platform, and was
introduced to this congregation by their minister. I heard nothing of
this introduction, though it seemed a long one; I saw nothing of the
speaker, though his was a figure which always attracted an attentive
audience. I saw only the stranger. In those pale, grave, and serious
features then presented to me, I recognised Heinrich Reichardt."

"He had come back to you at last," I exclaimed; "I thought he would.
After all you had done for the poor German boy, it was impossible
that he should grow up to manhood and forget you."

"You shall hear," she replied. "For some time my heart beat wildly,
and I thought I should be obliged to leave the place, my sensations
became so overpowering; but the fear of disturbing the congregation,
and of attracting attention towards myself, had such influence over
me, that I managed to retain sufficient control over my feelings to
remain quiet. Nevertheless, my eyes were upon Heinrich, and my whole
heart and soul were exclusively engrossed by him while he continued
before me.

"Presently he began to speak. As I have just said, I paid no
attention to the preliminary proceedings. I know nothing of the
manner in which he was introduced to his audience; but when he became
the speaker, every word fell upon my ear with a distinctness that
seemed quite marvellous to me.

"And how could it be otherwise? His tall figure, his melancholy yet
expressive features, his earnest manner, and clear and sonorous
voice, invested him with all the power and dignity of an Apostle, and
when with these attributes were joined those associations of the past
with which he was so intimately connected, it is impossible to
exaggerate the influence he exercised over me.

"He began with a fervent blessing on all who had sought the sanctity
of that roof, and his hearers, impressed with the thrilling earnestness
of his delivery, became at once hushed into a kind of awe-struck
attention. They knelt down, and bowed their heads in prayer.

"I appeared to have no power to follow the general example, but
remained the only sitter in the entire congregation with my eyes,
nay, all my senses, fixed, rivetted upon the preacher. This, of
course, attracted his attention. I saw him look towards me with
surprise, then he started, his voice hesitated for a moment, but he
almost immediately continued his benediction, and, as it seemed to
me, with a voice tremulous with emotion.

"Then followed a discourse on the object of the preacher in
presenting himself there. He described the wonderful goodness of the
Creator in continually raising up the most humble instruments of his
will to perform the most important offices; in illustration of which
he referred to the numerous instances in the Old and New Testaments,
where God's preference in this way is so clearly manifested.

"He then stated that 'a case had arisen for Divine interposition,
equal in necessity to any which had occurred since the first
commencement of Christianity.' He explained that 'there were nations
still existing in a distant portion of the globe in a state of the
wildest barbarism. Ignorant savages were they, with many cruel and
idolatrous customs, who were cannibals and murderers, and given up to
the worst vices of the heathen. Their abject and pitiable state, he
told us, the Lord God had witnessed with Divine commiseration, and
had determined that the light of Christian love should shine upon
their darkness, and that Almighty wisdom should dissipate their
besotted ignorance.

"'But who' he asked, 'was to be the ambassador from so stupendous a
Power to these barbarous states? Who would venture to be a messenger
of peace and comfort to a cruel and savage nation? Was there no man,'
he again asked, 'great enough and bold enough to undertake a mission
of such vast importance, attended by such terrible risks?

"'The Almighty Ruler seeks not for his ministers among the great and
bold,' he added, 'as it is written, He hath put down the mighty from
their seats, and hath exalted the humble and meek. And it will be
peculiarly so on this occasion, for the exaltation is from the
humblest origin; so humble it is scarcely possible to imagine so
miserable a beginning, in the end attaining distinction so honorable.

"'Imagine, if you can, my brethren,' he said, 'in the building set
apart in your town for the reception of your destitute poor, a child
parentless, friendless, and moneyless, condemned, as it seemed, to
perpetual raggedness and intolerable suffering. A ministering angel,
under the direction of the Supreme Goodness, took that child by the
hand and led it out of the pauper walls that enclosed it, and under
its auspices the child grew and flourished, and learned all that was
excellent in faith and admirable in practice.

"'It was ordained that he should lose sight of his angelic teacher.
A dire necessity compelled him to withdraw from that pure and
gracious influence. He had to learn in a different school, and
prepare himself for heavier tasks. Manhood, with all its severe
responsibilities, came upon him. He sought first to render himself
competent for some holy undertaking, before he could consider himself
worthy again to claim that notice which had made him what he was.
Earnestly he strove for the Divine assistance and encouragement; and
as his qualifications increased, his estimate of the worthiness
necessary for the object he had in view, became more and more exalted.

"'At last,' he continued, 'it became known to him that a Missionary
was required to explain to the savage people to whom I have already
alluded, the principles of Christianity. He was appointed to this
sacred trust: and he then determined, before he left this country for
the distant one of his ministry, to present himself before that
beneficent being who had poured out before him so abundant a measure
of Christian virtue; that they might be joined together in the same
great vocation, and support each other in the same important trust.'

"I heard enough," continued Mrs Reichardt. "All was explained, and I
was fully satisfied. The discourse proceeded to identify the speaker
with the poor boy who had been preserved for such onerous duties.
Then came an appeal to the congregation for their prayers, and such
assistance as they could afford, to advance so holy a work as the
conversion of the heathen.

"I was in such a tumult of pleasant feelings that I retained but a
confused recollection of the subsequent events. I only remember that
as I was walking home from the meeting, I heard footsteps quickly
following; in a few minutes more the voice that had so lately filled
my heart to overflowing with happiness, again addressed me. I was too
much excited to remain unconcerned on suddenly discovering that
Heinrich was so near, and I fell fainting into his arms.

"I was carried into a neighbouring cottage, but in a short time was
enabled to proceed home. In a week afterwards we were married: a few
days more sufficed for the preparations that were required for my
destination, and then we proceeded to the port, and embarked on board
the ship that was to take us over many thousand miles of sea, to the
wild, unknown country that was to be the scene of our mission."




Chapter XXXV


Mrs Reichardt was obliged to break off her narrative, where it
concluded at the end of the last chapter. As I have said, her
household duties, being very numerous, and requiring a great deal of
attention, took up nearly the whole of her time.

The garden now presented a most agreeable appearance, possessing
several different kinds of vegetables, and various plants that had
been raised from seed. We had succeeded in raising several young
orange trees from the pips she had brought in her basket; and they
promised to supply us with plenty of their luscious fruit. Even the
peas we thought so dry and useless had germinated, and provided us
with a welcome addition to our table. I shall never forget the first
day she added to our scanty meal of dried fish a dish of smoking
potatoes fresh out of the moist earth. After enjoying sufficiently my
wonder at their appearance, and delight at their agreeable taste, she
informed me of their first introduction into Europe, and their
gradual diffusion over the more civilised portions of the globe.

I speak of Europe now, because I had learned from my companion, not
only a good deal of geography, but had obtained some insight into
several other branches of knowledge. In particular, she had told me
much interesting information about England, much more than I had
learned from Jackson; dwelling upon its leading features, and the
most remarkable portions of its history; and I must acknowledge that
I felt a secret pride in belonging to so great a country.

I considered that I belonged to it, for my father and mother were
English, and though I might be called The Little Savage, and be fixed
to an obscure island in the great ocean, I felt that my real home was
in this great country my mother talked about so glowingly, and that
my chief object ought to be to return into the hands of my
grandfather the belt that had in so singular a manner come into my
possession.

I often thought of this great England whose glory had been so widely
spread and so durably established, and longed for some means of
leaving our present abode, and going in search of its time-honoured
shores. But I asked myself how was this desirable object to be
effected? We had no means of transporting ourselves from the prison
into which we had been accidentally cast. We had nothing resembling a
boat on the island, and we had no tools for making one; and even had
we been put in possession of such a treasure, we had no means of
launching it. The rocky character of the coast made the placing of a
boat on the water almost impossible.

The expectation of a vessel appearing off the island appeared quite
as unreasonable. We had seen no ships for a long time, and those we
had observed were a great deal too far off to heed our signals.

We had no help for it, but to trust to Providence and bear our
present evil patiently. Nevertheless, I took my glass and swept the
sea far and wide in search of a ship, but failed to discover anything
but a spermaceti whale blowing in the distance, or a shoal of
porpoises tumbling over each other nearer the shore, or a colony of
seals basking in the sun on the rocks nearest the sea. My
disappointment was shared by Nero, who seemed to regard my vexation
with a sympathising glance, and even the gannets turned their dull
stupid gaze upon me, with an expression as if they deeply
commiserated my distress.

I had for a long time employed myself in making a shelving descent
to the sea, on the most secure part of the rock, intending that it
should be a landing place for a boat, in case any ship should come
near enough to send one to our rescue. It was a work of great labour,
and hatchet and spade equally suffered in my endeavours to effect my
object; but at last I contrived to take advantage of a natural
fracture in the rock, and a subsequent fall of the cliff, to make a
rude kind of inclined plane, rather too steep, and too rough for bad
climbers, but extremely convenient for my mother and me, whenever we
should be prepared to embark for our distant home.

My thoughts were now often directed to the possibility of making on the
island some kind of boat that would hold ourselves and sufficient
provisions for a voyage to the nearest of the larger islands. I spoke
to Mrs Reichardt on the subject, but she dwelt upon the impossibility
without either proper tools, or the slightest knowledge of boat-building,
of producing a vessel to which we could trust ourselves with any
confidence, neither of us knowing anything about its management in
the open sea; and then she spoke of the dangers a small boat would
meet with, if the water should be rough, or if we should not be able
to make the island in any reasonable time.

Yet I was not daunted by difficulties, nor dissuaded by discouraging
representations. I thought at first of fastening all the loose timber
together that had drifted against the rocks, as much in the shape of
a boat as I could get it, but on looking over my stock of nails, I
found they fell very far short of the proper quantity; consequently
that mode of effecting my purpose was abandoned.

I then thought of felling a tree and hollowing it out by charring
the timber. As yet I had discovered nothing on the island but shrubs.
I was quite certain that no tree grew near enough to the sea to be
available, and if I should succeed in cutting down a large one and
fashioning it as I desired, I had no means of transport.

I might possibly make a boat capable of carrying all I wanted to put
into it, but as I could neither move the water up to the boat, nor
the boat down to the water, for all the service I wanted of it, even
if the island contained a tree large enough, I might just as well
leave it untouched.

Still I would not altogether abandon my favourite project. I thought
of the willows that grew on the island, and fancied I could make a
framework by twisting them strongly together, and stretching seal
skins over them. I laboured at this for several weeks,--exercising
all my ingenuity and no slight stock of patience, to create an object
with which I was but imperfectly acquainted.

I did succeed at last in putting together something in a remote
degree resembling the boat that brought part of the whaler's crew to
the island and had taken them away, but it was not a quarter the
size, and was so light that I could carry it without much difficulty
to the landing I had constructed on the cliff. When I came to try its
capabilities, I found it terribly lop-sided--it soon began to leak,
and in fact it exhibited so many faults, that I was forced to drag it
again on shore, and take it to pieces.

I called in Mrs Reichardt to my assistance, and though at first she
seemed averse to the experiment, she gave me a great deal of
information respecting the structure of small boats, and the method
of waterproofing leather and other fabrics. I attended carefully to
all she said, and commenced re-building with more pretensions to art.

I now made a strong frame-work, tolerably sharp at each end, and as
nearly as possible resembling a keel at the bottom. I covered this on
both sides with pieces of strong cloth saturated with grease from the
carcases of birds, and then covered the whole with well-dried seal
skins, which I had made impervious to wet. The inside of the boat
nearest the water I neatly covered with pieces of dry bark, over
which I fixed some boards, which had floated to the island from
wrecked ships. Finally I put in some benches to sit on, and then
fancied I had done everything that was necessary.

I soon got her into the fishing-pool, and was delighted to find that
she floated capitally--but I still had a great deal to do. I had made
neither oars to propel her through the water, nor sail to carry her
through the waves, when rowing was impossible. I remembered the
whaler's spare oars and mizen, but they were too large; nevertheless,
they served me as models to work upon, and in time I made a rough
pair of paddles or oars, which, though rudely fashioned, I hoped
would answer the purpose pretty well.

The next difficulty was how to use the oars, and I made many awkward
attempts before I ascertained the proper method of proceeding. Again
my companion, on whom nothing which had once passed before her eyes
had passed in vain, shewed me how the boat should be managed.

In a short time I could row about the pool with sufficient dexterity
to turn the boat in any direction I required, and I then took Nero as
a passenger, and he seemed to enjoy the new gratification with a
praiseworthy decorum; till, when I was trying to turn the boat round,
the movement caused him to attempt to shift his quarters, which he
did with so little attention to the build of our vessel, that in one
moment she was capsized, and in the next we were swimming about in
the pool with our vessel bottom upwards.

As she was so light, I soon righted her, and found that she had
received no injury, and appeared to be perfectly water-tight.




Chapter XXXVI


I could not prevail upon Mrs Reichardt to embark in my craft, the
fate of my first passenger which she had witnessed from the shore,
had deterred her from attempting a voyage under such unpromising
circumstances.

As soon as I had dried my clothes, I was for making another
experiment, and one too of a more hazardous nature. I would not be
parted from Nero, but I made him lie at the bottom of the boat, where
I could have him under strict control. With him I also took my little
flock of gannets, who perched themselves round me, gazing about them
with an air of such singular stupidity as they were being propelled
through the water, that I could not help bursting out laughing.

"Indeed," said Mrs Reichardt, "such a boat's crew and such a boat
has never been seen in those seas before. A young savage as captain,
a tame seal as boatswain, and a flock of gannets as sailors,
certainly made up as curious a set of adventurers as ever floated
upon the wide ocean."

I was not the least remarkable of the strange group, for I had
nothing on but a pair of duck trousers, patched in several places;
and my hair, which had grown very long, hung in black wavy masses to
my shoulders. My skin was tanned by the sun to a light brown, very
different from the complexion of Mrs Reichardt, which had ever been
remarkable for its paleness. Indeed she told me I should find some
difficulty in establishing my claim to the title of European, but
none at all to that of Little Savage, which she often playfully
called me.

Nevertheless, in this trim, and with these companions, I passed out
of the fishing-pool into the sea, with the intention of rowing round
the island. Mrs Reichardt waved her hand as I departed on my voyage,
having exhorted me to be very careful, as long as I was in hearing;
she then turned away, as I thought, to return to the hut.

The day was remarkably fine. There was not so much as a cloud on the
horizon, and scarcely a ripple on the water: therefore, everything
seemed to favour my project, for if there had been anything of a
breeze, the beating of the waves against the rock would have been a
great obstacle to my pursuing my voyage with either comfort or
safety. The water too was so clear, that although it was of great
depth, I could distinguish the shells that lay on the sand, and
observe various kinds of fish, some of most curious shape, that
rushed rapidly beneath the boat as it was urged along.

I was delighted with the motion, and with the agreeable appearance
of the different novelties that met my gaze. The light boat glided
almost imperceptibly through the water at every stroke of the oar.
Nero lay as still as if his former lesson had taught him the
necessity of remaining motionless; and the gannets now and then
expressed their satisfaction by a shrill cry or a rapid fluttering of
their wings.

In this way, we passed on without any adventure, till I found it
necessary for me to row some distance out to sea, to round a
projecting rock that stood like a mighty wall before me. I pulled
accordingly, and then had a better opportunity of seeing the island
than I had ever obtained. I recognised all the favourite places, the
ravine, the wood, the hut covered with beautiful creepers, and the
garden, full of flowers, looked very agreeable to the eye: but every
part seemed to look pleasant, except the great savage rocks which
enclosed the island on every side: but even these I thought had an
air of grandeur that gave additional effect to the scene.

Much to my surprise, I recognised Mrs Reichardt walking rapidly
towards a part of the shore, near which I should be obliged to pass.
From this I saw that she was intent on watching me from point to
point, to know the worst, if any accident should befall me, and be at
hand should there be a necessity for rendering assistance. I shouted
to her, and she waved her hand in reply.

