Текст книги "Робинзон Крузо / Robinson Crusoe"

This was game indeed to us, but this was no food; and I was very sorry to lose three charges of powder and shot upon a creature that was good for nothing to us. Xury and I took the skin off the lion, for I thought it might be of some value.

We sailed along the coast for ten or twelve days. I sailed near the shore because we needed a lot of water to drink and also in the reason, that I hoped that we would meet a European trading ship and be saved, but we did not meet one.

When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer, as I have said, I began to see that the land was inhabited; and in two or three places, as we sailed by, we saw people stand upon the shore to look at us; we could also perceive that their skin was black, and they were naked. Once I thought of going ashore to meet them, but Xury advised against it. I hauled in nearer the shore that I might talk to them, and I found they ran along the shore by me a good way. I observed they had no weapons in their hand, except one, who had a long slender stick[87]87
  slender stick – тонкая палка


[Закрыть], which Xury said was a lance[88]88
  lance – копье


[Закрыть], and that they could throw them a great way with good aim[89]89
  with good aim – очень метко


[Закрыть]; so I kept at a distance, but talked with them by signs as well as I could and particularly made signs for something to eat. They beckoned[90]90
  to beckon – подавать знаки, сигналы


[Закрыть] me to stop my ship, and they would fetch me some meat. They brought meat and grain and left it on the beach for us. I made signs to thank them but had nothing to give them in payment.

However, we soon had the chance to do them a great service. Just as we reached our boat, a leopard came running down from the mountain towards the beach. I shot it dead. The Negroes were amazed and terrified by the sound of my gun. When they saw that the leopard was dead, they approached him. They wished to eat the flesh of this animal. I made signs to tell them that they could have him and they began cutting him up. They cut off his skin and gave it to us.

I was now furnished with roots and corn, such as it was, and water; and leaving my friendly negroes, I made forward for about eleven days more.

One day, I stepped into the cabin and sat down, Xury having the helm; when, all of a sudden, the boy cried out, “Master, master, a ship with a sail!” and the foolish boy was frighted out of his wits, thinking it must be some of his master’s ships sent to pursue us, but I knew we were far enough out of their reach. I jumped out of the cabin, and immediately saw, not only the ship, but that it was a Portuguese ship; and, as I thought, was bound to the coast of Guinea, for negroes. But, when I observed the course she steered, I was soon convinced they were bound some other way, and did not design to come any nearer to the shore; upon which I stretched out to sea as much as I could, resolving to speak with them if possible.

With all the sail I could make, I found I should not be able to come in their way, but that they would be gone by before I could make any signal to them: but after I had crowded to the utmost, and began to despair, they, it seems, saw by the help of their glasses that it was some European ship, that was lost; so they shortened sail to let me come up. I was encouraged with this, and as I had my patron’s ancient on board, I made a waft of it to them, for a signal of distress, and fired a gun, both which they saw; for they told me they saw the smoke, though they did not hear the gun. Upon these signals they very kindly brought to, and lay by for me; and in about three hours time I came up with them.

They asked me what I was, in Portuguese, and in Spanish, and in French, but I understood none of them; but at last a Scotch sailor, who was on board, called to me: and I answered him, and told him I was an Englishman, that I had made my escape out of slavery from the Moors, at Sallee; they then bade me come on board, and very kindly took me in, and all my goods.

It was an inexpressible joy to me, which any one will believe, that I was thus delivered, as I esteemed it, from such a miserable and almost hopeless condition as I was in; and I immediately offered all I had to the captain of the ship, as a return for my deliverance; but he generously told me he would take nothing from me, but that all I had should be delivered safe to me when I came to the Brazils. “For,” says he, “I have saved your life on no other terms than I would be glad to be saved myself: and it may, one time or other, be my lot to be taken up in the same condition.” He said that my property would be returned to me when we arrived. He offered to buy my boat from me. He paid me eighty pieces of eight, this is a kind of silver coins[91]91
  silver coins – серебряные монеты


[Закрыть], two pieces of eight could buy a horse, so eighty pieces was a real treasure for me! He also offered me sixty pieces of eight for Xury, but I didn’t want to sell him. Xury had helped me to escape from slavery, so I didn’t want him to become a poor slave again. However, the captain offered to set Xury free in ten years, if he became a Christian. The boy said he was willing to go with captain, so I let the master have him.

