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+Project Gutenberg's Famous Islands and Memorable Voyages, by Anonymous
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Famous Islands and Memorable Voyages
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+Release Date: June 23, 2008 [EBook #25882]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS ISLANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Castaways. (Front.)]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+FAMOUS ISLANDS
+and
+MEMORABLE VOYAGES.
+
+Boston:
+Published by D. Lothrop & Co.
+Dover, N.H.: G. T. Day & Co.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                  PAGE
+
+   I.--  A VENETIAN CRUISER.                9
+
+  II.--  A WINTER IN THE NORTHERN SEAS;
+         OR, CAPTAIN JAMES'S JOURNAL.      30
+
+ III.--  THE DISCOVERERS OF MADEIRA.       52
+
+  IV.--  ST. HELENA.                       68
+
+   V.--  THE PITCAIRN ISLANDERS.           87
+
+  VI.--  NORFOLK ISLAND.                  118
+
+ VII.--  THE SOLITARY ISLANDER.           165
+
+VIII.--  CAPTAIN COOK'S LAST VOYAGE.      188
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+A VENETIAN CRUISER.
+
+
+It was late in the year 1431. The port of Venice was filled with ships
+from all parts of the world, bringing to her their choicest stores, and
+their most costly merchandise, and receiving from her and from her
+Grecian possessions rich shiploads of wine and spices, and bales of
+finest cotton.
+
+It would have been a sight never to have been forgotten could we have
+gazed then on that city of the sea, have watched the cumbrous barks, so
+unlike our light-winged merchant ships, or our swift steamers, which
+sailed heavily up and down the blue Adriatic, till they came in sight of
+the famous city, the resort of all nations, in whose canals, and among
+whose marts and palaces, might be seen the strange dress, and heard the
+mingled speech of men from all parts of the civilized world.
+
+One ship was just leaving the port. The vessel, rather a large one for
+those days, seems but poorly manned, and rocks so greatly among the
+short white waves, that it is plainly to be seen that she is short of
+ballast and lading. She is a Venetian trading vessel, bound first to the
+Isle of Candia, where she will complete her cargo and add to the number
+of her crew. This Candia or Crete (the very Crete by which St. Paul
+passed on his voyage to Italy) was at that time under the hard rule of
+Venice, and its poor inhabitants did her service upon land and sea. The
+ship stayed at Candia only so long as enabled her to complete her stores
+of cotton and spice and wine, which were destined for some northern or
+western market, some French or British port. She was deep enough in the
+water now, and on her deck lay many an unstowed bale, many a cask of
+wine, for which the sad-looking Cretan sailors, in their tunics and
+short cloaks, had not yet been able to find room. Sixty-eight men were
+now on board, including the patron or owner, Master Piero Quirini, and
+Christoforo Fioravanti, the sailing-master. Quirini, in his quaint
+Italian dress, looking strangely unlike a modern sailor, stood amid the
+piles of merchandise, giving quick orders for its stowage, while the
+sailing master made all ready for the long voyage which was just
+beginning.
+
+For in those days a voyage into the western sea was counted, specially
+while boisterous autumn gales made sailing difficult, as a long and
+hazardous undertaking. They all knew it must be many months ere they
+could hope to see home again; but little did any of them guess the
+strange sad fortunes which should befall them. The Cretan sailors looked
+back wistfully at the groups of their friends, their wives and mothers
+and children, whom they had left weeping on the shore, but they did not
+think how many there were among them who would never return to tell the
+story of their long voyage. But some at least among them knew and felt
+that they were in the hands of God for life or for death, and that
+nothing could really hurt them if they were "followers of that which is
+good."
+
+The ship at first sailed on prosperously enough. The sea was calm, and
+the sky clear above them. The sailors sang their sweet Italian or
+Grecian songs, as they hurried to and fro, or leant over the bulwarks,
+watching the blue water.
+
+Their course lay northward now, and wind and wave were sweeping them
+toward the perilous northern seas. The days had been already growing
+short when the ship left Candia, and now December, with its cold and
+darkness, was upon them, and these southern sailors shivered as they met
+the keen northern blasts.
+
+The cold grew sharper than ever on one night toward the end of the year,
+but on that very night Master Piero Quirini chose to remain on deck,
+braving the winter wind, instead of taking shelter in his warm and
+comfortable cabin below. He stood looking eastward with his keen eyes,
+his hand shading his face.
+
+"Come hither, Fioravanti," he called, and the sailing-master approached.
+"There is a strange appearance in the sky which affrights me; I fear a
+sudden, and violent storm, and then what will befall our ship, thus
+heavily laden?" said Quirini.
+
+The old sailor turned towards the part of the horizon which Quirini had
+pointed out; and as he looked, his face changed. "Quick," said he,
+calling to the sailors who were nearest, "bid them draw in the sails.
+Let the rudder be bound firmly, for the tempest is well nigh on
+us--alas! for these terrible northern storms."
+
+Before he had well finished speaking, his Italian sailors had begun
+their work, the slower and more apathetic Greeks needing, even in that
+moment of danger, to be urged with many words before they would obey.
+Thus it was but slowly that the heavy sails, creaking and swaying in the
+wind, were drawn in and bound to the masts, and before half the work was
+done, the storm in its full fury had struck the ship, and each man clung
+for life to the nearest support, as the reeling vessel ploughed heavily
+through the swollen seas.
+
+"Master, the rudder is gone, the rudder is lost," cried many voices, as
+after a sudden lurch forward the ship righted again, and as they cried
+out, a fresh blast struck her, and the half-furled sails were torn into
+ribbons, and hung useless over the ship's side.
+
+The morning light found her still driving before the wind, and deep in
+the sullen water which rose almost above her sides as she flew faster
+than ever before the fierce wind. At length a sudden squall threw her on
+her side, while the waters rushed in as if to fill and sink her in a
+moment.
+
+"Ho, men! an axe, an axe!" cried the master; "down with the main-mast!"
+and seizing a hatchet which lay at hand, Piero Quirini struck the first
+blow at the tall mast, whose weight was dragging down the vessel. Others
+with sword, or axe, or any tool which they could snatch at the moment,
+followed, and they were but just in time, for before another wave could
+wash over the vessel, the mast was floating free, and the ship had
+righted once more. The water was baled out with every vessel on which
+the men could lay their hands; and this weary work was continued all
+through the cold dark night, yet when the morning broke hours behind its
+time, as it seemed to the despairing sailors, the water in the hold was
+scarcely three inches lower.
+
+The only hope for the crew lay in taking at once to their boats. There
+were two boats belonging to the ship--the pinnace and the skiff; the
+first was a long boat, but the skiff, which was considered the safer of
+the two, would hold but a smaller number.
+
+The master called the men round him on the deck, and told them his
+decision. "Now, men," said he, "you shall choose your boat; there stands
+the notary, Nicolo di Michiel, with his ink-horn and parchment; he shall
+write down the names of all who would fain sail in the skiff."
+
+"Master, there are forty-five for the skiff," said Nicolo, slowly
+reckoning the long list of written names; "forty-five, and the skiff,
+saith Christoforo Fioravanti, holds but twenty-one."
+
+"Draw lots, men, we are brothers now in trouble, and none shall have
+advantage over the other."
+
+The lots were drawn, and then the master proceeded to divide between the
+two crews the stores of the fast-sinking ship. Bread, cheese, bacon,
+tallow and oil, and a little wine, as much as she could carry, were
+given to the crew of the skiff, while the master, with forty-six men,
+stored in the pinnace what remained on board, and one by one the men
+passed over the ship's side, and the boats dropped off into the wide
+sea.
+
+It was calm, the terrible wind had sunk down, and the keen wintry sky
+was clear once more, but yet the prospect before them was enough to
+trouble the bravest heart.
+
+They were adrift in the bitter cold in open boats, but ill-supplied for
+a long voyage, and were, as they believed, five hundred miles from the
+nearest shore. All night a heavy mist hung over them, and when it was
+dispersed by the morning sun the crew of the pinnace looked round in
+vain for their companions,--the skiff was nowhere to be seen.
+
+Six days had passed, and all hope of seeing their companion boat had
+grown faint, when another storm arose, and the pinnace, heavily laden,
+shipped so much water over the sides that all feared she would sink.
+
+"Mens' lives before wines and spices! precious and costly though they
+be," said the master; "we must lighten the boat of all, save a little
+needful food and water; linger not, my children, therein lies our only
+hope."
+
+But the days went on, and though the storm passed, and the pinnace still
+rode safely on the waters, the hearts of the crew were heavy within
+them. The boat was indeed lighter now, for of the forty-seven who had
+embarked in her, twenty-six died, and their bodies had been solemnly
+committed to the deep, there to wait till, at the voice of God's angel,
+the sea shall give up her dead. Solemn indeed must have been the
+thoughts of the survivors as they saw one after another of their
+comrades summoned from their side to stand before God; no one of them
+knew but that he might be called next, and all were sure that if help
+did not reach them speedily, none would return home to tell the tale of
+their sufferings. Some there were of that crew who, faint, weary, in
+want of covering, tortured with thirst, yet held fast their trust in
+their Father in Heaven, and cried to Him with agonized prayer to have
+mercy on them for Christ's sake. And the prayer for deliverance was
+heard.
+
+It was on the third of January, and the first faint daylight was
+stealing over the waters, when one of the crew, looking eagerly round as
+he raised himself from uneasy sleep, saw far off a faint line which
+seemed to be land. The sun rose higher and colored rose-red the
+snow-hooded tops of lofty rocks around the unknown coast. All the hope
+and desire of the shipwrecked crew was now to reach this shore, fearing
+its unknown dangers but little, compared with the terrible suffering
+they had long endured.
+
+But, alas! the wind had died away, and in vain did they unfurl their
+sails, and set their rudder. They must try the oars then, but the arms
+of the starving sailors were too weak to move the boat, and they could
+do nothing but trust to the force of the waves and the currents which
+were bearing her along. It was the sixth of January when they reached
+the land, and with great difficulty drew their boat to the beach. They
+soon found that they had landed on an uninhabited island, which lay, as
+they afterwards found, off the coast of Norway--a strange and foreign
+land to the Venetians of those days.
+
+No sooner did the wasted remnant of the crew set foot on shore than they
+rushed to the rocks, climbing them with strength which they had not
+thought they possessed, and eagerly gathering the pure white snow in
+their hands, bathed their parched lips and dry tongues, drinking again
+and again, as if they could never taste enough of this delicious
+draught.
+
+"Now, men, draw the boat higher on shore, ere the tide go out and float
+her away," said the master; but when the pinnace was drawn to the dry
+sand she was found to be so battered and so full of holes, that they all
+saw at once that it was useless to hope that they could ever put to sea
+in her again. "We will make her serve for a shelter at least," said
+Christoforo, and so, dividing her into two parts, they, with the help of
+her sails, made two huts, in which the twenty-one sailors, who alone
+were left, might find some slight shelter from the winter wind.
+
+"Our thirst have we slaked," said Nicolo, "and said grace, I trust, for
+the draught; now, by your leave, good master, must we seek for food,
+though what food this barren island should afford, I know not."
+
+All the party dispersed at once in search of provisions, some climbing
+the rocks, some wandering along the beach, and some seeking to penetrate
+farther inland. Returning towards evening slowly and sadly to the huts,
+they examined the store that had been found--a few periwinkles and
+barnacles and some other small shell-fish, but a poor feast for so many
+famished men. Their search, continued far and wide over the island,
+discovered no other food, save a kind of small herb which grew under the
+snow. This they ate day after day, and so were able to keep a little
+life in them though they were always faint and hungry.
+
+Five out of the little colony were already dead from cold and hunger and
+exhaustion, when one day a sailor wandering farther than he had yet
+been, came upon a little hut, empty and deserted, but giving a better
+and more comfortable shelter than their sail-covered huts.
+
+Six of the company determined to live in this new home, thinking that
+the chances of finding food for the whole would be increased when they
+were more widely scattered on the island. And scarcely had they taken up
+their abode in their new quarters, when they were overjoyed by finding
+on the beach, close at hand, a large dead fish. They did not know
+whether it was a whale or a porpoise, but they saw that it was quite
+fresh and fit for food, and every one of them believed that God had sent
+this great deliverance in answer to their prayers for help. All hands
+turned out to drag the fish to their hut, and no sooner was it safely
+housed than a terrible storm broke over the island, which lasted nine
+days. So fierce was the wind, so pitiless the tempest, that during all
+that time not one of the sailors dare set foot outside the cottage, and
+had it not been for the merciful provision which God had bidden the
+waves to bring to them, they must all have perished with hunger.
+
+The fish was at length eaten, not a fin, nor a morsel of flesh remained,
+and once more the sailors were forced to seek along the shore for
+shell-fish, which was now their only food. Christoforo was one day
+seated in the cottage. He had grown white and thin, and his long lank
+hair looked dry and rusty, as it hung over his sunken cheeks. He was
+gazing listlessly on the dull sea, and on the distant, cloud-like lines
+which told of other islands, or may be of the main land far off.
+
+"If we could only reach those shores," he thought, "may be men dwell
+thereon, and we might find food. But we have neither boat nor wood
+whereof to make one, neither have we strength to row, so seemeth there
+no choice but we must all perish here; the will of God be done."
+
+Raising his eyes, which had sunk while he pursued these sad thoughts, he
+suddenly sprang to his feet, and with a glad shout cried, "Rejoice,
+behold two come to seek us," and as he spoke, his companions, looking
+out, saw two shepherd lads climbing the hill-side.
+
+The strangers turned and fled in terror at the sight of man on this
+lonely island, and the sailors following to the shore found there a
+little boat in charge of an old man. They had learnt some prudence now,
+and they approached quietly, making signs of good-will and of humility,
+and asking by look and gesture his pity on their great distress. The two
+lads soon came down and joined their father, and though none of the
+three could understand a word of the Italian speech, it chanced that
+there was one among the sailors, Girado da Lione by name, who had learnt
+a few words of Norwegian, and by means of this interpreter they managed
+to tell the visitors of their terrible needs.
+
+The little boat would hold but two besides its owners, and Girado da
+Lione and Bernardo the pilot were chosen to accompany the shepherds to
+their home, and to get help to bring off all who remained of the
+shipwrecked crew. On their way they questioned the shepherd, as well as
+they could, on the cause of his journey to the island.
+
+"A strange reason was it, truly, my friends," answered the old man, "but
+my son can tell you better than I. Speak, my son."
+
+The younger of the two oarsmen, a lad of about sixteen, answered
+bashfully: "It was a dream, strangers, that led our boat to that shore.
+My father had lost two heifers, white were they, with black stars on
+their forehead and there were none like them in the island where we
+dwell. Long did we seek our missing kine, and great was our sorrow when
+we found them not; but last night I dreamed that I saw them feeding upon
+this island, the cliffs of which we can sometimes see from our home.
+When I awakened I persuaded my father to take the boat and let us row to
+the island."
+
+"We found not our heifers," said the old fisherman, smiling, "but, thank
+the good God, we found men. Doubtless it was God who sent my son this
+dream, that so we might be in time to save you."
+
+They were soon received by a crowd of eager peasants, who crowded down
+to the beach, when the story of the rescue spread. They were in another
+island now, far larger, and moreover cultivated and inhabited, and food
+was given them, and shelter offered, and clean clothes brought to
+replace their own ragged and dirty garments. But of course the first
+anxiety of the two rescued sailors was to send relief to their
+companions at the hut, and to those who might yet remain alive on the
+other side of the island. The kind islanders prepared quite a fleet of
+little boats in which to hasten to the rescue of these poor deserted
+men, but at the huts which they had first built, only five were found
+alive, and their new friends prepared with sad hearts to bury the dead
+as well as to save the living.
+
+The eleven survivors grasped each other's hands with feeling too deep
+for words; they the only ones left of the sixty-eight who, in full
+health and strength, had left the shores of Candia. "Truly," said one,
+"we had been swallowed up of the sea, if our Lord Jesus Christ had not
+been merciful to us, who forsaketh not them that religiously call upon
+Him."
+
+"Now we must part," said they among themselves, "and seek our way to
+Venice on foot or by sea, as we may find means. Sad news bring we
+thither, and many heavy hearts must we make. But God has spared us to
+our dear ones, and let us few that remain remember that we live only to
+commend to memory, and highly to exalt, the great power of God."
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER IN THE NORTHERN SEAS;
+OR,
+CAPTAIN JAMES'S JOURNAL.
+
+
+The following passages are taken from the journal kept by Captain James,
+the commander of a vessel bound for the northern seas. His ship, having
+on board a crew of twenty-two men, left England in May, 1631, to attempt
+the discovery of the long-desired North-West Passage. After terrible
+storms and disasters, the ship being fast-locked in ice the adventurers
+were compelled to winter in the Arctic regions; and, as the journal
+relates, proceeded to make preparations for passing the long months on
+an uninhabited island near to the ship. The extracts from the diary tell
+the story of those months, speaking in words which need no comment, of
+high hope, of constant courage, and of a sincere and true-hearted
+dependence on God. Throughout all the disappointments and perils of his
+expedition, Captain James seems ever to have kept alive trust in God,
+and a sure belief that all that could befall him and his, would be
+directed by an All-wise hand; thus his heart did not fail even in the
+midst of overwhelming perils and disasters.
+
+These brave men were not ashamed to own their entire dependence on God's
+help, and we find here, as elsewhere, that it is ever the strongest who
+best know their own weakness--that the noblest are ever the most humble,
+the most ready to acknowledge the Divine Source of all their courage.
+
+And the heroes whom English boys love to remember, and desire to
+imitate, have, in proportion as they were true heroes, unselfish,
+generous, brave, been also the most true and faithful servants of that
+God who is the source of all strength, all love, all tenderness and
+truth.
+
+"Oct. 7.--It snowed all day, so that we had to clear it off the decks
+with shovels, and it blew a very storm withal. The sun did shine very
+clear, and we tore the topsails out of the tops, which were hard frozen
+in them into a lump, the sun not having power to thaw one drop of them.
+Seeing therefore that we could no longer make use of our sails, it
+raised many doubts in our minds that here we must stay and winter. The
+sick men desired that some little house or hovel might be built ashore,
+whereby they might be the better sheltered. I took the carpenter, and
+choosing out a place, they went immediately to work upon it, while I
+myself wandered up and down in the woods to see if we could discover any
+signs of savages, but we found no appearance of any on this island.
+
+Oct. 12.--We took our mainsail, which was hard frozen, and carried it
+ashore to cover our house, first thawing it by a great fire; by night
+they had covered it, and had almost hedged it about, and our six
+builders desired they might travel up into the country to see what they
+could discover.
+
+Oct. 15.--This evening our hunters returned very weary, and brought with
+them a small, lean deer, which rejoiced us all, hoping we should have
+more of them to refresh our sick.
+
+Nov. 10.--I urged the men to make traps to catch foxes, for we did daily
+see many, and I promised that whosoever could take one of them should
+have the skin for his reward.
+
+Nov. 17.--I have lain ashore each night until now, all which time have
+our miseries increased; and, looking from the shore towards the ship,
+she doth look like a piece of ice in the fashion of a ship; the snow is
+frozen all about her, and all her forepart is firm ice.
+
+Nov. 25.--The wind shifted easterly, and we encouraged one another, and
+to work we go, our endeavor being to put the ship to the shore. This
+evening we broke through the ice, and put an anchor to keep her to shore
+if possible. Here Sir Hugh Willoughby came into my mind, who without
+doubt was driven out of his harbor in this manner, and so starved at
+sea. But God was more merciful to us.
+
+Nov. 20.--I resolved, for the greater safety of the ship, to sink her
+right down, but she would not sink so fast as we would have her. At
+noon-day the water rose and beat the bulk-heads of the bread-room,
+powder-room, and forepiece, all to pieces; thus she continued till
+three, and then the sea came up on the upper deck, and soon after she
+began to settle. We were seventeen poor souls now in the boat, and we
+now imagined that we had leaped out of the frying-pan into the fire, for
+we thought assuredly the ebb would carry us away into the sea. We
+therefore doubled-manned four oars, and so, with the help of God, we got
+to the shore. Being there arrived, we greeted our fellows the best we
+could; at which time they could not know us, nor we them by our habits
+nor voices, so frozen all over we were, faces, hair, and apparel. I
+comforted them the best I could, saying, "My masters and faithful
+companions, be not dismayed for any of these disasters, but let us put
+our whole trust in God; it is He that giveth and He that taketh away.
+His will be done. If it be our fortunes to end our days here, we are as
+near heaven as in England, and we are much bound to God Almighty for
+giving us so large a time of repentance. I make no doubt but He will be
+merciful to us both here on earth, and in His blessed kingdom."
+
+Dec. 1.--To-day it is so cold that firm ice has formed over the
+boat-track, and we can reach the ship on foot; we have brought over on
+our backs five hundred fish, and much of our bedding and clothes, which
+we had to dig out of the ice.
+
+Dec. 10.--We have been busied this past week, save on Sunday, when we
+rested and performed the Sabbath duties of a Christian, in bringing
+hither stores from the ship--now bearing them over firm ice, and now
+wading knee-deep in half-frozen water. I will here describe the house
+which we have built to shelter us withal. It is among a tuft of thick
+trees, under a south bank, about a bow-shot from the seaside; it is
+square, and about twenty feet every way. First we drove strong stakes
+into the earth round about, which we wattled with boughs as thick as
+might be, beating them down very close. At the ends we left two holes
+for the light to come in at, and the same way the smoke did pass out
+also. Then we cut down trees into lengths of six feet, with which we
+made a pile on both sides. We left a little low door to creep into, and
+a porch was before that, made with piles of wood. We next fastened a
+rough tree aloft over all, upon which we laid our rafters and our roof.
+On the inside, we made fast our sails round about. Now have we driven in
+stakes and made us bedstead frames, about three sides of the house. We
+have made our hearth in the middle of the house, and on it our fire.
+This house we propose to call our mansion, as we have built two smaller
+near by for our kitchen and our store-house.
+
+Dec. 31.--Our mansion is now covered thick with snow, almost to the very
+roof of it; we do not go out save we first shovel away the snow, and
+then by treading, make it somewhat hard under foot. We have got our boat
+ashore, and fetched up some of our provisions from the beach, with
+extremity of cold and labor; and thus we concluded the old year 1631.
+
+Jan. 2, 1632.--I observed the sun to rise like an oval along the
+horizon; I called three or four to see it, the better to confirm my
+judgment; and we all agreed that it was twice as long as it was broad.
+We plainly perceived withal, that by degrees as it rose higher it also
+recovered its soundness.
+
+Jan. 30.--But little worthy the writing has happened to us this month.
+The men grow daily weaker, and our stores less. We have three sorts of
+sick men--those that cannot move nor turn themselves in their beds, who
+must be tended like infants; those that are as it were crippled; and
+those that are something better, but afflicted with sore mouths. These
+last make shift to work; they go to work through the snow to the ship,
+and about their other business. Our cook doth order our food in this
+manner. The beef which is to serve on Sunday night to supper, he doth
+boil on Saturday night in a kettle full of water, with a quart of
+oatmeal, about an hour. Then taking the beef out, he doth boil the rest
+till it is thick, which we call porridge, which, with bread, we do eat
+as hot as we may; and after this we have fish, and thus we have some
+warm thing every supper.
+
+But many of our sick eat nought save a little oatmeal or pease. Hitherto
+we have taken but a dozen foxes in all our traps.
+
+Feb. 10.--The cold is as extreme just now as at any time this year, and
+many of our men complain heavily of sickness; two-thirds of our company
+are under the surgeon's hand. And yet, nevertheless, they must work
+daily, and go abroad to fetch wood and timber notwithstanding the most
+of them have no shoes to put on. Their shoes, upon their coming to the
+fire out of the snow, were burnt and scorched upon their feet, and they
+were forced to bind old clothes about their feet. Our clock and watch,
+though we have kept them ever by the fireside, yet they are so frozen
+that they cannot go. The inside of our house is hanged with icicles, and
+many a time when I put my hand into the brass kettle by the fire, I find
+one side very warm, and the other side an inch frozen.
+
+Mar. 15.--One of our men thinks that he has seen a deer, whereupon he
+with two or three more desire that they may go and see if they can take
+it, and I have given them leave.
+
+Mar. 16.--Last evening did our hunters return, not having seen the deer,
+but so disabled with cold, that they will not be well in a fortnight.
+
+[Illustration: Return of the Hunters. (Page 40.)]
+
+Mar. 31.--Our carpenter is now among our sick, his cutting tools are but
+few, and these mostly broken and bound about with rope-yarn as fast as
+may be. Thus our pinnace, on which lyeth so much of our hope of escape,
+is but in an indifferent forwardness.
+
+April 4.--To-day we have been sitting all about the fire, reasoning and
+considering together about our estate. The time and season of the year
+comes forward apace, and we have determined on this course. With the
+first warm weather we will begin to clear the ship from the ice and
+water, so that should the pinnace never be finished, as seemeth in doubt
+through the sickness of our carpenter, we might yet have some hope in
+our old ship to complete our enterprise, and to return home.
+
+April 6.--This day is the deepest snow we have had all this year; it
+hath filled up all our paths and ways.
+
+April 16.--This is the most comfortable sunshine that hath come this
+year, and I have put some to clear off the snow from the upper decks of
+the ship, and to clear and dry the great cabin by making fire in it.
+Others have I put to dig down through the ice to come by our anchor.
+
+April 25.--Now have we labored so hard that we are mightily encouraged,
+for the water doth rise without the ship, and yet doth not make its way
+into the hold. I have bid the cook that he pour hot water into the
+pumps, and so thaw them.
+
+April 27.--One of the pumps is cleared, and by means of this we have
+drawn two feet of water from the hold, and we find to our satisfaction
+that it doth not rise again.
+
+May 2.--It doth snow and blow so that we must keep house all day; our
+sick men are so grieved at this unexpected cold that they grow worse and
+worse.
+
+May 3.--To-day some of the snow melted on the land, and some cranes and
+geese have come to it. I and the surgeon have been with a couple of
+fowling-pieces to see if we could kill any for our sick men, but never
+did I see such wild-fowl; they would not endure to see anything move,
+therefore we have been obliged to return empty-handed and wearied.
+
+May 9.--We have at last come to and got up our five barrels of beef and
+pork which were sunk in the hold, and we have also found four butts of
+beer, which will be as a cordial to our sick men. God make us ever
+thankful for the comforts that He gives us!
+
+May 13.--This is the Sabbath day, which we have solemnized, giving God
+thanks for those hopes and comforts which we daily have.
+
+May 21.--This is the warmest day we have yet had. Two of my men have I
+sent a fowling, and myself, the master, the surgeon, and one more with
+our guns and our dogs, have been into the woods to see what comfort we
+could find. We have wandered full eight miles from the house, and have
+searched with all diligence, but returned comfortless; not an herb, no
+leaf eatable, that we could find. Our fowlers have had as bad success.
+The snow is by this time pretty well wasted in the woods. We have a high
+tree on the highest part of the island which we call our watch-tree, and
+from the top thereof we can see far over the seas, but we find no
+appearance of breaking up yet.
+
+May 24.--Very warm sunshine. The ice doth consume by the shore side, and
+cracks all over the bay with a fearful noise. This morning I sent two to
+search for the ship's rudder, which was buried among the ice, and a
+fortunate fellow, one David Hammon, pecking between the broken blocks,
+struck upon it, who crying out that he had found it, the rest came and
+got it up on the ice, and so into the ship. O, this was a joyful day to
+us all; and we gave God thanks for the hopes we had of it.
+
+May 31.--We have found some vetches on the beach, which I have made the
+men pick up, and boil for their sick comrades.
+
+June 4.--These four days hath it snowed, hailed, and blown hard; and it
+hath been so cold that the water in our cans did freeze in the very
+house, our clothes also, that had been washed and hung out to dry, did
+not thaw all day.
+
+June 15.--This day I went to our watch-tree, but the sea was still firm
+and frozen, and the bay we were in was full of ice.
+
+June 16.--Here have there lately appeared divers sorts of flies, and
+such an abundance of mosquitoes, that we are more tormented with them
+than ever we were with the cold weather. Here be likewise ants, and
+frogs in the ponds upon the land, but we durst not eat of them, they
+looked so speckled like toads. By this time there are neither bears,
+foxes, nor fowl, to be seen; they are all gone.
+
+June 17.--At high water we did heave our ship with such good-will that
+we heaved her through the sand into a foot and a half deeper water.
+After we had moored her we went all to prayers, and gave God thanks that
+had given us our ship again.
+
+June 19.--There hath been the highest tide that we have known since we
+have been here, and in a happy hour have we got our ship off. This
+evening I went up to our watch-tree; and this was the first time I could
+see any open water, anyway, except that little by the shore-side. This
+sight gave us some comfort.
+
+June 22.--We have sounded all about the ship, where she was sunken, and
+find it very bad ground, with stones three feet high, and two of them
+within a ship's breadth of the ship, wherein did more manifestly appear
+God's mercies to us; for if when we forced her ashore she had stricken
+one blow against these stones, it had broken her.
+
+June 24.--The wind hath put all the ice upon us, so that for a while we
+were in such apparent danger that I verily thought we should have lost
+our ship. With poles and oars did we heave away and part the ice from
+her. But it was God that did protect and preserve us; for it was past
+any man's understanding how the ship could endure it, or we by our labor
+save her.
+
+June 26.--These have been indeed days of fear and of confusion, but
+also, in the end, of comfort. Yesterday evening I went up to our
+watch-tree, taking a man with me, who should make a fire on the highest
+place of the island, to see if it would be answered. When I was come to
+the tree I laid down my lance, and while I climbed up to the top of the
+tree, I ordered him to set fire to some decayed wood thereabouts. He
+unadvisedly set light to some trees that were to windward, so that they
+and all the rest too, by reason it had been very hot weather, took fire
+like flax or hemp; and the wind blowing the fire towards me, I made
+haste down the tree. But before I was half way down, the fire reached
+its stem, and blazed so fiercely upwards, that I had to leap off the
+tree and down a steep hill, and in brief, with much ado escaped burning.