On rounding the headland, my astonishment was extreme on finding my
little bark in the midst of a shoal of enormous sharks. If I came in
contact with one of them I was lost, for the frail boat would
certainly be upset and as Jackson had assured me, if ever I allowed
these monsters to come near enough, one snap of their jaws, and there
would be an end of the Little Savage. I thought of the warning of Mrs
Reichardt, and was inclined to think I had better have taken her
advice, and remained in the fishing-pool; nevertheless, I went on as
quietly and deliberately as possible, exercising all my skill to keep
clear of my unexpected enemies.

It was not till I had got into the middle of the shoal that the
sharks seemed to be aware there was anything unusual in their
neighbourhood, but as soon as they were fully aware of the presence
of an intruder, they exhibited the most extraordinary excitement,
rushing together in groups, with such rapid motion, that the water
became so agitated, I was obliged to exercise all my skill to keep
the boat steady on her course.

They dived, and rushed to and fro, and jostled each other, as I
thought, in anything but an amicable spirit; still, however, keeping
at a respectful distance from the boat, for which I was extremely
thankful. I urged her on with all my strength, for the purpose of
getting away from such unpleasant neighbours; but they were not to be
so easily disposed of. They came swimming after the boat, then when
within a few yards dived, and in a moment they were before it, as if
to bar any further progress.

I however pushed on, and they disappeared, but immediately
afterwards rose on all sides of me. They were evidently getting more
confidence; a fact I ascertained with no slight apprehension, for
they began to approach nearer, and their gambols threatened every
minute to overwhelm my poor craft, that, light as a cork, bounced up
and down the agitated waves, as if quite as much alarmed for our
safety as ourselves.

The captain was not the only one who began to fear evil; the gannets
were very restless, and it was only by strong admonitions I could
prevail on Nero to retain his recumbent attitude at my feet; their
instinct warned them of approaching danger, and I felt the
comfortable assurance that my own rashness had brought me into my
present critical position, and that if the menaced destruction did
arrive, there was no sort of assistance at hand on which I could rely.

Every moment the sharks became more violent in their demonstrations,
and more bold in their approaches, and I could scarcely keep the boat
going, or prevent the water rushing over her sides. The gannets,
having shewn themselves for some minutes uneasy, had at last flown
away to the neighbouring rock, and Nero began to growl and snap, as
though meditating a forcible release from his prostrate position, to
see what mischief was brewing.

As I was coaxing him to be quiet, I felt a tremendous blow given to
the boat, evidently from beneath, and she rose into the air several
yards, scattering Nero and myself, and the oars, in different
directions.

The noise we made in falling appeared for the instant to have
scattered the creatures, for I had struck out for the rock and nearly
reached it before a shark made its appearance.

Just then I saw a large monster rushing towards me. I thought all
was over. He turned to open his great jaws, and in another instant I
should have been devoured.

At that critical period I saw a second object dart in between me and
the shark, and attack the latter fiercely. It was Nero, and it was
the last I ever saw of my faithful friend. His timely interposition
enabled me to reach a ledge in the cliff, where I was in perfect
safety, hanging by some strong seaweed, although my feet nearly
touched the water, and I could retain my position only with the
greatest difficulty.

The whole shoal were presently around me. They a first paid their
attentions to the boat and the oars, which they buffeted about till
they were driven close to the rock, at a little distance from the
place where I had found temporary safety. They left these things
unharmed as soon as they caught sight of me, and then their eagerness
and violence returned with tenfold fury. They darted towards me in a
body, and I was obliged to lift my legs, or I should have had them
snapped off by one or other of the twenty gaping jaws that were
thrust over each other, in their eagerness to make a mouthful of my
limbs.

This game was carried on for some minutes of horrible anxiety to me.
I fancied that my struggles had loosened the seaweed, and that in a
few minutes it must give way, and I should then be fought for and
torn to pieces by the ravenous crew beneath. I shouted with all the
strength of my lungs to scare them away; but as if they were as well
aware that I could not escape them as I was myself, they merely left
off their violent efforts to reach my projecting legs, and forming a
semi-circle round me, watched with upturned eyes, that seemed to
possess a fiendish expression that fascinated and bewildered me, the
snapping of the frail hold that supported me upon the rock.

In my despair I prayed heartily, but it was rather to commend my
soul to my Maker, than with any prospect of being rescued from so
imminent and horrible a peril. The eyes of the ravenous monsters
below seemed to mock my devotion. I felt the roots of the seaweed
giving way: the slightest struggle on my part would I knew only
hasten my dissolution, and I resigned myself to my fate.

In this awful moment I heard a voice calling out my name. It was Mrs
Reichardt on the cliff high above me. I answered with all the
eagerness of despair. Then there came a heavy splash into the water,
and I heard her implore me to endeavour to make for a small shrub
that grew in a hollow of the rock, at a very short distance from the
tuft of seaweed that had become so serviceable.

I looked down. The sharks had all disappeared; I knew, however, that
they would shortly return, and lost not a moment in making an effort
to better my position in the manner I had been directed. Mrs
Reichardt had thrown a heavy stone into the water among the sharks,
the loud splash of which had driven them away. Before they again made
their appearance, I had caught a firm hold of the twig, and flung
myself up into a position of perfect safety.

"Thank God he's safe!" I heard Mrs Reichardt exclaim.

The sharks did return, but when they found their anticipated prey
had escaped, they swam lazily out to sea.

"Are you much hurt, Frank Henniker?" she presently cried out to me.

"I have not a scratch," I replied.

"Then thank God for your deliverance," she added.

I did thank God, and Mrs Reichardt joined with me in prayer, and a
more fervent thanksgiving than was ours, it is scarcely possible to
imagine.




Chapter XXXVII


I had several times pressed Mrs Reichardt for the conclusion of her
story, but she had always seemed reluctant to resume the subject. It
was evidently full of painful incidents, and she shrunk from dwelling
upon them. At last, one evening we were sitting together, she working
with her needle and I employed upon a net she had taught me how to
manufacture, and I again led the conversation to the narrative my
companion had left unfinished. She sighed heavily and looked
distressed.

"It is but natural you should expect this of me, my son," she said;
"but you little know the suffering caused by my recalling the
melancholy events that I have to detail. However, I have led you to
expect the entire relation, and, therefore, I will endeavour to
realise your anticipations."

I assured her I was ready to wait, whenever it might be agreeable
for her to narrate the termination of her interesting history.

"It will never be agreeable to me," she replied mournfully; "indeed
I would forget it, if I could; but that is impossible. The struggle
may as well be made now, as at any time. I will therefore commence by
informing you, that during our long voyage to the Sandwich Islands, I
found ample opportunity for studying the disposition of my husband.
He was much changed since he first left me, but his was still the
same grateful nature, full of truth and purity, that had won me
towards him when a child. A holy enthusiasm seemed now to exalt him
above ordinary humanity. I could scarcely ever get him to talk upon
any but religious subjects, and those he treated in so earnest and
exalted a manner, that it was impossible to avoid being carried away
with his eloquence.

"He seemed to feel the greatness of his destination, as though it
had raised him to an equality with the adventurous Saints, who
established the banner of Christ among the Pagan nations of Europe.
He was fond of dilating upon the importance of his mission, and of
dwelling on the favour that had been vouchsafed him, in causing him
to be selected for so high and responsible a duty.

"It was evident that he would rather have been sent to associate
with the barbarous people whom he expected to make his converts, than
have been raised to the richest Bishopric in England. And yet, with
this exultation, there was a spirit of deep melancholy pervading his
countenance, as well as his discourses, that seemed to imply a sense
of danger. The nimbus of the saint in his eyes was associated with
the crown of martyrdom. He seemed to look forward to a fatal
termination of his ministry, as the most and proper conclusion of his
labours.

"His conversation often filled me with dread. His intimations of
danger seemed at first very shocking, but, at last, I got more
familiar with these terrible suggestions, and regarded them as the
distempered fancies of an overworked mind.

"In this way our long voyage passed, and we arrived at last at our
place of destination. When we had disembarked, the scene that
presented itself to me was so strange, that I could almost believe I
had passed into a new world. The most luxurious vegetation, of a
character I had never seen before--the curious buildings--the
singular forms of the natives, and their peculiar costume--excited my
wonder to an intense degree.

"My husband applied himself diligently to learn the language of the
people, whilst I as intently studied their habits and customs. We
both made rapid progress.

"As soon as I could make myself understood, I endeavoured to make
friends with the women, particularly with the wives of the great men,
and although I was at first the object of more curiosity than regard,
I persisted in my endeavours, and succeeded in establishing with many
a good understanding.

"I found them ignorant of everything that in civilised countries is
considered knowledge--their minds being enveloped in the most
deplorable darkness--the only semblance of religion in use amongst
them, being a brutal and absurd idolatry.

"I often tried to lead them to the consideration of more humanising
truths, for the purpose of preparing the way for the inculcation of
the great mysteries of our holy religion: but the greater portion of
my hearers were incompetent to understand what I seemed so desirous
of teaching, and my making them comprehend the principles of
Christianity appeared to be a hopeless task.

"Yet I continued my pious labours, without allowing my exertions to
flag--making myself useful to them and their families in every way I
could--attending them when sick--giving them presents when well--and
showing them every kindness likely to make a favourable impression on
their savage natures. In this way I proceeded doing good, till I
found an opportunity of being of service to a young girl, about
twelve years of age, who was a younger sister of one of the wives of
a great chief. She had sprained her ankle and was in great pain, when
I applied the proper remedies and gave her speedy relief. Hooloo, for
that was her name, from that moment became warmly attached to me, and
finding her of an affectionate and ingenuous disposition, I became
extremely desirous of improving upon the good impression I had made.

"At the same time my husband sought, by his knowledge of the
mechanical arts, and some acquaintance with medicine, to recommend
himself to the men. He also met with much difficulty at first, in
making his information properly appreciated. He sought to increase
their comforts--to introduce agricultural implements of a more
useful description, and to lead them generally towards the
conveniences and decencies of civilisation. He built himself a house,
and planted a garden, and cultivated some land, in which he shewed
the superior advantages of what he knew, to what they practised. They
seemed to marvel much, but continued to go on in their own way.

"He also went amongst them as a physician, and having acquired
considerable knowledge of medicine and simple surgery, he was enabled
to work some cures in fevers and spear wounds, that in course of time
made for him so great a reputation, that many of the leading chiefs
sent for him when anything ailed them or their families, and they
were so well satisfied with what he did for them, that he began to be
looked upon as one who was to be treated with particular respect and
honour, by all classes of the natives, from the highest to the lowest.

"On one occasion the king required his services. He was suffering
from a sort of cholic, for which the native doctors could give him no
relief. My husband administered some medicines, and stayed with his
Majesty until they had the desired effect, and the result being a
complete recovery, seemed so astonishing to all the members of his
Sandwich Majesty's court, that the doctor was required to administer
the same medicine to every one, from the queen to the humblest of her
attendants, though all were apparently in good health. He managed to
satisfy them with a small portion only of the mixture, which he was
quite certain could do them no harm: and they professed to be
wonderfully the better for it."




Chapter XXXVIII


"His reputation had now grown so great, that whatever he required
was readily granted. He first desired to have some children sent him;
to learn those things which had enabled him to do so much good, and
this having been readily sanctioned, we opened a school for girls and
boys, in which we taught the first elements of a civilised education.

"Finding we made fair progress in this way, we commenced developing
our real object, the inculcation of Christian sentiments. This
meeting with no opposition, and Reichardt having established a
powerful influence over the entire community, he next proceeded with
the parents, and earnestly strove to induce them to embrace the
profession of Christianity.

"His labours were not entirely unproductive. There began to prevail
amongst the islanders, a disposition to hear the wondrous discourses
of this stranger, and he was employed, day after day, in explaining
to large and attentive audiences, the history of the Christian world,
and the observances and doctrine of that faith which had been
cemented by the blood of the Redeemer. The new and startling subjects
of his discourse, as well as the impressive character of his
eloquence, frequently deeply moved his hearers; and at his
revelations they would often burst forth into piercing shouts and
loud expressions of amazement.

"In truth it was a moving scene. The noble figure of the Missionary,
with his fine features lighted up with the fire of holy enthusiasm,
surrounded by a crowd of dusky savages, armed with spears and war
clubs, and partly clothed with feathers, in their features shewing
traces of unusual excitement, and every now and then joining in a
wild chorus, expressive of their wonder, could not have been
witnessed by any Christian, without emotion.

"But when the ceremony of Baptism was first performed before them,
their amazement was increased a thousandfold. The first member of our
flock was Hooloo, whom I had instructed so far, in the principles of
our faith, and I had acquired such an influence over her mind, that
she readily consented to abandon her idolatrous customs and become a
Christian.

"After a suitable address to the natives, who had assembled in some
thousands to witness the spectacle, in which he explained to them the
motive and object of baptism, my husband assisted the girl down a
sloping green bank which led to a beautiful stream, and walked with
her into the water till he was up to his waist; then, after offering
up a long and fervent prayer that this first victory over the false
worship of the Devil, might be the forerunner of the entire
extirpation of idolatry from the land, he, plunging her into the
water, baptised her in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost.

"All the people were awed to silence while the ceremony proceeded,
but when it was over they burst forth into a loud cry, and came down
to meet the new Christian and my husband as they came out of the
water, and waved over them boughs of trees, and danced and shouted as
though in an ecstasy.

"We however had not proceeded to this extent, without exciting
considerable opposition; our disrespect towards their idols had given
great offence to those who were identified with the superstitions of
the people, and flourished according as these were supported.
Complaints were made too of our teaching a new religion, in
opposition to the gods they and their fathers had worshipped, and a
powerful party was got together for the purpose of pursuing us to
destruction.

"My husband was summoned before a council of the great chiefs, to
hear the accusations that had been brought against him: and the old
idolaters got up and abused him, and threatened him with the
punishment of their monstrous gods, for telling lies to the people,
and deceiving them with forged tales and strange customs.

"They sought all they could, to move the judges against him, by
painting the terrible fate that would befall them if they failed to
kill the white stranger, who had insulted their gods; and they
predicted hosts of calamities that were to happen, in consequence of
their having allowed the teller of lies to work so much mischief
against them.

"My husband then being called upon for his defence, first declared
to the judges the attributes of the Deity he worshipped: that he
created the vast heavens, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, and
the sea; his voice spoke in the thunder, and his eye flashed in the
lightning. He then dwelt on his goodness to man, especially to the
Sandwich Islanders, whom he had created for the purpose of enjoying
the fine country around them and of beholding the beauty of the
heavens where he dwelt. Then he referred to the gods they had
worshipped, and asked how they were made, and what such senseless
things could do for them; commenting on their inability to serve
them, in any way, or do them any harm; and went on to speak of the
benefits he had been able to confer upon them, through the influence
of the all powerful God he worshipped; and asked them if he had ever
done them anything but good. Lastly, he promised them innumerable
benefits, if they would leave their useless gods, and turn to the
only God who had the power to serve them.

"It is impossible for me to do justice to the animated manner in
which he delivered this discourse. It produced great effect upon the
majority of his hearers; but there was a powerful minority it still
more strongly influenced against him; and they continued to interrupt
him with terrible outcries.

"Most of the leading chiefs were against his suffering any harm.
They bore in mind the advantages he had conferred, by his skill in
medicine, and superior wisdom in various other things, which the
people would lose were he put to death. They also remembered the hope
he held out of future benefits, which of course they could not
expect, if they offered him any violence.

"The result was, that my husband was suffered to go harmless from
the meeting, to the great disappointment of his enemies, who could
scarcely be kept from laying violent hands upon him. The danger he
had escaped, unfortunately, did not render him more prudent. Far from
it. He believed that he was a chosen instrument of the Most High, to
win these savages from the depths of idolatry and Paganism; and
continued, on every occasion that presented itself, to endeavour to
win souls to God.

