Chapter Tames Goats - pg from "I cannot say that after this, for five years, any extraordinary thing happened to me," to "where I saw nothing at first but to perish for hunger! Finds Print of Man's Foot On Sand - pg from "It would have made a Stoic smile to have seen me and my little family sit down to dinner. A Cave Retreat - pg from "While this was doing, I was not altogether careless of my other affairs; for I had a great concern upon me" to "than to drag him out; so I interred him there, to prevent offence to my nose.
Wreck of a Spanish Ship - pg from "I was now in the twenty-third year of my residence in this island, and was so naturalised" to "England, it might lie here safe enough till I come again and fetch it. A Dream Realised - pg from "Having now brought all my things on shore and secured them, I went back to my boat" to "I cared not if I was never to remove from the place where I lived.
Friday's Education - pg from "After I had been two or three days returned to my castle, I thought that, in order to bring Friday off from his horrid" to "would carry "much enough vittle, drink, bread;" this was his way of talking. Rescue of Prisoners from Cannibals - pg from "Upon the whole, I was by this time so fixed upon my design of going over with him to the continent" to "I would have ventured upon a hundred of them, fairly in the open field, at any time.
Visit of Mutineers - pg from "In a little time, however, no more canoes appearing, the fear of their coming wore off;" to "and call upon our friends the Spaniards in my way, for I had them still in my thoughts. The Ship Recovered - pg from "While we were thus preparing our designs, and had first, by main strength, heaved the boat upon the beach" to "and bade them be sure to sow and increase them.
Return to England - pg from "Having done all this I left them the next day, and went on board the ship. We prepared immediately to sail," to "we did not presently discern what kind of creature it was he had killed.
Fight Between Friday and a Bear - pg from "But never was a fight managed so hardily, and in such a surprising manner as that which followed between Friday" to "All these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own, for ten years more I may, perhaps, give a further account of hereafter.
If you're using the Project Gutenberg etext, disregard the page numbers, but the chapters and text will be the same. Robinson Crusoe, the narrator of the story, tells us that he was born in in the city of York, England.
His father, a German immigrant, married a woman whose name was Robinson, and his real name was Robinson Kreutznaer, but due to the natural corruption of languages, the family now writes their name "Crusoe. When Robinson Crusoe first had an urge to go to sea, his father lectured him upon the importance of staying home and being content with his "middle station" in life.
His father maintained that the "middle station had the fewest disasters and was not exposed to so many vicissitudes as the higher or lower part of mankind.
He tried to enlist the aid of his mother, pointing out that he was now eighteen years old and if he did not like the sea, he could work diligently and make up for the time he might lose while at sea.
She refused to help him, even though she did report his strong feelings to her husband. When Robinson was nineteen, on the first of September, in , he joined a friend on a ship bound for London, without consulting either his father or mother. Almost immediately, "the wind began to blow, and the sea to rise in a most frightful manner.
He was so frightened that he made the promise: "If it would please God here to spare my life in this one voyage, if ever I got once my foot upon dry land again, I would go directly home to my father, and never set it into a ship again while I lived.
As they neared a place called Yarmouth Roads, the winds ceased to blow and thus they were stilled for eight days, and when the winds did begin to blow, the ship immediately encountered a storm much more violent than the earlier one. Even the most experienced sailors were down on their knees praying. The storm continued with such fury that the seamen acknowledged that they had never known a worse one.
When the boat sprung a leak, Robinson was ordered below to help pump the water. Here we were obliged to come to an anchor, and here we lay, the wind continuing contrary - viz. We had not, however, rid here so long but we should have tided it up the river, but that the wind blew too fresh, and after we had lain four or five days, blew very hard. However, the Roads being reckoned as good as a harbour, the anchorage good, and our ground- tackle very strong, our men were unconcerned, and not in the least apprehensive of danger, but spent the time in rest and mirth, after the manner of the sea; but the eighth day, in the morning, the wind increased, and we had all hands at work to strike our topmasts, and make everything snug and close, that the ship might ride as easy as possible.
By noon the sea went very high indeed, and our ship rode forecastle in, shipped several seas, and we thought once or twice our anchor had come home; upon which our master ordered out the sheet-anchor, so that we rode with two anchors ahead, and the cables veered out to the bitter end. By this time it blew a terrible storm indeed; and now I began to see terror and amazement in the faces even of the seamen themselves.