+My companion at last came to me, and was joyful to see me, for he
+thought verily I had been burned. And thus we went homewards together,
+leaving the fire increasing, and still burning most furiously. I slept
+but little all night; and at break of day I made all our powder and beef
+to be carried aboard. This morning I went to the hills to look to the
+fire, where I saw it did still burn most furiously, both to the westward
+and northward. Leaving a man upon the hills to watch it, I came home
+immediately and made the men take down our new set of sails immediately
+and carry them to the seaside, ready to be cast in, if occasion were,
+and to make ready to take down our houses. About noon the wind changed,
+and our sentinel came running home, bringing us word that the fire did
+follow him hard at his heels, like a train of powder. It was no need to
+bid us take down and carry all away to the seaside. The fire came
+towards us with a most terrible rattling noise, a full mile in breadth,
+and by the time we had unroofed our houses, and laid hands on our last
+things, the fire was come to our town, and seized on it, and burnt it
+down to the ground. Our dogs howled, and then ran into the sea. To-night
+shall we lie all aboard the ship, and give God thanks that he has
+shipped us in her again.
+
+[Illustration: Climbing the watch-tree. (Page 47)]
+
+June 29.--These three days have we wrought hard in fetching our things
+aboard, as likewise our water, and have been all about the eastern
+point, searching for driftwood. Our pinnace, on which hath been spent so
+much time and labor, we need not, having our ship afloat again,
+wherefore I have commended her to be sawn in pieces and brought into the
+ship.
+
+June 30.--To-day have we most earnestly continued our labor, and by
+eleven this night was our ship in readiness, for we have sought to
+finish our business with the week and the month, that so we might the
+better solemnize the Sabbath ashore to-morrow, and so take leave of our
+wintering island.
+
+July 1.--To-day, the first of the month, being Sunday, we were up
+betimes. We went ashore, and first we marched up to the high cross we
+had put up to mark the graves of our dead companions. There we had
+morning prayer, and walked up and down till dinner-time. After dinner we
+walked to the highest hills to see which way the fire had wafted. We saw
+that it had consumed to the westward sixteen miles at least, and the
+whole breadth of the island; near about our cross and our dead it could
+not come, because it was a bare sandy hill. After evening prayer we went
+up to take the last view of our dead, and then we presently took boat
+and departed, and never put foot more on that island; but in our ship we
+went to prayer, beseeching God to continue His mercies to us, and
+rendering Him thanks for having thus restored us. Now go we on our
+discovery, which achieved, I purpose surely to return to England, unless
+it should please God to take us first into His heavenly kingdom. And so
+desiring the happiness of all mankind in our general Saviour Jesus
+Christ, I end this, my journal, written on the island."
+
+
+
+
+THE DISCOVERERS OF MADEIRA.
+
+
+It was during the merry days of the reign of King Edward III. of
+England, that a little ship left the port of Bristol, sailing suddenly
+and secretly, so that none knew to what port she was bound.
+
+She was no trading vessel laden with English goods for Calais, for her
+crew was not composed of sailors; there were on board only a few men,
+and these wore the dress of English gentlemen. The strange crew, the
+secret departure, all told the tale of some danger from which they were
+seeking to escape, and had we been on board we should have seen by the
+anxious faces of the crew, by the quick, eager glances with which they
+watched the shores as they sailed out of the Bristol Channel, that they
+feared pursuit, either for themselves or for some one whom they had in
+charge. Though not really sailors, they were doing their best to guide
+the little vessel, and they had chosen for captain a young Englishman
+called Lionel Machin, whose directions they obeyed, and in whom they
+appeared to have full confidence.
+
+It was for Lionel's sake that the party of friends were now making their
+escape from England. He had married a girl whom he had long loved, but
+he had not gained the consent of her father and mother. They were
+powerful and rich, and he had reason to fear that his young wife would
+be taken from him through their influence with the king, and therefore
+he had determined to seek a French port, and to hide himself and wife in
+some French city which did not own Edward as its king.
+
+But, ignorant as they were of navigation, it was no easy matter for them
+to direct their course aright, and, high winds springing up, they were
+beaten about for five days without catching sight of the coast of
+France. They did not know in what direction they were being carried, and
+all on board, especially the new-made wife, were full of uneasiness and
+dismay. Lionel encouraged Arabella with loving and hopeful words, even
+when his own heart was sinking low, but his friends, who had come only
+for his sake, and without well considering the dangers and risks which
+they might encounter, were fast losing spirit and hope. Their merry
+adventure seemed to be turning into sad earnest, and these light-hearted
+lads, having nothing to sustain their courage when pleasure was gone,
+now vented their disappointment in continual murmurs and regrets.
+
+Arabella herself tried to seem indifferent to their danger, and secure
+in Lionel's care; she hid her tears, lest they might grieve her husband;
+but when she thought that no one saw her, she gave herself up to sorrow
+and despair. She thought of her father and mother whom she had left
+secretly, lest they should forbid her marriage with Lionel, and she
+longed with an aching heart for one word of love and forgiveness. For
+hours she would sit, her eyes turned toward that part of the horizon
+where she had last seen the coast of England, her thoughts busied about
+her old home: her father, taking his pleasures with a sad heart; her
+little sister, weeping for her lost playmate; and, most of all, her
+mother, upright and dry-eyed, after the stern fashion of the day, but
+yet, as Arabella well knew, ever thinking of her absent and disobedient
+child, ever missing the light step, the loving smile, the tender touch
+of the daughter she had loved so well.
+
+But Lionel still kept up heart and hope, still spoke gaily of the new
+home they would soon make in sunny France--yes, even when day after day
+passed by, and the watchers saw no land, and knew that they must be
+drifting far out of their course, away into the wide unknown ocean. They
+had been at sea more than a month when one morning early, Lionel, who
+was pacing the deck, heard behind him a sudden shout of joy.
+
+He did not turn, for there were tears in his eyes which he must hide
+from his companions, for he had now, for the first time, learned from
+his wife of her repentance and her grief, and he too was sad at heart
+and well-nigh hopeless. But the shout was repeated and taken up by other
+voices.
+
+"Land, land at last!" they cried, and Lionel turned to see, far in the
+distance, the tall sharp outline either of a rock or of the cliffs which
+guarded some unknown shore. Wind and wave were steadily sweeping the
+vessel onward towards this haven of refuge, and there was nothing to do
+but to watch the sharpening outlines, and to see, as fog and mist
+cleared before the sun, the sheer dark rocks and deep valleys of their
+new home.
+
+Nearer still and nearer, till the land was full in sight, and the
+famished and wearied crew could see the green valleys and tree-covered
+heights of this lovely island, could almost hear the fall of the clear
+waters which they saw glancing down the face of the rocks.
+
+What land it was they knew not. No houses were to be seen, no ships or
+canoes flew out from under the shelter of the shore, no natives gathered
+in fear or wonder on the silent silver beach, only a number of
+bright-winged birds came as if to greet the new-comers, and settled
+fearless on the sails and ropes.
+
+Quickly the ship's one boat was lowered, and some of Lionel's
+companions, well armed, put off for the unknown shore. Lionel would fain
+have been of the number, but neither Arabella nor his friends would
+permit him to run this risk. Ere long the boat returned, and the
+adventurers climbed on board as eager to speak as were their companions
+to hear.
+
+"A dainty and delicious country, truly, Captain Lionel, but men we saw
+none," said the first speaker.
+
+"The beasts thereon are tame, and have no fear of man," continued
+another.
+
+"Yea, and the land is a garden of flowers, and the air soft, that it
+would give back health to the dying; there will your fair wife recover
+her bloom, and we all shall rest after our grievous toil."
+
+"Fruits are there in plenty, they dropped on us from the trees as we
+walked," added the first.
+
+"Here at last we have found a haven," answered Lionel; "here, my kinsmen
+and faithful friends, may you regain the strength you have lost in my
+cause, yea, and win your pardon in England by this fair news. Arabella,
+you will soon be strong again," and Lionel, though he spoke confidently,
+looked with evident anxiety toward the pale face which bore the traces
+of sorrow as well as of sickness.
+
+Soon the whole party, save some few who remained in charge of the ship,
+were on land, wandering with the glee of schoolboys over the green
+plains and wooded hills on which they seemed to be the first to set
+foot. Choosing a sheltered spot among the laurels and near to the bend
+of the river, the new lords of the island soon built a shelter for
+themselves, and brought thither stores from the ship.
+
+In this happy retreat the fugitives spent nearly a fortnight, seeming to
+forget, in the peace and rest of the present, their past wrong-doing and
+their past disasters.
+
+But on the thirteenth day a sudden and violent storm broke over the
+island. The ship was driven from her anchorage by the force of the wind
+and waves, and was carried, with those of the company then on board,
+toward the north coast of Africa, where she was at last completely
+wrecked. The crew escaped with their lives, but only to fall into the
+hands of the Moors, who, regarding all Christian nations as their
+enemies, immediately seized those poor English gentlemen as slaves.
+
+Lionel and the few companions who were left with him on the island,
+grieved deeply for the loss of their companions, though they knew not
+the terrible fate which had befallen them. And mingled with their sorrow
+was penitence too, for the wrong act which had, as they felt, brought on
+them this deserved punishment. But Arabella's grief was deeper; from the
+time when this new disaster befell them she never spoke, but sat gazing
+ever over the now calm sea which parted her from her home; and thus she
+pined and died, deeply oppressed with grief, and not comforted with the
+assurance of the pardon which Christ the Saviour gives to all who repent
+and turn from sin.
+
+Lionel could not endure without her the life which he had sought for her
+sake, and ere long he, too, died in the arms of his weeping friends, and
+husband and wife were buried at the foot of the laurels which had been
+their shelter.
+
+The remaining adventurers determined at any risk to leave the island in
+the little boat which still remained to them, for the place now became
+distasteful; but before they sailed they set up over the grave of the
+husband and wife a wooden cross, on which were carved their names. Then,
+following the wish of Lionel, they added below a request that if any
+Christians should hereafter come to dwell in this island, they would
+build over the grave a church, in which our Saviour Jesus might be
+worshipped and adored.
+
+The little boat being now ready and stored with birds and other food as
+provisions for their voyage, they set sail, but were, like their
+companions, cast on the coast of Africa, and made slaves with those who
+had gone before them. But the poor Englishmen were not the only
+captives, for in those times shipwrecked sailors from all parts of
+Europe were held in cruel slavery by the Moors.
+
+Side by side with the companions of Lionel worked a young Spanish sailor
+named Jean de Morales, and, glad of any relief from the toil and tedium
+of their sad life, he listened eagerly to the often-repeated story of
+the lovely and beautiful island. Of this unknown land he dreamed and
+thought continually, longing for freedom that he might discover and
+tread its silent shores, for he was of a nation eager for discovery, and
+the highest rewards and honors were not thought too great for him who
+should add a new country to the dominions of the crown of Castile.
+
+At length it happened that a sum of money was sent to Barbary, to ransom
+some of the Spanish captives, and Jean de Morales was amongst those set
+at liberty: but the ship in which, with glad heart and high hopes, he
+sailed for Spain, was captured on its way by a Portuguese man-of-war,
+under Jean Gonsalie Lascoe. All the captives from Barbary, who had
+already suffered so much, were permitted to continue their journey home,
+save only Jean de Morales.
+
+This one exception was made because the Portuguese captain was not
+willing to give to Spain the glory of the discovery which the Castilian
+sailor was longing to attempt. Jean de Morales was, however, kindly
+treated, and at last took service with the Portuguese, his attachment to
+his native land being doubtless weakened by his long captivity.
+
+Very soon, ships were sent out by Portugal commanded by Gonsalie, with
+Jean de Morales on board, to seek this new and unclaimed island. The
+vessels first held their course for the Island of Porto Sanco, near
+which the new island was supposed to lie, for seen from Porto Sanco
+toward the north-east was a heavy cloud, sometimes brighter, sometimes
+darker, but never wholly dispersed.
+
+The ignorant and superstitious inhabitants had many wonderful stories to
+relate of this cloud; they all believed that no ship could safely
+approach it. Some held it to be an island hanging between heaven and
+earth, in which some Christians had been hidden by God from the power of
+their Moorish foes, some that it led into the land of spirits. Towards
+this cloud Gonsalie steered his ships, in spite of the murmurs and
+almost the open mutiny of his terrified crew. "The shadow is but a
+mist," said he, "a cloud caused by the heat of the sun's rays drawing
+the moisture from the land beneath; have no fear, my children, for those
+who do their duty will God protect."
+
+Through the mists and heavy clouds they sailed on, and at last emerged
+into clear, pure air, to see fair before them the island of their hopes.
+The sailors who had before resisted the captain's will, now fell on
+their knees begging his forgiveness, and praying to be allowed to land
+at once and wander through the valleys of this lovely land. Soon
+Gonsalie, Jean de Morales, and some of the sailors pulled through the
+surf and set foot on the island, which they called Madeira, because it
+was so well wooded. They landed almost on the very spot where Lionel and
+Arabella had first come on shore, and before long the new-comers stood
+in reverence and in pity by the graves of the first discoverers.
+
+The island was formally taken possession of in the name of the King of
+Portugal, and before long a colony was sent thither, Gonsalie being
+appointed governor.
+
+Then the dying wish of Lionel was granted, and over his grave was built
+a church, in which the new inhabitants might worship God.
+
+This is the story which we have received as the history of the discovery
+of the island of Madeira, now so well and so familiarly known to us,
+where many of our own countrymen go year by year, seeking to recover
+health and strength amongst the sheltered and wooded vales where the
+English husband and wife found their last refuge.
+
+[Illustration: Visiting the Graves. (Page 66.)]
+
+The history was written in Portuguese by Don Francesco Alcafarado, a
+noble at the court of King John I. of Portugal. He was himself one of
+the discoverers. It is considered possible that some of the details
+which he has given may have been altered in his memory, or confused by
+those from whom he heard the story of Lionel and Arabella, but there
+seems no reason to doubt the chief facts which he relates. The cross
+erected over the graves of the husband and wife was preserved in Madeira
+till at least the early part of this century, and possibly is still to
+be seen.
+
+
+
+
+ST. HELENA.
+
+
+In the days when voyages were more tedious and dangerous than they are
+now, when steam was unknown, and the art of navigation little studied,
+it was especially important to secure safe resting-places for vessels
+bound on distant voyages. Halfway ports where the health of the sailors
+might be recruited, where the ship often battered and leaking, might be
+repaired, and stored once more with water and fresh vegetables, were
+absolutely essential to safe and profitable commerce.
+
+But until about the year 1500 the Venetian traders to India had found no
+such harbor of refuge in the South Atlantic. Their ships came and went
+nevertheless, and if many were lost, yet the profits of the trade were
+such as to repay the merchants for many a bale of rich goods which lay
+beneath the waters, and to lead Venice to guard as one of her most
+valuable rights the trade with India.
+
+The Portuguese also were merchants and explorers, and had a large and
+important navy, and they were not content to leave the Indian traffic
+wholly in the hands of the Venetians. Therefore about the year 1501
+three vessels were sent out to India by the Portuguese Government. On
+their return voyage during May of the following year a sudden and
+violent storm overtook them.
+
+They were in the midst of the wide Atlantic, driven backwards and
+forwards by the furious wind and waves.
+
+One of the ships was separated from the other two, and was in greater
+danger. All hope of guiding her was at an end, and the captain and crew
+stood waiting in despair for the death which could not be far distant.
+
+It seems probable from that which afterwards happened, that some at
+least among the sailors thought, in their danger, on God, and cried to
+Him to save them. And we may well believe this to have been so. There
+are but few who when trouble is near forget God. It is in smooth and
+fair water, in calm and sunshine, that we are so ready to think that we
+can guide and help ourselves. When the clouds gather, and the
+storm-winds blow, then we cry unto God in our trouble. And God is so
+good that He does not turn away from those who call on Him in their
+need, even when in their joy they had turned away from Him.
+
+Help came to these sailors tossed on the wide, wild sea, but it did not
+come in the way that they had hoped. At first it seemed only like
+greater peril, for through the haze which darkened the sea, the dim
+outline of land was seen, standing high, sharp, and dark against the
+sky.
+
+What land it could be they did not know. In such rough charts as they
+possessed, no rock even was marked, no speck of land for many hundred
+miles on either side the place where they were now fighting for their
+lives.
+
+The ship was driven nearer and nearer, and, so far as the mariners could
+tell, they were being driven to certain destruction, for what ship could
+hope to avoid the terrible wall of rocks before them, or live in the
+white seething waters which boiled at its foot. A shout, an eager
+wondering cry, from one of the sailors, roused his comrades; he was
+pointing to a narrow inlet between the rocks, on either side of which
+the sand lay smooth and low--if they could only gain that opening there
+might yet be hope. But the ship was past all guidance, and the only
+chance of life seemed to lie in the boats, which might be directed up
+the narrow inlet, so that the men might land in safety on its shores. At
+last the anxious, terrified sailors stood safely on the beach, watching
+the still raging sea as it washed to their feet plank and mast and
+rudder of their now broken ship.
+
+Their first thought was to offer thanks to God who had delivered them,
+and then they began to look around at this strange unknown land on which
+they had been thrown.
+
+"Let us build ourselves a shelter with the planks of the broken ship,
+she will never sail blue water again," said one sailor.
+
+"Nay," replied another, "rather let us build a house for God, let us
+leave a church on this island. We need no shelter in the warm May
+weather, no rain will fall for months yet, I warrant, and some of those
+rare trees yonder will be our fittest roof."
+
+"But of what use can a church be when none dwell here to worship?" asked
+a third.
+
+"Doubtless many will come to dwell here when we return home and tell the
+story of the new land, and many ships will stay here to rest the sailors
+and to gather stores. Were it not well done that they should find
+prepared a place which should remind them of their duty to their God,
+and of His care of them?"
+
+"And," said the captain, speaking now for the first time, "were it not
+well done that we, whom He has so wonderfully preserved, should try even
+in this imperfect fashion to show our gratitude? He will accept even
+such poor service, therefore, in my judgment, let it be done."
+
+"Let it be done," cried all, and, as if impatient to begin, the sailors
+rushed knee-deep into the sea, seizing and drawing high on the beach the
+floating spars and planks ready for their new service.
+
+But before such work could be begun it was needful to explore the new
+land, to search for any traces of inhabitants, and above all to
+discover, if possible, food and water to refresh themselves.
+
+There was one high peak, towering above the many hills which crowned the
+island, and towards this a party of sailors made their way, keeping
+closely together for fear that the natives of the land might suddenly
+attack them from rock or thicket.
+
+The steep, rugged, broken hill was scaled at last, and from its summit
+the adventurers looked down on their place of refuge. They were on an
+island, which seemed to be some miles in length; it was thickly covered
+with trees, and in one part a broad, open plain, fresh and fertile,
+stretched before them. There were many streams, dancing merrily down the
+broken cliffs, or shaded by tall tree-ferns and waving grasses. But
+nowhere was there any sign of human habitation; no palm-roofed huts, no
+canoes, no figures crossing the open spaces between the trees. And not
+only man, but even animals seemed wanting here.
+
+The place was a complete solitude; the sea-birds had not strayed farther
+than the cliffs where their nests were made, and save one little brown
+bird, not unlike a sparrow, which chirped among the boughs, the sailors
+neither heard nor saw any signs of life.
+
+Fruit there was in abundance on the trees, and with this spoil they
+hastened back to their comrades, who had meanwhile been exploring the
+sides of the inlet.
+
+A shout from the party of these explorers told the descending sailors
+that some discovery had been made, and as they came nearer they saw that
+a fire had been kindled on the beach, though with what object it was
+hard to guess.
+
+They were not long left in doubt, for shouts of "Turtle, turtle! come
+and see the turtle we have cooked for dinner!" caused them to hasten to
+the fire, on which was now seething an immense turtle, great numbers of
+which were to be seen crawling along the beach.
+
+The fruit was a welcome addition to the feast, and the sailors were soon
+forgetting peril and disaster over a hearty and refreshing repast.
+
+Then the whole party stretched themselves at ease under the trees; they
+recounted to each other their adventures and discoveries. It was clear
+that they were on an island, and that this island was far distant from
+any known land. There appeared no doubt that it was uninhabited and
+unknown, and great was the satisfaction of the captain in the thought of
+carrying home to Portugal the tidings of a discovery so important. For
+all saw what great service would be done to Portuguese commerce by the
+establishment of a half-way station on their return from India, and the
+feeling of regret for their lost ship was swallowed up and forgotten in
+delight at the honor which they should receive at having first planted
+the flag of Portugal on the Island of St. Helena, for thus did the
+captain name the newly-found island.
+
+The sailors made no doubt that now the violence of the storm was over,
+that they would soon be rescued from their imprisonment by the other
+ships, and meanwhile they set heartily to work to build their church.
+
+The ship's carpenter undertook the principal directions, while the
+captain determined on the best site for the new building, and marked its
+outline on the turf.
+
+Willing hands made the work light, and ere many days had passed the
+church began to rise, plank by plank, amid the palm-trees and leafy
+shade around.
+
+The two remaining ships soon arrived, and their crews stayed long enough
+to complete the church, and to lay in a store of fruit, turtles, and
+fresh water, and then all set sail for Portugal, and St. Helena for long
+years was henceforth reckoned among the possessions of that crown.
+
+But though highly prized as a resting-place for ships, it did not at
+first become a colony. Two small dwellings were built on either side the
+church, but none inhabited them for about twelve years, when a
+Portuguese nobleman, named Lopez, came to live there in banishment, with
+no companions but three or four negro slaves, who under his direction,
+cultivated the soil, planted and reared many new kinds of trees and
+fruits, and tended the fowls and animals which were abundantly supplied
+for his needs.
+
+He did not, however, continue many years in St. Helena, and long the
+island remained without inhabitants.
+
+Sometimes a passing ship would leave one or more of her crew, who were
+ill, that they might be restored by the vegetables and fruits, the pure
+air and clear water of the island.
+
+It happened once, nearly ninety years after the first discovery, that an
+English crew landed for refreshment, and wandering about the island
+approached the little church. They believed themselves the only human
+beings on the island, and were therefore greatly surprised to hear a
+voice singing within the church.
+
+"It is a Portuguese," they said one to another, "let us enter and make
+him prisoner."
+
+Without another word the doors were thrown open, and there kneeling
+alone in the church, they discovered a strange figure, wild and
+terrified, dressed in a rough suit of goat-skin.
+
+"Who are you?" cried the foremost of the sailors, forgetting that the
+supposed Portuguese was not likely to answer an English question; but
+the man started to his feet at the words, gazed round him, looking one
+by one into the eager and wondering faces before him, and then, as if he
+could no longer contain his joy, he rushed towards them, and threw
+himself into the arms of the foremost.
+
+He, in his turn, had feared that the new-comers were Portuguese, and the
+poor English sailor, for such he was, had endured an agony of terror
+till the sound of English speech assured him that he was among friends
+and fellow-countrymen.
+
+His story was soon told. He had been left at St. Helena by a passing
+ship, because he was so reduced by the voyage that the captain feared
+that he could never reach his home. Here he had lived for fourteen long
+months, and had never during that time heard a human voice, or seen the
+face of a friend. He had lived chiefly on the flesh of goats, which had
+now multiplied on the island, and had in his wild, free life quite
+recovered his health. But the joy of meeting with friends after so long
+a solitude was too great; he was quite unable to sleep, and only lived
+till the ship in which he had taken passage reached the West Indies.
+
+St. Helena passed at length into the hands of the English, was colonized
+and brought into cultivation, and it was here that Napoleon ended the
+career which had laid waste and despoiled Europe. Here in this little
+island was bounded his wide ambition; the sea set limits to his steps on
+every side and stretched its strong impassible barrier all around him.
+Here, though not alone, he endured a solitude which was doubtless
+heavier to bear and more hopeless than that felt by any of the wanderers
+who in early days were left upon that shore. For there is no solitude
+like that of a heart which dwells alone, whose memories of the past can
+bring no gladness, and whose future lies cheerless and blank before it.
+
+He spent his time chiefly in reading, riding on horseback, and digging
+in his garden. He was fond of amusing himself with children, and would
+join in all their little sports. He employed himself, also, in writing
+the memoirs of his own campaigns. "Let us live on the past," he said.
+But ah! what satisfaction could a view of his past life have afforded
+him? Those who have lived only for this world must never expect anything
+but self-reproach in reviewing the opportunities of usefulness which
+they have lost, and the precious talents they have misemployed. What a
+favorable opportunity, however, was afforded to Napoleon in his solitude
+at St. Helena, of examining his past life. Happy would it have been for
+him if he had diligently used the time thus given him in mourning for
+his sins, and humbling himself for the misapplication of the vast
+talents entrusted to his charge.
+
+[Illustration: Napoleon at St. Helena. (Page 83.)]
+
+That he sometimes thought of the subject of religion, indeed, is
+evident, if we believe a conversation which Count Monthoton, one of his
+attendants, has recorded. "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself,"
+Napoleon is represented to have said, "founded empires upon force! Jesus
+Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of
+men would die for Him. I die before my time, and my body will be given
+back to the earth to become food for worms. Such is the fate which so
+soon awaits him who has been called the Great Napoleon! what a
+difference between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ,
+which is proclaimed, loved, and adored, and which is extending over the
+whole earth. Call you this dying? Is it not living rather? The death of
+Christ is the death of a God!" Napoleon became every day more and more
+unhappy. He used to feed some fish in a pond, but they sickened and
+died. "Everything that I love," said he, "leaves me: everything that
+belongs to me is stricken!"
+
+At last the event came which released him from all his earthly sorrows.
+A painful disease, called cancer in the stomach, attacked him; and,
+after considerable suffering, he expired on the 5th of May, 1821. The
+night of his dissolution was a terrible one; a fearful storm was raging
+all around. Napoleon had, for some hours, been insensible; towards six
+o'clock in the evening, however, he pronounced the words, "Head of the
+Army," as if his thoughts were running on the field of battle, and
+immediately afterwards his immortal spirit quitted the tabernacle of
+clay in which it dwelt. Such was Napoleon's death-bed. Alas! we look in
+vain upon it for that language of triumph which has so often broken from
+the lips of the followers of Jesus, when passing through the dark
+"valley of the shadow of death." With Napoleon's dying moments, contrast
+those of an eminent saint of God, Dr. Payson. "I seem to swim in a flood
+of glory," said he to some young persons, "which God pours down upon me.
+And I know--I know that my happiness is but begun--I cannot doubt that
+it will last for ever. My young friends, were I master of the whole
+world, what could it do for me like this! Nothing, nothing. Now all this
+happiness I trace back to the religion which I have preached, and to the
+time when that great change took place in my heart, which, I have often
+told you, is necessary to salvation;--and I now tell you again, that
+without this change you cannot, no, you cannot see the kingdom of God!"
+
+Napoleon was buried at Longwood, in the Island of St. Helena, under a
+large willow tree; but in 1840 his remains, with the consent of the
+British Government, were removed to Paris, and buried with grand honors
+in that city.
+
+
+
+
+THE PITCAIRN ISLANDERS.
+
+
+Many islands have at different times risen above the sea, which had for
+long years washed over and hidden them. There are two ways in which new
+islands are thus born like a fresh creation from God.
+
+The great volcanic force which sends out flames and ashes from the tops
+of high mountains, or makes the solid earth tremble and crack, is at
+work also below the bed of the sea, and from time to time islands are
+raised there either slowly or by some sudden convulsion, just as we have
+also reason to believe that other islands are even now sinking lower
+under the influence of the same force, until, most likely, in years to
+come, the waves will once more flow over them again. You must not forget
+that when we talk of the forces of nature we mean really the hand of
+God. He it is who sends these great convulsions, or who directs the slow
+upheaving of new land. All is quite as truly the work of God as when, at
+His word, the dry land first appeared. "Fire and hail, snow and vapors,
+stormy wind," are all "fulfilling His word."
+
+Many of these islands, when first raised above the sea, must have been
+active volcanoes, sending out hot from their craters the flood of lava
+and the heated rocks which now lie cold and hard, and overgrown with
+moss, to tell us of their past history.
+
+Of course, while this was going on there could be no life either of
+plants or animals on the mountain, which, indeed, as yet could scarcely
+be called an island, only a bare rock, around which the waves would
+beat, as if in hopeless endeavor to extinguish the fire which glowed
+deep in its caverned centre. But though neither waves nor storms could
+make this fire die out, yet there comes a time to most of these volcanic
+islands when the life and energy of the mountain seems gone, taken away,
+we know not how, by the same Great Hand that lighted it, and the lonely
+rock is now ready to be turned into a home for man, for this silent
+crater, this hard, broken crag, will, after a time, become a fair island
+home. God does not leave His works incomplete, and He has servants who
+will change this desolate rock into a fertile garden.
+
+He sends the waves; they dash on the sides of the island, which rise
+generally abrupt and strong from the deep waters, and wherever they can
+find entrance they wear and powder the rock until it becomes fine soil,
+and a little beach is formed. Then rains fall and fill the clefts and
+hollows of the rock, and soften it at length as they wash down its face,
+till here and there patches of scanty soil are formed.
+
+But something more than soil is needed; the most fertile land cannot of
+itself produce grass or herbs; there must be a seed before even the
+smallest weed can spring up, and those which float about in the air with
+us, are not found on a volcanic rock far away in the sea.
+
+But messengers are prepared to bring them. Birds flying over the water
+sometimes stoop their wings to rest awhile on the rock, and often leave
+behind them seeds which they have gathered in far distant lands. At
+first, perhaps, only a few small weeds are seen. These, dying in their
+turn, improve the soil for their successors, until at length it can
+support shrubs and undergrowth, the seeds of which are sometimes washed
+on the shore by the waves, or found hidden in the clefts of some tree
+which has floated to the island from a distant shore.
+
+Last of all arises, like a crown of beauty, the graceful cocoa-nut palm,
+spreading broad leaves around its tall, slender stem, and making the
+once barren rock a shady and lovely retreat.
+
+The island on which Alexander Selkirk lived is considered volcanic; it
+is probably formed in some such manner as that which we have described.
+Madeira, too, and probably St. Helena, are volcanic islands.