We had a very good voyage to the Brazils, and I arrived in the Bay de Todos los Santos, or All Saints’ Bay, in about twenty-two days after. And now I was once more delivered from the most miserable of all conditions of life; and what to do next with myself I was to consider.

The generous treatment[92]92
  The generous treatment – Щедрое вознаграждение


[Закрыть] the captain gave me I can never enough remember: he would take nothing of me for my passage, gave me twenty ducats for the leopard’s skin, and forty for the lion’s skin, which I had in my boat, and caused everything I had in the ship to be punctually delivered to me; and what I was willing to sell he bought of me, such as the case of bottles, two of my guns, and a piece of the lump of beeswax – for I had made candles of the rest: in a word, I made about two hundred and twenty pieces of eight of all my cargo[93]93
  cargo – груз


[Закрыть]; and with this stock I went on shore in the Brazils.

I had not been long here before I was recommended to the house of a good honest man like himself, who had an ingenio, as they call it (that is, a plantation and a sugar-house). I lived with him some time, and acquainted myself[94]94
  acquainted myself – ознакомился


[Закрыть] by that means with the manner of planting and making of sugar; and seeing how well the planters lived, and how they got rich suddenly, I resolved, if I could get a licence to settle there[95]95
  licence to settle – разрешение на проживание


[Закрыть], I would turn planter among them: resolving in the meantime to find out some way to get my money, which I had left in London, remitted to me. To this purpose, getting a kind of letter of naturalisation[96]96
  getting a kind of letter of naturalisation – получив документ, подтверждающий мое новое гражданство


[Закрыть], I purchased as much land that was uncured as my money would reach, and formed a plan for my plantation and settlement; such as one as might be suitable to the stock which I proposed to myself to receive from England.

I had a neighbour, a Portuguese, of Lisbon, but born of English parents, whose name was Wells, and in much such circumstances[97]97
  circumstances – зд. материальное положение


[Закрыть] as I was. I call him my neighbour, because his plantation lay next to mine, and we went on very sociably together. My stock[98]98
  stock – запасы, сырье


[Закрыть] was but low, as well as his; and we rather planted for food than anything else, for about two years. However, we began to increase, and our land began to come into order; so that the third year we planted some tobacco, and made each of us a large piece of ground ready for planting canes in the year to come. But we both wanted help; and now I found, more than before, I had done wrong in parting with my boy Xury.

Chapter 3
Wrecked on a Desert Island

I was not happy in my new life. This was the middle state of which my father had spoken. I often said to myself, that I could have done this at home, instead of coming about five thousand miles to do it among strangers and savages. I had nobody to converse with, but now and then this neighbour; no work to be done, but by the labour of my hands; and I used to say, I lived just like a man cast away upon some desolate island[99]99
  like a man cast away upon some desolate island – как человек, выброшенный на необитаемый остров


[Закрыть], that had nobody there but himself. I thought I was like a man stranded alone upon an island. Never compare your situation to a worse one! God may place you in the worse situation, so that you long for your old life! I say, God decided to leave me on an island, where I really was alone! If I had been content to stay as I was, I would have been rich and happy. By leaving me on an island, God made me understand this.

My new friend, the captain of the Portuguese ship advised me to send for some money, that I had left in London, as you remember, for safekeeping to the widow of my deceased friend, captain of an English ship. I wrote the widow a letter, asking to send me only the half of my money, about 100 pounds. My new friend advised her to send me the money in the form of English goods. When they arrived, I thought that my fortune was made. I sold the goods at a great profit[100]100
  profit – выгода


[Закрыть] for about four hundred pounds. As soon as I got this money, I bought myself a Negro slave.

I went on the next year with great success in my plantation: I raised fifty great rolls of tobacco on my own ground, more than I had disposed of for necessaries among my neighbours; and these fifty rolls, being each of above a hundredweight. And now increasing in business and wealth, my head began to be full of projects and undertakings beyond my reach.