"The school increased, several of the parents suffered themselves to
be baptised, and there was a regular observance of the Lord's Day
amongst those who belonged to our little flock. Even many of the
islanders, although they did not become Christians, attended our
religious services, and spoke well of us.

"We brought up the young people to be able to teach their brethren
and sisters; and hoped to be able to establish missions in other
parts of the island, to which we sometimes made excursions; preaching
the inestimable blessings of the gospel to the islanders, and
exhorting them to abandon their dark customs and heathen follies. I
was not far behind my husband in this good work, and acquired as much
influence among the women as he exercised over the men: indeed we
were generally looked upon as holy people, who deserved to be treated
with veneration and respect."




Chapter XXXIX


"Things went on in this flourishing way for several years; my
husband, deeply impressed with the responsibility of his position, as
a chosen servant of God, devoted himself so entirely to the great
work he had undertaken, that he often seemed to overlook the claims
upon his attention of her he had chosen as his partner, in his
struggle against the Powers of Darkness. Sometimes I did not see him
for several days; and often when we were together, he was so
abstracted, he did not seem aware I was present. Whenever I could get
him to speak of himself, he would dilate on the unspeakable felicity
that he felt in drawing nearer to the end of his work. I affected not
to know to what he alluded; but I always felt that he was referring
to the impression he entertained of his own speedy dissolution, which
he had taken up when he first embraced this mission.

"I tried to get rid of my misgivings by recalling the dangers and
difficulties we had triumphantly passed, and referring to the
encouraging state of things that existed at the present time;
nevertheless, I could not prevent a sinking of the heart, whenever I
heard him venture upon the subject; and when he was absent from me, I
often experienced an agony of anxiety till his return. I saw,
however, no real cause of apprehension, and endeavoured to persuade
myself none existed; and very probably I should have succeeded, had
not my husband so frequently indulged in references to our separation.

"Alas," she exclaimed, mournfully, "he was better informed than I
was of the proximity of that Celestial Home, for which he had been so
long and zealously preparing himself. He, doubtless, had his
intimation from on high, that his translation to the realms of bliss,
was no remote consequence of his undertaking the mission he had
accepted; and he had familiarised his mind to it as a daily duty, and
by his constant references had sought to prepare me for the
catastrophe he knew to be inevitable."

Here Mrs Reichardt became so sensibly affected, that it was some
time before she could proceed with her narrative. She, however, did
so at last, yet I could see by the tears that traced each other down
her wan cheeks, how much her soul was moved by the terrible details
into which she was obliged to enter.

"In the midst of our success," she presently resumed, "when we had
established a congregation, had baptised hundreds of men, women, and
children, had completed a regular place of worship, and an extensive
school-house, both of which were fully and regularly attended, some
European vessel paid us a short visit, soon after which, that
dreadful scourge the small-pox, broke out amongst the people. Both
children and adults were seized, and as soon as one died a dozen were
attacked.

"Soon the greatest alarm pervaded the natives; my husband was
implored to stop the pestilence, which power they felt convinced he
had in his hands. He did all that was possible for him to do, but
that unfortunately was very little. His recommendation of remedial
measures was rarely attended with the desired results. Death was very
busy. The people died in scores, and the survivors, excited by the
vindictive men who had formerly sought his death for disparaging
their gods, began not only to fall off rapidly in their regard and
reverence for my husband, but murmurs first, and execrations
afterwards, and violent menaces subsequently, attended him whenever
he appeared.

"He preached to them resignation to the Divine Will; but resignation
was not a savage virtue. He was indefatigable in his attentions to
the sick; but those of whom he was most careful seemed the speediest
to die. The popular feeling against him increased every hour; he
appeared, however, to defy his fate--walking unconcernedly amongst
crowds of infuriated savages brandishing heavy clubs, and threatening
him with the points of their sharp spears; but his eye never blinked,
and his cheek never blanched, and he walked on his way inwardly
praising God, careless of the evil passions that raged around him.

"It was on a Sabbath morn--our service had far advanced; we could
boast of but a limited congregation, for many had died, some had fled
from the pestilence into the interior; others had avoided the place
in consequence of the threats of their countrymen. A few children,
and two or three women, were all their teacher had to address.

"We were engaged in singing a Psalm, when a furious crowd, mad with
rage, as it seemed, screaming and yelling in the most frightful
manner, and brandishing their weapons as though about to attack an
enemy, burst into our little chapel, and seized my husband in the
midst of his devotions.

"I rushed forward to protect him from the numerous weapons that were
aimed at his life, but was dragged back by the hair of my head; and
with infuriate cries and gestures, that made them look like demons
broke loose from hell, they fell upon him with their clubs and spears.

"Reichardt made no resistance, he merely clasped his hands the more
firmly, and looked up to Heaven the more devoutly, as he continued
the Psalm he had commenced before they entered. This did not delay
his fate.

"They beat out his brains so close to me, that I was covered with
his blood, and I believe I should have shared the same fate, had I
not fainted with terror at the horrible scene of which I was a forced
spectator.

"I learned afterwards that some powerful chief interfered, and I was
carried away more dead than alive, in which state I long remained. As
soon as I became sufficiently strong to be moved, I took advantage of
a whaler calling at the island, homeward bound, to beg a passage. The
captain heard my lamentable story, took me on board as soon as he
could, and shewed a seaman's sympathy for my sufferings.

"I was to have returned to England with him, but off this place we
encountered a terrible storm, in which we were obliged to take to the
boats, as the only chance of saving our lives. What became of him I
know not, as the two boats parted company soon after leaving the
wreck. I trust he managed to reach the land in safety, and is now in
his own country, enjoying all the comforts that can make life
covetable.

"What became of that part of the crew that brought me here in the
other boat, led by the fires you had lighted, I am in doubt. But I
think on quitting the island, crowded as their boat was, and in the
state of its crew, it was scarcely possible for them to have made the
distant island for which they steered."




Chapter XL


Mrs Reichardt's story made a sensible impression on me. I no longer
wondered at the pallor of her countenance, or the air of melancholy
that at first seemed so remarkable; she had suffered most severely,
and her sufferings were too recent not to have left their effects
upon her frame.

I thought a good deal about her narrative, and wondered much that
men could be got to leave their comfortable homes, and travel
thousands and thousands of miles across the fathomless seas, with the
hope of converting a nation of treacherous savages, by whom they were
sure to be slaughtered at the first outbreak of ill-feeling.

I could not but admire the character of Reichardt--in all his
actions he had exhibited a marked nobility of nature. He would not
present himself before the woman who had the strongest claims upon
his gratitude, till he had obtained a position and a reputation that
should, in his opinion, make him worthy of her; and though he had a
presentiment of the fate that would overtake him, he fulfilled his
duties as a missionary with a holy enthusiasm that made him regard
his approaching martyrdom as the greatest of all earthly
distinctions. I felt regret that I had not known such a man. I knew
how much I had lost in having missed such an example.

My having heard this story led me into much private communing with
myself respecting religion. I could consider myself little better
than a savage, like the brutal Sandwich Islanders; my conduct to
Jackson had been only in a degree less inhuman than that these
idolaters had shewn to their teacher when he was in their power. I
fancied at the time that I served him right, for his villainous
conduct to my father, and brutal conduct to me: but God having
punished him for his misdeeds, I felt satisfied I had no business to
put him to greater torment as satisfaction for my own private
injuries. I fancied God might have been angry with me, and had kept
me on the island as a punishment for my offences; and I had some
conversation with Mrs Reichardt on this point.

"Nothing," she observed, "can excuse your ill-feeling towards
Jackson; he was a bad man, without a doubt, and he deserved condign
punishment for his usage of your parents; but the Divine founder of
our religion has urged us to return good for evil."

"Yes," I answered readily, "but I should have suffered as bad as my
father and mother, had I not prevented his doing me mischief."

"You do not know that you were to suffer," she replied. "Jackson,
without such terrible punishment as he brought upon himself, might
eventually have become contrite, and have restored you to your
friends as well as enabled you to obtain your grandfather's property.
God frequently performs marvellous things with such humble
instruments, for he hath said, 'There is more joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth, than over ninety-nine just men.'"

"Surely, this is raising the wicked man over the good," I cried.

"Not at all," she replied. "The repentant is one gained from the
ranks of the great enemy--it is as one that was lost and is found
again--it is a soul added to the blessed. Therefore the joy in heaven
is abundant at such a conversion. The just are the natural heirs of
heaven--their rights are acknowledged without dispute--their claim is
at once recognised and allowed, and they receive their portion of
eternal joy as a matter of course, without there being any necessity
for exciting those demonstrations of satisfaction which hail the
advent of a sinner saved."

"I don't think such a villain as Jackson would ever go to heaven," I
observed.

"'Judge not, lest ye be judged,'" she answered; "that is a text that
cannot be too often impressed upon persons anxious to condemn to
eternal torment all those they believe to be worse than themselves.
It is great presumption in us poor creatures of clay, to anticipate
the proceedings of the Infinite Wisdom. Let us leave the high
prerogative of judgment to the Almighty Power, by whom only it is
exercised, and in our opinions of even the worst of our fellow-creatures,
let us exercise a comprehensive charity, mingled with a prayer that
even at the eleventh hour, they may have turned from the evil of
their ways, and embraced the prospect of salvation, which the mercy
of their Creator has held out to them."

In this and similar conversations, Mrs Reichardt would endeavour to
plant in my mind the soundest views of religion; and she spoke so
well, and so convincingly, that I had little trouble in understanding
her meaning, or in retaining it after it had been uttered.

It was not, as I have before stated, to religion only that she led
my thoughts, although that certainly was the most frequent subject of
our conversation. She sought to instruct me in the various branches
of knowledge into which she had acquired some insight, and in this
way I picked up as much information respecting grammar, geography,
astronomy, writing, arithmetic, history, and morals, as I should have
gained had I been at a school, instead of being forced to remain on a
desolate island.

I need not say that I still desired to leave it. I had long been
tired of the place, notwithstanding that from our united exertions,
we enjoyed many comforts which we could not have hoped for. Our hut
we had metamorphosed into something Mrs Reichardt styled a rustic
cottage, which, covered as it was with flowers and creepers, really
looked very pretty; and the garden added greatly to its pleasant
appearance: for near the house we had transplanted everything that
bore a flower that could be found in the island, and had planted some
shrubs, that, having been carefully nurtured made rapid growth, and
screened the hut from the wind.

I had built a sort of out-house for storing potatoes and firewood,
and a fowl-house for the gannets, which were now a numerous flock;
and had planted a fence round the garden, so that as Mrs Reichardt
said, we looked as if we had selected a dwelling in our own beloved
England, in the heart of a rural district, instead of our being
circumscribed in a little island thousands of miles across the wide
seas, from the home of which we were so fond of talking.

Although my companion always spoke warmly of the land of her birth,
and evidently would have been glad to return to it, she never grieved
over her hard fate in being, as it were, a prisoner on a rock, out of
reach of friends and kindred; indeed, she used to chide me for being
impatient of my detention, and insensible of the blessings I enjoyed.

"What temptations are we not free from here?" she would say. "We see
nothing of the world; we cannot be contaminated with its vices, or
suffer from its follies. The hideous wars--the terrible revolutions
--the dreadful visitations of famine and pestilence--are completely
unknown to us. Robbery, and murder, and fraud, and the thousand other
phases of human wickedness, we altogether escape. There was a time,
when men, for the purpose of leading holy lives, abandoned the fair
cities in which they had lived in the enjoyment of every luxury, and
sought a cave in some distant desert, where, in the lair of some wild
beast, with a stone for a pillow, a handful of herbs for a meal, and
a cup of water for beveridge, they lived out the remnant of their
days in a constant succession of mortifications, prayers, and
penitence.

"How different," she added, "is our own state. We are as far removed
from the sinfulness of the world as any hermit of the desert, whilst
we have the enjoyment of comforts to which they were strangers."

"But probably," I observed, "these men were penitents, and went into
the desert as much to punish their bodies for the transgressions of
the flesh, as to acquire by solitary communion, a better knowledge of
the spirit than they were likely to obtain in their old haunts."

"Some were penitents, no doubt," she answered, "but they, having
obtained by their sanctity an extraordinary reputation, induced
others, whose lives had been blameless, to follow their example, and
in time the desert became colonised with recluses, who rivalled each
other in the intensity of their devotions and the extent of their
privations."

"Would it not have been more commendable," I asked, "if these men
had remained in the community to which they belonged, withstanding
temptation, and been employed in labour that was creditable to
themselves and useful to their country?"

"No doubt it would," she replied; "but religion has, unfortunately,
too often been the result of impulse rather than conviction; and at
the period to which we are referring, it was thought that sinful
human nature could only gain the attributes of saintship by
neglecting its social duties, and punishing its humanity in the
severest manner. Even in more recent times, and at the present day,
in Catholic countries, it is customary for individuals of both sexes,
to abandon the world of which they might render themselves ornaments,
and shut themselves up in buildings constructed expressly to receive
them, where they continue to go through a course of devotions and
privations till death puts an end to their voluntary imprisonment.

"In this modified instance of seclusion," she added, "there are
features very different from our own case. We are not forced to
impoverish our blood with insufficient diet, or mortify our flesh
with various forms of punishment. We do not neglect the worship of
God. We offer up daily thanks for his loving care of us, and sing his
praises in continual hymns: and instead of wasting the hours of the
day in unmeaning penances, we fill up our time in employments that
add to our health, comfort, and happiness: and that enable us the
better to appreciate the goodness of that Power who is so mindful of
our welfare."

"Have you no wish then, to leave this island?" I inquired.

"I should gladly avail myself of the first opportunity that
presented itself for getting safely to England," she replied. "But I
would wait patiently the proper time. It is not only useless repining
at our prolonged stay here, but it looks like an ungrateful doubting
of the power of God to remove us. Be assured that he has not
preserved us so long, and through so many dangers, to abandon us when
we most require his interposition in our favour."

I endeavoured to gather consolation from such representations: but
perhaps young people are not so easily reconciled to what they do not
like, as are their elders, for I cannot say I succeeded in becoming
satisfied with my position.




Chapter XLI


The perils of my first voyage had deterred me from making a similar
experiment; but I recovered my boat, and having further strengthened
it, fitted it with what could either be turned into a well or locker:
I used to row out a little distance when the sea was free from sharks
and fish.

But my grand effort in this direction was the completion of a net,
which, assisted by Mrs Reichardt, I managed to manufacture. By this
time she had gained sufficient confidence to accompany me in my
fishing excursions; she would even take the oars whilst I threw out
the net, and assisted me in dragging it into the boat.

The first time we got such a haul, that I was afraid of the safety
of our little craft. The locker was full, and numbers of great fish,
as I flung them out of the net, were flapping and leaping about the
bottom of the boat. It began to sink lower in the water than was
agreeable to either of us, and I found it absolutely necessary to
throw back into the sea the greater portion of our catch. We then
rowed carefully to land, rejoicing that we had at our command, the
means of obtaining an abundant supply of food whenever we desired it.

Mrs Reichardt was with me also in our land excursions. Together we
had explored every part of the island; our chief object was plants
for enriching our garden, and often as we had been in search of
novelties, we invariably brought home additions to our collection;
and my companion having acquired some knowledge of botany, would
explain to me the names, characters, and qualities of the different
species, which made our journeys peculiarly interesting.

Our appearance often caused considerable amusement to each other;
for our respective costumes must have been extremely curious in the
eyes of a stranger. Neither wore shoes or stockings--these things we
did not possess, and could not procure; we wore leggings and sandals
of seal skin to protect us from the thorns and plants of the cacti
tribe, among which we were obliged to force our way. My companion
wore a conical cap of seal skin, and protected her complexion from
the sun, by a rude attempt at an umbrella I had made for her.