+
+Pitcairn, the history of which you are now going to read, is also
+possibly of volcanic origin, and its high crags and sharp peaks seem as
+if they must have been thrown up by some sudden force; but as it is in
+the midst of a sea covered with coral islands, and has been supposed by
+some to be itself partially formed by coral insects, it may be well that
+you should hear a little of the wonderful growth of coral islands,
+which, though formed so differently from those of which you have been
+reading, are yet, when once their tops have risen above the waves,
+clothed in the same manner with fair growth, to prepare them for the
+presence of man. Tahiti, which you will hear mentioned in the story of
+Pitcairn, is a coral island, and they abound in groups, in pairs, or in
+single islands, through the wide Pacific Ocean.
+
+They are formed by myriads of tiny insects, which are connected
+together, and seem to share a common life. One of these insects fastens
+itself on some hidden rock; sometimes it may be on an extinct volcano
+which is not lofty enough to appear above the waves, and on this
+foundation they begin to build, the insect, as it shapes its cells of
+coral, filling them with beings like itself, so that every tiny chamber
+has its inmate. Soon the whole rock is covered below the water with a
+fine network of delicate coral, and from the tops of the open cells the
+insects put out their delicate _tentaculae_, or arms, which look like
+the petals of a flower. By means of the food gathered from the water by
+these _tentaculae_, all the coral insects are fed.
+
+[Illustration: Coral Island. (Page 92.)]
+
+Thus each one does its appointed work, laying unseen the foundations of
+a new land, for the coral growth is still spreading and rising higher
+and higher, till at length the waves begin to feel its resistance, and
+to break in white foam around its crests.
+
+Its history, when it has once risen above the reach of the tides, is
+like that of the volcanic islands. The insects die, and the bare grey
+rock is left, that God's servants, the waves and winds, may fulfil His
+will, until in His own good time the coral island becomes lovely and
+fertile, fit for the dwelling-place of those who should be God's best
+servants--the men whom He has made for His glory, and for whose
+redemption His Son came down to die. It is sad to think how often man,
+to whom God has given the most, is the least ready to use these gifts
+for his Maker's glory, so that instead of these lovely islands being
+always full of His praise, they are often homes of sin and of
+unhappiness, as indeed it was at first with Pitcairn, the history of
+which we now give.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+Far away from any other land, in the midst of the South Pacific Ocean,
+there is a little island, a mere speck in the sea, for it is not six
+miles across at its widest point. A passing ship might leave this tiny
+island unnoticed, save for the lofty cliffs and precipices which guard
+its shores, running down to the white waves, ever curling and breaking
+at their feet. Yet it was not a mere rock, inaccessible and barren; for
+when once a boat has safely won its way through the breakers, and the
+sailor has climbed the rocks which, steep above steep, stand like a wall
+before him, he is rewarded by the sight of lovely valleys, of forests of
+fruit-bearing palms, and of green, fresh-springing plants: a little
+fairy land, a new paradise seems hidden here from the eye and the foot
+of man.
+
+It is called Pitcairn's Island, and was discovered more than a hundred
+years ago by a passing ship. It was uninhabited, and no one set foot on
+it again, till in 1789 a small ship might have been seen approaching its
+shores, as if she would seek an anchorage in that dangerous, rocky bay.
+
+The ship is called the _Bounty_, and carries for her crew nine English
+seamen, and some colored men and women, natives of Tahiti, an island at
+which the _Bounty_ had been recently anchored.
+
+There is no captain on board, though the first mate, Fletcher Christian,
+seems to take his place and to direct the course of the ship; but his
+words are few, and his face is sad, as if some past trouble or sin
+weighed on his heart, and, when he is not obliged to be active, he sits
+gazing listlessly over the water, looking for he knows not what.
+
+It would be a long and sad story to tell how that ship came to be thus
+cruising in the wide Pacific. Months before, Fletcher Christian and some
+of the sailors of the _Bounty_ had mutinied; had put their captain, who
+by his harsh and unjust treatment had provoked their anger, into the
+ship's launch with eighteen of the crew, leaving them thus to reach home
+or to die on the ocean.
+
+The mutineers well knew that if they returned to England, their own
+lives would pay the penalty of their crime, and therefore they
+determined to spend the rest of their days on some one of the numerous
+islands scattered in groups throughout the South Seas.
+
+But as they had begun their course by an act which they knew to be
+wrong, it was not likely that their future would be happy and
+prosperous; the sweet flowers of peace and content do not spring from
+the bitter root of sin, "neither do men gather grapes of thorns nor figs
+of thistles."
+
+Thus we need not wonder that trouble and dissension seemed to follow
+everywhere the ill-fated crew of the _Bounty_. They quarrelled and
+fought with the natives of the first island which they chose for an
+asylum; they disputed among themselves, suspecting and hating each
+other, as partners in sin most often do. The hearts of the leaders were
+full of fear also as they thought of the laws which they had broken, and
+of the fate which would be theirs should their captain reach England,
+and a ship be sent out to capture them.
+
+At last the mutineers sailed for the Island of Tahiti, where they knew
+that the inhabitants were well-disposed and gentle, and would be pleased
+to welcome the white man to live among them. Fletcher Christian,
+however, could not rest; he had been the leader in the mutiny, he knew
+that he would be sought for, and that if found he must die, and die
+covered with disgrace.
+
+Therefore he determined to seek out Pitcairn's Island, of the discovery
+of which he had heard, and there pass the remainder of his miserable
+life. Eight of his comrades decided to go with him, the rest remaining
+at Tahiti, and, as we have seen, some of the Tahitian men and women
+agreed to make the voyage with them, and join in the new settlement.
+
+[Illustration: Landing of the Mutineers on Pitcairn's Island. (Page 99.)]
+
+After long seeking, after cruising backwards and forwards for many days
+in the sailless and shoreless ocean, the island that they sought was
+seen standing high above a line of white waves, and after much
+difficulty the _Bounty_ was anchored, and her boat sent on shore with
+some of her crew.
+
+Everything of value on board was taken to the island, even the iron-work
+of the ship itself being removed, and when the _Bounty_ was reduced to
+an empty and useless hulk, she was set on fire and burnt to the
+water-edge, that no passing ship might see any trace of inhabitants on
+the lonely island where these unhappy men sought to hide themselves.
+
+Fletcher Christian, who had taken the command hitherto by the consent of
+his companions, now proceeded to divide the whole island into nine equal
+parts, one of which he gave to each of the English sailors who
+accompanied him, choosing for his own portion a piece of land at the
+farther end of the island, where he made for himself a retreat among the
+steep rocks which overlooked the sea.
+
+But though the new colony was so small, it had in it all the seeds of
+dissension and of unhappiness. Even these nine men, though bound
+together by a common fate and by a common fear, could not agree, could
+not bear with nor yield to each other in any of the little differences
+or misunderstandings which arose between them from time to time. Still
+less could they live in peace with the natives who had accompanied them.
+They looked on these poor men and women as their slaves, and treated
+them so unjustly that the Tahitians, who had at first been attached and
+faithful, now determined on revenge. They were as much less guilty than
+the English as they were more ignorant; they had never been taught to be
+merciful, to forgive injuries, to be patient under wrongs; the blessed
+name of Jesus was not familiar to their ears, nor the lessons of His
+life and death to their hearts. They knew no law but that of violence
+and might, and finding themselves unjustly treated by those who had
+promised to be their friends, they formed a plot to put them all to
+death, and so to make themselves masters of the island.
+
+Five out of the nine Englishmen were shot, and amongst them was their
+leader, Fletcher Christian. Ever since he had come to Pitcairn's Island,
+he had appeared sunk in sorrow and remorse. All day long he had remained
+hidden among the rocks, away from his comrades, his eyes fastened on the
+wide ocean, the barrier which he knew must now divide him for ever from
+his home and from all he loved. In this solitude his companion was the
+Bible, brought on shore by him from the ship. In this he was observed to
+be often reading, and though we know nothing of his thoughts nor of his
+prayers, it may be that God spake through His word to the heart of His
+erring child, and bade him, not in vain, to seek His face once more.
+
+Let us hope that this Bible charged with such a blessed mission in years
+to come, was sent also with a message to this desolate heart, and that
+ere he died, Christian had sought and found the forgiveness which is
+given through the cross of Christ our Saviour. Some sign of his
+repentance may be found in a tradition handed down by the islanders,
+that he had given orders that everyone on the island should repeat each
+noontide the prayer of the returning and repentant prodigal: "Father, I
+have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be
+called thy son."
+
+Four white men had been saved by the interference of the Tahitian women
+from the fate of their comrades, but they did not feel safe; they
+believed that the men were still seeking their lives, and, as they
+imagined, in self-defence, they determined to put these their enemies to
+death. Thus the evil begun by the mutiny still went on from crime to
+crime, seeming to grow ever deeper and wider. For the dark and terrible
+story is not yet ended. Two of the four remaining Englishmen soon after
+came to a violent end, while intoxicated by a drink which they had
+contrived to make from some of the plants which they found on the
+island, thus bringing into this lovely refuge the vice and drunkenness
+which beset crowded cities.
+
+The sorrowful tale has hitherto been all dark, ever growing more gloomy
+and hopeless; but now for the first time a faint pencil of light, like
+the first streak of dawn, marks the sky, a ray which, like all true
+sunshine, comes from heaven and from God. The great and loving Father
+had not forgotten the children who had so long forgotten Him; this
+little island, so far from the eyes of human watchers was not unseen nor
+unregarded by Him. His messengers, the books which tell of Him, were
+still there, though forgotten and unread; but the time was now come when
+they were to speak again, and were to be heard and obeyed.
+
+The two remaining mutineers were a sailor named Alexander Smith, or, as
+he now called himself, John Adams, and a midshipman named Edward Young.
+The midshipman had been well educated, and had learnt above all, in his
+childhood, the blessed lessons of God's love, and of the grace of
+Christ. These lessons, too long unremembered, now came back to him.
+Perhaps he thought of the days when, a young child, he had knelt at his
+mother's knee, or standing by her chair, had read one by one, as her
+finger slowly pointed them out, the words of the Holy Bible.
+
+The good seed had lain long in a barren soil, now God in His mercy sent
+the rain and sunshine of His grace to cause it to spring up at last. No
+sooner had Edward Young begun to desire to return to the Saviour whom he
+had left, than he also wished that those around him should be taught of
+His love. The helpless women and children were, he felt, a sacred charge
+for him and his companion, to teach and guide.
+
+Accordingly morning and evening prayers were established in the island,
+and a sort of school was begun for the children, John Adams being partly
+a teacher, partly a scholar, and so preparing to take his comrade's work
+when, a little time after this change of heart and life, Edward Young
+died, and left his comrade alone on the island with his untaught charge.
+He, the only one who had the key to God's book, the only one in whose
+memory were stored any lessons of His truth, in whose life lay, as it
+seemed, the only hope that this little colony might be saved from all
+the cruelty and ignorance of savage life, and added to the number of the
+servants of Christ.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+Nearly twenty-five years had passed since John Adams was left on
+Pitcairn's Island, the sole protector and teacher of the women, and of
+the young children who were growing up around him. He was himself but a
+common sailor, who had enjoyed only a few advantages of education, his
+only acquirements the simple lessons which had been taught him in his
+boyhood, and a new but straightforward and earnest desire to serve God
+in the way which God should teach him, and in penitence and faith to
+walk himself and to lead others to walk in the way that leads to
+everlasting life.
+
+But God does not choose only the wise and the great and the strong for
+His workmen: often the weak things of the world are chosen to confound
+the mighty, and the poor and lowly to do the work of the High and Mighty
+One who inhabiteth eternity.
+
+We have seen how evil passions indulged were like a seed of sin, growing
+and spreading into a mighty and poisonous tree. Then there was planted
+by its side, through the mercy of God, a germ of good and of life--has
+that too lived and spread, or has it withered and died beneath the shade
+of evil?
+
+Two English vessels are approaching the island. At first the crews do
+not see it, but as evening draws on, the look-out man in the larger ship
+gives the signal that he has caught sight of land. "Land ho, land!"
+passes from mouth to mouth among the sailors. What land can it be? No
+island, no rock even, is marked on the chart, and the officers gather on
+deck to look over the darkening sea toward that darker point where the
+new land lies.
+
+"We may have discovered a new island for King George," says the captain.
+"We must lie to till the morning, and then we will sail nearer, and see
+this unknown shore."
+
+The morning comes, and almost before it is day some of the officers are
+on deck with their glasses, eagerly looking toward the island, which
+they can now see far more plainly. Even without a glass its lofty rocks
+and steep precipices can be distinguished. The ships are approaching
+nearer and nearer, till now their anchors are dropped, and one of the
+captains orders a boat to be prepared.
+
+"Though I doubt how we shall get her through the surf," he says,
+ponderingly; "it is a dangerous coast, and no pilot within hail. People
+there too, I see--savages. The men must go well armed. Peters, look to
+the loading of the pistols."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," answered Peters, looking, like the rest, towards the
+rocks, where groups of people coming and going were to be seen.
+
+There was evidently great excitement on the island. A ship was a strange
+and unusual sight, no doubt.
+
+Before the ship's boat could be launched, two men were seen to climb the
+top of the steep cliff which almost overhung the narrow beach. They,
+however, seemed to find no difficulty in their dangerous path, though
+each carried on his shoulders a light canoe. The strangers wore some
+kind of clothing, but even through the captain's glass it was impossible
+to tell of what race they were.
+
+Dark against the clear sky, the two figures were seen for awhile to
+stand gazing steadfastly toward the ship, and then bounded like goats
+down the rugged face of the rock, and soon launched their canoes
+fearlessly in the angry surf.
+
+"Haul the boat up, we'll wait and receive these natives on board," says
+the captain; and in a few minutes one of the canoes was under the bows
+of the ship.
+
+"Come alongside," shouted a sailor, trusting that his signs and gestures
+would explain the meaning of his English words.
+
+"We have no boat-hook to hold on by," cried in answer the foremost of
+their visitors.
+
+No words can explain the surprise with which the captain and the whole
+crew listened to these words spoken in pure English by the supposed
+savage. They looked at him and at each other, but no one spoke till the
+eager voice was again heard from the boat.
+
+"Won't you heave us a rope now?"
+
+A sailor seized and flung one end of a coil of rope, and in a moment
+their strange visitor had seized it and climbed fearlessly on deck.
+
+He was a tall man, young, and almost English-looking, save that his
+complexion was tinged by the hot sun of his country; and his whole face
+and bearing were those of an educated and civilized man. His dress was a
+light vest and short trousers, while his palm-leaf hat was adorned with
+a bunch of brilliant feathers.
+
+"Who are you?" asked the astonished captain, gazing at this strange and
+unexpected apparition.
+
+"I am Thursday October Christian, the son of the mutineer, and there,"
+pointing to the other canoe, now close to the ship, "is Edward Young."
+
+The mystery was now explained: the ships had anchored at the island
+where the mutineers, long sought in vain, had taken refuge.
+
+The officers crowded round their visitors, asking question after
+question, of their age, the number of people on the island, their habits
+and mode of life.
+
+"Who is your king?" they asked.
+
+"Why, King George, to be sure," replied Christian, quickly.
+
+"Have you been taught any religion?"
+
+"Yes," they replied, "a very good religion; that which the Bible
+teaches."
+
+The young men were led into every part of the ship; they looked with
+great interest at the many things they saw around them, the uses and
+even the names of which were unknown to them, and their questions showed
+much thought and intelligence.
+
+In the course of the morning they were led to the stalls where the
+ship's cows were kept.
+
+"What immense goats!" cried Christian; "I did not know there were any of
+such a size."
+
+Just then a little dog, belonging to some one on board, attracted the
+attention of one of the new-comers. "I know what that is," he said,
+"that is a dog, I have read of such things;" and turning to his
+companion, "it is a pretty thing to look at, is it not?"
+
+[Illustration: The Captain's Cabin.]
+
+When noon came, the two guests were taken into the captain's cabin to
+lunch, but before touching the food which was spread before them, they
+both folded their hands, and without troubling themselves at all about
+the presence of the officers, in the most simple and natural manner
+asked God's blessing on all that they should eat and drink.
+
+Many of those who were present turned away to hide, not a smile, but a
+blush of shame that they, the sons of a Christian land, should need to
+be reminded of their duty to their God by these half-taught islanders.
+
+Lunch over, the two captains went on shore, rowed by their guests, to
+whose strong and skilful hands they trusted to pilot them safely through
+the dangerous surf.
+
+On the beach they were welcomed by more of the inhabitants, among the
+rest by a young girl, the daughter of Adams, who had evidently come to
+meet the English strangers in order that she might learn if her father
+was in any danger from them, for John Adams was the last remaining
+mutineer. Her confidence was restored by the looks and words of the two
+captains, as she led them, with light step, up the steep pathway by
+which alone the interior of the island could be reached.
+
+The captains were almost exhausted long before the top was reached, but
+their guides seemed to climb as easily as the goats of their own island,
+and even the girls were so sure-footed that they were able to help the
+strangers up the difficult path. Arriving at the top, a new and
+beautiful sight delighted their eyes--a lovely valley, rich in
+fruit-bearing trees, and in cultivated fields, in the midst of which was
+built an almost English-looking village, with its church and school
+house, its cottages and gardens, and all that could speak of a simple,
+religious home life. Here they were welcomed by the remaining
+inhabitants, with Adams at their head, to whom all looked up as to their
+father. Beside him stood his blind Tahitian wife, and around him were
+groups of young men and girls with bright, intelligent faces, and smiles
+which told of the happiness and innocence of their hearts.
+
+[Illustration: John Adams and his family. (Page 115.)]
+
+Whatever the daughter of Adams may have feared in her love for her
+father, he himself did not appear afraid to receive these English
+visitors to his island refuge. For he felt that as, in the sight of God,
+his sin had for Christ's sake been pardoned, so in the eyes of men these
+long years of penitence, and of honest endeavor after a better life,
+would surely have won pardon for the sins of his youth. It was with
+feelings too deep for words that he looked once more on the faces of his
+countrymen and heard the English speech from other lips than those to
+whom he had taught it. All the memories of early days awoke in him, and
+he longed to return once more and see his native land before he died.
+But as soon as those round him understood his wish, they seized his
+hands, they clung around him, praying him with tears not to desert them,
+not to leave his children; and Adams, much moved, promised to remain.
+And indeed he would have been sorely missed had he gone, for he was the
+chief authority on the island. He it was who each Sunday led the prayers
+of the islanders, all assembled around him in the church which they had
+built, thinking, as they joined in the words of the service, of their
+unknown brethren in the great country beyond the seas. He it was who
+explained week by week the words of the Bible to his listening
+companions, taught the children, and married the young people.
+
+It was to Adams that every dispute was referred; all those slight
+disagreements which spring up from time to time, but which with the
+islanders were never, as they said, more than word-of-mouth quarrels,
+and always ended before set of sun.
+
+The captains, though anxious to linger awhile in this island home, were
+obliged to leave next day, and they departed amid the regrets and
+farewells of these simple-hearted, affectionate people, a people
+Christian in heart as well as in name,--sincere, modest, pure, and
+unselfish, whose life seemed to be fashioned on the words of God's Book,
+"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
+of others."
+
+And all this peace and happiness has sprung, under the blessing of God,
+from the seeds of His truth sown long, long years before in the hearts
+of two English sailors, and from the power of His truth in His written
+word, and in the teaching of His Spirit.
+
+
+
+
+NORFOLK ISLAND.
+
+
+Far distant from the many other islands with which the Southern Pacific
+Ocean is studded, one stands alone, rich in natural beauty, and with a
+climate almost unrivalled.
+
+This lovely island was visited by Captain Cook in 1774, and named by him
+Norfolk Island; it was then uninhabited, and neither the vegetable nor
+the animal world had been disturbed. For about two hundred yards from
+the shore, the ground was covered so thickly with shrubs and plants as
+scarcely to be penetrable further inland. The account given by Cook led
+to an attempt at settlement on Norfolk Island; but this was attended
+with difficulty. The island is small, being only about six miles in
+length by four in breadth; and was therefore unavailable for a large or
+increasing population. Lying nine hundred miles from Port Jackson, in
+Australia, it was inconveniently remote from that country; and, worst of
+all, its cliffy and rocky shores presented serious dangers to mariners
+attempting a landing. Its general unsuitableness, however, for ordinary
+colonization, was considered to adapt it as a penal settlement,
+subordinate to New South Wales, and to which convicts could be sent who
+merited fresh punishment while in course of servitude. Thus, one of the
+lovliest of earthly paradises was doomed to be a receptacle for the very
+worst of malefactors. It was imagined that the beauty of Norfolk Island,
+and the fineness of its climate, would greatly tend to soothe the
+depraved minds of its unhappy tenants, and reconcile them to compulsory
+expatriation; but such was not the case: the feeling uppermost in the
+minds of the convicts was to make their escape; and this, along with
+other circumstances, caused the island, after a time, to be abandoned as
+a penal settlement. The narrative that follows may be relied upon as a
+true relation of facts, and will, it is hoped, afford warning to such as
+may be tempted to go astray, and deeply impress those who may be on the
+verge of crime, with the danger of their situation, by showing them that
+a course of error is a course of misery, ending in consequences the most
+afflicting.
+
+"On the northern side of Norfolk Island, the cliffs rise high, and are
+crowned by woods, in which the elegant whitewood and gigantic pine
+predominate. A slight indentation of the land affords a somewhat
+sheltered anchorage-ground, and an opening in the cliffs has supplied a
+way to the beach by a winding road at the foot of the dividing hills. A
+stream of water, collected from many ravines, finds its way by a similar
+opening to a ledge of rock in the neighborhood, and, falling over in
+feathery spray, has given the name of Cascade to this part of the
+island. Off this bay, on the morning of the 21st of June, 1842, the brig
+_Governor Philip_ was sailing, having brought stores for the use of the
+penal establishment. It was one of those bright mornings which this
+hemisphere alone knows, when the air is so elastic that its buoyancy is
+irresistibly communicated to the spirits. At the foot of the cliff, near
+a group of huge fragments of rock fallen from the overhanging cliffs, a
+prisoner was sitting close to the sea preparing food for his companions,
+who had gone off to the brig the previous evening with ballast, and who
+were expected to return at daylight with a load of stores. The surface
+of the sea was smooth, and the brig slowly moved on upon its soft blue
+waters. Everything was calm and still, when suddenly a sharp but distant
+sound as of a gun was heard. The man, who was stooping over the fire
+started on his feet, and looked above and around him, unable to
+distinguish the quarter from whence the report came. Almost immediately,
+he heard the sound repeated, and then distinctly perceived smoke curling
+from the vessel's side. His fears were at once excited. Again he
+listened; but all was hushed, and the brig still stood steadily in
+towards the shore. Nearer and nearer, she approached; until, alarmed for
+her safety, the man ran to summon the nearest officer. By the time they
+returned, the vessel had wore, and was standing off from the land; but
+while they remained in anxious speculation as to the cause of all this,
+the firing was renewed on board, and it was evident that some deadly
+fray was going on. At length a boat was seen to put off from the brig,
+and upon its reaching the shore, the worst fears of the party were
+realized. The misguided prisoners on board had attempted to seize the
+vessel. They were but twelve in number, unarmed, and guarded by twelve
+soldiers, and a crew of eighteen men; yet they had succeeded in gaining
+possession of the vessel, and held it for a time, but had been finally
+overpowered, and immediate help was required for the wounded and dying.
+
+"June 21, 1842.--My duty as a clergyman called me to the scene of blood.
+When I arrived on the deck of the brig, it exhibited a frightful
+spectacle. My heart sickened at the extent of the carnage; and I was
+almost sinking with the faintness it produced, when I was roused by a
+groan so full of anguish and pain, that for a long time afterwards its
+echo seemed to reach me. I found that it came from a man lying further
+forward, on whose face the death-dew was standing, yet I could perceive
+no wound. Upon questioning him, he moved his hand from his breast, and I
+then perceived that a ball had pierced his chest, and could distinctly
+hear the air rushing from his lungs through the orifice it had left. I
+tore away the shirt, and endeavored to hold together the edges of the
+wound until it was bandaged. I spoke to him of prayer, but he soon grew
+insensible, and within a short time died in frightful agony. In every
+part of the vessel, evidences of the attempt which had ended so fatally
+presented themselves, and the passions of the combatants were still
+warm. After attending to those who required immediate assistance, I
+received the following account of the affair:
+
+"The prisoners had slept the previous night in a part of the vessel
+appropriated for this purpose; but it was without fastening or other
+means of securing them below. Two sentries were, however, placed over
+the hatchway. The prisoners occasionally came on deck during the night,
+for their launch was towing astern, and the brig was standing off and on
+until the morning. Between six and seven o'clock in the morning, the men
+were called to work. Two of them were up some time before the rest. They
+were struck by the air of negligence which was evident on deck, and
+instantly communicated the fact to one or two others. The possibility of
+capturing the brig had often been discussed by the prisoners, among
+their many other wild plans for escaping from the island, and recently
+had been often proposed by them. The thought was told by their looks,
+and soon spread from man to man. A few moments were enough; one or two
+were roused from sleep, and the intention was hurriedly communicated to
+them. It was variously received. One of them distrusted the leader, and
+entreated his companions to desist from so mad an attempt. It was
+useless; the frenzied thirst for liberty had seized them, and they were
+maddened by it. Within a few minutes, they were all on deck; and one of
+the leaders rushing at the sentry nearest to him, endeavored to wrest
+from him his pistols, one of which had flashed in the pan as he rapidly
+presented it, and threw him overboard; but he was subsequently saved.
+The arms of the other sentry were demanded, and obtained from him
+without resistance. A scuffle now took place with two other soldiers who
+were also on the deck, but not on duty, during which one of them jumped
+over the vessel's side, and remained for some time in the main-chains;
+but upon the launch being brought alongside, he went down into it. The
+other endeavored to swim ashore (for by this time the vessel was within
+a gun's shot of the rocks;) but, encumbered by his great coat, he was
+seen, when within a few strokes of the rock, to raise his hands, and
+uttering a faint cry to Heaven for mercy, he instantly sunk. In the
+meanwhile, the sergeant in charge of the guard hearing a scuffling
+overhead, ran upon deck, and seeing some of the mutineers struggling
+with the sentry, shot the nearest of them dead on the spot. He had no
+sooner done so than he received a blow on the head, which rendered him
+for some time insensible. Little or no resistance was offered by the
+sailors; they ran into the forecastle, and the vessel was in the hands
+of the mutineers. All the hatches were instantly fastened down, and
+every available thing at hand piled upon them. But now, having secured
+their opponents, the mutineers were unable to work the brig; they
+therefore summoned two of the sailors from below, and placed one of them
+at the wheel, while the other was directed to assist in getting the
+vessel off. The cockswain, a free man in charge of the prisoners, had at
+the first onset taken to the rigging, and remained in the maintop with
+one of the men who refused to join in the attack. At this moment, a
+soldier who had gone overboard and endeavored to reach the shore, had
+turned back, and was seen swimming near the vessel. Woolfe, one of the
+convicts, immediately jumped into the boat alongside, and saved him.
+Whilst this was the state of things above, the soldiers had forced their
+way into the captain's cabin, and continued to fire through the gratings
+overhead as often as any of the mutineers passed. In this manner several
+of them received wounds. To prevent a continuance of this, a kettle of
+hot water was poured from above; and shortly afterwards, a proposal was
+made to the captain from the prisoners to leave the vessel in the
+launch, provided he handed up to them the necessary supplies. This he
+refused; and then all the sailors were ordered from below into the
+launch, with the intention of sending them ashore. Continuing to watch
+for the ring-leaders, the captain caught a glimpse of one of them
+standing aft, and, as he supposed, out of reach. He mounted the cabin
+table, and, almost at a venture, fired through the woodwork in the
+direction he supposed the man to be standing. The shot was fatal; the
+ball struck him in the mouth, and passed through his brain. Terrified at
+the death of their comrades, the remainder were panic-struck, and
+instantly ran below. One of the leaders sprung over the taffrail, and
+eventually reached the launch. The sailor at the wheel, now seeing the
+deck almost cleared, beckoned up the captain, and without an effort, the
+vessel was again in their possession. In the confusion, a soldier, who
+had been in the boat, and was at this moment with the sailors returning
+on deck, was mistaken for one of the mutineers, and shot by the
+sergeant. The prisoners were now summoned from their place of
+concealment. They begged hard for mercy; and upon condition of their
+quietly surrendering, it was promised to them. As the first of them, in
+reliance upon this assurance, was gaining the deck, by some unhappy
+error, he received a ball in his thigh, and fell back again. The rest
+refused to stir; but after a few moments' hesitation, another of them
+ventured up, was taken aft by the captain, and secured. A third
+followed, and, as he came up, he extended his arms and cried: "I
+surrender; spare me." Either this motion was mistaken by the soldiers,
+or some of them were unable to restrain their passion, for at this
+instant the man's head was literally blown off. The captain hastened to
+the spot, and received the others, who were secured without further
+injury.
+
+"When we reached the vessel, the dying, dead, and wounded, were lying in
+every direction. In the launch astern, we saw the body of one wretched
+man who had leaped over the taffrail, and reached the boat badly
+wounded; he was seen lying in it when the deck was regained, and was
+then pierced through with many balls. Nothing could be more horrible
+than his appearance; the distortion of every feature, his clenched
+hands, and the limbs which had stiffened in the forms of agony into
+which pain had twisted them, were appalling. The countenance of every
+man on board bore evidence of the nature of the deadly conflict in which
+he had been engaged. In some, sullenness had succeeded to reckless
+daring, and exultation to alarm in others.
+
+"Nothing could have been more desperate than such an attempt to seize
+the vessel. The most culpable neglect could alone have encouraged it;
+and it is difficult to conceive how it could have succeeded, if anything
+like a proper stand had been made by those in charge of her when it
+commenced.
+
+"The wounded were immediately landed, and conveyed to the hospital, and
+the dead bodies were afterwards brought on shore.