After four years, I had learnt the language and made some friends among my fellow planters. I had not only learned the language, but had contracted acquaintance[101]101
  contracted acquaintance – закрепил знакомство


[Закрыть] and friendship among my fellow-planters, as well as among the merchants at St. Salvador, which was our port. I told them of the trade in Negro Slaves on the African coast, known as Guinea and that, in my discourses among them, I had frequently given them an account of my two voyages: the manner of trading with the negroes there, and how easy it was to purchase[102]102
  to purchase – покупать


[Закрыть] upon the coast for trifles – such as beads[103]103
  beads – бисер, четки


[Закрыть], toys, knives, scissors, hatchets, bits of glass, and the like – not only gold-dust, Guinea grains, elephants’ teeth, but negroes, for the service of the Brazils, in great numbers. They always listened very attentively to my discourses on these heads, but especially to that part which related to the buying of negroes.

It happened, being in company with some merchants and planters, and talking of those things very earnestly, three of them came to me next morning, and told me they came to make a secret proposal to me; and, after enjoining me to secrecy[104]104
  after enjoining me to secrecy – попросив меня держать в тайне наш разговор


[Закрыть], they told me that they had a mind to fit out a ship to go to Guinea; that they had all plantations as well as I, and were straitened for nothing so much as servants; they desired to make one voyage, to bring the negroes on shore privately, and divide them among their own plantations; and, in a word, the question was whether I would go with them in the ship, to manage the trading part upon the coast of Guinea; and they offered me that I should have my equal share of the negroes, without spending any money.[105]105
  В то время торговля невольниками была ограничена, для нее требовалось так называемое assiento – разрешение от испанского или португальского короля, поэтому негры-невольники были редки и чрезвычайно дороги.


[Закрыть] So, I agreed to go. In short, I took all possible caution to preserve my effects and to keep up my plantation.

I went aboard the ship and sailed to Guinea, on the 1st September 1659, exactly eight years after my first voyage from Hull, when our board was shipwrecked. We sailed up the coast to Cape St Augustino, when we lost sight of land. Our ship was about one hundred and twenty tons burden[106]106
  hundred and twenty tons burden – сто двадцать тонн груза


[Закрыть], carried six guns and fourteen men, besides the master, his boy, and myself. We had on board no large cargo of goods, except of such toys as were fit for our trade with the negroes.

In the course, we passed the line in about twelve days’ time, and were, by our last observation, in seven degrees twenty-two minutes northern latitude, when a violent tornado, or hurricane[107]107
  hurricane – тропический циклон


[Закрыть], took us quite out of our knowledge. It began from the southeast, came about to the north-west, and then settled in the north-east; from whence it blew in such a terrible manner, that for twelve days together we could do nothing but drive, and, scudding away[108]108
  scudding away – уносимые ветром (scud – идти под ветром)


[Закрыть] before it, let it carry us whither, and, during these twelve days, I need not say that I expected every day to be swallowed up; nor, indeed, did any in the ship expect to save their lives.

We could understand, that this terrible storm blew us far away from the trading routes. We couldn’t observe neither latitude, nor longitude; we understood, if we came to land, we would probably be eaten by savages.

In this distress, the wind still blowing very hard, one of our men early in the morning cried out, “Land!” and we had no sooner run out of the cabin to look out, in hopes of seeing whereabouts in the world we were, we knew nothing where we were, or upon what land it was we were driven – whether an island or the main[109]109
  an island or the main – остров или материк


[Закрыть], whether inhabited or not inhabited. Then the ship struck upon a sand, and in a moment her motion being so stopped, the sea broke over her in such a manner that we expected we should all have perished immediately; and we were immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the very foam and spray[110]110
  to shelter us from the very foam and spray – найти убежище от пены и брызг


[Закрыть] of the sea. As the rage of the wind was still great, though rather less than at first, we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold many minutes without breaking into pieces.

We could not move the ship off the sand. We climbed into a boat and left the ship. We rowed through that wild water towards the land, knowing that we were rowing towards our greatest danger. What the shore was, whether rock or sand, whether steep or shoal[111]111
  steep or shoal – обрыв, отвесный берег или мелководье, мель


[Закрыть], we knew not. The only hope that could rationally give us the least shadow of expectation was, if we might find some bay or gulf, or the mouth of some river, where by great chance we might have run our boat in, or got under the lee of the land, and perhaps made smooth water.

After we had rowed, or rather driven about a league and a half, a raging wave, mountain-like, came rolling astern of us. This one separating us as well from the boat as from one another, gave us no time to say, “O God!” for we were all swallowed up in a moment.