She had on, on these occasions, a pair of coarse cloth trousers, as
her own dress would have been torn to pieces before she had got half
a mile through the bush; these were surmounted by a tight spencer she
had herself manufactured out of a man's waistcoat, and a dimity
petticoat, which buttoned up to her throat, and was fastened in the
same way at the wrists.

My head was covered with a broad-brimmed hat, made of dry grass,
which I had myself platted. I wore a sailor's jacket, much the worse
for wear, patched with seal skin, over a pair of duck trousers,
similarly repaired.

Although our expeditions were perfectly harmless, we did not go
without weapons. At the instigation of my companion, I had made
myself a good stout bow and plenty of arrows, and had exercised
myself so frequently at aiming at a mark, as to have acquired very
considerable skill in the use of them. I had now several arrows of
hard wood tipped with sharp fish-bones, and some with iron nails, in
a kind of pouch behind me; in its sheath before me was my American
knife, which I used for taking the plants from the ground. I had a
basket made of the long grass of the island, slung around me, which
served to contain our treasures; and I carried my bow in my hand.

My companion, in addition to her umbrella, bore only a long staff,
and a small basket tied round her waist that usually contained a
little refreshment; for she would say there was no knowing what might
occur to delay our return, and therefore it was better to take our
meal with us. And not the least agreeable portion of the day's labour
was our repast; for we would seat ourselves in some quiet corner,
surrounded by flowers, and shaded by the brushwood from the sun, and
there eat our dried fish or pick our birds, and roast our potatoes by
means of a fire of dried sticks, and wash down our simple dinner with
a flask of pure water--the most refreshing portion of our banquet.

I had, as I have just stated, attained a singular degree of skill in
the use of the bow and arrow, which, as we had no fire-arms, was
often of important service in procuring food on land.

I had made another use of my skill--an application of it which
afforded me a vast deal of satisfaction. My old enemies the sharks
used still to frequent a certain portion of the coast in great
numbers, and as soon as I became master of my weapon, I would stand
as near to the edge of the rock as was safe, and singling out my
victim, aim at his upper fin, which I often found had the effect of
ridding the place of that fellow.

I bore such an intense hatred to these creatures, for the fright
they had put me into during my memorable voyage of discovery, and for
the slaughter of my beloved Nero, that I determined to wage incessant
war against them, as long as I could manufacture an arrow, or a
single shark remained on the coast.

As we had so often traversed the island without accident, we dreamt
not of danger. We had never met with any kind of animals, except our
old friends the seals, who kept near the sea. Of birds, the gannets
were generally the sole frequenters of the island; but we had seen,
at rare intervals, birds of a totally different character, some of
which I had shot.

Indeed, during our excursions, I was always on the look out for any
stranger of the feathered race, that I might exercise my skill upon
him. If he proved eatable, he was sure to be very welcome; and even
if he could not be cooked, he afforded me some entertainment, in
hearing from Mrs Reichardt his name and habits.

We had discovered a natural hollow which lay so low that it was
quite hid till we came close to it, when we had to descend a steep
declivity covered with shrubs. At the bottom was a soil evidently
very productive, for we found trees growing there to a considerable
height, that were in marked contrast to the shrubby plants that grew
in other parts of the island. We called this spot the Happy Valley,
and it became a favourite resting-place.

I remember on one of these occasions, we had made our dinner after
having been several hours employed in seeking for plants, of which we
had procured a good supply, and the remains of our meal lay under a
great tree, beneath the spreading branches of which we had been
resting ourselves.

It was quite on the other side of the island, within about a quarter
of a mile from the sea. Abundance of curious plants grew about the
place, and Mrs Reichardt had wandered to a little distance to examine
all within view.

I was peering into the trees and shrubs around to discover a new
comer. I had wandered in an opposite direction to that taken by my
companion, and was creeping round a clump of shrubs about twenty
yards off, in which I detected a chirping noise, when I heard a loud
scream.

I turned sharply round and beheld Mrs Reichardt, evidently in an
agony of terror, running towards me with prodigious swiftness. She
had dropped her umbrella and her staff, her cap had fallen from her
head, and her long hair, disarranged by her sudden flight, streamed
behind her shoulders.

At first I did not see anything which could have caused this
terrible alarm, but in a few seconds I heard a crushing among a
thicket of shrubs from which she was running, as if some heavy weight
was being forced through them; and presently there issued a most
extraordinary monster. It came forward at a quick pace, its head
erect above ten feet, its jaws wide open, from the midst of which
there issued a forked tongue which darted in and out with
inconceivable rapidity. Its body was very long, and thick as an
ordinary tree; it was covered over with bright shining scales that
seemed to have different colours, and was propelled along the ground
in folds of various sizes, with a length of tail of several yards
behind. Its eyes were very bright and fierce. Its appearance
certainly accounted for my companion's alarm.

"Fly!" she cried in accents of intense terror, as she rushed towards
me, "fly, or you are lost!"

She then gave a hurried glance behind her, and seeing the formidable
monster in full chase, she just had power to reach the spot to which
I had advanced, and sunk overpowered with terror, fainting at my feet.

My first movement was to step across her body for the purpose of
disputing the passage of the monster, and in an erect posture, with
my bow drawn tight as I could pull it, I waited a few seconds till I
could secure a good aim, for I knew everything depended on my
steadiness and resolution.

On came my prodigious antagonist, making a terrible hissing as he
approached, his eyes flashing, his jaws expanded as if he intended to
swallow me at a mouthful, and the enormous folds of his huge body
passing like wheels over the ground, crushing the thick plants that
came in their way like grass.

I must acknowledge that in my heart I felt a strange sinking
sensation, but I remembered that our only chance of escape lay in
giving the monster a mortal wound, and the imminence of the danger
seemed to afford me the resolution I required.

He was close behind, and in a direct line with the tree under which
we had dined, and I was about twenty yards from it. Directly his head
darted round and in front of the tree, making a good mark, I let fly
the arrow direct, as I thought, for his eye, hoping, by penetrating
his brain, to settle him at once. But as he moved his head at that
moment, the arrow went into his open jaws, one of which it
penetrated, and going deep into the tree behind, pinned his head
close to the bark.

As soon as the huge creature found himself hurt, he wound his
enormous body round the trunk, and with his desperate exertions
swayed the great tree backwards and forwards, as I would have done
one of its smallest branches. Fearful that he would liberate himself
before I could save my senseless companion, as quick as possible I
discharged all my arrows into his body, which took effect in various
places. His exertions then became so terrible that I hastily snatched
up Mrs Reichardt in my arms, and with a fright that seemed to give me
supernatural strength, I ran as fast as I could the shortest way to
our hut. Fortunately, before I had gone half a mile, my companion
came to her senses, and was able to continue her flight.

We got home at last, half dead with fatigue and fright; nevertheless
the first thing we did was to barricade all the entrances. We left
loop-holes to reconnoitre; and there we sat for hours after our
arrival, waiting the monster's approach in fear and trembling.

We did not go to sleep that night. We did not, either of us, go out
the next day. The next night one watched while the other slept. The
second day my courage had so far returned, I wanted to go and look
after the constant subject of our conversation. But Mrs Reichardt
dissuaded me.

She told me it was an enormous python, or serpent of the boa
species, that are common on the northern coast of America. Probably
it had been brought to the island on a drifted tree, and being so
prodigious a reptile, the wounds it had received were not likely to
do it much harm, and it would be no doubt lurking about, ready to
pounce upon either of us directly we appeared.

On the third day, nothing having occurred to increase our alarm, I
determined to know the worst; so I got by stealth out of the house,
and armed with a fresh bow, a good supply of arrows, a hatchet slung
at my side, and my American knife--with my mind made up for another
conflict if necessary--I crept stealthily along, with my eyes awake
to the slightest motion, and my ears open to the slightest sound,
till I approached the scene of my late unequal struggle.

I must own I began to draw my breath rather rapidly, and my heart
beat more quickly, as I came near the place where I had left my
terrible enemy. To my extreme surprise the python had disappeared.
There was a tree still standing, though its foliage and branches
strewed the ground, and a great portion of its bark was ground to
powder. At the base of the trunk was a pool of blood mingled with
fragments of bark, broken arrows, leaves, and mould. The reptile had
escaped. But where was he? Not altogether without anxiety I began to
look for traces of his retreat; and they were easily found. With my
arrow ready for immediate flight, I followed a stream of blood that
was still visible on the grass, and led from the tree, accompanied by
unmistakable marks of the great serpent's progress, in a direct line
to the sea. There it disappeared.

When I discovered this, I breathed again. There was no doubt if the
monster survived the conflict, he was hundreds of miles away, and was
not likely to return to a place where he had received so rough a
welcome. It may readily be believed I lost no time in taking the
agreeable news to my companion.




Chapter XLII


I had become tired of looking out for a ship. Though day after day,
and week after week, I made the most careful scrutiny with my glass,
as I have said, it brought no result. I sometimes fancied I saw a
vessel appearing in the line of the horizon, and I would pile up
faggots and light them, and throw on water to make them smoke, as
Jackson had done; but all without avail. Either my vision had
deceived me, or my signals had not been observed, or the ship's
course did not lie in the direction of the island.

We had had storms too on several occasions, but no wreck had been
left on our coast. I began to think we were doomed to live out our
lives on this rock, and frequently found myself striving very
manfully to be resigned to my fate, and for a few days I would
cheerfully endeavour to make the best of it. But the increasing
desire I felt to get to England, that I might seek out my
grandfather, and put him in possession of his diamonds, always
prevented this state of things enduring very long. I had obtained
from Mrs Reichardt an idea of the value of these stones, and of the
importance of their restoration to my relative, and I had often
thought of the satisfaction I should enjoy in presenting myself
before him, as the restorer of such valuable property, which, no
doubt, had long since been given up as lost.

But latterly, I thought less of these things; the chance of leaving
the island seemed so remote, and the prospect of ever seeing my
grandfather so very distant, that I had ceased to take any interest
in the contents of the belt. The diamonds seemed to become as
valueless as they were useless; a handful of wheat would have been
much more desirable. It was now some time since I had seen the belt,
or inquired about it.

Thus we lived without any incident occurring worth relating--when
one day the appearance of the atmosphere indicated a storm, and a
very violent hurricane, attended with peals of thunder and lurid
flashes of lightning, lasted during the whole of the day and evening.
The wind tore up the trees by the roots, blew down our outhouses,
made terrible havoc in our garden, and threatened to tumble our hut
over our heads.

We could not think of going to our beds whilst such a tempest was
raging around us, so we sat up, listening to the creaking of the
boards, and anticipating every moment that the whole fabric would be
blown to pieces. Fortunately, the bark with which I had covered the
roof, in a great measure protected us from the rain, which came down
in torrents; but every part was not equally impervious, and our
discomfort was increased by seeing the water drip through, and form
pools on the floor.

The thunder still continued at intervals, and was sometimes so loud
as to have a most startling effect upon us. My companion knelt down
and said her prayers with great fervour, and I joined in them with
scarcely less devotion. Indeed it was an awful night, and our
position, though under shelter, was not without danger. The incessant
flashes of lightning seemed to play round our edifice, as if
determined to set it in a blaze; and the dreadful peals of thunder
that followed, rolled over our heads, as if about to burst upon the
creaking boards that shut us from its fury.

I fancied once or twice that I heard during the storm bursts of
sound quite different in character from the peals of thunder. They
were not so loud, and did not reverberate so much; they seemed to
come nearer, and then the difference in sound became very perceptible.

"Great God!" exclaimed Mrs Reichardt, starting up from her kneeling
posture, "that is a gun from some ship."

The wind seemed less boisterous for a few seconds, and the thunder
ceased. We listened breathlessly for the loud boom we had just heard,
but it was not repeated. In a moment afterwards our ears were
startled by the most terrifying combination of screams, shrieks,
cries, and wailings I had ever heard. My blood seemed chilled in my
veins.

"A ship has just struck," whispered my companion, scarcely above her
breath. "The Lord have mercy on the crew!"

She sank on her knees again in prayer, as if for the poor souls who
were struggling in the jaws of death. The wind still howled, and the
thunder still roared, but in the fiercest war of the elements, I
fancied I could every now and then hear the piercing shrieks sent up
to heaven for assistance. I thought once or twice of venturing out,
but I remembered the safety of my companion was so completely bound
up with my own, that I could not reconcile myself to leaving her; and
I was also well aware, that till the terrible fury of the tempest
abated, it was impossible for me to be of the slightest service to
the people of the wrecked ship, even could I remain unharmed exposed
to the violence of the weather.

I however awaited with much impatience and intense anxiety till the
storm had in some measure spent itself; but this did not occur till
sunrise the next morning. The wind fell, the thunder and lightning
ceased, the rain was evidently diminishing, and the brightness of the
coming day began to burst through the darkest night that had ever
visited the island.

Mrs Reichardt would not be left behind; it was possible she might be
useful, and taking with her a small basket of such things as she
imagined might be required, she accompanied me to the rocks nearest
the sea.

On arriving there, the most extraordinary scene presented itself.
The sea was strewed with spars, masts, chests, boats stove in or
otherwise injured, casks, empty hen-coops, and innumerable pieces of
floating wreck that were continually dashed against the rocks, or
were washed ashore, wherever an opening for the sea presented itself.
At a little distance lay the remains of a fine ship, her masts gone
by the board, her decks open, in fact a complete wreck, over which
the sea had but lately been making a clean sweep, carrying overboard
everything that could not resist its fury.

I could see nothing resembling a human being, though both myself and
my companion looked carefully round in the hope of discovering some
poor creature, that might need assistance. It appeared, however, as
if the people of the ship had taken to their boats, which had been
swamped, and most probably all who had ventured into them had been
devoured by the sharks.

Had the crew remained on board, they would in all probability have
been saved; as the vessel had been thrown almost high and dry.

As soon as we had satisfied ourselves that no sharks were in the
neighbourhood, I launched my little boat, and each taking an oar, we
pulled in the direction of the wreck, which we reached in a few
minutes.

She had heeled over after striking, and the water was quite smooth
under her lee. I contrived to climb into the main chains, and from
thence on board, and was soon afterwards diligently exploring the
ship. I penetrated every place into which I could effect an entrance,
marvelling much at the variety of things I beheld. There seemed such
an abundance of everything, and of things too quite new to me, that I
was bewildered by their novelty and variety.

Having discovered a coil of new rope, I hauled it on deck, and soon
made fast my little boat to the ship. Then I made a hasty rope ladder
which I threw over, and Mrs Reichardt was in a very few minutes
standing by my side. Her knowledge was necessary to inform me of the
uses of the several strange things I saw, and to select for our own
use what was most desirable. She being well acquainted with the
interior of a ship, and having explained to me its numerous
conveniences, I could not but admire the ingenuity of man, in
creating such stupendous machines.

The ship having much water in the hold, I was forced to dive into
the armoury. It was the first time I had seen such things, and I
handled the muskets and pistols with a vast deal of curiosity; as my
companion explained to me how they were loaded and fired, I at once
saw their advantage over the bow and arrow, and was selecting two or
three to carry away, when I hesitated on being assured they would be
perfectly useless without ammunition. I might have remained content
with my own savage weapons that had already served me so well, had
not Mrs Reichardt, in the course of our survey, discovered several
tin canisters of powder perfectly uninjured, with abundance of shot
and bullets, of which I quickly took possession.

From other parts of the vessel we selected bags of grain, barrels of
flour, and provisions of various kinds; wearing apparel, boxes of
tools, with numerous bottles and jars, with the contents of which I
was perfectly unacquainted, though their discovery gave great
gratification to my companion. What most excited my wonder, were
various kinds of agricultural implements that we found in the hold,
and in a short time I was made aware of the proper employment of
spades, harrows, ploughs, thrashing-machines, and many other things,
of the existence of which I had never before dreamt.