+
+"The burial ground is close to the beach. A heavy surf rolls mournfully
+over the reef. The moon had just risen, when, in deep and solemn
+silence, the bodies of these misguided men were lowered into the graves
+prepared for them. Away from home and country, they had found a fearful
+termination of a miserable existence. Perhaps ties had still bound them
+to the world; friends whom they loved were looking for their return,
+and, prodigals though they had been, would have blessed them, and
+forgiven their offences. Perhaps even at that sad moment, mothers were
+praying for their lost ones, whom in all their infamy they had still
+fondly loved. Such thoughts filled my mind; and when a few drops of rain
+at that moment descended, I could not help thinking that they fell as
+tears from heaven over the guilt and misery of its children.
+
+"On the morning following the fatal occurrence, I visited the jail in
+which the mutineers were confined. The cells were small, but clean and
+light. In the first of them, I found George Beavers, Nicholas Lewis, and
+Henry Sears. Beavers was crouching in one corner of the cell, and
+looking sullen, and in despair. Lewis, who was walking the scanty space
+of the cell, seemed to glory in the rattle of his heavy chains; while
+Sears was stretched, apparently asleep, upon a grass mat. They were all
+heavily ironed, and every precaution had evidently been taken to prevent
+escape.
+
+"In the other cell I found Woolfe and Barry, the latter in much agony
+from an old wound in the leg, the pain of which had been aggravated by
+the heavy irons which galled it. All the prisoners except Barry and
+Woolfe, readily acknowledged their participation in the attempt to seize
+the brig, but most solemnly denied any knowledge of a preconcerted plan
+to take her; or that they at least had attempted to throw the soldiers
+overboard. They were unwilling to be interrupted, and inveighed in the
+bitterest manner against some of their companions who had, they seemed
+to think, betrayed them, or at least had led them on, and at the moment
+of danger had flinched.
+
+"The names of the surviving mutineers were John Jones, Nicholas Lewis,
+Henry Sears, George Beavers, James Woolfe, Thomas Whelan, and Patrick
+Barry.
+
+"The depositions against them having been taken, all the men I have
+mentioned, with the exception of Jones and Whelan, who were wounded,
+were brought out to hear them read. They listened with calm attention,
+but none of them appeared to be much excited. Once only during the
+reading, Beavers passionately denied the statements made by one of the
+witnesses present, and was with difficulty silenced. His countenance at
+that moment was terribly agitated; every bad feeling seemed to mingle in
+its passionate expression. They were all young, powerful, and, with one
+or two exceptions, not at all ill-looking men.
+
+"From the jail I proceeded to the hospital, where the wounded men were
+lying. They had each received severe wounds in the thigh, and were in
+great agony. The violence of Jones was excessive. Weakened in some
+degree by the loss of blood, the bitterness of his spirit nevertheless
+exhibited itself in passionate bursts of impatience. He was occasionally
+convulsed with excessive pain; for the nerves of the thigh had been much
+lacerated, and the bone terribly shattered. His features were distorted
+with pain and anger, and occasionally bitter curses broke from his lips;
+yet there was something about his appearance which powerfully arrested
+my attention--an evident marking of intellect and character, repulsive
+in its present development, yet in many respects remarkable. His history
+had been a melancholy one, and, as illustrative of many thousand others,
+I give it as I afterwards received it from his lips.
+
+"At eleven years of age, he was employed in a warehouse in Liverpool as
+an errand-boy. While following this occupation, from which, by
+good-conduct, he might have risen to something better, he was met in the
+street one day by the lad whom he had succeeded in this employment, and
+was told by him how he might obtain money by robbing the warehouse, and
+then go with him to the theatre. He accordingly took an opportunity of
+stealing some articles which had been pointed out, and gave them to his
+companion, who, in disposing of them, was detected, and of course
+criminated Jones. After remaining some weeks in jail, Jones was tried,
+and acquitted; but his character being now gone, he became reckless, and
+commenced a regular career of depredation. In attempting another
+warehouse robbery, he was detected, and sentenced to twelve months'
+imprisonment. By the time he was released from this, he was well tutored
+in crime, and believed that he could now adroitly perform the same
+robbery in which he had previously failed. He made the attempt the very
+night of his release from jail, and with temporary success. Subsequently,
+however, he was detected, and received sentence of transportation for
+seven years. He underwent this sentence, and an additional one in Van
+Diemen's Land, chiefly at Port Arthur, the most severe of the penal
+stations there. From this place he, with Lewis, Moss (who was shot on
+board the brig), and Woolfe, having seized a whale-boat, effected their
+escape. During three months, they underwent the most extreme hardships
+from hunger and exposure. Once they had been without food for several
+days, and their last hook was over the boat's side; they were anxiously
+watching for a fish. A small blue shark took the bait, and in despair one
+of them dashed over the boat's side to seize the fish; his leg was caught
+by one of the others, and they succeeded in saving both man and hook.
+They eventually reached Twofold Bay, on the coast of New South Wales, and
+were then apprehended, conveyed to Sydney, and thence sent back to Van
+Diemen's Land; tried, and received sentence of death; but this was
+subsequently commuted to transportation for life to Norfolk Island.
+
+"Jones often described to me the intense misery he had undergone during
+his career. He had never known what freedom was, and yet incessantly
+longed for it. All alike confessed the unhappiness of their career. Having
+made the first false step into crime, they acknowledged that their minds
+became polluted by the associations they formed during imprisonment. Then
+they were further demoralized by thinking of the _glory_--such miserable
+glory!--attending a trial; and the hulks and the voyage out gave them a
+finished criminal training. The extent of punishment many of them have
+undergone during the period of transportation is almost incredible. I have
+known men whose original sentence of seven years has been extended over
+three times that period, and who, in addition to other punishment, have
+received five thousand or six thousand lashes!
+
+"After many solemn interviews with the mutineers, I found them gradually
+softening. They became more communicative, and extremely anxious to
+receive instruction. I think I shall never forget one of the earliest of
+these visits to them. I first saw Sears, Beavers, and Jones. After a
+long and interesting conversation with them, we knelt together, and I
+offered prayer. When we arose, I perceived that each of them had been
+shedding tears. It was the first time I had seen them betray any such
+emotion, and I cannot tell how glad I felt; but when I proceeded
+afterwards to read to them the first chapter of Isaiah, I had scarcely
+uttered that most exquisite passage in the second verse--"I have
+nourished and brougth up children, and they have rebelled against
+me,"--when the claims of God, and _their_ violation and rejection of
+them; His forbearance, and _their_ ingratitude, appeared to overwhelm
+them; they sobbed aloud, and were thoroughly overpowered.
+
+"For a considerable time we talked together of the past, the wretched
+years they had endured, the punishments, and the crimes which had led to
+them, until they seemed to feel most keenly the folly of their sad
+career. We passed on to contrast the manner in which their lives had
+been spent, with what God and society required from them; their
+miserable preversion of God's gifts, with the design for which He gave
+them, until we were led on to speak of hope and of faith; of Him who
+"willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from
+his wickedness and live;" and then the Saviour's remonstrance seemed to
+arrest them--"Ye will not come to me that ye might have life;" until at
+length the influences of the Holy Spirit were supplicated with
+earnestness and solemnity. These instructions and such conversations
+were daily repeated; and henceforth each time I saw them, I perceived a
+gradual but distinct unfolding of the affections and the understanding.
+
+"August.--The wounded men are much recovered, and the whole of the
+mutineers are now confined together in a large ward of the jail. They
+have long received extreme kindness from the commandant, and are
+literally bewildered at finding that even this last act has not
+diminished the exercise of his benevolence. That anybody should care for
+them, or take such pains about them after their violent conduct excited
+surprise at first almost amounting to suspicion; but this at length gave
+place to the warmest gratitude. They were, in fact, subdued by it. They
+read very much, are extremely submissive, and carefully avoid the
+slightest infringement of the prison regulations. At first, all this was
+confined to the three men I have mentioned; but their steady consistency
+of conduct, and the strange transformation of character, so evident in
+them, gradually arrested the attention of the others, and eventually led
+to a similar result.
+
+"They will be detained here until the case has been decided by the
+authorities in Sydney. They will probably be tried by a commission sent
+from thence to the island for the purpose. Formerly, however, prisoners
+charged with capital offences here were sent up for trial; but (it is a
+horrible fact) this was found to lead to so much crime, that, at much
+inconvenience and expense, it was found absolutely necessary to send
+down a judicial commission on each important occasion, in order to
+prevent it. The mere excitement of a voyage, with the chances connected
+with it, nay, merely a wish to get off the island even for a time, led
+many men to commit crimes of the deepest dye in order to be sent to
+Sydney for trial.
+
+"Two months, therefore, at least must intervene between the perpetration
+of the offence and their trial; and this interval is usually employed in
+similar cases in arranging a defence but too commonly supported by
+perjury. In the present instance, I found not the slightest attempt to
+follow such a course. They declare that they expect death, and will
+gladly welcome it. Of their life, which has been a course of almost
+constant warfare with society, ending in remorseful feelings, they were
+all thoroughly weary, although only one of them exceeds thirty years of
+age.
+
+"In addition to the ordinary services, Captain Maconochie, each Sunday
+afternoon has read prayers to them, and has given permission to a few of
+their friends to be present. Singular good has resulted from it, both to
+the men and those who join in their devotions. At the conclusion of one
+of these services, Sears stood up, and with his heart so full as
+scarcely to allow him utterance, to the surprise of every person there,
+he addressed most impressively the men who were present. 'Perhaps,' said
+he, 'the words of one of yourselves, unhappily circumstanced as I am,
+may have some weight with you. You all know the life I have led; it has,
+believe me, been a most unhappy one; and I have, I hope not too late,
+discovered the cause of this. I solemnly tell you that it is because I
+have broken God's laws. I am almost ashamed to speak, but I dare not be
+silent. I am going to tell you a strange thing. I never before was
+happy; I begin now, for the first time in my life, to _hope_. I am an
+ignorant man, or at least I was so; but I thank God I begin to see
+things in their right light now. I have been unhappily placed from my
+childhood, and have endured many hardships. I do not mention this to
+excuse my errors; yet if I had years since received the kindness I have
+done here, it might have been otherwise. My poor fellows, do turn over a
+new leaf; try to serve God, and you, too, will be happier for it.' The
+effect was most thrilling; there was a deathlike silence; tears rolled
+down many cheeks, which I verily believe never before felt them; and
+without a word more, all slowly withdrew.
+
+"This man's story is also a common, but painful one. At fifteen years of
+age, he was transported for life as an accomplice in an assault and
+alleged robbery, of which, from circumstances which have since
+transpired, I have little doubt he was entirely innocent. During a long
+imprisonment on Horsham jail, he received an initiation in crime, which
+was finished during the outward voyage. Upon his arrival in New South
+Wales, he was assigned to a settler in the interior, a notoriously hard
+and severe man, who gave him but a scanty supply of food and clothing,
+and whose aim seemed to be to take the utmost out of him at the least
+possible expense. Driven at length to desperation, he, with three
+fellow-servants, absconded; and when taken, made a complaint to the
+magistrate, before whom they were brought almost without clothes. Their
+statements were found to be literally correct; but for absconding, they
+were sent to New Castle, one of the penal stations of New South Wales,
+where Sears remained nearly two years. At the expiration of that time,
+he was again assigned, but unfortunately to a man, if possible, worse
+than his former employer, and again absconded. For this offence, he was
+sent to Moreton Bay, another penal settlement, and endured three years
+of horrible severity, starvation, and misery of every kind. His temper
+was by this time much soured; and, roused by the conduct of the
+overseers, he became brutalized by constant punishment for resisting
+them. After this, he was sent to Sydney, as one of the crew in the
+police-boat, of which he was soon made assistant cockswain. For not
+reporting a theft committed by one of the men under his charge, he was
+sentenced to a road-party; and attempting to escape from it, he was
+apprehended, and again ordered to Moreton Bay for four years more. There
+he was again repeatedly flogged for disobedience and resistance of
+overseers, as well as attempting to escape; but having most courageously
+rendered assistance to a vessel wrecked off the harbor, he attracted the
+attention of the commandant, who afterwards shewed him a little favor.
+This was the first approach to kindness he had known since when, years
+before, he had left his home, and had its usual influence. He was never
+again in a scrape there. His good-conduct induced the commandant to
+recommend him for a mitigation of sentence, which he received, and he
+was again employed in the police-boat. The free cockswain of the boat
+was, however, a drunkard, and intrusted much to Sears. Oftentimes he
+roused the men by his violence, but Sears contrived to subdue his
+passion. At length, one night, returning to the hut, drunk, the man
+struck at one of the crew with his cutlass, and the rest resisted and
+disarmed him. But the morning came; the case was heard; their story was
+disbelieved; and upon the charge and evidence of the aggressor, they
+were sent to an ironed gang, to work on the public roads. When Sears
+again became eligible for assignment, a person whom he had known in
+Sydney applied for him. The man must be removed within a fixed period
+after the authority is given. In this case, application was made a day
+beyond the prescribed time, and churlishly refused. The disappointment
+roused a spirit so untutored as his, and once again he absconded; was of
+course apprehended, tried, and being found with a man who had committed
+a robbery, and had a musket in his possession, was sent to Norfolk
+Island for life. This sentence has, however, for meritorious conduct,
+been reduced to fourteen years; and his ready assistance during a fire
+which recently broke out in the military garrison here, might possibly
+have helped to obtain a still further reduction. He never, during those
+abscondings, was absent for any long period, and never committed any act
+of violence. His constant attempt seems to have been to reach Sydney, in
+order to effect his escape from the scene of so much misery.
+
+"For some time past, I have noticed his quiet and orderly conduct, and
+was really sorry when I found him concerned in this unhappy affair. His
+desire for freedom was, however, most ardent, and a chance of obtaining
+it was almost irresistible. He has since told me that a few words kindly
+spoken to himself and others by Captain Maconochie when they landed,
+sounded so pleasantly to him--such are his own words--that he determined
+from that moment he would endeavor to do well. He assures me that he was
+perfectly unconscious of a design to take the brig, until awakened from
+his sleep a few minutes before the attack commenced; that he then
+remonstrated with the men; but finding it useless, he considered it a
+point of honor not to fail them. His anxiety for instruction is intense;
+he listens like a child; and his gratitude is most touching. He,
+together with Jones, Woolfe, and Barry, were chosen by the commandant as
+a police-boat's crew; and had, up to this period, acted with great
+steadiness and fidelity in the discharge of the duties required from
+them. Nor do I think they would even now, tempting as the occasion was,
+have thought of seizing it, had it not been currently reported that they
+were shortly to be placed under a system of severity such as they had
+already suffered so much from.
+
+"Woolfe's story of himself is most affecting. He entered upon evil
+courses when very young; was concerned in burglaries when only eleven
+years of age. Yet this was from no natural love of crime. Enticed from
+his home by boys older than himself, he soon wearied of the life he led,
+and longed to return to his home and his kind mother. Oftentimes he
+lingered near the street she lived in. Once he had been very unhappy,
+for he had seen his brother and sister that day pass near him, and it
+had rekindled all his love for them. They appeared happy in their
+innocence; he was miserable in his crime. He now determined to go home
+and pray to be forgiven. The evening was dark and wet, and as he entered
+the court in which his friends lived, his heart failed him, and he
+turned back; but, unable to resist the impulse, he again returned, and
+stole under the window of the room. A rent in the narrow curtain enabled
+him to see within. His mother sat by the fire, and her countenance was
+so sad, that he was sure she thought of him; but the room looked so
+comfortable, and the whole scene was so unlike the place in which he had
+lately lived, that he could no longer hesitate. He approached the door;
+the latch was almost in his hand, when shame and fear, and a thousand
+other vile and foolish notions, held him back; and the boy who in
+another moment might have been happy--_was lost_. He turned away, and I
+believe he has never seen them since. Going on in crime, he in due
+course of time was transported for robbery. His term of seven years
+expired in Van Diemen's Land. Released from forced servitude, he went a
+whaling-voyage, and was free nearly two years. Unhappily, he was then
+charged with aiding in a robbery, and again received a sentence of
+transportation. He was sent to Port Arthur, there employed as one of the
+boat's crew, and crossing the bay one day with a commissariat-officer,
+the boat was capsized by a sudden squall. In attempting to save the life
+of the officer, he was seized by his dying grasp, and almost perished
+with him; but extricating himself, he swam back to the boat. Seeing the
+drowning man exhausted, and sinking, he dashed forward again, diving
+after him, and happily succeeded in saving his life. For this honorable
+act, he would have received a remission of sentence; but ere it could
+arrive, he and five others made their escape. He had engaged with these
+men in the plan to seize the boat, and although sure of the success of
+the application in his favor, he could not now draw back. The result I
+have already shewn. There were two more men concerned in the mutiny,
+who, with those I have mentioned, and those killed on board the brig,
+made up the number of the boat's crew. But neither of these men came
+under my charge, being both Roman Catholics.
+
+"At length the brig, which had been despatched with an account of the
+affair, returned, and brought the decision of the governor of New South
+Wales. He had found it extremely difficult, almost impossible, to obtain
+fitting members for the commission, who would be willing to accept the
+terms proposed by the government, or trust themselves in this dreadful
+place, and therefore he had determined that the prisoners should be sent
+up for trial. The men were sadly disappointed at this arrangement. They
+wished much to end their days here, and they dreaded both the voyage and
+the distracting effect of new scenes. They cling, too, with grateful
+attachment to the commandant's family, and the persons who, during their
+long imprisonment, had taken so strong an interest in their welfare. I
+determined to accompany them, and watch for their perseverance in
+well-doing, that I might counsel and strengthen them under the fearful
+ordeal I could not doubt they would have to pass.
+
+"The same steady consistency marked the conduct of these men to the
+moment of their embarkation. There was a total absence of all
+excitement; one deep, serious feeling seemed to possess them, and its
+solemnity was communicated to all of us. They spoke and acted as men
+standing on the confines of the unseen world, and who not only thought
+of its wonders, but, better still, seemed to have caught something of
+its spirit and purity.
+
+"November.--The voyage up was a weary, and, to the prisoners, a very
+trying one. In a prison on the lower deck of a brig of one hundred and
+eighty-two tons, fifty-two men were confined. The place itself was about
+twenty feet square, of course, low, and badly ventilated. The men were
+all ironed, and fastened to a heavy chain rove through iron rings let
+into the deck, so that they were unable, for any purpose, to move from
+the spot they occupied; scarcely, indeed, to lie down. The weather was
+also unfavorable. The vessel tossed and pitched most fearfully during a
+succession of violent squalls, accompanied by thunder and lightning. I
+cannot describe the wretchedness of these unhappy convicts; sick, and
+surrounded by filth, they were huddled together in the most disgusting
+manner. The heat was at times unbearable. There were men of sixty--quiet
+and inoffensive old men--placed with others who were as accomplished
+villains as the world could produce. These were either proceeding to
+Sydney, their sentences on the island having expired, or as witnesses in
+another case (a bold and wicked murder) sent there also for trial. The
+sailors on board the brig were for the most part the cowardly fellows
+who had so disgracefully allowed the brig to be taken from them; and
+they, as well as the soldiers on guard (some of them formed a part of
+the former one), had no very kindly feeling towards the mutineers. It
+may be imagined, therefore, that such feelings occasioned no alleviation
+of their condition. In truth, although there was no actual cruelty
+exhibited, they suffered many oppressive annoyances; yet I never saw
+more patient endurance. It was hard to bear, but their better principles
+prevailed. Upon the arrival of the vessel in Sydney, we learned that the
+case had excited an unusual interest. Crowds assembled to catch a
+glimpse of the men as they landed; and while some applauded their
+daring, the great majority very loudly expressed their horror at the
+crime of which they stood accused.
+
+"I do not think it necessary to describe the trial, which took place in
+a few days after landing. All were arraigned except Barry. The
+prisoners' counsel addressed the jurors with powerful eloquence; but it
+was in vain: the crime was substantiated; and the jury returned a
+verdict of guilty against all of the prisoners, recommending Woolfe to
+mercy.
+
+"During the whole trial, the prisoners' conduct was admirable; so much
+so, indeed, as to excite the astonishment of the immense crowd collected
+by curiosity to see men who had made so mad an attempt for liberty. They
+scarcely spoke, except once to request that the wounded man, who yet
+suffered much pain, might be allowed to sit down. Judgment was deferred
+until the following day. When they were then placed at the bar, the
+judge, in the usual manner, asked whether they had any reason to urge
+why sentence should not be pronounced upon them. It was a moment of deep
+solemnity; every breath was held; and the eyes of the whole court were
+directed towards the dock. Jones spoke in a deep, clear voice, and in a
+deliberate harangue pointed out some defects in the evidence, though
+without the slightest hope, he said, of mitigating the sentence now to
+be pronounced on himself and fellows. Three of the others also spoke.
+Whelan said, 'that he was not one of the men properly belonging to the
+boat's crew, but had been called upon to fill the place of another man,
+and had no knowledge of any intention to take the vessel, and the part
+he took on board was forced upon him. He was compelled to act as he had
+done; he had used no violence, nor was he in any way a participator in
+any that had been committed.' At the conclusion of the address to them,
+Jones, amidst the deep silence of the court, pronounced a most emphatic
+prayer for mercy on his own soul, and those of his fellow-prisoners, for
+the judge and jury, and finally for the witnesses. Sentence of death was
+then solemnly pronounced upon them all; but the judge informed Woolfe
+that he might hold out to him expectations that his life would be
+spared. They were then removed from the bar, and sent back to the
+condemned cells.
+
+"I cannot say how much I dreaded my interview with them that day; for
+although I had all along endeavored to prepare their minds for the worst
+result, and they had themselves never for a moment appeared to expect
+any other than this, I feared that the realization of their sad
+expectation would break them down. Hitherto, there might have been some
+secret hope sustaining them. The convulsive clinging to life, so common
+to all of us, would now, perhaps, be more palpably exhibited.
+
+"Entering their cells, I found them, as I feared, stunned by the blow
+which had now fallen on them, and almost overpowered by mental and
+bodily exhaustion. A few remarks about the trial were at length made by
+them; and from that moment I never heard them refer to it again. There
+was no bitterness of spirit against the witnesses, no expression of
+hostility towards the soldiers, no equivocation in any explanation they
+gave. They solemnly denied many of the statements made against them;
+but, nevertheless, the broad fact remained, that they were guilty of an
+attempt to violently seize the vessel, and it was useless debating on
+minor considerations.
+
+"In the meantime, without their knowledge, petitions were prepared and
+forwarded to the judges, the governor and executive council. In them
+were stated various mitigatory facts in their favor; and the meliorated
+character of the criminal code at home was also strongly urged. Every
+attention was paid to these addresses, following each other to the last
+moment. But all was in vain. The council sat, and determined that five
+of the men should be hanged on the following Tuesday. Whelan, who could
+have no previous knowledge of a plan to seize the vessel, together with
+Woolfe, was spared. The remaining four were to suffer. The painful
+office of communicating this final intelligence to these men was
+intrusted to me, and they listened to the announcement not without deep
+feeling, but still with composure.
+
+"It would be very painful for me to dwell on the closing scene. The
+unhappy and guilty men were attended by the zealous chaplain of the
+jail, whose earnest exhortations and instructions they most gratefully
+received. The light of truth shone clearly on the past, and they felt
+that their manifold lapses from the path of virtue had been the original
+cause of the complicated misery they had endured. They entreated
+forgiveness of all against whom they had offended, and in the last words
+to their friends, were uttered grateful remembrances to Captain
+Maconochie, his family, and others. At the place of execution, they
+behaved with fortitude and a composure befitting the solemnity of the
+occasion. Having retired from attendance upon them in their last
+moments, I was startled from the painful stupor which succeeded in my
+own mind, by the loud and heavy bound of the drop as it fell, and told
+me that their spirits had gone to God who gave them."
+
+Since the foregoing narrative was written, the treatment of convicts has
+undergone considerable change, government having found the experiment of
+transporting the worse class of criminals from New South Wales to
+Norfolk Island to be a failure. The penal settlement was therefore
+broken up in 1855, and convicts are now confined in different
+establishments in the United Kingdom, where, without subjecting them to
+absolute silence or solitude, they are separated from the contaminating
+society of each other. Under the present system, it is a fixed principle
+never to allow, if at all possible, the punishment--while it may be made
+to any extent disagreeable--to injure either the body or the mind.
+
+
+
+
+THE SOLITARY ISLANDER.
+
+
+It was at the time Queen Anne began to reign, and her ships were
+carrying the English flag into all seas, for commerce, for discovery, or
+for war, when one of these vessels, called the _Clinque Ports_, put in
+to refit at the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez, on the west coast
+of South America.
+
+It was but a small island, though fertile and pleasant; it had not been
+tilled or planted, neither had any place of shelter been built upon it,
+but sometimes two or three sick sailors had been left there to recover
+health, and sometimes a passing ship would put in for water, and
+departing leave one or two of their live-stock on the island. It had
+thus become stocked with goats, which ran wild about the hills and
+craggy rocks, free from any danger of pursuit and capture.
+
+This was not the first time that the _Clinque Ports_ had touched at Juan
+Fernandez, for not long before she had left there two seamen who were
+unable to continue their voyage, and now she had anchored to reship
+these men, to take in water, and to refit for the long and perilous
+voyage to the English shore.
+
+The two seamen, coming on board, told strange stories to their comrades
+of the pleasant life they had led on the island, of the hunt for goats,
+of the abundance of shell-fish, of the delicious fruits and vegetables,
+and of the cool waters of the place.
+
+Of all the eager listeners to these tales of plenty and delight, there
+was one who never failed to fasten on each word that was said, and by
+constant questioning, to learn every detail of the life on the green
+island which lay before them. This sailor was a Scotsman, named
+Alexander Selkirk or Selcraig. He was of an impatient, overbearing
+temper, and no favorite with his captain, who was not wise enough to
+discern the good sense and honesty which lay hidden under his rough and
+uncourteous manner. Thus it chanced that the Scotch Sailor was often in
+trouble and disgrace, and resenting bitterly a harshness he did not
+think he had deserved, he began to long to leave the ship at any cost.
+
+But perhaps the beginning of his misery and discomfort must be sought
+farther back in his life. His surly speech, his unsocial temper, spoke
+of a mind ill at ease,--the remembrance of the past made the present
+sad.
+
+He had been religiously and strictly brought up by his father, a Scotch
+Puritan, but he had broken loose from the restraints which his parents
+sought to throw around him, and had led, if not a vicious, at least an
+irreligious life, without thought of God, or of the lessons of truth and
+goodness which he had been taught. Yet his conscience was not so
+hardened that he could be happy in this neglect of God, and he felt ill
+at ease, dissatisfied with himself, and with all around him.
+
+He shrank, too, from the prospect of the voyage to England in a vessel
+but half repaired, exaggerating to his own mind the perils before him,
+and fearful of his own temper with his hard and prejudiced commander.
+
+Weighing all these things, he determined on asking the captain to set him
+on shore, that he might wait at Juan Fernandez the passing of some other
+ship in which he might return home. The captain agreed to this proposal
+willingly enough, glad to dismiss from his crew so insubordinate a
+sailor; and just before the _Clinque Ports_ was about to weigh anchor,
+the adventurous seaman was sent on shore with the few things that
+belonged to him. He sprang from the boat almost before her keel had
+grazed the sand, wishing to appear gay and brave to his companions; but
+no sooner did the splash of oars begin to grow faint and distant, and the
+faces of the boatmen indistinct as they neared the ship, than all his
+courage forsook him. With outstretched hands, and frantic words and
+gestures, he implored them to return, promising to bear everything, to
+risk everything, if only he might not be left alone on the lonely island.
+But he cried in vain; the boat reached the ship, the men climbed on
+board, the sails were hoisted, and there on his sea-chest, sat the lonely
+sailor, gazing over the wide ocean, on which nothing but the lessening
+speck of white on the far horizon reminded him of the existence of any
+human being but himself.
+
+Days passed almost uncounted, for in his desolate misery Alexander
+Selkirk had but one thought left--the longing desire of rescue and
+return home. He valued the daylight only because by its aid he could
+watch for a sail on the wide, silent sea; he dreaded the coming on of
+the night, chiefly because it shut him off for a time from his one
+employment. During these dreary days or weeks he never tasted food, save
+when driven to look for it by pangs of sharpest hunger, and even then he
+would not leave the beach, but fed on shell-fish picked up on the rocks,
+or sometimes on the flesh of seals.
+
+It was September when the _Clinque Ports_ sailed, and now October had
+come, the middle of spring in Juan Fernandez, and, all round him, nature
+spoke of hope, and taught of God. But before hope could enter into
+Alexander's desolate heart, sorrow must come: sorrow for sin, for his
+disobedience to the parents whom he had made unhappy; for his reckless,
+godless life; for all the teachings of his youth forgotten, and for its
+lessons neglected. Sometimes, for a few minutes, Alexander would turn
+his eyes from his eager watch over the sea, and looking down, would
+picture instead his Scottish home. He would see clearly in his mind his
+venerable father, with his furrowed brow, and stern, unsmiling mouth;
+his mother, in her tall white cap, busied at her wheel, with a far-away,
+mournful look in her eyes, which told that she was thinking of her
+absent son. Ah! and he saw again even his poor idiot brother, to whom he
+had only used harsh words, and even rough blows. "I would be so
+different now if it should please God ever to let me see home and my
+dear ones again," he thought. And so has many a poor prodigal thought as
+he has been compelled to suffer the punishment for his sins, and found
+no way to escape from it.
+
+Little by little, there grew up in his heart the purpose of beginning
+even now this new life. He would not wait till his return to England. In
+this lonely island, with half the world between him and all he loved, he
+would strive to be one with them in heart, and to join with them in
+prayer and praise. He would seek pardon for the sins of his youth for
+the Saviour's sake, and in His strength, begin life anew. He had a Bible
+with him in his chest, and he began to read it daily, and in earnest
+prayer to seek forgiveness and blessing; then, even in his loneliness,
+comfort came to him. He was no longer alone, for God was with him. He
+knew that God was his Father, his Helper, and his Keeper, and he grew
+calm, almost happy, and was even able sometimes to leave his look-out
+over the sea, and make little journeys into the interior of his new
+kingdom.