The master, though vigilant in the business of preserving the ship, yet as he went in and out of his cabin by me, I could hear him softly to himself say, several times, "Lord be merciful to us!
During these first hurries I was stupid, lying still in my cabin, which was in the steerage, and cannot describe my temper: I could ill resume the first penitence which I had so apparently trampled upon and hardened myself against: I thought the bitterness of death had been past, and that this would be nothing like the first; but when the master himself came by me, as I said just now, and said we should be all lost, I was dreadfully frighted.
I got up out of my cabin and looked out; but such a dismal sight I never saw: the sea ran mountains high, and broke upon us every three or four minutes; when I could look about, I could see nothing but distress round us; two ships that rode near us, we found, had cut their masts by the board, being deep laden; and our men cried out that a ship which rode about a mile ahead of us was foundered.
Two more ships, being driven from their anchors, were run out of the Roads to sea, at all adventures, and that with not a mast standing. The light ships fared the best, as not so much labouring in the sea; but two or three of them drove, and came close by us, running away with only their spritsail out before the wind.
Towards evening the mate and boatswain begged the master of our ship to let them cut away the fore-mast, which he was very unwilling to do; but the boatswain protesting to him that if he did not the ship would founder, he consented; and when they had cut away the fore-mast, the main-mast stood so loose, and shook the ship so much, they were obliged to cut that away also, and make a clear deck.
Any one may judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who was but a young sailor, and who had been in such a fright before at but a little. But if I can express at this distance the thoughts I had about me at that time, I was in tenfold more horror of mind upon account of my former convictions, and the having returned from them to the resolutions I had wickedly taken at first, than I was at death itself; and these, added to the terror of the storm, put me into such a condition that I can by no words describe it.
But the worst was not come yet; the storm continued with such fury that the seamen themselves acknowledged they had never seen a worse. We had a good ship, but she was deep laden, and wallowed in the sea, so that the seamen every now and then cried out she would founder. It was my advantage in one respect, that I did not know what they meant by founder till I inquired.
However, the storm was so violent that I saw, what is not often seen, the master, the boatswain, and some others more sensible than the rest, at their prayers, and expecting every moment when the ship would go to the bottom.
In the middle of the night, and under all the rest of our distresses, one of the men that had been down to see cried out we had sprung a leak; another said there was four feet water in the hold. Then all hands were called to the pump. At that word, my heart, as I thought, died within me: and I fell backwards upon the side of my bed where I sat, into the cabin.
However, the men roused me, and told me that I, that was able to do nothing before, was as well able to pump as another; at which I stirred up and went to the pump, and worked very heartily.
While this was doing the master, seeing some light colliers, who, not able to ride out the storm were obliged to slip and run away to sea, and would come near us, ordered to fire a gun as a signal of distress. I, who knew nothing what they meant, thought the ship had broken, or some dreadful thing happened.
In a word, I was so surprised that I fell down in a swoon. As this was a time when everybody had his own life to think of, nobody minded me, or what was become of me; but another man stepped up to the pump, and thrusting me aside with his foot, let me lie, thinking I had been dead; and it was a great while before I came to myself.
We worked on; but the water increasing in the hold, it was apparent that the ship would founder; and though the storm began to abate a little, yet it was not possible she could swim till we might run into any port; so the master continued firing guns for help; and a light ship, who had rid it out just ahead of us, ventured a boat out to help us.
It was with the utmost hazard the boat came near us; but it was impossible for us to get on board, or for the boat to lie near the ship's side, till at last the men rowing very heartily, and venturing their lives to save ours, our men cast them a rope over the stern with a buoy to it, and then veered it out a great length, which they, after much labour and hazard, took hold of, and we hauled them close under our stern, and got all into their boat.
It was to no purpose for them or us, after we were in the boat, to think of reaching their own ship; so all agreed to let her drive, and only to pull her in towards shore as much as we could; and our master promised them, that if the boat was staved upon shore, he would make it good to their master: so partly rowing and partly driving, our boat went away to the northward, sloping towards the shore almost as far as Winterton Ness.
0コメント