We found also quantities of various kinds of seeds and roots, and
some sort of twigs growing in pots, which Mrs Reichardt particularly
begged me not to leave behind, as they would be of the greatest use
to us; and she added that, from various signs, she believed that the
ship had been an emigrant vessel going out with settlers, but to what
place she could not say.

We made no ceremony in breaking open lockers and chests, and every
where discovered a variety of things, which, could we transfer to our
island, would add greatly to our comfort; but how they were to be got
ashore, was a puzzle which neither of us seemed capable of solving.
Our little boat would only contain a few of the lighter articles; and
as many of these as we could conveniently put together were shortly
stowed in her.

With this cargo we were about returning, when my companion called my
attention to a noise that seemed to come from a distant corner of the
vessel, and she laughed and exhibited so much satisfaction that I
believed we were close upon some discovery far more important than
any we had yet hit upon.

We continued to make our way to what seemed to me a very out of the
way part of the vessel, led in a great measure by the noises that
proceeded from thence. It was so dark here, that we were obliged to
get a light, and my companion having procured a ship's lantern, and
lighted it by means of a tinderbox, led me to a place where I could
discern several animals, most of which were evidently dead. She
however ascertained that there were two young calves, three or four
sheep, and as many young pigs, still giving very noisy evidence of
their existence. She searched about and found some food for them,
which they ate with great avidity. The larger animals she told me
were cows and horses; but they had fallen down, and gave no signs of
life.

My companion and myself then entered into a long debate as to how we
were to remove the living animals from the dead; and she dwelt very
eloquently upon the great advantages that would accrue to us, if we
could succeed in transporting to the island the survivors.

After giving them a good feed, seeing we could not remove them at
present, we descended safely to our boat and gained the shore without
any accident. Then having housed our treasures, we were for putting
together a raft of the various planks and barrels that were knocking
against the rocks, but as I knew this would take a good deal of time,
I thought I would inspect the ship's boats, which, bottom upwards,
were drifting about within a few yards of us.

To our great satisfaction, one I ascertained to be but little
injured, and having forced her ashore, with our united exertions we
turned her over. In an hour we had made her water-tight, had picked
up her oars, and were pulling merrily for the wreck.




Chapter XLIII


Had the cows or horses been alive, they must have been left behind,
for we could not have removed them, but the smaller animals were with
comparatively little difficulty got on deck, and they descended with
me into the boat. We added a few things that lay handy, and in a few
minutes were laughingly driving our four-footed treasures on shore,
to the extreme astonishment of the gannets, which seemed as though
they would never cease to flap their wings, as their new associates
were driven by them.

In the same way we removed the most portable of the agricultural
implements, bed and bedding, cots, and hammocks, furniture, the
framework of a house, preserved provisions of all kinds, a medicine
chest, boxes of books, crates of china and glass, all sorts of useful
tools, and domestic utensils; in short, in the course of the next two
or three weeks, by repeated journeys, we filled every available place
we could find with what we had managed to rescue.

Then came another terrible storm that lasted two days, after which
the wreck having been broken up, was scattered in every direction. I
however managed to secure the drift wood, tubs, spars, and chests,
which were all got on shore, and proved of the greatest service to me
some time afterwards.

Numerous as our acquisitions had been in this way, both of us had
been infinitely better pleased had we been able to rescue some of the
ill-fated crew, to whom they had once belonged. But not one of them
could have escaped, and only one body was cast on shore, which was
that of a young woman, who lay with her face to the ground, and her
wet clothes clinging round her. We turned her carefully over, and I
beheld a face that seemed to me wonderfully fair and beautiful. She
had escaped the sharks, and had been dead several hours--most
probably she had been cast on shore by the waves soon after the ship
struck, for she had escaped also the rocks, which, had she been
dashed against, would have left fearful signs of their contact on her
delicate frame.

The sight of her corpse gave me many melancholy thoughts. I thought
of the delight she might have caused both of us, had she been saved.
What a pleasant companion she might have proved! Indeed, as I looked
on her pale cold features, I fancied that she might have reconciled
me to ending my existence on the island--ay, even to the abandonment
of my favourite scheme of seeking my grandfather to give him back his
diamonds.

We took her up with as much pity and affection as if she were our
nearest and dearest relative, and carried her home and placed her on
Mrs Reichardt's bed; and then I laid some planks together, in the
shape of what Mrs Reichardt called a coffin--and I dug her a deep
grave in the guano.

And all the while I found myself crying as I had never cried before, and
my heart seemed weary and faint. In solemn silence we carried her to her
grave, and read over her the funeral service out of the Prayer-book,
kneeling and praying for this nameless creature, whom we had never
seen alive, as though she had been our companion for many years; both
of us shedding tears for her hapless fate as if we had lost a beloved
sister. And when we had filled up her grave and departed, we went home,
and passed the most miserable day we had ever had to endure since we
had first been cast upon the island.

I had now numerous occupations that kept me actively employed. Still
I could not for a long time help recalling to mind that pale face
that looked so piteously upon me when I first beheld it; and then I
would leave off my work, and give myself up to my melancholy thoughts
till my attention was called off by some appeal from my companion. I
made a kind of monument over the place where she was buried, and
planted there the finest flowers we had; and I never passed the spot
without a prayer, as if I were approaching holy ground.

I must not forget to add, that a few days after the wreck we were
agreeably surprised by visitors that, though unexpected, were
extremely welcome. I had noticed strange birds wandering about in
various parts of the island. On their coming under the notice of my
companion, they were immediately recognised as fowls and ducks that
had no doubt escaped from the ship.

We might now, therefore, constitute ourselves a little colony, of
which Mrs Reichardt and myself were the immediate governors, the
settlers being a mingled community of calves, sheep, pigs, and
poultry, that lived on excellent terms with each other; the
quadrupeds having permission to roam where they pleased, and the
bipeds being kept within a certain distance of the government house.

The old hut had suffered so much from the storm that I determined
on building another in a better position, and had recourse to the
framework of the house I had taken from the wreck. I had some
difficulty in putting the several parts together, but at last
succeeded, and a small, but most commodious dwelling was the result.
Near it I laid out a new garden, wherein I planted all the orange-trees
we had reared, as well as many of the seeds and roots we had brought
from the wreck. A little beyond I enclosed a paddock, wherein I
planted the twigs we had found in pots, which proved to be fruit
trees.

When I had done this, I thought of my agricultural implements, and
very much desired to make use of a handy plough that was amongst
them, when I learned the advantages that might arise from it. At
first, I yoked myself to the plough, and Mrs Reichardt held it: this
proved such hard and awkward work that I kept projecting all sorts of
plans for lessening the labour--the best was that of yoking our
calves, and making them pull instead of myself. This was more easily
thought of than done. The animals did not prove very apt pupils, but
in course of time, with a good deal of patience, and some
manoeuvring, I succeeded in making them perform the work they were
expected to do.

Thus, in building, gardening, planting, and farming, the time flew
by quickly, and in the course of the next year the aspect of the
place had become quite changed. The guano that enriched the soil made
every kind of vegetation thrive with an almost marvellous rapidity
and luxuriance. We had a comfortable house, up which a vine was
creeping in one place, and a young pear-tree in another. We were
supplied with the choicest oranges, and had apples of several kinds.
We had abundance of furniture, and an inexhaustible stock of
provisions. We had a most gorgeous show of flowers of many different
species; our new kitchen garden was full of useful vegetables--young
fruit trees were yielding their produce wherever they had been
planted--the poultry had more than doubled their number--the calves
were taking upon themselves the full dignity of the state of cow and
bull--the ewes had numerous lambs--and the pigs had not only grown
into excellent pork, but had already produced more than one litter
that would be found equally desirable when provisions ran scarce. We
had two growing crops, of different kinds of grain, and a large
pasture-field fenced round.

The Little Savage, at seventeen, had been transformed into a farmer,
and the cultivation of the farm and the care of the live stock soon
left him no time for indulging in vain longings to leave the island,
or useless regrets for the fair creature who, even in death, I had
regarded as its greatest ornament.

Two years later, still greater improvements, and still greater
additions became visible. We were establishing a dairy farm on a
small scale, and as our herds and flocks, as well as the pigs and
poultry, increased rapidly, we promised in a few years to be the most
thriving farmers that had ever lived in that part of the world by the
cultivation of the land.




Chapter XLIV


Although my first experimental voyage had proved so hazardous, now
that I was better provided for meeting its perils, I became anxious
to make another attempt to circumnavigate the island. The boat that
had belonged to the wrecked ship, from the frequent trips I had made
in her to and from the shore, I could manage as well as if I had been
rowing boats all my life.

With the assistance of Mrs Reichardt, who pulled an oar almost as
well as myself, we could get her along in very good style, even when
heavily laden, and our labours together had taken from her all that
timidity which had deterred her from trusting herself with me, when I
first ventured from the island.

I was, however, very differently circumstanced now, to what I was
then. Instead of a frail cockle-shell, that threatened to be capsized
by every billow that approached it, and that would scarcely hold two
persons comfortably, I was master of a well-built ship's-boat, that
would hold half a dozen with ease, and except in very rough weather,
was as safe as any place ashore.

I had repaired the slight damage its timbers had received, and had
made an awning to protect us when rowing from the heat of the sun; I
had also raised a sail, which would relieve us of a good deal of
labour. When everything was prepared, I urged Mrs Reichardt to
accompany me in a voyage round the island; an excursion I hoped would
turn out equally pleasant and profitable.

I found her very averse to trusting herself farther from shore than
was absolutely necessary. She raised all kinds of objections--
prominent among which were my want of seamanship for managing a boat
in the open sea; the danger that might arise from a sudden squall
coming on; her fear of our getting amongst a shoal of sharks, and the
risk we ran of driving against a projecting rock; but I overruled
them all.

I showed her, by taking little trips out to sea, that I could manage
the boat either with the sail or the oars, and assured her that by
keeping close to the island, we could run ashore before danger could
reach us; and that nothing could be easier than our keeping out of
the reach of both rocks and sharks.

I do not think I quite convinced her that her fears were groundless,
but my repeated entreaties, the fineness of the weather, and her
dislike to be again left on the island, whilst I was risking my life
at sea, prevailed, and she promised to join me in this second
experiment.

Her forethought, however, was here as fully demonstrated as on other
occasions, for she did not suffer the boat to leave the shore till
she had provided for any accident that might prevent our return in
the anticipated time.

A finer day for such a voyage we could not have selected. The sky
was without a cloud, and there was just wind enough for the purpose I
wanted, without any apprehensions of this being increased. I got up
the awning, and spread the sail, and handing Mrs Reichardt to her
appointed seat, we bid farewell to our four-footed and two-footed
friends ashore, that were gazing at us as if they knew they were
parting from their only protectors. I then pushed the boat off, the
wind caught the sail, and she glided rapidly through the deep water.

I let her proceed in this way about a quarter of a mile from the
island, and then tacked; the boat, obedient to the position of the
sail, altered her course, and we proceeded at about the same rate for
a considerable distance.

Mrs Reichardt, notwithstanding her previous fears, could not help
feeling the exhilarating effect of this adventurous voyage. We were
floating, safely and gracefully, upon the billows, with nothing but
sea and sky in every direction but one, where the rugged shores of
our island home gave a bold, yet menacing feature to the view.

My heart seemed to expand with the majestic prospect before me.
Never had mariner, when discovering some prodigious continent, felt a
greater degree of exultation than I experienced, when directing my
little vessel over the immense wilderness of waters that spread out
before me, till it joined the line of the horizon.

I sat down by the side of Mrs Reichardt, and allowed the boat to
proceed on its course, either as if it required no directing hand, or
that its present direction was so agreeable, I felt no inclination to
alter it.

"I can easily imagine," said I, "the enthusiasm of such men as
Columbus, whose discovery of America you were relating to me the
other day. The vocation of these early navigators was a glorious one,
and, when they had tracked their way over so many thousand miles of
pathless water, and found themselves in strange seas, expecting the
appearance of land, hitherto unknown to the civilised world, they
must have felt the importance of their mission as discoverers."

"No doubt, Frank," she replied. "And probably it was this that
supported the great man you have just named, in the severe trials he
was obliged to endure, on the very eve of the discovery that was to
render his name famous to all generations. He had endured intolerable
hardships, the ship had been so long without sight of land, that no
one thought it worth while to look out for it, and he expected that
his crew would mutiny, and insist on returning. At this critical
period of his existence, first one indication of land, and then
another made itself manifest; the curiosity of the disheartened
sailors became excited; hope revived in the breast of their immortal
captain; a man was now induced to ascend the main-top, and his joyful
cry of land woke up the slumbering spirit of the crew. In this way, a
new world was first presented to the attention of the inhabitants of
the old."

"It appears to me very unjust," I observed, "that so important a
discovery should have become known to us, not by the name of its
original discoverer, but by that of a subsequent visitor to its
shores."

"Undoubtedly," said Mrs Reichardt, "it is apparently unfair that
Americus Vespucius should obtain an honour which Christopher Columbus
alone had deserved. But of the fame which is the natural right of him
whose courage and enterprise procured this unrivalled acquisition, no
one can deprive him. His gigantic discovery may always be known as
America, but the world acknowledges its obligation to Columbus, and
knows little beyond the name of his rival."

"Were the immediate results of so large an addition to geographical
knowledge, as beneficial to the entire human race as they ought to
have been?"

"I do not think they were. The vast continent then thrown open to
the advance of civilisation, may be divided into two portions, the
south and the north. The former was inhabited by a harmless
effeminate race, who enjoyed many of the refinements of civilisation;
their knowledge of the arts, for instance, as shewn to us in the
ruins of their cities, was considerable; they possessed extensive
buildings in a bold and ornate style of architecture; they made a
lavish use of the precious metals, of which the land was extremely
rich, and they wore dresses which shewed a certain perfection in the
manufacture of textile fabrics, and no slight degree of taste and art
in their formation.

"The Spaniards, who were led to this part of the continent by a
desire to enrich themselves with the gold which the earliest
discoverers had found in the new country in considerable quantities,
invaded the territories of this peaceful people, and, by their
superior knowledge of warlike weapons, and the ignorance of the
intentions of their invaders that prevailed amongst the natives of
all ranks, by a series of massacres, they were enabled, though
comparatively but a small force, to obtain possession of the vast
empire that had been established there from time immemorial, and turn
it into a Spanish colony.

"The blood of this harmless race flowed like water; their great
Incas or Emperors were deposed and murdered, their splendid temples
plundered of their riches, their nobles and priests tortured to make
them change their faith, and the great mass of the people became
slaves to their more warlike conquerors. It was in this way the gold
of Mexico and Peru enriched the treasury of Spain; but every ingot
had the curse of blood upon it, and from that time the Spanish power,
then at its height, began to decline in Europe, till it sunk in the
scale of nations among the least important. The colonies revolted
from the mother country, and became independent states; but the curse
that followed the infamous appropriation of the country, seems to
cling to the descendants of the first criminals, and neither
government nor people prospers; and it is evident that all these
independent states must in time be absorbed by a great republic, that
has sprung up by peaceable means, as it were at their side, whilst
they were content to be colonies."

"To what republic do you allude?"

"You may remember that I told you that the entire continent was
divided into south and north."

"Exactly."

"The history of the southern portion I have rapidly sketched for
you, that of the northern you will find of a totally different
character."

"Pray let me hear it."

"When North America was first discovered, it was found to be
inhabited by a race of savages, divided into several tribes. They had
no manufactures; they had no knowledge of art or science; they lived
in the impenetrable woods in huts, having no pretension to
architecture; they went almost entirely naked, were extremely
warlike, and fond of hunting, and were known to devour the enemies
they killed in battle.

"To this barbarous race came a few adventurous men across the stormy
Atlantic, from the distant island of England--"

"Ah, England!" I exclaimed, "that is the country of my parents--that
is the home of my grandfather; let me hear anything you have to say
about England."