+
+As his mind became more peaceful, he turned his thoughts to the question
+of a shelter from the storms of the approaching winter, which, even in
+that mild climate, was often accompanied with frost and snow. There were
+plenty of trees on the island, and with their stems and branches he soon
+built for himself a rough hut, which he thatched with long grass cut and
+dried in the sun. This attempt was so successful that he determined to
+build another hut at a short distance, so that he might sleep in one,
+and in the other, prepare his food. Now that he had once looked in the
+face the thought of spending the winter in the island, he grew, slowly,
+more reconciled to it, and began to take an interest in preparing, as
+far as he could, for its approach.
+
+His huts must be furnished in some fashion; first, he brought up from
+the shore his sea-chest, which contained his few clothes; then he cut
+and fastened up a shelf on which to keep his Bible and the other books
+which he had brought on shore. He had with him a large cooking-pot in
+which to prepare his food, and a smaller drinking-can which he had
+brought, most likely, from home, and which bore the old-fashioned
+inscription, "Alexander Selkirk, this is my one." It was needful to make
+for himself a bed, for hitherto he had slept on the beach, so that at
+the first moment of opening his eyes he might begin his watch over the
+sea: now he must sleep in his hut.
+
+This bed he determined to make of the skins of goats, for he had begun
+to hunt the wild goats for food, having by this time wearied of his diet
+of fish. At first he was able only to overtake and capture the young
+kids, for he had no gun, no bow and arrow with which to kill them at a
+distance; then as exercise and practice increased his strength, he found
+himself able to pursue and take the largest and swiftest goats, and
+having killed them, to carry them on his shoulders to his hut. But as
+goat's flesh, his principal food, could only be obtained by him while he
+remained in full strength and vigor, he determined to provide a store in
+case of illness or accident, and so, catching several young kids, he
+slightly lamed them, so that they could move but slowly, and then
+trained them to feed around his hut, and these gentle creatures, who
+soon learned to know him, brought some sense of companionship to the
+lonely man.
+
+His life began now to have its regular duties and interests. In the
+morning when he rose, he sang one of the old Scotch psalms, after the
+practice which he had been taught from childhood, and then read aloud a
+chapter of the Bible, and prayed long and fervently.
+
+Then he betook himself to light a fire by rubbing together two dry
+sticks till a flame was produced, and this fire he fed from time to time
+with branches and logs from the woods. He had also, his food to obtain
+and to cook--goat's flesh or cray-fish, which he boiled in his large
+sauce-pan; and to gather the tender tops of the cabbage-palm or other
+vegetables, for bread. These necessary employments finished, he would
+take his Bible, and, sitting in the door of his hut, or on the beach,
+would study it for hours, finding new truths and deeper meaning in the
+blessed words familiar to him from his childhood. Or he would choose one
+of his books on navigation, and study with a care which he had never
+before thought it worth while to give, hoping in this way to be a better
+sailor, and be able to take higher rank in the service, if it should
+please God to restore him once more to the duties and work of life. In
+this regular, peaceful, and religious life his spirits gradually
+recovered; nay, he became far happier than he had been since his
+childhood, for something of the trust and the love of a little child
+were restored to his heart.
+
+He would adorn his hut with fragrant boughs, and as he fed and caressed
+his kids, would sing with a light heart the songs of old Scotland. Then
+at set of sun he returned to the hut in which he slept, and there once
+more sang, and read, and prayed, and so lay down to sleep in peace,
+because he knew that it was the Lord only that made him dwell in safety.
+
+"I was a better Christian in my solitude than ever I was before, or than
+I fear I shall ever be again," he said, years after he had left the
+island. In this there was both truth and error. He had been led by the
+merciful goodness of God to repentance and to an earnest desire to
+escape from sin, but it was in the life among his fellows that this
+repentance and these new resolves--must be tested. It was in the daily
+little trials and crosses of a life among other men, that he must learn
+to subdue his proud spirit, and curb his hot temper.
+
+Months and even years passed on, and but little happened to vary
+Alexander's quiet life in his island home. He had now a large number of
+kids around his hut, and had added to his list of favorites several
+tamed cats, which he needed to protect him from the troop of rats which
+gnawed his bed-clothes, and even nibbled at his feet as he lay asleep.
+He had taught the kids and cats, too, to dance, and many a merry hour he
+spent among these his daily companions and friends. The clothes which he
+had brought on shore had been long since worn out, and he had supplied
+their place by a cap, and trousers, and jacket, made of goat-skin. His
+needle was a nail, and his thread thin strips of the skin; among his
+stores was a piece of linen, and this too he had sewn into shirts,
+unravelling one of his stockings for a supply of thread. He was
+barefoot, and the soles of his feet had grown so hard that he could
+climb sharp crags, and run over the stony beach, unhurt.
+
+[Illustration: A narrow escape.]
+
+Twice or thrice during these lonely years he had seen a sail
+approaching, but on these he looked with as much terror as hope, for
+should the crew prove to be Spaniards, he knew that he should be made a
+prisoner by them, and either put to death, or sent into hopeless
+slavery.
+
+Once, indeed, the crew of a Spanish vessel, putting in for water, had
+caught sight of the strange figure in the goat-skin dress, and had
+chased him, but so swift-footed was he that he soon left his pursuers
+far behind, and then lay hid in terror for hours, till the vessel had
+departed. His life had been besides in other danger, for once while
+pursuing the hunt from crag to crag, in wild and delightful adventure,
+he had set foot on the hidden edge of a precipice: the grass which
+seemed to promise so fair a footing gave way beneath his feet, he fell
+headlong, and lay hurt and senseless below. He judged by the size of the
+moon, when at last he opened his eyes to consciousness, that he must
+have been lying stunned and helpless for more than twenty-four hours,
+and it was with the greatest pain and difficulty that he could drag
+himself to his hut, and lie down on his bed of skins. His tame favorites
+came about him but none of them could help him, and he was too weak to
+care to procure for himself food or water. But even in his great
+distress he did not lose his confidence in God, and he lay calm and
+patient, satisfied that he was safe in the care of his Heavenly Father.
+After many days of suffering he recovered and once more enjoyed full
+health and vigor.
+
+He had been alone on Juan Fernandez for more than four years when one
+evening, looking out seaward before lying down in his hut, he saw the
+sails of an English-built vessel which was standing in very near to the
+shore. Alexander could not resist the sudden and strong desire which he
+felt, to be once more among his fellow-men, to hear once more the
+English speech, and feel once more the grasp of a friendly hand.
+Hurrying down to the beach, he piled and lighted a large bonfire, to
+carry a message to his fellow-countrymen, but the ship, instead of
+sailing shoreward, or of putting off a boat at once, tacked and went
+farther from the island, taking the fire to be the lights of an enemy's
+ship at anchor in the bay.
+
+Alexander spent the night in hope and in doubt: he killed some goats and
+prepared them for food, hoping the next day to entertain some of his
+countrymen in his island home, and at the first dawn of day he was again
+on the beach, gazing at the now distant but motionless ship.
+
+Those on board were also keeping an anxious watch, but when morning
+light showed them that there was no other ship near, the captain
+determined to send a boat on shore to discover the cause of the strange
+light which they had seen the night before. As they approached the
+island they saw a strange figure running to meet them, and by gestures
+and shouts pointing out the best place for landing. Alexander, with his
+long beard, his tanned complexion, his goat-skin dress, had lost almost
+all outward resemblance to a civilized man, and they wondered much who
+this friendly and solitary savage might be.
+
+But who can describe his joy when he heard once more the speech of his
+own country, and looked on the faces of his kind. He welcomed his
+visitors in the best English he could remember, for even his speech was
+half forgotten, and led them to his hut to partake of the banquet he had
+prepared.
+
+Yet in the midst of all his joy he could hardly determine to leave his
+beloved island, so accustomed had he grown to solitude, and to his wild,
+uncontrolled life. At length the remembrance of his aged parents, and of
+his friends at home, made him determine to ask a passage in the ship
+which had touched on his island shore, and the captain, finding how much
+he had learnt of seamanship and navigation, offered to rate him as mate.
+And thus Juan Fernandez was left once more in utter solitude, and
+Selkirk, gazing from the ship's deck, saw its green hills and pleasant
+coasts disappear in the distance, as he left the island and all its sad,
+its sacred, its happy memories forever. He soon grew tired of the
+society of men, and when not busy about the ship, would always seek to
+be alone, dreaming of the life which he had left. He found it hard, too,
+to accustom himself to the salt meat and biscuits which were sailors'
+fare, and to the dress and boots in which he must now appear. Soon every
+other thought was lost in his longing desire to see once more his
+parents and his home, for the shores of England were in sight. It was on
+a Sunday morning that the wanderer entered once more his native village,
+where all seemed quiet and unchanged. He did not turn his steps to his
+father's cottage, for his parents, as he well knew, would be at the
+kirk, and there would he look on their faces once more. Would they
+recognize, he asked himself, in the strong and bearded man, the youth
+who had left them years ago for the life of adventure which he loved
+best? Would they know the fine gentleman in gold lace and embroidery to
+be their son Alexander, their lost sailor lad. Pondering such thoughts
+as these, he walked on almost unconsciously. How well he knew every step
+of his way! In this farmhouse, his sister and her husband used to live;
+there was the wood where he had so often gathered nuts, or climbed for
+birds' nests with his boyish companions; there, its thatched roof more
+lichen-covered than of old, stood his father's cottage, at the door of
+which years ago he had kissed his mother for the last time--ah! was she
+still alive to welcome the returning wanderer?
+
+Seated in the kirk among unfamiliar faces, his eyes sought at once the
+well-known corner where, as a boy, he had been used to sit, and with an
+almost overwhelming rush of thankfulness and joy he saw once more his
+mother's face, the same, yet changed, its added wrinkles and silvered
+hair telling, perhaps, of many tears and long sorrow for her lost sailor
+son.
+
+There sat his father, too, the portly, respectable-looking elder, in
+blue cap and coat of homespun tweed. In vain did Alexander seek to join
+in the psalm or prayer, his looks and thoughts were ever wandering; and
+he was not alone in this, for the dark eyes of his old mother turned
+continually with an eager, inquiring gaze to the grand stranger
+gentleman, strange yet so familiar. Then her eyes were cast down once
+more on her book, as she tried to give heed to the service, till at last
+a sudden smile which lit up Alexander's face, showed her that she saw
+before her the son for whom she had longed and prayed, whom no doubt she
+had before this counted as among the dead. In her sudden joy the old
+woman forgot all else, and rising, rushed towards the place where the
+returned wanderer was seated.
+
+The whole family, with Alexander in their midst, now made their way out
+of the kirk, and returned home to talk of the great deliverance which
+God had given to their lost kinsman.
+
+On this true story of Selkirk was founded the tale of the Adventures of
+Robinson Crusoe.
+
+
+
+
+CAPTAIN COOK'S LAST VOYAGE.
+
+
+The discovery of a supposed north-west passage from the North Atlantic
+to the North Pacific Oceans, had for many years been ardently sought
+for, both by the English and the Dutch. Frobisher, in 1576, made the
+first attempt, and his example was in succeeding times followed by many
+others. But though much geographical information had been gained in the
+neighborhood of Hudson's Bay, Davis' Strait, Baffin's Bay, and the coast
+of Greenland, yet no channel whatever was found. By act of parliament,
+£20,000 was offered to the successful individual. But though Captain
+Middleton, in 1741, and Captains Smith and Moore, in 1746, explored
+those seas and regions, the object remained unattained. The Honorable
+Captain Phipps (afterwards Earl Mulgrave) was sent out in the
+_Racehorse_, accompanied by Captain Lutwidge, in the _Carcase_ (Lord
+Nelson was a boy in this latter ship), to make observations, and to
+penetrate as far as it was practicable to do so. They sailed June 2,
+1773, and made Spitzbergen on the 28th; but after great exertions, they
+found the ice to the northward utterly impenetrable. Once they became
+closely jammed, and it was only with great difficulty they escaped
+destruction. On August 22, finding it impossible to get further to the
+northward, eastward, or westward, they made sail, according to their
+instructions, for England, and arrived off Shetland on September 7.
+
+Notwithstanding these numerous failures, the idea of an existing passage
+was still cherished; and Earl Sandwich continuing at the head of the
+Admiralty, resolved that a further trial should be made, and Captain
+Cook offered his services to undertake it. They were gladly accepted,
+and on February 10, 1776, he was appointed to command the expedition in
+his old, but hardy ship, the _Resolution_, and Captain Clerke, in the
+_Discovery_, was ordered to attend him. In this instance, however, the
+mode of experiment was to be reversed, and instead of attempting the
+former routes by Davis' Strait or Baffin's Bay, etc., Cook, at his own
+request, was instructed to proceed into the South Pacific, and thence to
+try the passage by the way of Behring's Strait; and as it was necessary
+that the islands in the Southern Ocean should be revisited, cattle and
+sheep, with other animals, and all kinds of seeds, were shipped for the
+advantage of the natives.
+
+Every preparation having been made, the _Resolution_ quitted Plymouth on
+July 12, taking Omai, the native, from the Society Isles. Having touched
+at Teneriffe, they crossed the equator September 1, and reached the Cape
+on October 18, where the _Discovery_ joined them on November 10.
+
+The ships sailed again on November 30, and encountered heavy gales, in
+which several sheep and goats died. On December 12 they saw two large
+islands, which Cook named Prince Edward's Islands; and three days
+afterwards several others were seen; but having made Kerguelen's Land,
+they anchored in a convenient harbor on Christmas day. On the north side
+of this harbor one of the men found a quart bottle fastened to a
+projecting rock by stout wire, and on opening it, the bottle was found
+to contain a piece of parchment, on which was an inscription purporting
+that the land had been visited by a French vessel in 1772-3. To this
+Cook added a notice of his own visit; the parchment was then returned to
+the bottle, and the cork being secured with lead, was placed upon a pile
+of stones near to the place from which it had been removed. The whole
+country was extremely barren and desolate, and on the 30th they came to
+the eastern extremity of Kerguelen's Land.
+
+On January 24, 1777, they came in sight of Van Diemen's Land (now
+Tasmania), and on the 26th anchored in Adventure Bay, where intercourse
+was opened with the natives, and Omai took every opportunity of lauding
+the great superiority of his friends, the English. Here they obtained
+plenty of grass for the remaining cattle, and a supply of fresh
+provisions for themselves. On the 30th they quitted their port,
+convinced that Van Diemen's Land was the southern point of New Holland.
+Subsequent investigations, however, have proved this idea to be
+erroneous, Van Diemen's Land being an island separated from the mainland
+of Australia by Bass's Strait.
+
+On February 12, Captain Cook anchored at his old station in Queen
+Charlotte's Sound, New Zealand; but the natives were very shy in
+approaching the ships, and none could be persuaded to come on board. The
+reason was, that on the former voyages, after parting with the
+_Resolution_, the _Adventure_ had visited this place, and ten of her
+crew had been killed in an unpremeditated skirmish with the natives. It
+was the fear of retaliatory punishment that kept them aloof. Captain
+Cook, however, soon made them easy upon the subject, and their
+familiarity was renewed; but great caution was used, to be fully
+prepared for a similar attack, by keeping the men well-armed on all
+occasions. Of the animals left at this island in the former voyages,
+many were thriving; and the gardens, though left in a state of nature,
+were found to contain cabbages, onions, leeks, radishes, mustard, and a
+few potatoes. The captain was enabled to add to both. At the
+solicitation of Omai, he received two New Zealand lads on board the
+_Resolution_, and by the 27th was clear of the coast.
+
+After landing at a number of islands, and not finding adequate supplies,
+the ships sailed for Anamocka, and the _Resolution_ was brought up in
+exactly the same anchorage that she had occupied three years before. The
+natives behaved in a most friendly manner, and but for their habits of
+stealing, quiet would have been uninterrupted. Nothing, however, could
+check this propensity, till Captain Cook shaved the heads of all whom he
+caught practicing it. This rendered them an object of ridicule to their
+countrymen, and enabled the English to recognize and keep them at a
+distance. Most of the Friendly Isles were visited by the ships, and
+everywhere they met with a kind reception. On June 10 they reached
+Tongataboo, where the King offered Captain Cook his house to reside in.
+Here he made a distribution of animals amongst the chiefs, and the
+importance of preserving them was explained by Omai. Two kids and two
+turkey-cocks having been stolen, the captain seized three canoes, put a
+guard over the chiefs, and insisted that not only the kids and turkeys
+should be restored, but also everything that had been taken away since
+their arrival. This produced a good effect, and much of the plunder was
+returned.
+
+[Illustration: Deliverance. (Page 194.)]
+
+Captain Cook remained at the Friendly Islands nearly three months, and
+lived almost entirely during that period upon fresh provisions,
+occasionally eating the produce of the seeds he had sown there in his
+former visits. On July 17, they took their final leave of these
+hospitable people, and on August 12 reached Otaheite, and took up a
+berth in Oaiti-piha Bay, which, it was discovered, had been visited by
+two Spanish ships since the _Resolution_ had last been there.
+
+Animals of various kinds had been left in the country by the Spaniards,
+and the islanders spoke of them with esteem and respect. On the 24th the
+ships went round to Matavai Bay, and Captain Cook presented to the king,
+Otoo, the remainder of his live stock.
+
+They here witnessed a human sacrifice, to propitiate the favor of their
+gods in a battle they were about to undertake. The victim was generally
+some strolling vagabond, who was not aware of his fate till the moment
+arrived, and he received his death-blow from a club. For the purpose of
+showing the inhabitants the use of the horses, Captains Cook and Clerke
+rode into the country, to the great astonishment of the islanders; and
+though this exercise was continued every day by some of the _Resolution's_
+people, yet the wonder of the natives never abated.
+
+On the return of Omai to the land of his birth, the reception he met
+with was not very cordial; but the affection of his relatives was strong
+and ardent. Captain Cook obtained the grant of a piece of land for him
+on the west side of Owharre harbor, Huaheine. The carpenters of the
+ships built him a small house, to which a garden was attached, planted
+with shaddocks, vines, pineapples, melons, etc., and a variety of
+vegetables, the whole of which were thriving before Captain Cook quitted
+the island. When the house was finished, the presents Omai had received
+in England were carried ashore, with every article necessary for
+domestic purposes, as well as two muskets, a bayonet, a brace of
+pistols, etc.
+
+The two lads brought from New Zealand were put on shore at this place,
+to form part of Omai's family; but it was with great reluctance that
+they quitted the voyagers, who had behaved so kindly to them.
+
+Whilst lying at Huaheine, a thief, who had caused them great trouble,
+not only had his head and beard shaved, but, in order to deter others,
+both his ears were cut off. On November 3, the ships went to Ulietea,
+and here, decoyed by the natives, two or three desertions took place;
+and as others seemed inclined to follow the example, Captain Clerke
+pursued the fugitives with two-armed boats and a party of marines, but
+without effect. Captain Cook experienced a similar failure; he therefore
+seized upon the persons of the chief's son, daughter, and son-in-law,
+whom he placed under confinement till the people should be restored,
+which took place on the 28th, and the hostages were released. One of the
+deserters was a midshipman of the _Discovery_, and the son of a brave
+officer in the service. Schemes were projected by some of the natives to
+assassinate Captain Cook and Captain Clerke; but though in imminent
+danger, the murderous plans failed.
+
+At Bolabola, Captain Cook succeeded in obtaining an anchor which had
+been left there by M. Bougainville, as he was very desirous of
+converting the iron into articles of traffic. They left this place on
+December 8, crossed the line, and on the 24th stopped at a small island,
+which he named Christmas Island, and where he planted cocoa-nuts, yams,
+and melon seeds, and left a bottle enclosing a suitable inscription.
+
+On January 2, 1778, the ships resumed their voyage northward, to pursue
+the grand object in Behring's Strait. They passed several islands, the
+inhabitants of which, though at a great distance from Otaheite, spoke
+the same language. Those who came on board displayed the utmost
+astonishment at everything they beheld, and it was evident they had
+never seen a ship before. The disposition to steal was equally strong in
+these as in the other South Sea islanders, and a man was killed who
+tried to plunder the watering-party, but this was not known to Captain
+Cook till after they had sailed. They also discovered that the practice
+of eating human flesh was prevalent. To a group of these islands (and
+they were generally found in clusters) Captain Cook gave the name of the
+Sandwich Islands, in honor of the noble earl at the head of the
+Admiralty.
+
+The voyage to the northward was continued on February 2, and the
+long-looked-for coast of New Albion was made on March 7; the ships,
+after sailing along it till the 29th, came to anchor in a small cove. A
+brisk trade commenced with the natives, who appeared to be well
+acquainted with the value of iron, for which they exchanged the skins of
+various animals, such as bears, wolves, foxes, deer, etc., both in their
+original state and made up into garments. But the most extraordinary
+articles were human skulls, and hands not quite stripped of the flesh,
+and which had the appearance of having been recently on the fire.
+Thieving was practiced at this place in a more scientific manner than
+they had before remarked; and the natives insisted upon being paid for
+the wood and other things supplied to the ships, with which Captain Cook
+scrupulously complied. This inlet was named King George's Sound, but it
+was afterwards ascertained that the natives called it Nootka Sound.
+After making every requisite nautical observation, the ships being again
+ready for sea on the 26th, in the evening they departed, a severe gale
+of wind blowing them away from the shore. From this period they examined
+the coast, under a hope of finding some communication with the Polar
+Sea; one river they traced a long distance, which was afterwards named
+Cook's River.
+
+They left this place June 6, but notwithstanding all their watchfulness
+and vigilance, no passage could be found. The ships ranged across the
+mouth of the strait. The natives of the islands, by their manners, gave
+evident tokens of their being acquainted with Europeans--most probably
+Russian traders. They put in at Oonalaska and other places, which were
+taken possession of in the name of the King of England. On August 3, Mr.
+Anderson, surgeon of the _Resolution_, died from a lingering
+consumption, under which he had been suffering more than twelve months.
+He was a young man of considerable ability, and possessed an amiable
+disposition.
+
+Proceeding to the northward, Captain Cook ascertained the relative
+position of the two continents, Asia and America, whose extremities he
+observed. On the 18th they were close to a dense wall of ice, beyond
+which they could not penetrate. The ice here was from ten to twelve feet
+high, and seemed to rise higher in the distance. A prodigious number of
+sea-horses were crouching on the ice, some of which were procured for
+food. Captain Cook continued to traverse these icy seas till the 29th.
+He then explored the coasts in Behring's Strait both in Asia and
+America; and on October 2 again anchored at Oonalaska to refit; and here
+they had communication with some Russians, who undertook to convey
+charts and maps, etc., to the English Admiralty, which they faithfully
+fulfilled. On the 26th the ships quitted the harbor of Samganoodah, and
+sailed for the Sandwich Islands, Captain Cook purposing to remain there
+a few months, and then return to Kamtschatka. The island of Mowee was
+discovered on November 26; and on the 30th they fell in with another,
+called by the natives Owyhee (now Hawaii); and being of large extent,
+the ships were occupied nearly seven weeks in sailing round it, and
+examining the coast; and they found the islanders more frank and free
+from suspicion than any they had yet had intercourse with; so that on
+January 16, 1779, there were not fewer than a thousand canoes about the
+two ships, most of them crowded with people, and well-laden with hogs
+and other productions of the place. A robbery having been committed,
+Captain Cook ordered a volley of musketry and four great guns to be
+fired over the canoe that contained the thief; but this seemed only to
+astonish the natives, without creating any great alarm. On the 17th the
+ships anchored in a bay called by the islanders, Karakakooa. The natives
+constantly thronged to the ships, whose decks, consequently, being at
+all times crowded, allowed of pilfering without fear of detection; and
+these practices, it is conjectured, were encouraged by the chiefs. A
+great number of the hogs purchased were killed and salted down so
+completely, that some of the pork was good at Christmas, 1780. On the
+26th, Captain Cook had an interview with Terreeoboo, King of the
+islands, in which great formality was observed, and an exchange of
+presents took place, as well as an exchange of names. The natives were
+extremely respectful to Cook; in fact, they paid him a sort of
+adoration, prostrating themselves before him; and a society of priests
+furnished the ships with a constant supply of hogs and vegetables,
+without requiring any return. On February 3, the day previous to the
+ships sailing, the King presented them with a quantity of cloth, many
+boat-loads of vegetables, and a whole herd of hogs. The ships sailed on
+the following day, but on the 6th encountered a very heavy gale, in
+which, on the night of the 7th, the _Resolution_ sprung the head of her
+foremast in such a dangerous manner, that they were forced to put back
+to Karakakooa Bay, in order to get it repaired. Here they anchored on
+the morning of the 11th, and everything for a time promised to go well
+in their intercourse with the natives. The friendliness manifested by
+the chiefs, however, was far from solid. They were savages at a low
+point of cultivation, and theft and murder were not considered by them
+in the light of crimes. Cook, aware of the nature of these barbarians,
+was anxious to avoid any collision, and it was with no small regret that
+he found that an affray had taken place between some seamen and the
+natives. The cause of the disturbance was the seizure of the cutter of
+the _Discovery_ as it lay at anchor. The boats of both ships were sent
+in search of her, and Captain Cook went on shore to prosecute the
+inquiry, and, if necessary, to seize the person of the King, who had
+sanctioned the theft.
+
+The narrative of what ensued is affectingly tragical. Cook left the
+_Resolution_ about seven o'clock, attended by the lieutenant of marines,
+a sergeant, a corporal, and seven private men. The pinnace's crew were
+likewise armed, and under the command of Mr. Roberts; the launch was
+also ordered to assist his own boat. He landed with the marines at the
+upper end of the town of Kavoroah, where the natives received him with
+their accustomed tokens of respect, and not the smallest sign of
+hostility was evinced by any of them; and as the crowds increased, the
+chiefs employed themselves as before, in keeping order. Captain Cook
+requested the King to go on board the _Resolution_ with him, to which he
+offered few objections; but in a little time it was observed that the
+natives were arming themselves with long spears, clubs, and daggers, and
+putting on the thick mats which they used by way of armor. This hostile
+appearance was increased by the arrival of a canoe from the opposite
+side of the bay, announcing that one of the chiefs had been killed by a
+shot from the _Discovery's_ boat. The women, who had been conversing
+familiarly with the English, immediately retired, and loud murmurs arose
+amongst the crowd. Captain Cook, perceiving the tumultuous proceedings
+of the natives, ordered Lieutenant Middleton to march his marines down
+to the boats, to which the islanders offered no obstruction. The captain
+followed with the king, attended by his wife, two sons, and several
+chiefs. One of the sons had already entered the pinnace, expecting his
+father to follow, when the king's wife and others hung round his neck,
+and forced him to be seated near a double canoe, assuring him that he
+would be put to death if he went on board the ship.
+
+Whilst matters were in this position, one of the chiefs was seen with a
+dagger partly concealed under his cloak, lurking about Captain Cook, and
+the lieutenant of marines proposed to fire at him; but this the captain
+would not permit; but the chief closing upon them, the officer of
+marines struck him with his firelock. Another native, grasping the
+sergeant's musket, was forced to let it go by a blow from the
+lieutenant. Captain Cook, seeing the tumult was increasing, observed,
+that "if he were to force the king off, it could only be done by
+sacrificing the lives of many of his people;" and was about to give
+orders to re-embark, when a man flung a stone at him, which he returned
+by discharging small-shot from one of the barrels of his piece. The man
+was but little hurt; and brandishing his spear, with threatenings to
+hurl it at the captain, the latter, unwilling to fire with ball, knocked
+the fellow down, and then warmly expostulated with the crowd for their
+hostile conduct. At this moment a man was observed behind a double
+canoe, in the act of darting a spear at Captain Cook, who promptly
+fired, but killed another who was standing by his side. The sergeant of
+marines, however, instantly presented, and brought down the native whom
+the captain had missed. The impetuosity of the islanders was somewhat
+repressed; but being pushed on by those in the rear, who were ignorant
+of what was passing in front, a volley of stones was poured in amongst
+the marines, who, without waiting for orders, returned it with a general
+discharge of musketry, which was directly succeeded by a brisk fire from
+the boats. Captain Cook expressed much surprise and vexation; he waved
+his hand for the boats to cease firing, and to come on shore to embark
+the marines. The pinnace unhesitatingly obeyed; but the lieutenant in
+the launch, instead of pulling in to the assistance of his commander,
+rowed further off at the very moment that the services of himself and
+people were most required. Nor was this all the mischief that ensued;
+for, as it devolved upon the pinnace to receive the marines, she became
+so crowded, as to render the men incapable of using their fire-arms. The
+marines on shore, however, fired; but the moment their pieces were
+discharged, the islanders rushed _en masse_ upon them, forced the party
+into the water, where four of them were killed, and the lieutenant
+wounded. At this critical period Captain Cook was left entirely alone
+upon a rock near the shore. He, however, hurried towards the pinnace,
+holding his left arm round the back of his head, to shield it from the
+stones, and carrying his musket under his right. An islander, armed with
+a club, was seen in a crouching posture cautiously following him, as if
+watching for an opportunity to spring forward upon his victim. This man
+was a relation of the king's, and remarkably agile and quick. At length,
+he jumped forward upon the captain, and struck him a heavy blow on the
+back of his head, and then turned and fled. The captain appeared to be
+somewhat stunned: he staggered a few paces, and, dropping his musket,
+fell on his hands and one knee; but whilst striving to recover his
+upright position, another islander rushed forward, and with an iron
+dagger stabbed him in the neck. He again made an effort to proceed, but
+fell into a small pool of water not more than knee-deep, and numbers
+instantly ran to the spot, and endeavored to keep him down; but by his
+struggles he was enabled to get his head above the surface, and casting
+a look towards the pinnace (then not more than five or six yards
+distant), seemed to be imploring assistance. It is asserted that, in
+consequence of the crowded state of the pinnace, (through the withdrawal
+of the launch), the crew of the boat were unable to render any aid; but
+it is also probable that the emergency of this unexpected catastrophe
+deprived the English of that cool judgment which was requisite on such
+an occasion. The islanders, perceiving that no help was afforded, forced
+him under water again, but in a deeper place; yet his great muscular
+power once more enabled him to raise himself and cling to the rock. At
+this moment a forcible blow was given with a club, and he fell down
+lifeless. The savages then hauled his corpse upon the rock, and
+ferociously stabbed the body all over, snatching the dagger from each
+others' hands to wreak their sanguinary vengeance on the slain. The body
+was left some time exposed upon the rock; and as the islanders gave way,
+through terror at their own act and the fire from the boats, it might
+have been recovered entire. But no attempt of the kind was made; and it
+was afterwards, together with the marines, cut up, and the parts
+distributed amongst the chiefs. The mutilated fragments were
+subsequently restored, and committed to the deep with all the honors due
+to the rank of the deceased. Thus, February 14, 1779, perished in an
+inglorious brawl with a set of savages, one of England's greatest
+navigators, whose services to science have never been surpassed by any
+man belonging to his profession. It may almost be said that he fell a
+victim to his humanity; for if, instead of retreating before his
+barbarous pursuers, with a view to spare their lives, he had turned
+revengefully upon them, his fate might have been very different.