Though I was a good swimmer, I could not get my breath in this stormy sea. The wave that came upon me again buried me at once twenty or thirty feet deep in its own body, and I could feel myself being carried with a mighty force and swiftness[112]112
  mighty force and swiftness – могучая сила и быстрота


[Закрыть] towards the shore – a very great way; but I held my breath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all my might. I was ready to burst with holding my breath, when, as I felt myself rising up, to my immediate relief, I found my head and hands shoot out above the surface of the water; and though it was not two seconds of time that I could keep myself so yet it relieved me greatly, gave me breath, and new courage.

I felt the earth under my feet. I run towards the shore, but twice more the waves came over me. The last time nearly killed me. The sea threw me hard against a rock. I held on to the rock as the next wave broke over me. When the wave withdrew[113]113
  withdrew – отхлынуть


[Закрыть], I ran to the beach, climbed over the rocks, and lay down on the grass.

Chapter 4
First Weeks on the Island

I was now landed and safe on shore, and began to look up and thank God that my life was saved. I believe it is impossible to express, to the life, what the transports of the soul are, when it is so saved. I can’t describe the joy of myself, who has just escaped death.

I walked about on the shore lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I may say, wrapped up in a contemplation of my deliverance; making a thousand gestures and motions, which I cannot describe; reflecting upon all my comrades that were drowned, and that there should not be one soul saved but myself; for, as for them, I never saw them afterwards, or any sign of them, except three of their hats, one cap, and two shoes that were not fellows.

I cast my eye to the ship, when, the breach and froth of the sea being so big[114]114
  the breach and froth of the sea being so big – море волнами и пеной вздымалось очень высоко


[Закрыть], I could hardly see it, it lay so far of; and considered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on shore

I began to look round me, to see what kind of place I was in, and what was next to be done; and I soon found my comforts abate, and that, in a word, I had a dreadful deliverance; for I was wet, had no clothes, nor anything either to eat or drink to comfort me; neither did I see any prospect before me but that of perishing with hunger[115]115
  perishing with hunger – умирающий от голода


[Закрыть] or being eaten by wild beasts. Moreover, I had no gun with which to hunt for food or defend myself. In a word, I had nothing about me but a knife, a tobacco-pipe, and a little tobacco in a box. This was all my provisions; and this threw me into such terrible agonies of mind, that for a while I ran about like a madman.

Night coming upon me, I began with a heavy heart to consider what would be if there were any wild beasts in that country, as at night they always come ashore.

I walked about a furlong from the shore, to see if I could find any fresh water to drink, which I did, to my great joy; and having drank, I put a little tobacco into my mouth to prevent hunger. I considered to get up into a thick bushy tree like a fir, but thorny, which grew near me, and where I resolved to sit all night, and consider the next day what death I should die, for as yet I saw no prospect of life.

I went to the tree, and getting up into it, tried to place myself so that if I should sleep I might not fall. I fell fast asleep, and slept as comfortably as, I believe, few could have done in my condition, and found myself more refreshed with it than, I think, I ever was on such an occasion.

When I awoke, the sun was shining. The waves had moved the ship closer to the shore during the night. I realized that if we had stayed on board that terrible day, we would all have survived the storm. This thoughts made the tears run down my face. The ship was being within about a mile from the shore where I was, and it seeming to stand upright still, I wished myself on board, that at least I might save some necessary things for my use.

When I came down from my apartment in the tree, I looked about me again, and the first thing I found was the boat, which lay, as the wind and the sea had tossed her up, upon the land, about two miles on my right hand. I walked as far as I could upon the shore till I got her. I resolved, if possible, to get to the ship by this boat.

A little after noon I found the sea very calm, so I sat into the boat, and went into the sea, in a strong wish of reaching the board of the ship.

But when I came to the ship my difficulty was to know how to get on board; for, as she lay aground, and high out of the water, there was nothing within my reach to lay hold of. I swam round her twice, and the second time I spied a small piece of rope, which I wondered I did not see at first, hung down by the fore-chains so low, as that with great difficulty I got hold of it, and by the help of that rope I got up into the forecastle[116]116
  forecastle – носовой кубрик, бак


[Закрыть] of the ship.