Mrs Reichardt smiled at my animation, but proceeded without making
any comment upon what I had said.

"England possessed at this period many adventurous spirits, who were
ready to dare every danger to obtain for their country a share in the
honours which other lands had assumed through the enterprise of their
navigators. By such men different portions of the northern continent
of America were discovered; the fame of these new lands, their
wonderful productiveness and admirable climate, soon spread amongst
their countrymen, and from time to time various ships left the
English ports with small bands of adventurers, who made what were
termed settlements in the country of these savages--not by
mercilessly massacring them as the Spaniards had done in the south,
and then plundering them of all they possessed, but by purchasing
certain districts or pieces of land from the original occupants,
which they peacefully cultivated; as their numbers increased, they
multiplied their habitations, and obtained by barter of the savages
fresh accessions of territory."

"The English showed themselves a much more humane people than the
Spaniards," I observed. "But did they never come into collision with
the wild natives of the country?"

"Frequently," Mrs Reichardt replied, "but in some measure this was
unavoidable. As new settlers from England landed in the country, they
required more land; but the savages were now not inclined to barter;
they had become jealous of the strangers, and were desirous of
driving them back to their ships before they became too numerous.
Acts of hostility were committed by the savages upon the settlers,
which were often marked by great brutality: this exasperated the
latter, who joined in a warlike association, and notwithstanding
their numbers and daring, drove them further and further from their
neighbourhood, till either by conquest, treaties, or purchase, the
Englishmen or their descendants obtained the greater portion of North
America."

"Do they still hold possession of it?" I asked.

"Up to a recent date, the whole of this vast acquisition was a
colony in obedience to the government of England; but a dispute
having arisen between the mother country and the colony, a struggle
took place, which ended in the latter throwing off all subjection to
the laws of England. The extensive provinces joined together in a
union of equal privileges and powers, which has since gone by the
name of the Government of the United States of North America. This is
the great republic to which I just now alluded, that is gradually
absorbing the minor Southern States into its--union, and threatens at
no very distant date to spread the English language and the English
race over the whole continent of America."

"Has England then completely lost the country she colonised?" I
inquired, feeling more and more interested in the subject.

"No, a great portion still remains in her possession," she replied.
"The people preserved their allegiance when their neighbours thought
proper to rise in revolt, and are now in a state of great prosperity,
governed by the laws of England, and supported by her power. The
English possessions in North America form an extensive district. It
is, however, but an inconsiderable fraction of the vast countries
still remaining under the dominion of England. Her territories lie in
every quarter of the globe; indeed the sun never sets upon this
immense empire--an empire with which the conquests of Alexander, and
of Caesar, or the most formidable state that existed in ancient
times, cannot for a moment be compared; and when we bear in mind that
in all these various climates, and in all these far-distant shores,
the flag of our country affords the same protection to the colonist
as he would enjoy in his own land, we may entertain some idea of the
vast power that government possesses which can make itself respected
at so many opposite points from the source whence it emanates."

I was so much interested in this description, that I had neglected
to notice the rate at which the boat was driving through the water. I
now rose with great alacrity to shift the sail, as we had got several
miles from the island, and if I did not take care we might be blown
out of sight of land. I lost no time in putting her on another tack,
but we had not proceeded far in this direction when I found the wind
lull, and presently the sail drooped to the mast, and there was a
dead calm.

It became necessary now to take to our oars, and we were presently
pulling with all our strength in the direction of land. This went on
for some time till we were both tired, and I was surprised at the
little progress we had made. We lay on our oars and took some
refreshment, and then pulled with additional vigour; but I began to
suspect that we were receding from the land instead of approaching
it, and called Mrs Reichardt's attention to the fact of the island
diminishing in size notwithstanding the length of time we had been
pulling towards it.

"Ah, Frank," she said, in a melancholy tone of voice, "I have for
some time entertained suspicions that all our strength was being
expended in vain. It is very clear that we have got into a current
that is every moment taking us farther out to sea, and if a breeze
does not soon spring up, we shall lose sight of the island, and then,
heaven only knows what will become of us."

I shook out the sail, in hopes of its catching sufficient wind to
lead us out of the current, but not a breath of air was stirring. We
did not possess such a thing as a compass; our provisions were only
calculated for a pleasure trip--we had only one small jar of water,
and a flask of spirit, a few biscuits, two large cakes, a chicken,
and some dried fish. The land was rapidly receding; I could only mark
its position with respect to the sun that now was pouring its burning
rays upon our little bark. If it had not been for the awning we could
not have endured it; the heat was so oppressive. We had been obliged
to give over rowing, as much from the fatigue it occasioned, as from
the hopelessness of our labour.

We now sat with sinking hearts watching the fast retreating land. It
had become a point--it diminished to a speck, and as it disappeared
from our anxious sight, the sun set in all his glory, and we were
drifting at the mercy of the current we knew not where, with nothing
but sky and sea all around us.




Chapter XLV


Vainly I stretched my eyes around the illimitable field of ocean, in
hope of discerning some indication of that power whose ships I had
been told traversed every sea; but nothing like a vessel was in sight
--the mighty waters stretched out like an endless desert on every
side. There was no sign of man in all this vast space, except our
little boat; and in comparison with this space, how insignificant
were the two helpless human beings who sat silent and motionless in
that boat awaiting their destiny.

The stars came out with marvellous brilliancy. I fancied that I had
never seen them appear so bright; but probably the gloominess of my
thoughts made them look brighter by contrast. I seemed the centre of
a glorious system of worlds revolving above me with a calm and
tranquil beauty, that appeared to reproach me for giving way to
despair in a scene so lovely.

The great mass of water, scarcely moved by a ripple, now appeared
lit up with countless fires, and a purplish haze, like a low flame,
was visible in every direction. I directed the attention of my
companion to this strange appearance. Notwithstanding the intensity
of her anxiety, she immediately entered into an explanation of the
phenomenon, and attributed it to a peculiarly phosphoric state of the
sea, caused by myriads of creatures which possess the quality of the
glow-worm, and rising to the surface of the water, made the latter
seem as though enveloped in flame.

I sat a long time watching the singular appearances that presented
themselves whenever I dashed down the oar. It looked as though I was
beating fire instead of water, and flame seemed to come from the oar
with the drops that fell from it into the sea.

In this way hours passed by: we were still floating with the
current; the moon and stars were now coldly shining over our heads;
the ocean around us was still gleaming with phosphoric fires, when
Mrs Reichardt advised me to take some nourishment, and then endeavour
to go to sleep, saying she would keep watch and apprise me if
anything happened of which it might be advantageous to avail ourselves.

The only thing I desired was the appearance of a vessel, or the
setting in of a breeze, of which at present not a sign existed. I
felt disinclined either to eat or to drink: but I proposed that my
companion should make a meal and then go to sleep, as it was much
more proper that I should keep watch than herself. The fact was, we
were both anxious that the other should be the first to diminish our
little stock of food; but as neither would be induced to do this, it
was decided that our provisions should be divided into certain
portions, which were only to be taken at sunrise and sunset, and that
we should during the night relieve each other every three hours in
keeping watch, that if we saw land, or a ship, or the wind should
spring up, we might consult immediately as to our course.

I only succeeded in inducing her to lie down at the bottom of the
boat, to obtain a little sleep, previously to her taking my place
that I might so rest myself. She first said her usual prayers for the
evening, in which I joined, and in a few minutes I was glad to hear
by her regular breathing, that she was obtaining that repose of which
I was certain she stood greatly in need.

I was now the sole observer of the stupendous spectacle that spread
out around and above me the most sublime feature in this imposing
scene appeared to be the silence which reigned supreme over all. The
heavens were as mute as the sea. It looked as if the earth had been
engulfed by a second deluge, and all living nature had perished
utterly from the face of it.

I felt a deep feeling of melancholy stealing over me: and could not
forbear reproaching myself for embarking in this hazardous
enterprise, and risking a life that I was bound to preserve. What
could become of us both I knew not--but I was sensible that if we
were not speedily picked up, or made some friendly shore, there
existed but little hopes of our surviving many days.

I made up my mind that the island we should never see again, and
though I had been so anxious for so many years to quit it, now that
fate had separated us for ever, I could not console myself for the
loss of a home endeared to me by so many recollections. But my great
grief was the loss of my grandfather's diamonds. He had now no chance
of having them restored to him. If they were found they would become
the property of the discoverer; and he would never know how his
daughter perished on a rock, and how his grandson was swallowed up by
the waters of the great deep.

And then I thought of that glorious England I had so long hoped to
see, and my heart sunk within me as I gazed out upon the boundless
prospect. There was not a voice to murmur consolation, not a hand to
offer me assistance. Was I never to see those white cliffs which had
been so often described to me, that I could call them to mind as
clearly as if they stood in all their pride and beauty before my eyes?

How often had I dreamed of approaching the hallowed shores of
England--how often had I heard the cheerful voices of her people
welcoming the Little Savage to his natural home--how often had I been
embraced by my aged grandfather, and received into the happy circle
of his friends, with the respect and affection due to his heir. I had
dreamed happy dreams, and seen blissful visions; and the result was
starvation in an open boat on the illimitable ocean.

Mrs Reichardt still slept, and I would not wake her. As long as she
was insensible to the dangers of her position she must exist in
comparative happiness; to disturb her was to bring her back to a
sense of danger and misery, and the recollection that my folly had
brought her to this hopeless state.

I noticed that a small cloud was making its appearance in the
horizon, and almost at the same instant I observed it, I felt a
breeze that was just sufficient to flap the sail against the mast. In
a few minutes the cloud had greatly increased, and the wind filled
the sail. I fancied it blew in a direction contrary to the current;
and in the belief that it did so I soon got the boat round, and to my
great joy she was presently scudding before the wind at a rate that
was sensibly increasing.

But the cloud presently began to envelop the heavens, and a thick
darkness spread itself like a veil in every direction. The wind blew
very fresh, and strained the mast to which the sail had been fixed;
and now I began to entertain a new fear: some sudden gust might take
the sail and capsize us, or tear it from its fastenings. I would
gladly have taken in the sail, but I considered it as rather a
hazardous experiment. Mrs Reichardt lay in a position that prevented
my getting at it without disturbing her, or running the risk of
tipping the boat over, when it would be sure to fill immediately, and
sink with us both. Though we could both swim, I felt assured that if
we were once in the water, there would remain very little chance of
our protracting our lives beyond a few hours.

The boat, therefore, continued to run before the wind at a rapid
rate, the slight mast creaking, and the sail stretching so tight, I
expected every minute that we should be upset. At this moment Mrs
Reichardt awoke, and her quick eye immediately took in the full
extent of her danger.

"We shall be lost," she said hurriedly, "if we do not take in that
sail!"

I was fully aware of this, but she had seen more of a sailor's
perils than I had, and knew better how to meet them. She offered to
assist me in taking in the sail, and directing me to be very careful,
we proceeded, with the assistance of the awning, to the mast, and
after a good deal of labour, and at some risk of being blown into the
sea, we succeeded in furling the sail, and unshipping the mast.

We were now in quite as much danger from another cause--the surface
of the sea, which had been so smooth during the calm, was now so
violently agitated by the wind, that the boat kept ascending one
great billow only to descend into the trough of another. We often
went down almost perpendicularly, and the height seemed every moment
increasing; and every time we went thus plunging headlong into the
boiling waters, I thought we should be engulfed never to rise;
nevertheless, the next minute, up we ascended on the crest of some
more fearful wave than any we had hitherto encountered, and down
again we plunged in the dark unfathomable abyss that, walled in by
foaming mountains of water, appeared yawning to close over us for ever.

It was almost entirely dark; we could see only the white foam of the
wave over which we were about to pass; save this, it was black below
and black above, and impenetrable darkness all around.

Mrs Reichardt sat close to me with her hand in mine--she uttered no
exclamations of feminine terror--she was more awe-struck than
frightened. I believe that she was fully satisfied her last hour had
come, for I could hear her murmuring a prayer in which she commended
her soul to her Creator.

I cannot say that I was in any great degree alarmed--the rapid up
and down motion of the boat gave me a sensation of pleasure I had
never before experienced. To say the truth, I should have greatly
enjoyed being thus at the mercy of the winds and waves, in the midst
of a black and stormy night on the trackless ocean, had it not been
for my constant thoughts of my companion, and my bitter self-reproaches
for having led her into so terrible a danger.

I was now, however, called from these reflections, by the necessity
of active employment. The boat I found shipped water at every plunge,
and if speedy means were not taken to keep the water under, there was
little doubt that she would soon fill and go down. I therefore seized
the iron kettle we had brought with us to cook our dinner, and began
rapidly bailing out the water, which was already over our ankles. We
continued to ship water, sometimes more and sometimes less; and Mrs
Reichardt, actuated no doubt by the same motives as myself, with a
tin pan now assisted me in getting rid of the treacherous element.

By our united exertions we kept the water under, and hoped to be
able to get rid of the whole of it. About this time it began to rain
very heavily, and although the awning protected our heads, so much
fell into the boat, that notwithstanding our labours we continued to
sit in a pool.

We were, however, glad to find that as the rain fell the wind
abated, and as the latter subsided, the sea became less violent, and
we shipped less water. I was now able by my own exertions to keep the
boat tolerably dry, and Mrs Reichardt, ever provident, spread out all
the empty vessels she had brought with her to catch the rain, for as
she said, we did not know how valuable that water might become in a
short time.

The rain continued to pour down in a perfect torrent for several
hours; at the end of which the sky gradually cleared. The sea, though
still rough, presented none of those mountainous waves that a short
time before had threatened to annihilate us at every descent, and
there was just sufficient breeze to waft us along at a brisk rate
with the assistance of our sail.

Mrs Reichardt helped me in putting up the mast, and directly we
began to feel the breeze, she insisted on my taking some refreshment.
It was vitally necessary to both, for our labours had been heavy for
several hours. We therefore ate sparingly of our provisions, and
washed down our meal with a pannikin of water mingled with a little
spirit.




Chapter XLVI


The morning dawned upon a boundless expanse of sea. The first object
that presented itself to my sight was an enormous whale spouting
water about a quarter of a mile distant from me; then I observed
another, then a third, and subsequently, several more; they presented
a singular and picturesque appearance, as one or other of these vast
animals was continually throwing up a column of water that caught the
rays of the sun, and looked very beautiful in the distance.

I looked in vain for land; I looked equally in vain for a ship;
there was nothing visible but this shoal of whales, and Mrs Reichardt
endeavoured to cheer me by describing the importance of the whale
fishery to England, and the perils which the men meet with who pursue
the fish for the purpose of wounding them with an iron instrument
called a harpoon.

I felt much interest in these details; and my companion went into
the whole history of a whaling expedition, describing the first
discovery of the huge fish from the ship; the pursuit in the boats,
and the harpooning of the whale; its struggles after having been
wounded; its being towed to the ship's side; the subsequent
manufacture of oil from the blubber of the animal, and the
preparation of whalebone.

In attending to this discourse, I completely forgot that I was being
tossed about in the open sea, I knew not where; and where I might be
in a short time it would be proved I was equally ignorant: perhaps I
should be a corpse floating on the surface of the ocean waiting for a
tomb till a shark came that way; perhaps I should be suffering the
torments of hunger and thirst; perhaps cast lifeless upon a rock,
where my bleached bones would remain the only monument which would
then declare that there once existed in these latitudes such a being
as the Little Savage.

Where now could be the island I, though long so anxious to quit, now
was a thousand times more desirous of beholding? I felt that nothing
could be more agreeable to me than a glimpse of that wild rocky coast
that had so often appeared to me the walls of an intolerable prison.

I strained my eyes in vain in every direction; the line of the
horizon stretched out uninterrupted by a single break of any kind all
around. Where could we be? I often asked myself; but except that we
were on the wide ocean, neither myself nor my companion had the
slightest idea of our geographical position. We must have been blown
a considerable distance during the storm: much farther than the
current had taken us from the island.