+
+The death of their commander was felt to be a heavy blow by the officers
+and seamen of the expedition. With deep sorrow the ships' companies left
+Owyhee, where the catastrophe had occurred, the command of the
+_Resolution_ devolving on Captain Clerke, and Mr. Gore acting as
+commander of the _Discovery_. After making some further exploratory
+searches among the Sandwich Islands, the vessels visited Kamtschatka and
+Behring's Strait. Here it was found impossible to penetrate through the
+ice either on the coast of America or that of Asia, so that they
+returned to the southward; and on August 22, 1779, Captain Clerke died
+of consumption, and was succeeded by Captain Gore, who, in his turn,
+gave Lieutenant King an acting order in the _Discovery_. After a second
+visit to Kamtschatka, the two ships returned by way of China, remained
+some time at Canton, touched at the Cape, and arrived at the Nore,
+October 4, 1780, after an absence of four years, two months, and
+twenty-two days, during which the _Resolution_ lost only five men by
+sickness, and the _Discovery_ did not lose a single man.
+
+By this, as well as the preceding voyages of Cook, a considerable
+addition was made to a knowledge of the earth's surface. Besides
+clearing up doubts respecting the Southern Ocean, and making known many
+islands in the Pacific, the navigator did an inestimable service to his
+country in visiting the coasts of New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land,
+New Zealand, and Norfolk Island--all now colonial possessions of
+Britain, and rapidly becoming the seat of a large and flourishing nation
+of Anglo-Australians--the England of the southern hemisphere.
+
+The intelligence of Captain Cook's death was received with melancholy
+regrets in England. The king granted a pension of £200 per annum to his
+widow, and £25 per annum to each of the children; the Royal Society had
+a gold medal struck in commemoration of him; and various other honors at
+home and abroad were paid to his memory.
+
+"Thus, by his own persevering efforts," as has been well observed by the
+author of the 'Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties,' "did this great
+man raise himself from the lowest obscurity to a reputation wide as the
+world itself, and certain to last as long as the age in which he
+flourished shall be remembered by history. But better still than even
+all this fame--than either the honors which he received while living, or
+those which, when he was no more, his country and mankind bestowed upon
+his memory--he had exalted himself in the scale of moral and
+intellectual being; had won a new and nobler nature, and taken a high
+place among the instructors and benefactors of mankind."
+
+Honor and fame are not to be achieved by seeking for them alone, nor are
+their possession the end and aim of human existence. It is only by an
+unwearied striving after a new and nobler nature; only by being useful
+to our fellows, and making the most of those qualities of mind which God
+has given us, that happiness is to be attained, or that we fulfill the
+ends of our being.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+EXCELLENT BOOKS.
+
+SIX MONTHS AT MRS. PRIOR'S. By Emily Adams. Illustrated. Boston: D.
+Lothrop & Co. $1.25.
+
+"In this fresh little story, which is addressed especially to young
+girls, the author tries to impress the lesson that the disagreeable and
+annoying duties of life may be made pleasant by accepting them as
+inevitable, and asking help from above. Mrs. Prior is the widow of a
+clergyman, and has been left with five little ones to support. She
+discharges her servant, and divides the lighter duties of the household
+between herself and the two eldest of her children, Minnie and Helen.
+Unaccustomed to any thing but study and play, the girls find it very
+hard to have their old time appointments for enjoyment circumscribed,
+and complain bitterly at first. The book gives a history of their
+experience, and shows how the work that was so irksome at first became
+in the end a source of pleasure and means of healthful discipline.
+
+"Six Months at Mrs. Prior's" is a sweet story of womanly tact combined
+with Christian trust. A widow, with scanty means, makes a home happy for
+a group of children, restless, wayward and aspiring, like many American
+children of our day. The mother's love holds them, her thrift cares for
+them, her firmness restrains, and her christian words and life win them
+to noble aims and living. The influence of the christian household is
+widely felt, and the quiet transforming leaven works in many homes. We
+can't have too many books of this kind in the family or Sunday-school."
+
+MISS PRICILLA HUNTER, by Pansy, opens a new view for that charming
+writer, but one eminently popular at the present time. It deals with the
+payment of a church debt, and shows how an humble woman, with a
+Christian character which gave power to her words, raised the money to
+pay off a debt which had long been a hindrance to church growth and to
+Christian benevolence. Why she did it, and how she did it, is told in
+Pansy's best fashion: her encounters with crabbed folks, and stingy
+folks, and folks determined not to give to the church debt, are highly
+amusing, as well as her devices to get something from everybody.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+RECENT BOOKS.
+
+YENSIE WALTON. By Mrs. S. R. Graham Clark. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co.
+$1.50.
+
+Of the many good books which the Messrs. Lothrop have prepared for the
+shelves of Sunday-school libraries, "Yensie Walton" is one of the best.
+It is a sweet, pure story of girl life, quiet as the flow of a brook,
+and yet of sufficient interest to hold the attention of the most
+careless reader. Yensie is an orphan, who has found a home with an
+uncle, a farmer, some distance from the city. Her aunt, a coarse, vulgar
+woman, and a tyrant in the household, does her best to humiliate her by
+making her a domestic drudge, taking away her good clothing and
+exchanging it for coarse, ill-filling garments, and scolding her from
+morning till night. This treatment develops a spirit of resistance; the
+mild and affectionate little girl becomes passionate and disobedient,
+and the house is the scene of continual quarrels. Fortunately, her uncle
+insists upon her attending school, and in the teacher, Miss Gray, she
+finds her first real friend. In making her acquaintance a new life
+begins for her. She is brought in contact with new and better
+influences, and profiting by them becomes in time a sunbeam in her
+uncle's house, and the means of softening the heart and quieting the
+tongue of the aunt who was once her terror and dread. Mrs. Clark has a
+very pleasing style, and is especially skilful in the construction of
+her stories.
+
+"Yensie Walton" is a story of great power, by a new author. It aims to
+show that God uses a stern discipline to form the noblest characters,
+and that the greatest trials of life often prove the greatest blessings.
+The story is subordinate to this moral aim, and the earnestness of the
+author breaks out into occasional preaching. But the story is full of
+striking incident and scenes of great pathos, with occasional gleams of
+humor and fun by way of relief to the more tragic parts of the
+narrative. The characters are strongly drawn, and, in general, are
+thoroughly human, not gifted with impossible perfections, but having
+those infirmities of the flesh which make us all akin.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+RECENT BOOKS.
+
+JOHNNY'S VACATIONS AND OTHER STORIES. By Mary E. N. Hathaway. Boston: D.
+Lothrop & Co. $1.00.
+
+Few more entertaining stories for small boys have lately made their
+appearance than _Johnny's Vacations_. The author seems to have had
+experience with boys and tells in a charmingly natural manner the story
+of a vacation spent on a farm by one of them, Johnny Stephens by name.
+In addition there are six shorter stories, in which the girls will be as
+deeply interested as the boys. Among them are "The Doll's Party," "Biddy
+and her Chickens," "The Wild Goose," and "Pansy's Visit."
+
+ROYAL LOWRIE. A Boy's Book. By Magnus Merriweather. D. Lothrop & Co.,
+Boston. With eleven illustrations by Hopkins. 16mo. Price, $1.25.
+
+Despite the efforts of publishers, a brilliant book for boys is a _rara
+avis_; therefore "Royal Lowrie" is likely to be appreciated by all
+lively boys between twelve and forty. While in literary finish the book
+ranks with the best novels of the day, the characters are the boys and
+girls of our modern High Schools. The plot is of breathless interest,
+but of such a character that we will warrant when the general
+mystification is dispersed no reader will feel like ever undertaking to
+seem what he is not. The humiliation which at last overtakes Royal
+Lowrie and Archer Bishop is so very thorough that the two gay,
+thoughtless fellows, in the language of the _American Bookseller_,
+"resolve in future to be wholly true, even in little things. Royal
+Lowrie is an especially engaging rattlepate, and we do not wonder that
+he wins forgiveness on all sides."
+
+Although it is an irresistibly humorous story of high-spirited boys and
+girls, the book is calculated to exert as strong a restraining influence
+as any volume which will be found in our Sunday-school Libraries.
+
+ENTERPRISE.
+
+We copy the following from _The American Bookseller_, New York:
+
+Few people can have failed to notice the great enterprise, if they have
+not observed the scrupulous care with which Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co.
+have published a class of books adapted to the highest culture of the
+people.
+
+It is only ten years since they commenced the work of publishing, and
+their list now numbers more than six hundred volumes.
+
+We are glad to make record, that brave and persistent following of a
+high ideal has been successful.
+
+Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co. have given special attention to the publication
+of books for children and youths, rightly considering that in no
+department is _the best_, as regards literary excellence and purity of
+moral and religious reading, of so great importance. Yet the names of
+works by such authors as Austin Phelps, D.D., Francis Wayland, and Dr.
+Nehemiah Adams on their catalogue, will show that maturer readers have
+not been uncared for.
+
+Of their work projected for the coming season, we have not room to speak
+in detail; it will suffice for the present to say that it is wide in
+range, including substantial and elegantly illustrated books, all in the
+line of the practical and useful, and fresh in character and treatment.
+
+Their two juvenile magazines, _Wide Awake_ and _Babyland_, are warmly
+welcomed in every part of the English-speaking world.
+
+We advise any of our readers who desire to know more about these
+publications, to send to D. Lothrop & Co., Boston, for an illustrated
+catalogue.
+
+All who visit their establishment, corner of Franklin and Hawley
+streets, will not only be courteously welcomed and entertained, but will
+have the pleasure of seeing one of the most spacious and attractive
+bookstores in the country.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BABY BUNTING. Short Stories with Bright Pictures. By the Best American
+Authors. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.00.
+
+_Baby Bunting_ is a beautiful quarto with one of the most attractive
+outsides we have seen for a long time. It is made up of choice stories
+adapted to the reading of children from four to eight years of age. They
+are all short, few of them being over a page in length, and each is
+accompanied by a full page engraving. It is just the kind of book that
+ought to be popular, and undoubtedly will be.
+
+YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF GERMANY. By Charlotte M. Yonge. Boston: D.
+Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.50.
+
+This handsome volume is the first of a series, which will include the
+principal countries of Europe, the succeeding numbers of which will
+appear at brief intervals. Miss Yonge, whose talents have been exerted
+in various directions for the benefit of young readers, has been
+peculiarly successful in this series, which has had a very large sale in
+Europe, and deserves a like popularity here. It covers not only the
+entire period of German civilization down to the present time, but it
+gives an account of ancient Germany and its inhabitants in times which
+might almost be called pre-historic. The first chapters are explanatory
+of the German mythology, and of the ancient methods of worship. The
+Nibelungen Lied is described and its story told. The real history begins
+about the year 496 A.D., at a time when the Franks were the victorious
+race in Europe. From that time down to the beginning of the present year
+the record is continuous. The volume is profusely illustrated.
+
+HAPPY MOODS OF HAPPY CHILDREN. Original Poems. By favorite American
+authors. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.00.
+
+We venture to say that no publishing house in the country will issue
+this season anything choicer in the way of a presentation book of poems
+than this charming volume. The poems it contains were written expressly
+for Mr. Lothrop, and have never before been brought together in
+collected form. Among the authors represented are Elizabeth Stuart
+Phelps, Clara Doty Bates, Margaret G. Preston, Ella Farman, Mrs. Platt,
+Harriet McEwen Kimball, Mary A. Lathbury, Nora Perry, Mrs. L. C. Whiton,
+Celia Thaxter, Edgar Fawcett, and many others. Although the volume is
+ostensibly preferred for children, it is one which grown-up people will
+equally enjoy. There are a score or more of illustrations, most of them
+full-page, exquisitely drawn and engraved.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+PANSY'S PAGE.
+
+FOUR GIRLS AT CHAUTAUQUA. By _Pansy_. 12mo. Illustrated    $1 50
+
+The most fascinating "watering-place" story ever published. Four
+friends, each a brilliant girl in her way, tired of Saratoga and
+Newport, try a fortnight at the new summer resort on Chautauqua Lake,
+choosing the time when the National Sunday-school Assembly is in camp.
+Rev. Drs. Vincent, Deems, Cuyler, Edward, Eggleston, Mrs. Emily
+Huntington Miller, move prominently through the story.
+
+HOUSEHOLD PUZZLES. By _Pansy_. 12mo. Illustrated    1 50
+
+How to make one dollar do the work of five. A family of beautiful girls
+seek to solve this "puzzle." Piquant, humorous, but written with an
+intense purpose.
+
+THE RANDOLPHS. By _Pansy_. 12mo. Illustrated    1 50
+
+A sequel to Household Puzzles, in which the Puzzles are agreeably
+disposed of.
+
+GRANDPA'S DARLINGS, By _Pansy_. 16mo. Illustrated    1 25
+
+A big book, full of "good times" for the little people of the family.
+
+ESTER RIED                By Pansy.  1 50
+JULIA RIED                    "      1 50
+THREE PEOPLE                  "      1 50
+THE KING'S DAUGHTER           "      1 50
+WISE AND OTHERWISE            "      1 50
+CUNNING WORKMEN               "      1 25
+JESSIE WELLS                  "        75
+DOCIA'S JOURNAL               "        75
+BERNIE'S WHITE CHICKEN        "        75
+HELEN LESTER                  "        75
+A CHRISTMAS TIME              "        15
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+MISS JULIA A. EASTMAN is one of the most popular of our modern writers.
+
+YOUNG RICK. By _Julia A. Eastman_. Large 16mo. Twelve illustrations by
+Sol Eytinge. $1.50
+
+A bright, fascinating story of a little boy who was both a blessing and
+a bother.--_Boston Journal._
+
+The most delightful book on the list for the children of the family,
+being full of adventures and gay home scenes and merry play-times.
+"Paty" would have done credit to Dickens in his palmiest days. The
+strange glows and shadows of her character are put in lovingly and
+lingeringly, with the pencil of a master. Miss Margaret's character of
+light is admirably drawn, while Aunt Lesbia, Deacon Harkaway, Tom
+Dorrance, and the master and mistress of Graythorpe poor-house are
+genuine "charcoal sketches."
+
+STRIKING FOR THE RIGHT. By _Julia A. Eastman_. Large 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 75
+
+While this story holds the reader breathless with expectancy and
+excitement, its civilizing influence in the family is hardly to be
+estimated. In all quarters it has met with the warmest praise.
+
+THE ROMNEYS OF RIDGEMONT. By Julia A. Eastman. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+BEULAH ROMNEY. By _Julia A. Eastman_. 16mo. Illustrated    $1 50
+
+Two stones wondrously alive, flashing with fun, sparkling with tears,
+throbbing with emotion. The next best thing to attending Mrs. Hale's big
+boarding-school is to read Beulah's experience there.
+
+SHORT-COMINGS AND LONG-GOINGS. By _Julia A. Eastman_. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 25
+
+A remarkable book, crowded with remarkable characters. It is a picture
+gallery of human nature.
+
+KITTY KENT'S TROUBLES. By _Julia A. Eastman_. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+"A delicious April-day style of book, sunshiny with smiles on one page
+while the next is misty with tender tears. Almost every type of American
+school-girl is here represented--the vain Helen Dart, the beauty, Amy
+Searle, the ambitious, high bred, conservative Anna Matson; but next to
+Kitty herself sunny little Pauline Sedgewick will prove the general
+favorite. It is a story fully calculated to win both girls and boys
+toward noble, royal ways of doing little as well as great things. All
+teachers should feel an interest in placing it in the hands of their
+pupils."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOOKS FOR YOUNG HEROES AND BRAVE WORKERS.
+
+VIRGINIA. By _W. H. G. Kingston_. 16mo. Illustrated    $1 25
+
+A stirring story of adventure upon sea and land.
+
+AFRICAN ADVENTURE AND ADVENTURERS. By _Rev. G. T. Day, D. D._  16 mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+The stories of Speke, Grant, Baker, Livingstone and Stanley are put into
+simple shape for the entertainment of young readers.
+
+NOBLE WORKERS. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D. D._ 16mo.    $1 50
+
+STORIES OF SUCCESS. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D. D._ 16mo.    $1 50
+
+Inspiring biographies and records which leave a most wholesome and
+enduring effect upon the reader.
+
+MYTHS AND HEROES. 16mo. Illustrated. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D.
+D._    $1 50
+
+KNIGHTS AND SEA KINGS. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D. D._ 12mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+Two entertaining books, which will fasten forever the historical and
+geographical lessons of the school-room firmly in the student's mind.
+
+CHAPLIN'S LIFE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 16mo. Illustrated    $1 50
+
+LIFE OF AMOS LAWRENCE. 12mo. Ill.    $1 50
+
+Two biographies of perennial value. No worthier books were ever offered
+as holiday presents for our American young men.
+
+WALTER NEAL'S EXAMPLE. By _Rev. Theron Brown_. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 25
+
+Walter Neal's Example is by Rev. Theron Brown, the editor of that very
+successful paper, _The Youth's Companion_. The story is a touching one,
+and is in parts so vivid as to seem drawn from the life.--_N. Y.
+Independent._
+
+TWO FORTUNE-SEEKERS. Stories by _Rossiter Johnson_, _Louise Chandler
+Moulton_, _E. Stuart Phelps_, _Ella Farman_, _etc._ Fully
+illustrated    $1 50
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+"MISS FARMAN has the very desirable knack of imparting valuable ideas
+under the guise of a pleasing story."--_The New Century_.
+
+MRS. HURD'S NIECE. By _Ella Farman_. Ill.    $1 50
+
+A thrilling story for the girls, especially for those who think they
+have a "mission," to whom we commend sturdy English Hannah, with her
+small means, and her grand success. Saidee Hurd is one of the sweetest
+girls ever embalmed in story, and Lois Gladstone one of the noblest.
+
+THE COOKING CLUB OF TU-WHIT HOLLOW. By _Ella Farman_. 16mo. Eight
+full-page illustrations    $1 25
+
+Worth reading by all who delight in domestic romance.--_Fall River Daily
+News_.
+
+The practical instructions in housewifery, which are abundant, are set
+in the midst of a bright, wholesome story, and the little housewives who
+figure in it are good specimens of very human, but at the same time very
+lovable, little American girls. It ought to be the most successful
+little girls' book of the season.--_The Advance._
+
+A LITTLE WOMAN. By _Ella Farman_. 16m.    $1 00
+
+The daintiest of all juvenile books. From its merry pages, winsome
+Kinnie Crosby has stretched out her warm little hand to help thousands
+of young girls.
+
+A WHITE HAND. By _Ella Farman_. 12m. Ill.    $1 50
+
+A genuine painting of American society. Millicent and Jack are drawn by
+a bold, firm hand. No one can lay this story down until the last leaf is
+turned.
+
+_WIDE AWAKE._ AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE For the Young Folks. $2.00 PER
+ANNUM. POSTAGE PREPAID. Edited by ELLA FARMAN. Published by D. LOTHROP &
+CO., Boston, Mass.
+
+It always contains a feast of fat things for the little folks, and folks
+who are no longer little find there lost childhood in its pages. We are
+not saying too much when we say that its versatile editor--Ella Farman,
+is more fully at home in the child's wonder-land than any other living
+American writer. She is thoroughly _en rapport_ with her readers, gives
+them now a sugar plum of poesy, now a dainty jelly-cake of imagination,
+and cunningly intermixes all the solid bread of thought that the child's
+mind can digest and assimilate.--_York True Democrat._
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The $1000 Prize Series.
+
+_Pronounced by the Examining Committee, Rev. Drs. Lincoln, Rankin and
+Day, superior to any similar series._
+
+Striking for the Right,         $1.75
+Silent Tom,                      1.75
+Evening Rest,                    1.50
+The Old Stone House,             1.50
+Into the Light,                  1.50
+Walter McDonald,                 1.50
+Story of the Blount Family,      1.50
+Margaret Worthington,            1.50
+The Wadsworth Boys,              1.50
+Grace Avery's Influence,         1.50
+Glimpses Through,                1.50
+Ralph's Possession,              1.50
+Luck of Alden Farm,              1.50
+Chronicles of Sunset Mountain,   1.50
+The Marble Preacher,             1.50
+Golden Lines,                    1.50
+
+_Sold by Booksellers generally, and sent by Mail, postpaid, on receipt
+of price._
+
+BOSTON:
+D. LOTHROP & CO., PUBLISHERS.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Famous Islands and Memorable Voyages, by Anonymous
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS ISLANDS ***
+
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+Project Gutenberg's Famous Islands and Memorable Voyages, by Anonymous
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Famous Islands and Memorable Voyages
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+Release Date: June 23, 2008 [EBook #25882]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS ISLANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Castaways. (Front.)]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+FAMOUS ISLANDS
+and
+MEMORABLE VOYAGES.
+
+Boston:
+Published by D. Lothrop & Co.
+Dover, N.H.: G. T. Day & Co.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                  PAGE
+
+   I.--  A VENETIAN CRUISER.                9
+
+  II.--  A WINTER IN THE NORTHERN SEAS;
+         OR, CAPTAIN JAMES'S JOURNAL.      30
+
+ III.--  THE DISCOVERERS OF MADEIRA.       52
+
+  IV.--  ST. HELENA.                       68
+
+   V.--  THE PITCAIRN ISLANDERS.           87
+
+  VI.--  NORFOLK ISLAND.                  118
+
+ VII.--  THE SOLITARY ISLANDER.           165
+
+VIII.--  CAPTAIN COOK'S LAST VOYAGE.      188
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+A VENETIAN CRUISER.
+
+
+It was late in the year 1431. The port of Venice was filled with ships
+from all parts of the world, bringing to her their choicest stores, and
+their most costly merchandise, and receiving from her and from her
+Grecian possessions rich shiploads of wine and spices, and bales of
+finest cotton.
+
+It would have been a sight never to have been forgotten could we have
+gazed then on that city of the sea, have watched the cumbrous barks, so
+unlike our light-winged merchant ships, or our swift steamers, which
+sailed heavily up and down the blue Adriatic, till they came in sight of
+the famous city, the resort of all nations, in whose canals, and among
+whose marts and palaces, might be seen the strange dress, and heard the
+mingled speech of men from all parts of the civilized world.
+
+One ship was just leaving the port. The vessel, rather a large one for
+those days, seems but poorly manned, and rocks so greatly among the
+short white waves, that it is plainly to be seen that she is short of
+ballast and lading. She is a Venetian trading vessel, bound first to the
+Isle of Candia, where she will complete her cargo and add to the number
+of her crew. This Candia or Crete (the very Crete by which St. Paul
+passed on his voyage to Italy) was at that time under the hard rule of
+Venice, and its poor inhabitants did her service upon land and sea. The
+ship stayed at Candia only so long as enabled her to complete her stores
+of cotton and spice and wine, which were destined for some northern or
+western market, some French or British port. She was deep enough in the
+water now, and on her deck lay many an unstowed bale, many a cask of
+wine, for which the sad-looking Cretan sailors, in their tunics and
+short cloaks, had not yet been able to find room. Sixty-eight men were
+now on board, including the patron or owner, Master Piero Quirini, and
+Christoforo Fioravanti, the sailing-master. Quirini, in his quaint
+Italian dress, looking strangely unlike a modern sailor, stood amid the
+piles of merchandise, giving quick orders for its stowage, while the
+sailing master made all ready for the long voyage which was just
+beginning.
+
+For in those days a voyage into the western sea was counted, specially
+while boisterous autumn gales made sailing difficult, as a long and
+hazardous undertaking. They all knew it must be many months ere they
+could hope to see home again; but little did any of them guess the
+strange sad fortunes which should befall them. The Cretan sailors looked
+back wistfully at the groups of their friends, their wives and mothers
+and children, whom they had left weeping on the shore, but they did not
+think how many there were among them who would never return to tell the
+story of their long voyage. But some at least among them knew and felt
+that they were in the hands of God for life or for death, and that
+nothing could really hurt them if they were "followers of that which is
+good."
+
+The ship at first sailed on prosperously enough. The sea was calm, and
+the sky clear above them. The sailors sang their sweet Italian or
+Grecian songs, as they hurried to and fro, or leant over the bulwarks,
+watching the blue water.
+
+Their course lay northward now, and wind and wave were sweeping them
+toward the perilous northern seas. The days had been already growing
+short when the ship left Candia, and now December, with its cold and
+darkness, was upon them, and these southern sailors shivered as they met
+the keen northern blasts.
+
+The cold grew sharper than ever on one night toward the end of the year,
+but on that very night Master Piero Quirini chose to remain on deck,
+braving the winter wind, instead of taking shelter in his warm and
+comfortable cabin below. He stood looking eastward with his keen eyes,
+his hand shading his face.
+
+"Come hither, Fioravanti," he called, and the sailing-master approached.
+"There is a strange appearance in the sky which affrights me; I fear a
+sudden, and violent storm, and then what will befall our ship, thus
+heavily laden?" said Quirini.
+
+The old sailor turned towards the part of the horizon which Quirini had
+pointed out; and as he looked, his face changed. "Quick," said he,
+calling to the sailors who were nearest, "bid them draw in the sails.
+Let the rudder be bound firmly, for the tempest is well nigh on
+us--alas! for these terrible northern storms."
+
+Before he had well finished speaking, his Italian sailors had begun
+their work, the slower and more apathetic Greeks needing, even in that
+moment of danger, to be urged with many words before they would obey.
+Thus it was but slowly that the heavy sails, creaking and swaying in the
+wind, were drawn in and bound to the masts, and before half the work was
+done, the storm in its full fury had struck the ship, and each man clung
+for life to the nearest support, as the reeling vessel ploughed heavily
+through the swollen seas.
+
+"Master, the rudder is gone, the rudder is lost," cried many voices, as
+after a sudden lurch forward the ship righted again, and as they cried
+out, a fresh blast struck her, and the half-furled sails were torn into
+ribbons, and hung useless over the ship's side.
+
+The morning light found her still driving before the wind, and deep in
+the sullen water which rose almost above her sides as she flew faster
+than ever before the fierce wind. At length a sudden squall threw her on
+her side, while the waters rushed in as if to fill and sink her in a
+moment.
+
+"Ho, men! an axe, an axe!" cried the master; "down with the main-mast!"
+and seizing a hatchet which lay at hand, Piero Quirini struck the first
+blow at the tall mast, whose weight was dragging down the vessel. Others
+with sword, or axe, or any tool which they could snatch at the moment,
+followed, and they were but just in time, for before another wave could
+wash over the vessel, the mast was floating free, and the ship had
+righted once more. The water was baled out with every vessel on which
+the men could lay their hands; and this weary work was continued all
+through the cold dark night, yet when the morning broke hours behind its
+time, as it seemed to the despairing sailors, the water in the hold was
+scarcely three inches lower.
+
+The only hope for the crew lay in taking at once to their boats. There
+were two boats belonging to the ship--the pinnace and the skiff; the
+first was a long boat, but the skiff, which was considered the safer of
+the two, would hold but a smaller number.
+
+The master called the men round him on the deck, and told them his
+decision. "Now, men," said he, "you shall choose your boat; there stands
+the notary, Nicolo di Michiel, with his ink-horn and parchment; he shall
+write down the names of all who would fain sail in the skiff."
+
+"Master, there are forty-five for the skiff," said Nicolo, slowly
+reckoning the long list of written names; "forty-five, and the skiff,
+saith Christoforo Fioravanti, holds but twenty-one."
+
+"Draw lots, men, we are brothers now in trouble, and none shall have
+advantage over the other."
+
+The lots were drawn, and then the master proceeded to divide between the
+two crews the stores of the fast-sinking ship. Bread, cheese, bacon,
+tallow and oil, and a little wine, as much as she could carry, were
+given to the crew of the skiff, while the master, with forty-six men,
+stored in the pinnace what remained on board, and one by one the men
+passed over the ship's side, and the boats dropped off into the wide
+sea.
+
+It was calm, the terrible wind had sunk down, and the keen wintry sky
+was clear once more, but yet the prospect before them was enough to
+trouble the bravest heart.
+
+They were adrift in the bitter cold in open boats, but ill-supplied for
+a long voyage, and were, as they believed, five hundred miles from the
+nearest shore. All night a heavy mist hung over them, and when it was
+dispersed by the morning sun the crew of the pinnace looked round in
+vain for their companions,--the skiff was nowhere to be seen.
+
+Six days had passed, and all hope of seeing their companion boat had
+grown faint, when another storm arose, and the pinnace, heavily laden,
+shipped so much water over the sides that all feared she would sink.
+
+"Mens' lives before wines and spices! precious and costly though they
+be," said the master; "we must lighten the boat of all, save a little
+needful food and water; linger not, my children, therein lies our only
+hope."
+
+But the days went on, and though the storm passed, and the pinnace still
+rode safely on the waters, the hearts of the crew were heavy within
+them. The boat was indeed lighter now, for of the forty-seven who had
+embarked in her, twenty-six died, and their bodies had been solemnly
+committed to the deep, there to wait till, at the voice of God's angel,
+the sea shall give up her dead. Solemn indeed must have been the
+thoughts of the survivors as they saw one after another of their
+comrades summoned from their side to stand before God; no one of them
+knew but that he might be called next, and all were sure that if help
+did not reach them speedily, none would return home to tell the tale of
+their sufferings. Some there were of that crew who, faint, weary, in
+want of covering, tortured with thirst, yet held fast their trust in
+their Father in Heaven, and cried to Him with agonized prayer to have
+mercy on them for Christ's sake. And the prayer for deliverance was
+heard.