Here I found that the ship was bulged[117]117
  was bulged – был поврежден, деформирован


[Закрыть], and had a great deal of water in her hold, but that she lay so on the side of a bank of hard sand, or, rather earth, that her stern lay lifted up upon the bank, and her head low, almost to the water. By this means all her quarter was free, and all that was in that part was dry; for you may be sure my first work was to search, and to see what was spoiled[118]118
  was spoiled – было испорчено водой


[Закрыть] and what was free. And, first, I found that all the ship’s provisions were dry and untouched by the water, and being very well disposed to eat, I went to the bread room and filled my pockets with biscuit, and ate it as I went about other things, for I had no time to lose. I also found some rum in the great cabin, of which I took a large dram, and which I had, indeed, need enough of to spirit me for what was before me.

I first laid all the planks or boards upon it that I could get, and having considered well what I most wanted, I got three of the seamen’s chests, which I had broken open, and emptied, and lowered them into my boat; the first of these I filled with provisions – bread, rice, three Dutch cheeses, five pieces of dried goat’s flesh (which we lived much upon).

I found enough of clothes on board, but took no more than I wanted for present use, for I had others things which my eye was more upon – as, first, tools to work with on shore. And it was after long searching that I found out the carpenter’s chest[119]119
  carpenter’s chest – ящик плотника


[Закрыть], which was, indeed, a very useful prize to me. I got it down to my boat, whole as it was, without losing time to look into it, for I knew in general what it contained.

My next care was for some ammunition and arms. There were two very good fowling-pieces[120]120
  fowling-pieces – дробовики


[Закрыть] in the great cabin, and two pistols. These I secured first, with some powder-horns and a small bag of shot, and two old rusty swords. I knew there were three barrels of powder in the ship, but knew not where our gunner had stowed them; but with much search I found them, two of them dry and good, the third had taken water. Those two I got to my raft with the arms. And now I thought myself pretty well freighted, and began to think how I should get to shore with them.

I got into the boat, full over with all the goods, clothes, ammunition and arms and returned to the shore, by puddles. A short distance from where I had landed the night before, I saw a river. I landed the boat a little way up the river and got all my goods on shore.

My next work was to view the country, and seek a proper place for my habitation, and where to stow my goods to secure them from whatever might happen. Where I was, I yet knew not; whether on the continent or on an island; whether inhabited or not inhabited; whether in danger of wild beasts or not. There was a hill not above a mile from me, which rose up very steep and high, and which seemed to overtop some other hills, which lay as in a ridge from it northward. I took out one of the fowling-pieces, and one of the pistols, and a horn of powder; and thus armed, I travelled for discovery up to the top of that hill, where, after I had with great labour and difficulty got to the top, I found that I was in an island environed every way with the sea: no land to be seen except some rocks, which lay a great way off; and two small islands, less than this, which lay about three leagues to the west.

I found also that the island I was in was barren, and, as I saw good reason to believe, uninhabited except by wild beasts, of whom, however, I saw none. Yet I saw abundance of fowls, but knew not their kinds; neither when I killed them could I tell what was fit for food, and what not. At my coming back, I shot at a great bird which I saw sitting upon a tree on the side of a great wood. I believe it was the first gun that had been fired there since the creation of the world. I had no sooner fired, than from all parts of the wood there arose an innumerable number of fowls, of many sorts, making a confused screaming and crying, and every one according to his usual note, but not one of them of any kind that I knew. As for the creature I killed, I took it to be a kind of hawk, its colour and beak resembling it, but it had no talons or claws more than common. Its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing. Contented with this discovery, I came back to my raft, and fell to work to bring my cargo on shore, which took me up the rest of that day. What to do with myself at night I knew not, nor indeed where to rest, for I was afraid to lie down on the ground, not knowing but some wild beast might devour me, though, as I afterwards found, there was really no need for those fears.

However, as well as I could, I barricaded myself round with the chest and boards that I had brought on shore, and made a kind of hut for that night’s lodging.

Next day I began aboard the ship with the canvas. Cutting the great piece of canvas into smaller sailclothes parts, such as I could move, I got two big linen on shore, with all the ironwork I could get. I thought I had rummaged the cabin so effectually that nothing more could be found, however, one day I discovered a locker with drawers in it, in one of which I found two or three razors, and one pair of large scissors, with some ten or a dozen of good knives and forks.