I calculated that we must have passed it by many a mile if we had
continued the same course; but the wind had shifted several times,
and it might be that we were not so very long a sail from it, could
we gain the slightest knowledge of the direction in which it was to
be found. But this was hopeless. I felt assured that we must abandon
all idea of seeing it again.

In the midst of these painful reflections, my companion directed my
attention to an object at a very considerable distance, and intimated
her impression that it was a ship. Luckily, I had brought my glass
with me, and soon was anxiously directing it to the required point.
It was a ship: but at so great a distance that it was impossible, as
Mrs Reichardt said, for any person on board to distinguish our boat.
I would have sailed in that direction, but the wind was contrary: I
had, therefore, no alternative but to wait till the ship should
approach near enough to make us out; and I passed several hours of
the deepest anxiety in watching the course of the distant vessel.

She increased in size, so that I could observe that she was a large
ship by the unassisted eye; but as we were running before the wind in
a totally different direction, there seemed very little chance of our
communicating, unless she altered her course.

Mrs Reichardt mentioned that signals were made by vessels at a
distance to attract each other's attention, and described the various
ways in which they communicated the wishes of their respective
captains. The only signal I had been in the habit of making was
burning quantities of wood on the shore and pouring water on it to
make it smoke--this was impossible in our boat.

My companion at last suggested that I should tie a table-cloth to
the mast; its peculiar whiteness might attract attention. The sail
was presently taken in, and the table-cloth spread in its place; but,
unfortunately, it soon afterwards came on a dead calm--the breeze
died away, and the cloth hung in long folds against the mast.

No notice whatever was taken of us. We now took to our oars and
pulled in the direction of the ship; but after several hours' hard
rowing, our strength had so suffered from our previous fatigues, that
we seemed to have made very little distance.

In a short time the sun set, and we watched the object of all our
hopes with most anxious eyes, till night set in and hid her from our
sight. Shortly afterwards a light breeze again sprung up; with
renewed hope we gave our sail to the wind, but it bore us in a
contrary direction, and when morning dawned we saw no more of the ship.

The wind had now again shifted, and bore us briskly along. But
where? I had fallen asleep during the preceding night, wearied out
with labour and anxiety, and I did not wake till long after daybreak.
Mrs Reichardt would not disturb me. In sleep I was insensible to the
miseries and dangers of my position. She could not bring herself to
disturb a repose that was at once so necessary to mind and body; and
I fell into a sweet dream of a new home in that dear England I had
prayed so often to see; and bright faces smiled upon me, and voices
welcomed me, full of tenderness and affection.

I fancied that in one of those faces I recognised my mother, of
whose love I had so early been deprived, and that it was paler than
all the others, but infinitely more tender and affectionate: then the
countenance seemed to grow paler and paler, till it took upon itself
the likeness of the fair creature I had buried in the guano, and I
thought she embraced me, and her arms were cold as stone, and she
pressed her lips to mine, and they gave a chill to my blood that made
me shake as with an ague.

Suddenly I beheld Jackson with his sightless orbs groping towards me
with a knife in his hand, muttering imprecations, and he caught hold
of me, and we had a desperate struggle, and he plunged a long knife
into my chest, with a loud laugh of derision and malice; and as I
felt the blade enter my flesh, I gave a start and jumped up, and
alarmed Mrs Reichardt by the wild cry with which I awoke.

How strongly was that dream impressed upon my mind; and the features
of the different persons who figured in it--how distinctly they were
brought before me! My poor mother was as fresh in my recollection as
though I had seen her but yesterday, and the sweetness of her looks
as she approached me--how I now tried to recall them, and feasted on
their memory as though it were a lost blessing.

Then the nameless corpse that had been washed from the wreck, how
strange it seemed, that after this lapse of time she should appear to
me in a dream, as though we had been long attached to each other, and
her affections had been through life entirely my own. Poor girl!
Perhaps even now some devoted lover mourns her loss; or hopes at no
distant date to be able to join her in the new colony, to attain
which a cruel destiny had forced her from his arms. Little does he
dream of her nameless grave under the guano. Little does he dream
that the only colony in which he is likely to join her is that
settlement in the great desert of oblivion, over which Death has
remained governor from the birth of the world.

But the most unpleasant part of the vision was the appearance of
Jackson; and it was a long time before I could bring myself to
believe that I had not beheld his well known features--that I had not
been stabbed by him, and that I was not suffering from the mortal
wound he had inflicted. I however at last shook off the delusion, and
to Mrs Reichardt's anxious inquiries replied only that I had had a
disagreeable dream.

In a short time I began to doubt whether the waking was more
pleasant than the dreaming--the vast ocean still spread itself before
me like a mighty winding sheet, the fair sky, beautiful as it
appeared in the rays of the morning sun, I could only regard as a
pall--and our little bark was the coffin in which two helpless human
beings, though still existing, were waiting interment.

"Has God abandoned us?" I asked my companion, "or has He forgotten
that two of his creatures are in the deepest peril of their lives,
from which He alone can save them?"

"Hush! Frank Henniker," exclaimed Mrs Reichardt solemnly; "this is
impious. God never abandons those who are worthy of His protection.
He will either save them at His own appointed time--or if He think it
more desirable, will snatch them from a scene where so many dangers
surround them, and place them where there prevails eternal
tranquillity, and everlasting bliss.

"We should rather rejoice," she added, with increasing seriousness,
"that we are thought worthy of being so early taken from a world in
which we have met with so many troubles."

"But to die in this way," I observed gloomily; "to be left to linger
out days of terrible torture, without a hope of relief--I cannot
reconcile myself to it."

"We must die sooner or later," she said, "and there are many
diseases which are fatal after protracted suffering of the most
agonising description. These we have been spared. The wretch who
lingers in torment, visited by some loathsome disorder, would envy
us, could he see the comparatively easy manner in which we are
suffered to leave existence.

"But I do not myself see the hopelessness of our case," she added.
"It is not yet impossible that we may be picked up by a ship, or
discover some friendly shore whence we might obtain a passage for
England."

"I see no prospect of this," said I; "we are apparently out of the
track of ships, and if it should be our chance to discover one, the
people on board are not likely to observe us. I wish I had never left
the island."

Mrs Reichardt never reproached me--never so much as reminded me that
it was my own fault. She merely added, "It was the will of God."

We ate and drank our small rations--my companion always blessing the
meal, and offering a thanksgiving for being permitted to enjoy it. I
noticed what was left. We had been extremely economical, yet there
was barely enough for another day. We determined still further to
reduce the trifling portion we allowed ourselves, that we might
increase our chance of escape.




Chapter XLVII


Five days and nights had we been drifting at the mercy of the winds
and waves; all our small stock of food had been devoured--though we
had hoarded every crumb, as the miser hoards his gold. Even the rain
water, as well as the water we had brought with us, we had drained to
the last drop.

The weather continually alternated from a dead calm to a light
breeze: the wind frequently shifted, but I had no strength left to
attend to the sail--the boat was abandoned to its own guidance, or
rather to that of the wind. When becalmed we lay still--when the
breeze sprang up we pursued our course till the sail no longer felt
its influence.

Five long days and nights--days of intolerable suffering, nights of
inexpressible horror. From sunrise to sunset I strained my eyes along
the line of the horizon, but nothing but sky and wave ever met my
gaze. When it became dark, excited by the deep anxiety I had endured
throughout the day, I could not sleep. I fancied I beheld through the
darkness monstrous forms mocking and gibbering, and high above them
all was reared the head of the enormous python I had combated in the
Happy Valley. And he opened his tremendous jaws, as though to swallow
me, and displayed fold upon fold of his immense form as if to involve
and crush the boat in its mighty involutions.

I was always glad when the day dawned, or if the night happened to
be fair and starlight; for the spectres vanished when the sun shone,
and the tranquil beauty of the stars calmed my soul.

I was famishing for want of food--but I suffered most from want of
water, for the heat during the day was tremendous, and I became so
frantic from thirst, that nothing but the exhortations of Mrs
Reichardt would have prevented me from dashing myself into the sea,
and drinking my fill of the salt water that looked so tempting and
refreshing.

My companion sought to encourage me to hope, long after all hope had
vanished--then she preached resignation to the Divine Will, and in
her own nature gave a practical commentary on her text.

I perceived that her voice was getting more and more faint--and that
she was becoming hourly more feeble. She was not able to move from
her seat, and at last asked me to assist her to lie down at the
bottom of the boat. Then I noticed that she prayed fervently, and I
could often distinguish my name in these petitions to the throne of
Grace.

I felt a strange sensation in my head, and my tongue became in my
mouth as a dry stick--from this I was relieved by chewing the sleeve
of my shirt; but my head grew worse. My eyes too were affected in a
strange manner. I continually fancied that I saw ships sailing about
at a little distance from me, and I strove to attract their attention
by calling to them. My voice was weak and I could create only a kind
of half stifled cry. Then I thought I beheld land: fair forests and
green pastures spread before me--bright flowers and refreshing fruits
grew all around--and I called to my companion to make haste for we
were running ashore and should presently be pulling the clustering
grapes and should lay ourselves down among the odorous flowers.

Mrs Reichardt opened her eyes and gazed at me with a more painful
interest. She knew I was haunted by the chimeras created by famine
and thirst; but she seemed to have lost all power of speech. She
motioned me to join her in prayer; I, however, was too much occupied
with the prospect of landing, and paid no attention to her signs.

Presently the bright landscape faded away, and I beheld nothing but
the wide expanse of water, the circle of which appeared to expand and
spread into the sky, and the sky seemed lost and broken up in the
water, and for a few minutes they were mixed together in the wildest
and strangest confusion. Subsequently to this I must have dropt
asleep, for after a while I found myself huddled up in a corner of
the boat, and must have fallen there from my seat. I stared about me
for some time, unconscious where I was. The bright sun still shone
over my head; the everlasting sea still rolled beneath my feet.

I looked to the bottom of the boat, and met the upturned gaze of my
fellow voyager--the pale face had grown paler, and the expression of
the painful eye had become less intelligent. I thought she was as I
had seen her in my dream, when she changed from her own likeness to
that of the poor drowned girl we buried in the guano.

I turned away my gaze--the sight was too painful to look upon. I
felt assured that she was dying, and that in a very short space of
time, that faithful and affectionate nature I must part from forever.

I thought I would make a last effort. Though faint and trembling,
burning with fever, and feeling deadly sick, I managed by the support
of the awning to crawl to the mast, and embracing it with one arm I
raised the glass with the other hand, and looked carefully about. My
hand was very unsteady and my eyes seemed dim. I could discern
nothing but water.

I should have sunk in despair to the bottom of the boat, had I not
been attracted at the moment by a singular appearance in the sky. A
cloud was approaching of a shape and appearance I had never observed
before. I raised the glass again, and after observing this cloud for
some time with great attention, I felt assured that what I considered
to be long lines of vapour was an immense flock of birds.

This discovery interested me--I forgot the intensity of my
sufferings in observing the motions of this apparently endless flock.
As the first file approached, I looked again, to see if I could make
out what they were. God of heaven! They were gannets.

I crawled back to my companion as rapidly as my feeble limbs would
allow, to inform her of the discovery I had made. Alas! I found that
I was unheeded. I could not believe that her fine spirit had fled;
no, she moved her hand; but the dull spiritless gaze seemed to warn
me that her dissolution was fast approaching. I looked for the spirit
flask, and found a few drops were still left there; I poured these
into her mouth, and watched the result with the deepest anxiety I had
ever known since the day of my birth.

In a few minutes I found that she breathed more regularly and
distinctly--presently her eyes lost that fixedness which had made
them so painful to look upon. Then she recognised me, and took hold
of my hand, regarding me with the sweet smile with which I was so
familiar.

As soon as I found that consciousness had returned, I told her of
the great flock of gannets that were evidently wending their way to
their customary resting place, and the hope I entertained that if
they could be kept in sight, and the wind remained in the same
quarter, the boat might be led by them to the place where they laid
their eggs.

She listened to me with attention, and evidently understood what I
said. Her lips moved, and I thought she was returning thanks to God
--accepting the flight of the birds as a manifest proof that He was
still watching over us. In a few minutes she seemed so much better
that she could sit up. I noticed her for some time watching the
gannets that now approached in one vast cloud that threatened to shut
us out from the sky--she then turned her gaze in an opposite
direction, and with a smile of exultation that lit up her wan face as
with a glory, stretched her arm out, pointing her hand to a distant
portion of the sea. My gaze quickly followed hers, and I fancied I
discovered a break in the line of the horizon; but it did not look
like a ship. I pointed the glass in that direction, and felt the
joyful assurance that we were within sight of land.

This additional discovery gave me increased strength: or rather hope
now dawning upon us, gave me an impulse I had not felt before. I in
my turn became the consoler. I encouraged Mrs Reichardt, with all the
arguments of which I was master, to think that we should soon be in
safety. She smiled, and something like animation again appeared in
her pale features.

If I could save her, I felt I should be blessed beyond measure. Such
an object was worth striving for; and I did strive. I know not how it
was that I gained strength to do what I did on that day; but I felt
that I was supported from On High, and as the speck of land that she
had first discovered gradually enlarged itself as we approached it,
my exertions to secure a speedy rescue for my companion from the jaws
of death, continued to increase.

The breeze remained fair and we scudded along at a spanking rate,
the gannets keeping us company all the way--evidently bound to the
same shore. I kept talking to Mrs Reichardt, and endeavouring to
raise her spirits with the most cheering description of what we
should do when we got ashore, for God would be sure to direct us to
some place where we might without difficulty recover our strength.

Hitherto she had not spoken, but as soon as we began to distinguish
the features of the shore we were approaching she unclosed her lips,
and again the same triumphant smile played around them.

"Frank Henniker, do you know that rock?"

"No!--yes!--can it be possible? O what a gracious Providence has
been watching over us!"

It was a rock of a remarkable shape that stood a short distance from
the fishing-pool. It could not be otherwise, the gannets had led us
to their old haunts. We were approaching our island. I looked at my
companion--she was praying. I immediately joined with her in thanks
-giving for the signal mercy that had been vouchsafed to us, and in
little more than an hour had the priceless satisfaction of carrying
her from the shore to the cottage, and then we carefully nursed
ourselves till we recovered the effects of this dreadful cruise.




Chapter XLVIII


My numerous pursuits, as I stated in a preceding chapter obliging me
to constant occupation, kept me from useless repining about my
destiny, in being obliged to live so many years on this far-distant
corner of the earth, I had long ceased to look for passing ships--I
scarcely ever thought about them, and had given up all speculations
about my grandfather's reception of me. I rarely went out to sea,
except to fish, and never cared to trouble myself about anything
beyond the limited space which had become my inheritance.

The reader, then, may judge of my surprise when, one sultry day, I
had been busily engaged for several hours cutting down a field of
wheat, Mrs Reichardt came running to me with the astounding news that
there was a ship off the island, and a boat full of people had just
left her, and were rowing towards the rocks. I hastily took the glass
she had brought with her, and as soon as I could get to a convenient
position, threw myself on the ground on the rock, and reconnoitred
through the glass the appearance of the new comers.

I soon noticed that a part were well armed, which was not the case
with the rest, for they were pinioned in such a manner that they
could scarcely move hand or foot. We concealed ourselves by lying our
lengths on the grass. As the boat approached, I could discern that
the unarmed party belonged to a superior class of men, while many of
the others had countenances that did not prepossess me at all in
their favour.

We lay hid in the long grass, from which we could command a view of
our approaching visitors.

"I think I understand this," whispered Mrs Reichardt. "There is
mischief here."

"Had I not better run home and get arms?" I asked.

"No," she replied, "you had better not. If we are able to do any
good, we must do it by stratagem. Let us watch their movements, and
act with great caution."