+
+It was on the third of January, and the first faint daylight was
+stealing over the waters, when one of the crew, looking eagerly round as
+he raised himself from uneasy sleep, saw far off a faint line which
+seemed to be land. The sun rose higher and colored rose-red the
+snow-hooded tops of lofty rocks around the unknown coast. All the hope
+and desire of the shipwrecked crew was now to reach this shore, fearing
+its unknown dangers but little, compared with the terrible suffering
+they had long endured.
+
+But, alas! the wind had died away, and in vain did they unfurl their
+sails, and set their rudder. They must try the oars then, but the arms
+of the starving sailors were too weak to move the boat, and they could
+do nothing but trust to the force of the waves and the currents which
+were bearing her along. It was the sixth of January when they reached
+the land, and with great difficulty drew their boat to the beach. They
+soon found that they had landed on an uninhabited island, which lay, as
+they afterwards found, off the coast of Norway--a strange and foreign
+land to the Venetians of those days.
+
+No sooner did the wasted remnant of the crew set foot on shore than they
+rushed to the rocks, climbing them with strength which they had not
+thought they possessed, and eagerly gathering the pure white snow in
+their hands, bathed their parched lips and dry tongues, drinking again
+and again, as if they could never taste enough of this delicious
+draught.
+
+"Now, men, draw the boat higher on shore, ere the tide go out and float
+her away," said the master; but when the pinnace was drawn to the dry
+sand she was found to be so battered and so full of holes, that they all
+saw at once that it was useless to hope that they could ever put to sea
+in her again. "We will make her serve for a shelter at least," said
+Christoforo, and so, dividing her into two parts, they, with the help of
+her sails, made two huts, in which the twenty-one sailors, who alone
+were left, might find some slight shelter from the winter wind.
+
+"Our thirst have we slaked," said Nicolo, "and said grace, I trust, for
+the draught; now, by your leave, good master, must we seek for food,
+though what food this barren island should afford, I know not."
+
+All the party dispersed at once in search of provisions, some climbing
+the rocks, some wandering along the beach, and some seeking to penetrate
+farther inland. Returning towards evening slowly and sadly to the huts,
+they examined the store that had been found--a few periwinkles and
+barnacles and some other small shell-fish, but a poor feast for so many
+famished men. Their search, continued far and wide over the island,
+discovered no other food, save a kind of small herb which grew under the
+snow. This they ate day after day, and so were able to keep a little
+life in them though they were always faint and hungry.
+
+Five out of the little colony were already dead from cold and hunger and
+exhaustion, when one day a sailor wandering farther than he had yet
+been, came upon a little hut, empty and deserted, but giving a better
+and more comfortable shelter than their sail-covered huts.
+
+Six of the company determined to live in this new home, thinking that
+the chances of finding food for the whole would be increased when they
+were more widely scattered on the island. And scarcely had they taken up
+their abode in their new quarters, when they were overjoyed by finding
+on the beach, close at hand, a large dead fish. They did not know
+whether it was a whale or a porpoise, but they saw that it was quite
+fresh and fit for food, and every one of them believed that God had sent
+this great deliverance in answer to their prayers for help. All hands
+turned out to drag the fish to their hut, and no sooner was it safely
+housed than a terrible storm broke over the island, which lasted nine
+days. So fierce was the wind, so pitiless the tempest, that during all
+that time not one of the sailors dare set foot outside the cottage, and
+had it not been for the merciful provision which God had bidden the
+waves to bring to them, they must all have perished with hunger.
+
+The fish was at length eaten, not a fin, nor a morsel of flesh remained,
+and once more the sailors were forced to seek along the shore for
+shell-fish, which was now their only food. Christoforo was one day
+seated in the cottage. He had grown white and thin, and his long lank
+hair looked dry and rusty, as it hung over his sunken cheeks. He was
+gazing listlessly on the dull sea, and on the distant, cloud-like lines
+which told of other islands, or may be of the main land far off.
+
+"If we could only reach those shores," he thought, "may be men dwell
+thereon, and we might find food. But we have neither boat nor wood
+whereof to make one, neither have we strength to row, so seemeth there
+no choice but we must all perish here; the will of God be done."
+
+Raising his eyes, which had sunk while he pursued these sad thoughts, he
+suddenly sprang to his feet, and with a glad shout cried, "Rejoice,
+behold two come to seek us," and as he spoke, his companions, looking
+out, saw two shepherd lads climbing the hill-side.
+
+The strangers turned and fled in terror at the sight of man on this
+lonely island, and the sailors following to the shore found there a
+little boat in charge of an old man. They had learnt some prudence now,
+and they approached quietly, making signs of good-will and of humility,
+and asking by look and gesture his pity on their great distress. The two
+lads soon came down and joined their father, and though none of the
+three could understand a word of the Italian speech, it chanced that
+there was one among the sailors, Girado da Lione by name, who had learnt
+a few words of Norwegian, and by means of this interpreter they managed
+to tell the visitors of their terrible needs.
+
+The little boat would hold but two besides its owners, and Girado da
+Lione and Bernardo the pilot were chosen to accompany the shepherds to
+their home, and to get help to bring off all who remained of the
+shipwrecked crew. On their way they questioned the shepherd, as well as
+they could, on the cause of his journey to the island.
+
+"A strange reason was it, truly, my friends," answered the old man, "but
+my son can tell you better than I. Speak, my son."
+
+The younger of the two oarsmen, a lad of about sixteen, answered
+bashfully: "It was a dream, strangers, that led our boat to that shore.
+My father had lost two heifers, white were they, with black stars on
+their forehead and there were none like them in the island where we
+dwell. Long did we seek our missing kine, and great was our sorrow when
+we found them not; but last night I dreamed that I saw them feeding upon
+this island, the cliffs of which we can sometimes see from our home.
+When I awakened I persuaded my father to take the boat and let us row to
+the island."
+
+"We found not our heifers," said the old fisherman, smiling, "but, thank
+the good God, we found men. Doubtless it was God who sent my son this
+dream, that so we might be in time to save you."
+
+They were soon received by a crowd of eager peasants, who crowded down
+to the beach, when the story of the rescue spread. They were in another
+island now, far larger, and moreover cultivated and inhabited, and food
+was given them, and shelter offered, and clean clothes brought to
+replace their own ragged and dirty garments. But of course the first
+anxiety of the two rescued sailors was to send relief to their
+companions at the hut, and to those who might yet remain alive on the
+other side of the island. The kind islanders prepared quite a fleet of
+little boats in which to hasten to the rescue of these poor deserted
+men, but at the huts which they had first built, only five were found
+alive, and their new friends prepared with sad hearts to bury the dead
+as well as to save the living.
+
+The eleven survivors grasped each other's hands with feeling too deep
+for words; they the only ones left of the sixty-eight who, in full
+health and strength, had left the shores of Candia. "Truly," said one,
+"we had been swallowed up of the sea, if our Lord Jesus Christ had not
+been merciful to us, who forsaketh not them that religiously call upon
+Him."
+
+"Now we must part," said they among themselves, "and seek our way to
+Venice on foot or by sea, as we may find means. Sad news bring we
+thither, and many heavy hearts must we make. But God has spared us to
+our dear ones, and let us few that remain remember that we live only to
+commend to memory, and highly to exalt, the great power of God."
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER IN THE NORTHERN SEAS;
+OR,
+CAPTAIN JAMES'S JOURNAL.
+
+
+The following passages are taken from the journal kept by Captain James,
+the commander of a vessel bound for the northern seas. His ship, having
+on board a crew of twenty-two men, left England in May, 1631, to attempt
+the discovery of the long-desired North-West Passage. After terrible
+storms and disasters, the ship being fast-locked in ice the adventurers
+were compelled to winter in the Arctic regions; and, as the journal
+relates, proceeded to make preparations for passing the long months on
+an uninhabited island near to the ship. The extracts from the diary tell
+the story of those months, speaking in words which need no comment, of
+high hope, of constant courage, and of a sincere and true-hearted
+dependence on God. Throughout all the disappointments and perils of his
+expedition, Captain James seems ever to have kept alive trust in God,
+and a sure belief that all that could befall him and his, would be
+directed by an All-wise hand; thus his heart did not fail even in the
+midst of overwhelming perils and disasters.
+
+These brave men were not ashamed to own their entire dependence on God's
+help, and we find here, as elsewhere, that it is ever the strongest who
+best know their own weakness--that the noblest are ever the most humble,
+the most ready to acknowledge the Divine Source of all their courage.
+
+And the heroes whom English boys love to remember, and desire to
+imitate, have, in proportion as they were true heroes, unselfish,
+generous, brave, been also the most true and faithful servants of that
+God who is the source of all strength, all love, all tenderness and
+truth.
+
+"Oct. 7.--It snowed all day, so that we had to clear it off the decks
+with shovels, and it blew a very storm withal. The sun did shine very
+clear, and we tore the topsails out of the tops, which were hard frozen
+in them into a lump, the sun not having power to thaw one drop of them.
+Seeing therefore that we could no longer make use of our sails, it
+raised many doubts in our minds that here we must stay and winter. The
+sick men desired that some little house or hovel might be built ashore,
+whereby they might be the better sheltered. I took the carpenter, and
+choosing out a place, they went immediately to work upon it, while I
+myself wandered up and down in the woods to see if we could discover any
+signs of savages, but we found no appearance of any on this island.
+
+Oct. 12.--We took our mainsail, which was hard frozen, and carried it
+ashore to cover our house, first thawing it by a great fire; by night
+they had covered it, and had almost hedged it about, and our six
+builders desired they might travel up into the country to see what they
+could discover.
+
+Oct. 15.--This evening our hunters returned very weary, and brought with
+them a small, lean deer, which rejoiced us all, hoping we should have
+more of them to refresh our sick.
+
+Nov. 10.--I urged the men to make traps to catch foxes, for we did daily
+see many, and I promised that whosoever could take one of them should
+have the skin for his reward.
+
+Nov. 17.--I have lain ashore each night until now, all which time have
+our miseries increased; and, looking from the shore towards the ship,
+she doth look like a piece of ice in the fashion of a ship; the snow is
+frozen all about her, and all her forepart is firm ice.
+
+Nov. 25.--The wind shifted easterly, and we encouraged one another, and
+to work we go, our endeavor being to put the ship to the shore. This
+evening we broke through the ice, and put an anchor to keep her to shore
+if possible. Here Sir Hugh Willoughby came into my mind, who without
+doubt was driven out of his harbor in this manner, and so starved at
+sea. But God was more merciful to us.
+
+Nov. 20.--I resolved, for the greater safety of the ship, to sink her
+right down, but she would not sink so fast as we would have her. At
+noon-day the water rose and beat the bulk-heads of the bread-room,
+powder-room, and forepiece, all to pieces; thus she continued till
+three, and then the sea came up on the upper deck, and soon after she
+began to settle. We were seventeen poor souls now in the boat, and we
+now imagined that we had leaped out of the frying-pan into the fire, for
+we thought assuredly the ebb would carry us away into the sea. We
+therefore doubled-manned four oars, and so, with the help of God, we got
+to the shore. Being there arrived, we greeted our fellows the best we
+could; at which time they could not know us, nor we them by our habits
+nor voices, so frozen all over we were, faces, hair, and apparel. I
+comforted them the best I could, saying, "My masters and faithful
+companions, be not dismayed for any of these disasters, but let us put
+our whole trust in God; it is He that giveth and He that taketh away.
+His will be done. If it be our fortunes to end our days here, we are as
+near heaven as in England, and we are much bound to God Almighty for
+giving us so large a time of repentance. I make no doubt but He will be
+merciful to us both here on earth, and in His blessed kingdom."
+
+Dec. 1.--To-day it is so cold that firm ice has formed over the
+boat-track, and we can reach the ship on foot; we have brought over on
+our backs five hundred fish, and much of our bedding and clothes, which
+we had to dig out of the ice.
+
+Dec. 10.--We have been busied this past week, save on Sunday, when we
+rested and performed the Sabbath duties of a Christian, in bringing
+hither stores from the ship--now bearing them over firm ice, and now
+wading knee-deep in half-frozen water. I will here describe the house
+which we have built to shelter us withal. It is among a tuft of thick
+trees, under a south bank, about a bow-shot from the seaside; it is
+square, and about twenty feet every way. First we drove strong stakes
+into the earth round about, which we wattled with boughs as thick as
+might be, beating them down very close. At the ends we left two holes
+for the light to come in at, and the same way the smoke did pass out
+also. Then we cut down trees into lengths of six feet, with which we
+made a pile on both sides. We left a little low door to creep into, and
+a porch was before that, made with piles of wood. We next fastened a
+rough tree aloft over all, upon which we laid our rafters and our roof.
+On the inside, we made fast our sails round about. Now have we driven in
+stakes and made us bedstead frames, about three sides of the house. We
+have made our hearth in the middle of the house, and on it our fire.
+This house we propose to call our mansion, as we have built two smaller
+near by for our kitchen and our store-house.
+
+Dec. 31.--Our mansion is now covered thick with snow, almost to the very
+roof of it; we do not go out save we first shovel away the snow, and
+then by treading, make it somewhat hard under foot. We have got our boat
+ashore, and fetched up some of our provisions from the beach, with
+extremity of cold and labor; and thus we concluded the old year 1631.
+
+Jan. 2, 1632.--I observed the sun to rise like an oval along the
+horizon; I called three or four to see it, the better to confirm my
+judgment; and we all agreed that it was twice as long as it was broad.
+We plainly perceived withal, that by degrees as it rose higher it also
+recovered its soundness.
+
+Jan. 30.--But little worthy the writing has happened to us this month.
+The men grow daily weaker, and our stores less. We have three sorts of
+sick men--those that cannot move nor turn themselves in their beds, who
+must be tended like infants; those that are as it were crippled; and
+those that are something better, but afflicted with sore mouths. These
+last make shift to work; they go to work through the snow to the ship,
+and about their other business. Our cook doth order our food in this
+manner. The beef which is to serve on Sunday night to supper, he doth
+boil on Saturday night in a kettle full of water, with a quart of
+oatmeal, about an hour. Then taking the beef out, he doth boil the rest
+till it is thick, which we call porridge, which, with bread, we do eat
+as hot as we may; and after this we have fish, and thus we have some
+warm thing every supper.
+
+But many of our sick eat nought save a little oatmeal or pease. Hitherto
+we have taken but a dozen foxes in all our traps.
+
+Feb. 10.--The cold is as extreme just now as at any time this year, and
+many of our men complain heavily of sickness; two-thirds of our company
+are under the surgeon's hand. And yet, nevertheless, they must work
+daily, and go abroad to fetch wood and timber notwithstanding the most
+of them have no shoes to put on. Their shoes, upon their coming to the
+fire out of the snow, were burnt and scorched upon their feet, and they
+were forced to bind old clothes about their feet. Our clock and watch,
+though we have kept them ever by the fireside, yet they are so frozen
+that they cannot go. The inside of our house is hanged with icicles, and
+many a time when I put my hand into the brass kettle by the fire, I find
+one side very warm, and the other side an inch frozen.
+
+Mar. 15.--One of our men thinks that he has seen a deer, whereupon he
+with two or three more desire that they may go and see if they can take
+it, and I have given them leave.
+
+Mar. 16.--Last evening did our hunters return, not having seen the deer,
+but so disabled with cold, that they will not be well in a fortnight.
+
+[Illustration: Return of the Hunters. (Page 40.)]
+
+Mar. 31.--Our carpenter is now among our sick, his cutting tools are but
+few, and these mostly broken and bound about with rope-yarn as fast as
+may be. Thus our pinnace, on which lyeth so much of our hope of escape,
+is but in an indifferent forwardness.
+
+April 4.--To-day we have been sitting all about the fire, reasoning and
+considering together about our estate. The time and season of the year
+comes forward apace, and we have determined on this course. With the
+first warm weather we will begin to clear the ship from the ice and
+water, so that should the pinnace never be finished, as seemeth in doubt
+through the sickness of our carpenter, we might yet have some hope in
+our old ship to complete our enterprise, and to return home.
+
+April 6.--This day is the deepest snow we have had all this year; it
+hath filled up all our paths and ways.
+
+April 16.--This is the most comfortable sunshine that hath come this
+year, and I have put some to clear off the snow from the upper decks of
+the ship, and to clear and dry the great cabin by making fire in it.
+Others have I put to dig down through the ice to come by our anchor.
+
+April 25.--Now have we labored so hard that we are mightily encouraged,
+for the water doth rise without the ship, and yet doth not make its way
+into the hold. I have bid the cook that he pour hot water into the
+pumps, and so thaw them.
+
+April 27.--One of the pumps is cleared, and by means of this we have
+drawn two feet of water from the hold, and we find to our satisfaction
+that it doth not rise again.
+
+May 2.--It doth snow and blow so that we must keep house all day; our
+sick men are so grieved at this unexpected cold that they grow worse and
+worse.
+
+May 3.--To-day some of the snow melted on the land, and some cranes and
+geese have come to it. I and the surgeon have been with a couple of
+fowling-pieces to see if we could kill any for our sick men, but never
+did I see such wild-fowl; they would not endure to see anything move,
+therefore we have been obliged to return empty-handed and wearied.
+
+May 9.--We have at last come to and got up our five barrels of beef and
+pork which were sunk in the hold, and we have also found four butts of
+beer, which will be as a cordial to our sick men. God make us ever
+thankful for the comforts that He gives us!
+
+May 13.--This is the Sabbath day, which we have solemnized, giving God
+thanks for those hopes and comforts which we daily have.
+
+May 21.--This is the warmest day we have yet had. Two of my men have I
+sent a fowling, and myself, the master, the surgeon, and one more with
+our guns and our dogs, have been into the woods to see what comfort we
+could find. We have wandered full eight miles from the house, and have
+searched with all diligence, but returned comfortless; not an herb, no
+leaf eatable, that we could find. Our fowlers have had as bad success.
+The snow is by this time pretty well wasted in the woods. We have a high
+tree on the highest part of the island which we call our watch-tree, and
+from the top thereof we can see far over the seas, but we find no
+appearance of breaking up yet.
+
+May 24.--Very warm sunshine. The ice doth consume by the shore side, and
+cracks all over the bay with a fearful noise. This morning I sent two to
+search for the ship's rudder, which was buried among the ice, and a
+fortunate fellow, one David Hammon, pecking between the broken blocks,
+struck upon it, who crying out that he had found it, the rest came and
+got it up on the ice, and so into the ship. O, this was a joyful day to
+us all; and we gave God thanks for the hopes we had of it.
+
+May 31.--We have found some vetches on the beach, which I have made the
+men pick up, and boil for their sick comrades.
+
+June 4.--These four days hath it snowed, hailed, and blown hard; and it
+hath been so cold that the water in our cans did freeze in the very
+house, our clothes also, that had been washed and hung out to dry, did
+not thaw all day.
+
+June 15.--This day I went to our watch-tree, but the sea was still firm
+and frozen, and the bay we were in was full of ice.
+
+June 16.--Here have there lately appeared divers sorts of flies, and
+such an abundance of mosquitoes, that we are more tormented with them
+than ever we were with the cold weather. Here be likewise ants, and
+frogs in the ponds upon the land, but we durst not eat of them, they
+looked so speckled like toads. By this time there are neither bears,
+foxes, nor fowl, to be seen; they are all gone.
+
+June 17.--At high water we did heave our ship with such good-will that
+we heaved her through the sand into a foot and a half deeper water.
+After we had moored her we went all to prayers, and gave God thanks that
+had given us our ship again.
+
+June 19.--There hath been the highest tide that we have known since we
+have been here, and in a happy hour have we got our ship off. This
+evening I went up to our watch-tree; and this was the first time I could
+see any open water, anyway, except that little by the shore-side. This
+sight gave us some comfort.
+
+June 22.--We have sounded all about the ship, where she was sunken, and
+find it very bad ground, with stones three feet high, and two of them
+within a ship's breadth of the ship, wherein did more manifestly appear
+God's mercies to us; for if when we forced her ashore she had stricken
+one blow against these stones, it had broken her.
+
+June 24.--The wind hath put all the ice upon us, so that for a while we
+were in such apparent danger that I verily thought we should have lost
+our ship. With poles and oars did we heave away and part the ice from
+her. But it was God that did protect and preserve us; for it was past
+any man's understanding how the ship could endure it, or we by our labor
+save her.
+
+June 26.--These have been indeed days of fear and of confusion, but
+also, in the end, of comfort. Yesterday evening I went up to our
+watch-tree, taking a man with me, who should make a fire on the highest
+place of the island, to see if it would be answered. When I was come to
+the tree I laid down my lance, and while I climbed up to the top of the
+tree, I ordered him to set fire to some decayed wood thereabouts. He
+unadvisedly set light to some trees that were to windward, so that they
+and all the rest too, by reason it had been very hot weather, took fire
+like flax or hemp; and the wind blowing the fire towards me, I made
+haste down the tree. But before I was half way down, the fire reached
+its stem, and blazed so fiercely upwards, that I had to leap off the
+tree and down a steep hill, and in brief, with much ado escaped burning.
+My companion at last came to me, and was joyful to see me, for he
+thought verily I had been burned. And thus we went homewards together,
+leaving the fire increasing, and still burning most furiously. I slept
+but little all night; and at break of day I made all our powder and beef
+to be carried aboard. This morning I went to the hills to look to the
+fire, where I saw it did still burn most furiously, both to the westward
+and northward. Leaving a man upon the hills to watch it, I came home
+immediately and made the men take down our new set of sails immediately
+and carry them to the seaside, ready to be cast in, if occasion were,
+and to make ready to take down our houses. About noon the wind changed,
+and our sentinel came running home, bringing us word that the fire did
+follow him hard at his heels, like a train of powder. It was no need to
+bid us take down and carry all away to the seaside. The fire came
+towards us with a most terrible rattling noise, a full mile in breadth,
+and by the time we had unroofed our houses, and laid hands on our last
+things, the fire was come to our town, and seized on it, and burnt it
+down to the ground. Our dogs howled, and then ran into the sea. To-night
+shall we lie all aboard the ship, and give God thanks that he has
+shipped us in her again.
+
+[Illustration: Climbing the watch-tree. (Page 47)]
+
+June 29.--These three days have we wrought hard in fetching our things
+aboard, as likewise our water, and have been all about the eastern
+point, searching for driftwood. Our pinnace, on which hath been spent so
+much time and labor, we need not, having our ship afloat again,
+wherefore I have commended her to be sawn in pieces and brought into the
+ship.
+
+June 30.--To-day have we most earnestly continued our labor, and by
+eleven this night was our ship in readiness, for we have sought to
+finish our business with the week and the month, that so we might the
+better solemnize the Sabbath ashore to-morrow, and so take leave of our
+wintering island.
+
+July 1.--To-day, the first of the month, being Sunday, we were up
+betimes. We went ashore, and first we marched up to the high cross we
+had put up to mark the graves of our dead companions. There we had
+morning prayer, and walked up and down till dinner-time. After dinner we
+walked to the highest hills to see which way the fire had wafted. We saw
+that it had consumed to the westward sixteen miles at least, and the
+whole breadth of the island; near about our cross and our dead it could
+not come, because it was a bare sandy hill. After evening prayer we went
+up to take the last view of our dead, and then we presently took boat
+and departed, and never put foot more on that island; but in our ship we
+went to prayer, beseeching God to continue His mercies to us, and
+rendering Him thanks for having thus restored us. Now go we on our
+discovery, which achieved, I purpose surely to return to England, unless
+it should please God to take us first into His heavenly kingdom. And so
+desiring the happiness of all mankind in our general Saviour Jesus
+Christ, I end this, my journal, written on the island."
+
+
+
+
+THE DISCOVERERS OF MADEIRA.
+
+
+It was during the merry days of the reign of King Edward III. of
+England, that a little ship left the port of Bristol, sailing suddenly
+and secretly, so that none knew to what port she was bound.
+
+She was no trading vessel laden with English goods for Calais, for her
+crew was not composed of sailors; there were on board only a few men,
+and these wore the dress of English gentlemen. The strange crew, the
+secret departure, all told the tale of some danger from which they were
+seeking to escape, and had we been on board we should have seen by the
+anxious faces of the crew, by the quick, eager glances with which they
+watched the shores as they sailed out of the Bristol Channel, that they
+feared pursuit, either for themselves or for some one whom they had in
+charge. Though not really sailors, they were doing their best to guide
+the little vessel, and they had chosen for captain a young Englishman
+called Lionel Machin, whose directions they obeyed, and in whom they
+appeared to have full confidence.
+
+It was for Lionel's sake that the party of friends were now making their
+escape from England. He had married a girl whom he had long loved, but
+he had not gained the consent of her father and mother. They were
+powerful and rich, and he had reason to fear that his young wife would
+be taken from him through their influence with the king, and therefore
+he had determined to seek a French port, and to hide himself and wife in
+some French city which did not own Edward as its king.
+
+But, ignorant as they were of navigation, it was no easy matter for them
+to direct their course aright, and, high winds springing up, they were
+beaten about for five days without catching sight of the coast of
+France. They did not know in what direction they were being carried, and
+all on board, especially the new-made wife, were full of uneasiness and
+dismay. Lionel encouraged Arabella with loving and hopeful words, even
+when his own heart was sinking low, but his friends, who had come only
+for his sake, and without well considering the dangers and risks which
+they might encounter, were fast losing spirit and hope. Their merry
+adventure seemed to be turning into sad earnest, and these light-hearted
+lads, having nothing to sustain their courage when pleasure was gone,
+now vented their disappointment in continual murmurs and regrets.
+
+Arabella herself tried to seem indifferent to their danger, and secure
+in Lionel's care; she hid her tears, lest they might grieve her husband;
+but when she thought that no one saw her, she gave herself up to sorrow
+and despair. She thought of her father and mother whom she had left
+secretly, lest they should forbid her marriage with Lionel, and she
+longed with an aching heart for one word of love and forgiveness. For
+hours she would sit, her eyes turned toward that part of the horizon
+where she had last seen the coast of England, her thoughts busied about
+her old home: her father, taking his pleasures with a sad heart; her
+little sister, weeping for her lost playmate; and, most of all, her
+mother, upright and dry-eyed, after the stern fashion of the day, but
+yet, as Arabella well knew, ever thinking of her absent and disobedient
+child, ever missing the light step, the loving smile, the tender touch
+of the daughter she had loved so well.
+
+But Lionel still kept up heart and hope, still spoke gaily of the new
+home they would soon make in sunny France--yes, even when day after day
+passed by, and the watchers saw no land, and knew that they must be
+drifting far out of their course, away into the wide unknown ocean. They
+had been at sea more than a month when one morning early, Lionel, who
+was pacing the deck, heard behind him a sudden shout of joy.
+
+He did not turn, for there were tears in his eyes which he must hide
+from his companions, for he had now, for the first time, learned from
+his wife of her repentance and her grief, and he too was sad at heart
+and well-nigh hopeless. But the shout was repeated and taken up by other
+voices.
+
+"Land, land at last!" they cried, and Lionel turned to see, far in the
+distance, the tall sharp outline either of a rock or of the cliffs which
+guarded some unknown shore. Wind and wave were steadily sweeping the
+vessel onward towards this haven of refuge, and there was nothing to do
+but to watch the sharpening outlines, and to see, as fog and mist
+cleared before the sun, the sheer dark rocks and deep valleys of their
+new home.
+
+Nearer still and nearer, till the land was full in sight, and the
+famished and wearied crew could see the green valleys and tree-covered
+heights of this lovely island, could almost hear the fall of the clear
+waters which they saw glancing down the face of the rocks.
+
+What land it was they knew not. No houses were to be seen, no ships or
+canoes flew out from under the shelter of the shore, no natives gathered
+in fear or wonder on the silent silver beach, only a number of
+bright-winged birds came as if to greet the new-comers, and settled
+fearless on the sails and ropes.
+
+Quickly the ship's one boat was lowered, and some of Lionel's
+companions, well armed, put off for the unknown shore. Lionel would fain
+have been of the number, but neither Arabella nor his friends would
+permit him to run this risk. Ere long the boat returned, and the
+adventurers climbed on board as eager to speak as were their companions
+to hear.
+
+"A dainty and delicious country, truly, Captain Lionel, but men we saw
+none," said the first speaker.
+
+"The beasts thereon are tame, and have no fear of man," continued
+another.
+
+"Yea, and the land is a garden of flowers, and the air soft, that it
+would give back health to the dying; there will your fair wife recover
+her bloom, and we all shall rest after our grievous toil."
+
+"Fruits are there in plenty, they dropped on us from the trees as we
+walked," added the first.
+
+"Here at last we have found a haven," answered Lionel; "here, my kinsmen
+and faithful friends, may you regain the strength you have lost in my
+cause, yea, and win your pardon in England by this fair news. Arabella,
+you will soon be strong again," and Lionel, though he spoke confidently,
+looked with evident anxiety toward the pale face which bore the traces
+of sorrow as well as of sickness.
+
+Soon the whole party, save some few who remained in charge of the ship,
+were on land, wandering with the glee of schoolboys over the green
+plains and wooded hills on which they seemed to be the first to set
+foot. Choosing a sheltered spot among the laurels and near to the bend
+of the river, the new lords of the island soon built a shelter for
+themselves, and brought thither stores from the ship.
+
+In this happy retreat the fugitives spent nearly a fortnight, seeming to
+forget, in the peace and rest of the present, their past wrong-doing and
+their past disasters.
+
+But on the thirteenth day a sudden and violent storm broke over the
+island. The ship was driven from her anchorage by the force of the wind
+and waves, and was carried, with those of the company then on board,
+toward the north coast of Africa, where she was at last completely
+wrecked. The crew escaped with their lives, but only to fall into the
+hands of the Moors, who, regarding all Christian nations as their
+enemies, immediately seized those poor English gentlemen as slaves.
