Swiss Family Robinson | Page 3

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This Gutenberg Edition of is a gift from the Editor's Cut imprint of Pink Tree Press, www.pink-tree-press.com. All Editor's Cut(tm) editions are free except for handling charges necessary to provide the book in your preferred format.
This Editor's Cut(tm) edition brings you Johann David Wyss's classic as you've never read it before! It is Volume One of .
The Editor's Cut(tm) imprint always provides the best, up-to-date, re-edited texts of the most beloved family classics, suitable for personal reading or homeschool.
This edition (c)2000 by Pink Tree Press PO Box 16536 Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 ISBN 1-930860-50-1
Foreword
No unabridged edition of exists in English. Indeed, the book has been rewritten so many times, by so many editors, that it can legitimately be said that that no complete edition of the book exists in language.
Johann David Wyss, a Swiss pastor, originally wrote this book to entertain and instruct his four sons. Years later, his son Johann (or Jean--accounts differ) Rudolf Wyss, by then a professor of philosophy, persuaded his father to allow him to complete and edit the unfinished manuscript. It was published in two volumes in Zurich in 1812-1813.
Its French translator, Mme de Montholieu, obtained permission to greatly enlarge the book. It was published in five volumes from 1824 through 1826. The first English edition, abridged, was published in 1814; it was followed by several other English translations of varying quality. In 1849 W. H. G. Kingston re-translated, and greatly abridged, Mme. De Montholieu's version. Most English versions are based on Kingston's abridged version.
Despite a vast number of amusing errors in flora and fauna, the book has entertained, and warmed the hearts of, many generations. However, most modern editions omit an incredible amount even of Kingston's translation by making small cuttings here and there, some of them maddeningly inept. The Editor's Cut edition from Pink Tree Press has been based on, and compared with, no fewer than five previous editions, all of them out of copyright. Most, though not all, of the cuttings have been restored. The material that continues to be omitted is of little imaginable interest to anyone other than a scholar of nineteenth century literature.
Paragraphing has been redone in order to facilitate ease of reading. Some archaic spelling and grammar have been retained, as they are part of the flavor of the book; they have been changed where necessary for clarity. The British-style punctuation has been retained. The lengthy and unnecessary chapter headings have been omitted. Some parenthetical information is provided, most often to define words no longer to be found in many English dictionaries.
Anne Wingate, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief Pink Tree Press
Chapter 1
For many days we had been tempest-tossed. Six times had the darkness closed over a wild and terrific scene, and returning light as often brought but renewed distress, for the raging storm increased in fury until on the seventh day all hope was lost.
We were driven completely out of our course; no conjecture could be formed as to our whereabouts. The crew had lost heart, and were utterly exhausted by incessant labour. The riven masts had gone by the board, leaks had been sprung in every direction, and the water, which rushed in, gained upon us rapidly.
Instead of reckless oaths, the seamen now uttered frantic cries to God for mercy, mingled with strange and often ludicrous vows, to be performed should deliverance be granted. Every man on board alternately commended his soul to his Creator, and strove to bethink himself of some means of saving his life.
My heart sank as I looked round upon my family in the midst of these horrors. Our four young sons were overpowered by terror. `Dear children,' said I, `if the Lord will, He can save us even from this fearful peril; if not, let us calmly yield our lives into His hand, and think of the joy and blessedness of finding ourselves for ever and ever united in that happy home above. Even death is not too bitter, when it does not separate those who love one another.'
At these words my weeping wife looked bravely up, and, as the boys clustered round her, she began to cheer and encourage them with calm and loving words. I rejoiced to see her fortitude, though my heart was ready to break as I gazed on my dear ones.
We knelt down together, one after another praying with deep earnestness and emotion. Fritz, in particular, besought help and deliverance for his dear parents and brothers, as though quite forgetting himself. Our hearts were soothed by the never- failing comfort of child-like confiding