During the next thirteen days I had been eleven times on board the ship. I think that if the weather had remained calm I would have brought the whole ship away piece by piece. Every day I went aboard the ship and brought a lot of good things to the shore. Finally, there was nothing more to take out of the ship. And I began to take pieces of the ship itself. I carried to the shore everything I could: such as pieces of iron, rope, nail.

I had been now thirteen days on shore, working all the day very hard. The most part of the day I spent in the sea, aboard the ship, or ashore, trying to pack all the goods and to system them. To protect all the things, especially ammunition and arms (all the powder I had) from the water, I built something like tent or hovel, with the biggest pieces of linen and some tarpaulin.

My thoughts were now wholly employed about securing myself against either savages, if any should appear, or wild beasts, if any were on the island; and I had many thoughts of the method how to do this, and what kind of dwelling to make – whether I should make me a cave in the earth, or a tent upon the earth; and, in short, I resolved upon both.

First of all I resolved to find a more healthy and more convenient spot of ground, because I soon found the place I was in was not fit for my settlement, because it was upon a low, moorish ground, near the sea, and more particularly because there was no fresh water near it.

I consulted several things in my situation, which I found would he proper for me: first, health and fresh water, I just now mentioned; secondly, shelter from the heat of the sun; thirdly, security from ravenous creatures, whether man or beast; fourthly, a view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet. In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this little plain was steep as a house-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top. On the one side of the rock there was a hollow place, worn a little way in, like the entrance or door of a cave but there was not really any cave or way into the rock at all.

First of all I built a high fence round the plain, where I was going to settle. In this half-circle I pitched two rows of strong stakes, driving them into the ground. This cost me a great deal of time and labour, especially to cut the piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them into the earth. The entrance into this place I made to be, not by a door, but by a short ladder to go over the top; which ladder, when I was in, I lifted over after me. After that I felt myself completely safe.

The next step was to built a strong tent to protect myself and all the goods from the ship. So, I made a large tent, which to preserve me from the rains that in one part of the year are very violent there, and from the scorching rays of the sun; I made double – one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it; and covered the uppermost with a large tarpaulin, which I had saved among the sails. Into this fence or fortress, with infinite labour, I carried all my riches, all my provisions, ammunition, and stores.

And now I lay no more for a while in the bed which I had brought on shore, but in a hammock, which was indeed a very good one, and belonged to the mate of the ship. Into this tent I brought all my provisions, and everything that would spoil by the wet.

When I had done this, I began to work my way into the rock, and, in a week, I made a big cave, which I called the kitchen, where I’ve kept all the food from the ship I had: biscuits, jerked flesh, barrels of rum, a few sugar and tobacco. But I must observe, that at first this was a confused heap of goods, which, as they lay in no order, so they took up all my place; I had no room to turn myself: so I set myself to enlarge my cave, and work farther into the earth. For it was a loose sandy rock, which yielded easily to the labour I worked sideways, so I made a through hole in the hill, in that way, that there were the door to my kitchen on the other side of the hill. This gave me not only egress and regress, as it was a back way to my tent and to my storehouse, but gave me room to store my goods.

In the interval of time while this was doing, I went out once at least every day with my gun, as well to divert myself as to see if I could kill anything fit for food. The first time I went out, I presently discovered that there were goats in the island, which was a great satisfaction to me, but they were so shy, so subtle, and so swift of foot, that it was the most difficult thing in the world to come at them.

After I had been about ten or twelve days on the Island, it came into my thoughts that I should lose my reckoning of time for want of books, and pen and ink, and should even forget the Sabbath days; but to prevent this, I cut with my knife upon a large post, in capital letters – and making it into a great cross, I set it up on the shore where I first landed – “I came on shore here on the 30th September 1659.” Upon the sides of this square post I cut every day a notch with my knife, and every seventh notch was as long again as the rest, and every first day of the month as long again as that long one; and thus I kept my calendar, or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning of time.

Having now brought my mind a little to relish my condition, and given over looking out to sea, to see if I could spy a ship – I say, giving over these things, I begun to apply myself to arrange my way of living, and to make things as easy to me as I could. So I began to apply myself to make such necessary things as I found I most wanted, particularly a chair and a table; for without these I was not able to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world; I could not write or eat, or do several things, with so much pleasure without a table: so I went to work.