Robinson Crusoe | Page 6

sea when a boy, I had put a small sum in the hands
of an aunt, and this my friend said I should do well to spend on my
farm. So when he got home he sent some of it in cash, and laid out the
rest in cloth, stuffs, baize, and such like goods. My aunt had put a few
pounds in my friend's hands as a gift to him, to show her thanks for all
that he had done for me, and with this sum he was so kind as to buy me
a slave. In the mean time I had bought a slave, so now I had two, and
all went on well for the next year.
But soon my plans grew too large for my means. One day some men
came to ask me to take charge of a slave ship to be sent out by them.
They said they would give me a share in the slaves, and pay the cost of
the stock. This would have been a good thing for me if I had not had
farms and land; but it was wild and rash to think of it now, for I had
made a large sum, and ought to have gone on in the same way for three
or four years more. Well, I told these men that I would go with all my
heart, if they would look to my farm in the mean time, which they said
they would do.
So I made my will, and went on board this ship on the same day on

which, eight years since, I had left Hull. She had six guns, twelve men,
and a boy. We took with us saws, chains, toys, beads, bits of glass, and
such like ware, to suit the taste of those with whom we had to trade.
We were not more than twelve days from the Line, when a high wind
took us off we knew not where. All at once there was a cry of "Land!"
and the ship struck on a bank of sand, in which she sank so deep that
we could not get her off. At last we found that we must make up our
minds to leave her, and get to shore as well as we could. There had
been a boat at her stern, but we found I it had been torn off by the force
of the waves. One small boat was still left on the ship's side, so we got
in it.
There we were all of us on the wild sea. The heart of each now grew
faint, our cheeks were pale, and our eyes were dim, for there was but
one hope, and that was to find some bay, and so get in the lee of the
land. We now gave up our whole souls to God.
The sea grew more and more rough, and its white foam would curl and
boil. At last the waves, in their wild sport, burst on the boat's side, and
we were all thrown out.
I could swim well, but the force of the waves made me lose my breath
too much to do so. At length one large wave took me to the shore, and
left me high and dry, though half dead with fear. I got on my feet and
made the best of my way for the land; but just then the curve of a huge
wave rose up as high as a hill, and this I had no strength to keep from,
so it took me back to the sea. I did my best to float on the top, and held
my breath to do so. The next wave was quite as high, and shut me up in
its bulk. I held my hands down tight to my side, and then my head shot
out at the top of the waves. This gave me heart and breath too, and soon
my feet felt the ground.
I stood quite still for a short time, to let the sea run back from me, and
then I set off with all my might to the shore, but yet the waves caught
me, and twice more did they take me back, and twice more land me on
the shore. I thought the last wave would have been the death of me, for
it drove me on a piece of rock, and with such force, as to leave me in a
kind of swoon, which, thank God, did not last long. At length, to my
great joy, I got up to the cliffs close to the shore, where I found some
grass, out of the reach of the sea. There, I sat down, safe on land at last.
I could but cry out