My companion's advice was, I saw, the wisest that could be pursued;
and therefore we remained in our hiding places, narrowly observing
our visitors as they approached. They entered the fishing-pool, and I
could then distinctly not only see but hear them. To my extreme
surprise, one of the first men who jumped out of the boat was John
Gough, who had brought Mrs Reichardt to the island. He looked older,
but I recognised him in a moment, and so did my companion. Her
admonitory "Hush!" kept me from betraying the place of our
concealment--so great was my astonishment--having long believed him
and all his lawless associates to have been lost at sea.

He was well armed, and evidently possessed some authority;
nevertheless, I thought I could detect an air of concern in his
features, as he offered to help one of the captives out of the boat.
The latter, however, regarded him with an air of disdain, and, though
his hands were tied behind him, leaped ashore without assistance. He
was a man of commanding stature, with a well bronzed face, and a look
of great energy of character. He wore a band of gold lace round his
cap, and had on duck trousers, and a blue jacket and waistcoat.

"Come, captain!" exclaimed John Gough, "I bear you no malice. Though
you have been rather hard upon us, we won't leave you to starve."

"He's a deuced deal better off than he desarves to be," cried a man
from the boat, whom I at once recognised as the fellow on whom I had
drawn my knife for hurting Nero. "If we had made him walk the plank,
as I proposed, I'm blowed if it wouldn't have been much more to the
purpose than putting him on this here island, with lots o' prog, and
everything calkilated to make him and his domineering officers
comfortable for the rest of their days."

"Hold your tongue, you mutineering rascal," exclaimed the captain
angrily. "A rope's end at the yard-arm will be your deserts before
long."

"Thank ye kindly, captain," replied the fellow, touching his hat in
mockery. "But you must be pleased to remember I ain't caught yet; and
we means to have many a jolly cruise in your ship, and get no end o'
treasure, before I shall think o' my latter end; and then I means to
die like a Christian, and repent o' my sins, and make a much more
edifying example than I should exhibit dangling at the end of a rope."

The men laughed, the captain muttered something about "pirates and
mutineers," but the rest of the officers wisely held their tongues.

I now noticed an elderly man of very respectable appearance, who was
not pinioned like the rest. His hair was quite white, his complexion
very pale, and he looked like one oppressed with deep sorrow and
anxiety. He rose from his seat in the boat, and was assisted out by
John Gough.

"I'm very sorry that we are obliged to leave you here, Mr Evelyn,"
said Gough, "but you see, sir, we have no alternative. We couldn't
keep you with us, for many reasons; and therefore we have been
obliged to make you a sharer in the fate of our officers."

"And werry painful this is to our feelings, sir, you may believe,"
said another of the mutineers mockingly. "I'm quite moloncholy as I
thinks on it."

The men again laughed; but the person so addressed walked to the
side of the captain without making any observation. The other
captives also left the boat in silence. They were eight in all, but
four of them were evidently common seamen by their dress--the others
were officers. All were well-made, strong men.

"What a precious pretty colony you'll make, my hearties!" exclaimed
one of the mutineers, jeeringly, as he helped to land a cask, and
some other packages, that they had brought with them. "It's a
thousand pities you ain't got no female associates, that you might
marry, and settle, and bring up respectable families."

"Talking of women," cried the one who had first spoken, "I wonder
what became of the one we left here so cleverly when we was wrecked
at this here place six years ago."

John Gough looked uneasy at this inquiry, as if the recollection was
not agreeable to him.

"And the Little Savage," continued the fellow, "what was agoing to
send his knife into my ribs for summat or other--I forget what. They
must have died long ago, I ain't no doubt, as we unfortnitely left
'em nothin' to live upon."

"No doubt they died hand in hand, like the Babes in the Wood," said
another.

I still observed John Gough; he seemed distressed at the turn the
conversation had taken.

"Now, mates," he said hurriedly, "let us return to the ship. We have
done what we came to do."

"I votes as we shall go and see arter the Missionary's woman and the
Little Savage," cried the fourth. "I should like, somehow, to see
whether they be living or not, and a stroll ashore won't do any on us
any harm."

"I shall remain here till you return," said John Gough; and he threw
himself on the grass with his back towards me, and only a few yards
from the place in which we were concealed. The rest, after making
fast the boat, started off on an exploring expedition, in the
direction of the old hut.




Chapter XLIX


The captives were grouped together, some sitting, and some standing.
Not one of them looked dejected at his fate; though I could see by
their movements that they were impatient of the bonds that tied them.
My attention was most frequently directed to the old gentleman who
had been addressed as Mr Evelyn. Notwithstanding the grief expressed
in his countenance, it possessed an air of benevolence and kindness
of heart that even his settled melancholy did not conceal. I could
not understand why, but I felt a deeper interest for this person than
for any of the others--a sort of yearning towards him, mingled with a
desire to protect him from the malice of his enemies.

Almost as soon as they were gone, John Gough beckoned to Mr Evelyn
to sit down by his side. Possibly this was done to prevent his
assisting his companions to regain their liberty, as he, not being
pinioned like the rest, might easily have done, and they might have
overpowered their guard before his companions could come to his
assistance. But Gough was well armed, and the rest being without
weapons of any kind, it was scarcely probable that they would have
risked their lives in so desperate an attempt.

Mr Evelyn came and quietly sat himself down in the place indicated.
I observed him with increasing interest, and singular to relate, the
more I gazed on his venerable face, the more strongly I felt assured
that I had seen it before. This of course was impossible,
nevertheless, the fancy took possession of me, and I experienced a
strange sensation of pleasure as I watched the changes his features
underwent.

"John Gough, I am sorry to see you mixed up in this miserable
business," said he, mildly addressing his companion. The other did
not answer, and as his back was turned towards me I could not observe
the effect the observation had upon him.

"The men who have left us I know to be bad men," continued the
speaker; "I expect nothing but wickedness from them. But you I am
aware have been better brought up. Your responsibility therefore
becomes the greater in assisting them in their villainy."

"You had better not let them hear you, Mr Evelyn," replied Gough, at
last, in something like a surly tone; "I would not answer for the
consequences."

"Those I do not fear," the other answered. "The results of this
transaction can make very little difference to a man on the verge of
the grave, who has outlived all his relatives, and has nothing left
to fall back upon but the memory of his misfortunes: but to one in
the prime of life like yourself, who can boast of friends and
relatives who feel an interest in your good name, these results must
be serious indeed. What must be the feelings of your respectable
father when he learns that you have joined a gang of pirates; how
intense must be the grief of your amiable mother when she hears that
you have paid the penalty that must sooner or later overtake you for
embracing so lawless a life."

"Come, Mr Evelyn," exclaimed Gough, though with a tremulousness in
his voice that betrayed the state of his feelings, "you have no right
to preach to me. I have done as much as I could for you all. The men
would have made short work with you, if I had not interposed, and
pointed out to them this uninhabited island."

"Where it seems you left a poor woman to be starved to death,"
continued Mr Evelyn.

"It was no fault of mine," replied the man; "I did all I could to
prevent it."

"It would have been more manly if you had remained with her on this
rock, and left your cowardly associates to take their selfish course.
But you are weak and irresolute, John Gough; too easily persuaded
into evil, too slow to follow the impulses of good. The murder of
that poor woman is as much your deed as if you had blown her brains
out before you abandoned her. Indeed I do not know but what the
latter would have been the less criminal."

John Gough made no answer. I do not think, however, his mind was
quite easy under this accusation, for he seemed restless, and kept
playing with his pistols, with his eyes cast down.

"Your complicity in this mutiny, too, John Gough, is equally
inexcusable," continued Mr Evelyn. "It was your duty to have stood by
Captain Manvers and his officers, by which you would have earned
their eternal gratitude, and a handsome provision from the owners of
the vessel."

"It's no use talking of these things now, Mr Evelyn," said Gough,
hurriedly. "I have taken my course. It is too late to turn back.
Would to God," he added, dashing his hand violently against his brow,
"I had had nothing to do with it."

"It is never too late, John Gough, to do good," here cried out Mrs
Reichardt, as she rose from her place of concealment, as much to my
surprise as that of all who could observe her. But nothing could
equal the astonishment of Gough when he first caught sight of her
features;--he sprang to his feet, leaving his pistols on the ground,
and clasping his hands together, exclaimed, "Thank God, she is safe!"

"Yes," she replied, approaching him and taking his hand kindly. "By
an interposition of Providence, you are saved from the guilt of one
murder. In the name of that God who has so signally preserved you
against yourself, I command you to abandon your present wicked
designs."

The man hesitated, but it seemed as if he could not take his gaze
from her face, and it was evident that her presence exerted an
extraordinary influence over him. In the meantime I had made my
appearance on the scene, not less to the astonishment of the lookers-on;
and my first act was to take possession of the pair of pistols
that Gough had left on the ground; my next to hurry to the group of
captives, who had been regarding us, in a state as it were of perfect
bewilderment, and with my American knife to cut their bonds.

"I will do whatever you think proper," said John Gough. "Believe me
I have been reluctantly led into this, and joined the mutiny knowing
that I should have been murdered if I did not."

"You must endeavour to make what amends are in your power,"
continued Mrs Reichardt, "by assisting your officers in recovering
possession of the ship."

"I will gladly assist in whatever they may think feasible," said the
man. "But we must first secure the desperate fellows who have just
left us, and as we are but poorly provided with weapons, that of
itself will be a service of no slight danger. To get possession of
the ship I am afraid will be still more hazardous; but you shall find
me in the front of every danger."

Here Captain Manvers and the others came up to where John Gough and
Mrs Reichardt were conversing; he heard Gough's last speech, and he
was going to say something, when I interposed by stating that there
was no time now for explanations, for in a few minutes the fellows
who had gone to the hut would return, and the only way to prepare for
them was for the whole party to go to our house, to which Mrs
Reichardt would lead them, where they would find plenty of arms and
ammunition. In the meantime I would keep watch, and observe their
motions, and by firing one of the pistols would signal to them if I
was in any danger. Lastly, I recommended that the oars should be
removed from the boat, to prevent the mutineers making their escape
to the ship.

My appearance and discourse attracted general attention. I
particularly noticed that Mr Evelyn started as soon as he caught
sight of me, and appeared to observe me with singular carefulness;
but that, no doubt, arose from my unexpected address, and the strange
way in which I had presented myself before him.

The Captain approving of my proposal, the whole party, after taking
away the boat's oars, moved off rapidly in the direction of the
house. I again concealed myself in the grass, and waited the return
of the mutineers. They did not remain away long. I could hear them
approaching, for they laughed and shouted as they went along loud
enough to be heard at a considerable distance. When they began to
descend the rocks, they passed so close to me, that I could hear
every word that was spoken.

"Well, flesh is grass, as the parson says," said Jack; "they must
have died sooner or later, if we hadn't parted company with so little
ceremony. But, hallo! my eyes and limbs! Where's John Gough? Where's
the captain? Where's all on 'em?"

It is impossible to express the astonishment of the men on reaching
the spot where they had so lately left their prisoners, and
discovering that not a trace of them was to be seen. At first they
imagined that they had escaped in the boat, but as soon as they saw
that the boat was safe, they gave up that idea. Then they fancied
John Gough had taken the prisoners to stroll a little distance
inland, and they began to shout as loud as their lungs would permit
them. Receiving no response, they uttered many strange ejaculations,
which I could not then understand, but which I have since learned
were profane oaths; and seemed at a loss what to do, whether to
wander about the island in search of them, or return to their ship.

Only one chanced to be for the former, and the others overruled him,
not thinking it was worth their while to take so much trouble as to
go rambling about in a strange place. They seemed bent on taking to
the boat, when one of them suggested they might get into a scrape if
they returned without their companion. They finally resolved on
sitting down and waiting his return.

Presently, one complained he was very sleepy, as he had been too
busy mutineering to turn into his hammock the previous night, and the
others acknowledged they also felt an equal want of rest from the
same cause. Each began to yawn. They laid themselves at their full
length along the grass, and in a short time I could hear by their
snoring, as Jackson used to do, that they were asleep.

I now crept stealthily towards them on my hands and knees, and they
were in such a profound sleep, that I had no difficulty whatever in
removing the pistols from their belts. I had just succeeded in this,
when I beheld the captain, and John Gough, and Mr Evelyn, and all the
rest of them, well armed with guns and pistols, approaching the place
where we were.

In a few minutes afterwards the mutineers were made prisoners,
without their having an opportunity of making the slightest
resistance. I was much complimented by the captain for the dexterity
with which I had disarmed them; but while I was in conversation with
him, it is impossible to express the surprise I felt, on seeing Mr
Evelyn suddenly rush towards me from the side of Mrs Reichardt, with
whom he had been talking, and, embracing me with the most moving
demonstrations of affection, claim me as his grandson.

The mystery was soon explained. Mr Evelyn had met so many losses in
business as a merchant, that he took the opportunity of a son of his
old clerk--who had become a captain of a fine ship, employed in the
South American trade--being about to proceed on a trading voyage to
that part of the world, to sail in his vessel with a consignment of
goods for the South American market. He had also another object,
which was to inquire after the fate of his long-lost daughter and
son-in-law, of whom he had received no certain intelligence, since
the latter took ship with the diamonds he had purchased to return home.
The vessel in which they sailed had never been heard of since; and Mr
Evelyn had long given up all hopes of seeing either of them again, or
the valuable property with which they had been entrusted.

On their going to the house, he had asked Mrs Reichardt my name,
stating that I so strongly resembled a very dear friend of his, he
believed had perished many years ago, that he felt quite an interest
in me. The answer he received led to a series of the most earnest
inquiries, and Mrs Reichardt satisfied him on every point, showed him
all the property that had formerly been in the possession of Mrs
Henniker and her husband: related Jackson's story, and convinced him,
that though he had lost the daughter for whom he had mourned so long,
her representative existed in the Little Savage, who was saving him
from the fate for which he had been preserved by the mutineers.

I have only to add, that I had the happiness of restoring to my
grandfather the diamonds I had obtained from Jackson, which were no
doubt very welcome to him, for they not only restored him to
affluence, but made him one of the richest merchants upon Change.

I was also instrumental in obtaining for the captain the command of
his ship, and of restoring discipline amongst the crew. The
ringleaders of the mutiny were thrown into irons, and taken home for
trial; this resulted in one or two of them being hanged by way of
example, and these happened to be the men who so barbarously deserted
Mrs Reichardt. She accompanied me to England in Captain Manvers's
vessel, for when he heard of the obligations I owed her, my
grandfather decided that she should remain with us as long as she
lived. We however did not leave the island until we had shown my
grandfather, the captain, and his officers, what we had effected
during our stay, and every one was surprised that we could have
produced a flourishing farm upon a barren rock. I did not fail to
show the places where I had had my fight with the python, and where I
had been pursued by the sharks, and my narrative of both incidents
seemed to astonish my hearers exceedingly.

I must not forget to add, that the day before our departure, John
Gough came to me privately, and requested my good offices with the
captain, that he might be left on the island. He had become a very
different character to what he had previously been; and as there
could be no question that the repentance he assumed was sincere, I
said all I could for him. My recommendation was successful, and I
transferred to John Gough all my farm, farming stock, and
agricultural implements; moreover, promised to send him whatever he
might further require to make his position comfortable. He expressed
great gratitude, but desired nothing; only that his family might know
that he was well off, and was not likely to return.

Perhaps John Gough did not like the risk he ran of being tried for
mutiny, or was averse to sailing with his former comrades; but
whatever was the cause of his resolution, it is certain that he
remained behind when the ship left the island, and may be there to
this hour for all I know to the contrary.

We made a quick voyage to England, and as my readers will no doubt
be glad to hear, the Little Savage landed safely at Plymouth, and was
soon cordially welcomed to his grandfather's house in London.


THE END.





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