+
+Lionel and the few companions who were left with him on the island,
+grieved deeply for the loss of their companions, though they knew not
+the terrible fate which had befallen them. And mingled with their sorrow
+was penitence too, for the wrong act which had, as they felt, brought on
+them this deserved punishment. But Arabella's grief was deeper; from the
+time when this new disaster befell them she never spoke, but sat gazing
+ever over the now calm sea which parted her from her home; and thus she
+pined and died, deeply oppressed with grief, and not comforted with the
+assurance of the pardon which Christ the Saviour gives to all who repent
+and turn from sin.
+
+Lionel could not endure without her the life which he had sought for her
+sake, and ere long he, too, died in the arms of his weeping friends, and
+husband and wife were buried at the foot of the laurels which had been
+their shelter.
+
+The remaining adventurers determined at any risk to leave the island in
+the little boat which still remained to them, for the place now became
+distasteful; but before they sailed they set up over the grave of the
+husband and wife a wooden cross, on which were carved their names. Then,
+following the wish of Lionel, they added below a request that if any
+Christians should hereafter come to dwell in this island, they would
+build over the grave a church, in which our Saviour Jesus might be
+worshipped and adored.
+
+The little boat being now ready and stored with birds and other food as
+provisions for their voyage, they set sail, but were, like their
+companions, cast on the coast of Africa, and made slaves with those who
+had gone before them. But the poor Englishmen were not the only
+captives, for in those times shipwrecked sailors from all parts of
+Europe were held in cruel slavery by the Moors.
+
+Side by side with the companions of Lionel worked a young Spanish sailor
+named Jean de Morales, and, glad of any relief from the toil and tedium
+of their sad life, he listened eagerly to the often-repeated story of
+the lovely and beautiful island. Of this unknown land he dreamed and
+thought continually, longing for freedom that he might discover and
+tread its silent shores, for he was of a nation eager for discovery, and
+the highest rewards and honors were not thought too great for him who
+should add a new country to the dominions of the crown of Castile.
+
+At length it happened that a sum of money was sent to Barbary, to ransom
+some of the Spanish captives, and Jean de Morales was amongst those set
+at liberty: but the ship in which, with glad heart and high hopes, he
+sailed for Spain, was captured on its way by a Portuguese man-of-war,
+under Jean Gonsalie Lascoe. All the captives from Barbary, who had
+already suffered so much, were permitted to continue their journey home,
+save only Jean de Morales.
+
+This one exception was made because the Portuguese captain was not
+willing to give to Spain the glory of the discovery which the Castilian
+sailor was longing to attempt. Jean de Morales was, however, kindly
+treated, and at last took service with the Portuguese, his attachment to
+his native land being doubtless weakened by his long captivity.
+
+Very soon, ships were sent out by Portugal commanded by Gonsalie, with
+Jean de Morales on board, to seek this new and unclaimed island. The
+vessels first held their course for the Island of Porto Sanco, near
+which the new island was supposed to lie, for seen from Porto Sanco
+toward the north-east was a heavy cloud, sometimes brighter, sometimes
+darker, but never wholly dispersed.
+
+The ignorant and superstitious inhabitants had many wonderful stories to
+relate of this cloud; they all believed that no ship could safely
+approach it. Some held it to be an island hanging between heaven and
+earth, in which some Christians had been hidden by God from the power of
+their Moorish foes, some that it led into the land of spirits. Towards
+this cloud Gonsalie steered his ships, in spite of the murmurs and
+almost the open mutiny of his terrified crew. "The shadow is but a
+mist," said he, "a cloud caused by the heat of the sun's rays drawing
+the moisture from the land beneath; have no fear, my children, for those
+who do their duty will God protect."
+
+Through the mists and heavy clouds they sailed on, and at last emerged
+into clear, pure air, to see fair before them the island of their hopes.
+The sailors who had before resisted the captain's will, now fell on
+their knees begging his forgiveness, and praying to be allowed to land
+at once and wander through the valleys of this lovely land. Soon
+Gonsalie, Jean de Morales, and some of the sailors pulled through the
+surf and set foot on the island, which they called Madeira, because it
+was so well wooded. They landed almost on the very spot where Lionel and
+Arabella had first come on shore, and before long the new-comers stood
+in reverence and in pity by the graves of the first discoverers.
+
+The island was formally taken possession of in the name of the King of
+Portugal, and before long a colony was sent thither, Gonsalie being
+appointed governor.
+
+Then the dying wish of Lionel was granted, and over his grave was built
+a church, in which the new inhabitants might worship God.
+
+This is the story which we have received as the history of the discovery
+of the island of Madeira, now so well and so familiarly known to us,
+where many of our own countrymen go year by year, seeking to recover
+health and strength amongst the sheltered and wooded vales where the
+English husband and wife found their last refuge.
+
+[Illustration: Visiting the Graves. (Page 66.)]
+
+The history was written in Portuguese by Don Francesco Alcafarado, a
+noble at the court of King John I. of Portugal. He was himself one of
+the discoverers. It is considered possible that some of the details
+which he has given may have been altered in his memory, or confused by
+those from whom he heard the story of Lionel and Arabella, but there
+seems no reason to doubt the chief facts which he relates. The cross
+erected over the graves of the husband and wife was preserved in Madeira
+till at least the early part of this century, and possibly is still to
+be seen.
+
+
+
+
+ST. HELENA.
+
+
+In the days when voyages were more tedious and dangerous than they are
+now, when steam was unknown, and the art of navigation little studied,
+it was especially important to secure safe resting-places for vessels
+bound on distant voyages. Halfway ports where the health of the sailors
+might be recruited, where the ship often battered and leaking, might be
+repaired, and stored once more with water and fresh vegetables, were
+absolutely essential to safe and profitable commerce.
+
+But until about the year 1500 the Venetian traders to India had found no
+such harbor of refuge in the South Atlantic. Their ships came and went
+nevertheless, and if many were lost, yet the profits of the trade were
+such as to repay the merchants for many a bale of rich goods which lay
+beneath the waters, and to lead Venice to guard as one of her most
+valuable rights the trade with India.
+
+The Portuguese also were merchants and explorers, and had a large and
+important navy, and they were not content to leave the Indian traffic
+wholly in the hands of the Venetians. Therefore about the year 1501
+three vessels were sent out to India by the Portuguese Government. On
+their return voyage during May of the following year a sudden and
+violent storm overtook them.
+
+They were in the midst of the wide Atlantic, driven backwards and
+forwards by the furious wind and waves.
+
+One of the ships was separated from the other two, and was in greater
+danger. All hope of guiding her was at an end, and the captain and crew
+stood waiting in despair for the death which could not be far distant.
+
+It seems probable from that which afterwards happened, that some at
+least among the sailors thought, in their danger, on God, and cried to
+Him to save them. And we may well believe this to have been so. There
+are but few who when trouble is near forget God. It is in smooth and
+fair water, in calm and sunshine, that we are so ready to think that we
+can guide and help ourselves. When the clouds gather, and the
+storm-winds blow, then we cry unto God in our trouble. And God is so
+good that He does not turn away from those who call on Him in their
+need, even when in their joy they had turned away from Him.
+
+Help came to these sailors tossed on the wide, wild sea, but it did not
+come in the way that they had hoped. At first it seemed only like
+greater peril, for through the haze which darkened the sea, the dim
+outline of land was seen, standing high, sharp, and dark against the
+sky.
+
+What land it could be they did not know. In such rough charts as they
+possessed, no rock even was marked, no speck of land for many hundred
+miles on either side the place where they were now fighting for their
+lives.
+
+The ship was driven nearer and nearer, and, so far as the mariners could
+tell, they were being driven to certain destruction, for what ship could
+hope to avoid the terrible wall of rocks before them, or live in the
+white seething waters which boiled at its foot. A shout, an eager
+wondering cry, from one of the sailors, roused his comrades; he was
+pointing to a narrow inlet between the rocks, on either side of which
+the sand lay smooth and low--if they could only gain that opening there
+might yet be hope. But the ship was past all guidance, and the only
+chance of life seemed to lie in the boats, which might be directed up
+the narrow inlet, so that the men might land in safety on its shores. At
+last the anxious, terrified sailors stood safely on the beach, watching
+the still raging sea as it washed to their feet plank and mast and
+rudder of their now broken ship.
+
+Their first thought was to offer thanks to God who had delivered them,
+and then they began to look around at this strange unknown land on which
+they had been thrown.
+
+"Let us build ourselves a shelter with the planks of the broken ship,
+she will never sail blue water again," said one sailor.
+
+"Nay," replied another, "rather let us build a house for God, let us
+leave a church on this island. We need no shelter in the warm May
+weather, no rain will fall for months yet, I warrant, and some of those
+rare trees yonder will be our fittest roof."
+
+"But of what use can a church be when none dwell here to worship?" asked
+a third.
+
+"Doubtless many will come to dwell here when we return home and tell the
+story of the new land, and many ships will stay here to rest the sailors
+and to gather stores. Were it not well done that they should find
+prepared a place which should remind them of their duty to their God,
+and of His care of them?"
+
+"And," said the captain, speaking now for the first time, "were it not
+well done that we, whom He has so wonderfully preserved, should try even
+in this imperfect fashion to show our gratitude? He will accept even
+such poor service, therefore, in my judgment, let it be done."
+
+"Let it be done," cried all, and, as if impatient to begin, the sailors
+rushed knee-deep into the sea, seizing and drawing high on the beach the
+floating spars and planks ready for their new service.
+
+But before such work could be begun it was needful to explore the new
+land, to search for any traces of inhabitants, and above all to
+discover, if possible, food and water to refresh themselves.
+
+There was one high peak, towering above the many hills which crowned the
+island, and towards this a party of sailors made their way, keeping
+closely together for fear that the natives of the land might suddenly
+attack them from rock or thicket.
+
+The steep, rugged, broken hill was scaled at last, and from its summit
+the adventurers looked down on their place of refuge. They were on an
+island, which seemed to be some miles in length; it was thickly covered
+with trees, and in one part a broad, open plain, fresh and fertile,
+stretched before them. There were many streams, dancing merrily down the
+broken cliffs, or shaded by tall tree-ferns and waving grasses. But
+nowhere was there any sign of human habitation; no palm-roofed huts, no
+canoes, no figures crossing the open spaces between the trees. And not
+only man, but even animals seemed wanting here.
+
+The place was a complete solitude; the sea-birds had not strayed farther
+than the cliffs where their nests were made, and save one little brown
+bird, not unlike a sparrow, which chirped among the boughs, the sailors
+neither heard nor saw any signs of life.
+
+Fruit there was in abundance on the trees, and with this spoil they
+hastened back to their comrades, who had meanwhile been exploring the
+sides of the inlet.
+
+A shout from the party of these explorers told the descending sailors
+that some discovery had been made, and as they came nearer they saw that
+a fire had been kindled on the beach, though with what object it was
+hard to guess.
+
+They were not long left in doubt, for shouts of "Turtle, turtle! come
+and see the turtle we have cooked for dinner!" caused them to hasten to
+the fire, on which was now seething an immense turtle, great numbers of
+which were to be seen crawling along the beach.
+
+The fruit was a welcome addition to the feast, and the sailors were soon
+forgetting peril and disaster over a hearty and refreshing repast.
+
+Then the whole party stretched themselves at ease under the trees; they
+recounted to each other their adventures and discoveries. It was clear
+that they were on an island, and that this island was far distant from
+any known land. There appeared no doubt that it was uninhabited and
+unknown, and great was the satisfaction of the captain in the thought of
+carrying home to Portugal the tidings of a discovery so important. For
+all saw what great service would be done to Portuguese commerce by the
+establishment of a half-way station on their return from India, and the
+feeling of regret for their lost ship was swallowed up and forgotten in
+delight at the honor which they should receive at having first planted
+the flag of Portugal on the Island of St. Helena, for thus did the
+captain name the newly-found island.
+
+The sailors made no doubt that now the violence of the storm was over,
+that they would soon be rescued from their imprisonment by the other
+ships, and meanwhile they set heartily to work to build their church.
+
+The ship's carpenter undertook the principal directions, while the
+captain determined on the best site for the new building, and marked its
+outline on the turf.
+
+Willing hands made the work light, and ere many days had passed the
+church began to rise, plank by plank, amid the palm-trees and leafy
+shade around.
+
+The two remaining ships soon arrived, and their crews stayed long enough
+to complete the church, and to lay in a store of fruit, turtles, and
+fresh water, and then all set sail for Portugal, and St. Helena for long
+years was henceforth reckoned among the possessions of that crown.
+
+But though highly prized as a resting-place for ships, it did not at
+first become a colony. Two small dwellings were built on either side the
+church, but none inhabited them for about twelve years, when a
+Portuguese nobleman, named Lopez, came to live there in banishment, with
+no companions but three or four negro slaves, who under his direction,
+cultivated the soil, planted and reared many new kinds of trees and
+fruits, and tended the fowls and animals which were abundantly supplied
+for his needs.
+
+He did not, however, continue many years in St. Helena, and long the
+island remained without inhabitants.
+
+Sometimes a passing ship would leave one or more of her crew, who were
+ill, that they might be restored by the vegetables and fruits, the pure
+air and clear water of the island.
+
+It happened once, nearly ninety years after the first discovery, that an
+English crew landed for refreshment, and wandering about the island
+approached the little church. They believed themselves the only human
+beings on the island, and were therefore greatly surprised to hear a
+voice singing within the church.
+
+"It is a Portuguese," they said one to another, "let us enter and make
+him prisoner."
+
+Without another word the doors were thrown open, and there kneeling
+alone in the church, they discovered a strange figure, wild and
+terrified, dressed in a rough suit of goat-skin.
+
+"Who are you?" cried the foremost of the sailors, forgetting that the
+supposed Portuguese was not likely to answer an English question; but
+the man started to his feet at the words, gazed round him, looking one
+by one into the eager and wondering faces before him, and then, as if he
+could no longer contain his joy, he rushed towards them, and threw
+himself into the arms of the foremost.
+
+He, in his turn, had feared that the new-comers were Portuguese, and the
+poor English sailor, for such he was, had endured an agony of terror
+till the sound of English speech assured him that he was among friends
+and fellow-countrymen.
+
+His story was soon told. He had been left at St. Helena by a passing
+ship, because he was so reduced by the voyage that the captain feared
+that he could never reach his home. Here he had lived for fourteen long
+months, and had never during that time heard a human voice, or seen the
+face of a friend. He had lived chiefly on the flesh of goats, which had
+now multiplied on the island, and had in his wild, free life quite
+recovered his health. But the joy of meeting with friends after so long
+a solitude was too great; he was quite unable to sleep, and only lived
+till the ship in which he had taken passage reached the West Indies.
+
+St. Helena passed at length into the hands of the English, was colonized
+and brought into cultivation, and it was here that Napoleon ended the
+career which had laid waste and despoiled Europe. Here in this little
+island was bounded his wide ambition; the sea set limits to his steps on
+every side and stretched its strong impassible barrier all around him.
+Here, though not alone, he endured a solitude which was doubtless
+heavier to bear and more hopeless than that felt by any of the wanderers
+who in early days were left upon that shore. For there is no solitude
+like that of a heart which dwells alone, whose memories of the past can
+bring no gladness, and whose future lies cheerless and blank before it.
+
+He spent his time chiefly in reading, riding on horseback, and digging
+in his garden. He was fond of amusing himself with children, and would
+join in all their little sports. He employed himself, also, in writing
+the memoirs of his own campaigns. "Let us live on the past," he said.
+But ah! what satisfaction could a view of his past life have afforded
+him? Those who have lived only for this world must never expect anything
+but self-reproach in reviewing the opportunities of usefulness which
+they have lost, and the precious talents they have misemployed. What a
+favorable opportunity, however, was afforded to Napoleon in his solitude
+at St. Helena, of examining his past life. Happy would it have been for
+him if he had diligently used the time thus given him in mourning for
+his sins, and humbling himself for the misapplication of the vast
+talents entrusted to his charge.
+
+[Illustration: Napoleon at St. Helena. (Page 83.)]
+
+That he sometimes thought of the subject of religion, indeed, is
+evident, if we believe a conversation which Count Monthoton, one of his
+attendants, has recorded. "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself,"
+Napoleon is represented to have said, "founded empires upon force! Jesus
+Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of
+men would die for Him. I die before my time, and my body will be given
+back to the earth to become food for worms. Such is the fate which so
+soon awaits him who has been called the Great Napoleon! what a
+difference between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ,
+which is proclaimed, loved, and adored, and which is extending over the
+whole earth. Call you this dying? Is it not living rather? The death of
+Christ is the death of a God!" Napoleon became every day more and more
+unhappy. He used to feed some fish in a pond, but they sickened and
+died. "Everything that I love," said he, "leaves me: everything that
+belongs to me is stricken!"
+
+At last the event came which released him from all his earthly sorrows.
+A painful disease, called cancer in the stomach, attacked him; and,
+after considerable suffering, he expired on the 5th of May, 1821. The
+night of his dissolution was a terrible one; a fearful storm was raging
+all around. Napoleon had, for some hours, been insensible; towards six
+o'clock in the evening, however, he pronounced the words, "Head of the
+Army," as if his thoughts were running on the field of battle, and
+immediately afterwards his immortal spirit quitted the tabernacle of
+clay in which it dwelt. Such was Napoleon's death-bed. Alas! we look in
+vain upon it for that language of triumph which has so often broken from
+the lips of the followers of Jesus, when passing through the dark
+"valley of the shadow of death." With Napoleon's dying moments, contrast
+those of an eminent saint of God, Dr. Payson. "I seem to swim in a flood
+of glory," said he to some young persons, "which God pours down upon me.
+And I know--I know that my happiness is but begun--I cannot doubt that
+it will last for ever. My young friends, were I master of the whole
+world, what could it do for me like this! Nothing, nothing. Now all this
+happiness I trace back to the religion which I have preached, and to the
+time when that great change took place in my heart, which, I have often
+told you, is necessary to salvation;--and I now tell you again, that
+without this change you cannot, no, you cannot see the kingdom of God!"
+
+Napoleon was buried at Longwood, in the Island of St. Helena, under a
+large willow tree; but in 1840 his remains, with the consent of the
+British Government, were removed to Paris, and buried with grand honors
+in that city.
+
+
+
+
+THE PITCAIRN ISLANDERS.
+
+
+Many islands have at different times risen above the sea, which had for
+long years washed over and hidden them. There are two ways in which new
+islands are thus born like a fresh creation from God.
+
+The great volcanic force which sends out flames and ashes from the tops
+of high mountains, or makes the solid earth tremble and crack, is at
+work also below the bed of the sea, and from time to time islands are
+raised there either slowly or by some sudden convulsion, just as we have
+also reason to believe that other islands are even now sinking lower
+under the influence of the same force, until, most likely, in years to
+come, the waves will once more flow over them again. You must not forget
+that when we talk of the forces of nature we mean really the hand of
+God. He it is who sends these great convulsions, or who directs the slow
+upheaving of new land. All is quite as truly the work of God as when, at
+His word, the dry land first appeared. "Fire and hail, snow and vapors,
+stormy wind," are all "fulfilling His word."
+
+Many of these islands, when first raised above the sea, must have been
+active volcanoes, sending out hot from their craters the flood of lava
+and the heated rocks which now lie cold and hard, and overgrown with
+moss, to tell us of their past history.
+
+Of course, while this was going on there could be no life either of
+plants or animals on the mountain, which, indeed, as yet could scarcely
+be called an island, only a bare rock, around which the waves would
+beat, as if in hopeless endeavor to extinguish the fire which glowed
+deep in its caverned centre. But though neither waves nor storms could
+make this fire die out, yet there comes a time to most of these volcanic
+islands when the life and energy of the mountain seems gone, taken away,
+we know not how, by the same Great Hand that lighted it, and the lonely
+rock is now ready to be turned into a home for man, for this silent
+crater, this hard, broken crag, will, after a time, become a fair island
+home. God does not leave His works incomplete, and He has servants who
+will change this desolate rock into a fertile garden.
+
+He sends the waves; they dash on the sides of the island, which rise
+generally abrupt and strong from the deep waters, and wherever they can
+find entrance they wear and powder the rock until it becomes fine soil,
+and a little beach is formed. Then rains fall and fill the clefts and
+hollows of the rock, and soften it at length as they wash down its face,
+till here and there patches of scanty soil are formed.
+
+But something more than soil is needed; the most fertile land cannot of
+itself produce grass or herbs; there must be a seed before even the
+smallest weed can spring up, and those which float about in the air with
+us, are not found on a volcanic rock far away in the sea.
+
+But messengers are prepared to bring them. Birds flying over the water
+sometimes stoop their wings to rest awhile on the rock, and often leave
+behind them seeds which they have gathered in far distant lands. At
+first, perhaps, only a few small weeds are seen. These, dying in their
+turn, improve the soil for their successors, until at length it can
+support shrubs and undergrowth, the seeds of which are sometimes washed
+on the shore by the waves, or found hidden in the clefts of some tree
+which has floated to the island from a distant shore.
+
+Last of all arises, like a crown of beauty, the graceful cocoa-nut palm,
+spreading broad leaves around its tall, slender stem, and making the
+once barren rock a shady and lovely retreat.
+
+The island on which Alexander Selkirk lived is considered volcanic; it
+is probably formed in some such manner as that which we have described.
+Madeira, too, and probably St. Helena, are volcanic islands.
+
+Pitcairn, the history of which you are now going to read, is also
+possibly of volcanic origin, and its high crags and sharp peaks seem as
+if they must have been thrown up by some sudden force; but as it is in
+the midst of a sea covered with coral islands, and has been supposed by
+some to be itself partially formed by coral insects, it may be well that
+you should hear a little of the wonderful growth of coral islands,
+which, though formed so differently from those of which you have been
+reading, are yet, when once their tops have risen above the waves,
+clothed in the same manner with fair growth, to prepare them for the
+presence of man. Tahiti, which you will hear mentioned in the story of
+Pitcairn, is a coral island, and they abound in groups, in pairs, or in
+single islands, through the wide Pacific Ocean.
+
+They are formed by myriads of tiny insects, which are connected
+together, and seem to share a common life. One of these insects fastens
+itself on some hidden rock; sometimes it may be on an extinct volcano
+which is not lofty enough to appear above the waves, and on this
+foundation they begin to build, the insect, as it shapes its cells of
+coral, filling them with beings like itself, so that every tiny chamber
+has its inmate. Soon the whole rock is covered below the water with a
+fine network of delicate coral, and from the tops of the open cells the
+insects put out their delicate _tentaculae_, or arms, which look like
+the petals of a flower. By means of the food gathered from the water by
+these _tentaculae_, all the coral insects are fed.
+
+[Illustration: Coral Island. (Page 92.)]
+
+Thus each one does its appointed work, laying unseen the foundations of
+a new land, for the coral growth is still spreading and rising higher
+and higher, till at length the waves begin to feel its resistance, and
+to break in white foam around its crests.
+
+Its history, when it has once risen above the reach of the tides, is
+like that of the volcanic islands. The insects die, and the bare grey
+rock is left, that God's servants, the waves and winds, may fulfil His
+will, until in His own good time the coral island becomes lovely and
+fertile, fit for the dwelling-place of those who should be God's best
+servants--the men whom He has made for His glory, and for whose
+redemption His Son came down to die. It is sad to think how often man,
+to whom God has given the most, is the least ready to use these gifts
+for his Maker's glory, so that instead of these lovely islands being
+always full of His praise, they are often homes of sin and of
+unhappiness, as indeed it was at first with Pitcairn, the history of
+which we now give.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+Far away from any other land, in the midst of the South Pacific Ocean,
+there is a little island, a mere speck in the sea, for it is not six
+miles across at its widest point. A passing ship might leave this tiny
+island unnoticed, save for the lofty cliffs and precipices which guard
+its shores, running down to the white waves, ever curling and breaking
+at their feet. Yet it was not a mere rock, inaccessible and barren; for
+when once a boat has safely won its way through the breakers, and the
+sailor has climbed the rocks which, steep above steep, stand like a wall
+before him, he is rewarded by the sight of lovely valleys, of forests of
+fruit-bearing palms, and of green, fresh-springing plants: a little
+fairy land, a new paradise seems hidden here from the eye and the foot
+of man.
+
+It is called Pitcairn's Island, and was discovered more than a hundred
+years ago by a passing ship. It was uninhabited, and no one set foot on
+it again, till in 1789 a small ship might have been seen approaching its
+shores, as if she would seek an anchorage in that dangerous, rocky bay.
+
+The ship is called the _Bounty_, and carries for her crew nine English
+seamen, and some colored men and women, natives of Tahiti, an island at
+which the _Bounty_ had been recently anchored.
+
+There is no captain on board, though the first mate, Fletcher Christian,
+seems to take his place and to direct the course of the ship; but his
+words are few, and his face is sad, as if some past trouble or sin
+weighed on his heart, and, when he is not obliged to be active, he sits
+gazing listlessly over the water, looking for he knows not what.
+
+It would be a long and sad story to tell how that ship came to be thus
+cruising in the wide Pacific. Months before, Fletcher Christian and some
+of the sailors of the _Bounty_ had mutinied; had put their captain, who
+by his harsh and unjust treatment had provoked their anger, into the
+ship's launch with eighteen of the crew, leaving them thus to reach home
+or to die on the ocean.
+
+The mutineers well knew that if they returned to England, their own
+lives would pay the penalty of their crime, and therefore they
+determined to spend the rest of their days on some one of the numerous
+islands scattered in groups throughout the South Seas.
+
+But as they had begun their course by an act which they knew to be
+wrong, it was not likely that their future would be happy and
+prosperous; the sweet flowers of peace and content do not spring from
+the bitter root of sin, "neither do men gather grapes of thorns nor figs
+of thistles."
+
+Thus we need not wonder that trouble and dissension seemed to follow
+everywhere the ill-fated crew of the _Bounty_. They quarrelled and
+fought with the natives of the first island which they chose for an
+asylum; they disputed among themselves, suspecting and hating each
+other, as partners in sin most often do. The hearts of the leaders were
+full of fear also as they thought of the laws which they had broken, and
+of the fate which would be theirs should their captain reach England,
+and a ship be sent out to capture them.
+
+At last the mutineers sailed for the Island of Tahiti, where they knew
+that the inhabitants were well-disposed and gentle, and would be pleased
+to welcome the white man to live among them. Fletcher Christian,
+however, could not rest; he had been the leader in the mutiny, he knew
+that he would be sought for, and that if found he must die, and die
+covered with disgrace.
+
+Therefore he determined to seek out Pitcairn's Island, of the discovery
+of which he had heard, and there pass the remainder of his miserable
+life. Eight of his comrades decided to go with him, the rest remaining
+at Tahiti, and, as we have seen, some of the Tahitian men and women
+agreed to make the voyage with them, and join in the new settlement.
+
+[Illustration: Landing of the Mutineers on Pitcairn's Island. (Page 99.)]
+
+After long seeking, after cruising backwards and forwards for many days
+in the sailless and shoreless ocean, the island that they sought was
+seen standing high above a line of white waves, and after much
+difficulty the _Bounty_ was anchored, and her boat sent on shore with
+some of her crew.
+
+Everything of value on board was taken to the island, even the iron-work
+of the ship itself being removed, and when the _Bounty_ was reduced to
+an empty and useless hulk, she was set on fire and burnt to the
+water-edge, that no passing ship might see any trace of inhabitants on
+the lonely island where these unhappy men sought to hide themselves.
+
+Fletcher Christian, who had taken the command hitherto by the consent of
+his companions, now proceeded to divide the whole island into nine equal
+parts, one of which he gave to each of the English sailors who
+accompanied him, choosing for his own portion a piece of land at the
+farther end of the island, where he made for himself a retreat among the
+steep rocks which overlooked the sea.
+
+But though the new colony was so small, it had in it all the seeds of
+dissension and of unhappiness. Even these nine men, though bound
+together by a common fate and by a common fear, could not agree, could
+not bear with nor yield to each other in any of the little differences
+or misunderstandings which arose between them from time to time. Still
+less could they live in peace with the natives who had accompanied them.
+They looked on these poor men and women as their slaves, and treated
+them so unjustly that the Tahitians, who had at first been attached and
+faithful, now determined on revenge. They were as much less guilty than
+the English as they were more ignorant; they had never been taught to be
+merciful, to forgive injuries, to be patient under wrongs; the blessed
+name of Jesus was not familiar to their ears, nor the lessons of His
+life and death to their hearts. They knew no law but that of violence
+and might, and finding themselves unjustly treated by those who had
+promised to be their friends, they formed a plot to put them all to
+death, and so to make themselves masters of the island.
+
+Five out of the nine Englishmen were shot, and amongst them was their
+leader, Fletcher Christian. Ever since he had come to Pitcairn's Island,
+he had appeared sunk in sorrow and remorse. All day long he had remained
+hidden among the rocks, away from his comrades, his eyes fastened on the
+wide ocean, the barrier which he knew must now divide him for ever from
+his home and from all he loved. In this solitude his companion was the
+Bible, brought on shore by him from the ship. In this he was observed to
+be often reading, and though we know nothing of his thoughts nor of his
+prayers, it may be that God spake through His word to the heart of His
+erring child, and bade him, not in vain, to seek His face once more.
+
+Let us hope that this Bible charged with such a blessed mission in years
+to come, was sent also with a message to this desolate heart, and that
+ere he died, Christian had sought and found the forgiveness which is
+given through the cross of Christ our Saviour. Some sign of his
+repentance may be found in a tradition handed down by the islanders,
+that he had given orders that everyone on the island should repeat each
+noontide the prayer of the returning and repentant prodigal: "Father, I
+have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be
+called thy son."
+
+Four white men had been saved by the interference of the Tahitian women
+from the fate of their comrades, but they did not feel safe; they
+believed that the men were still seeking their lives, and, as they
+imagined, in self-defence, they determined to put these their enemies to
+death. Thus the evil begun by the mutiny still went on from crime to
+crime, seeming to grow ever deeper and wider. For the dark and terrible
+story is not yet ended. Two of the four remaining Englishmen soon after
+came to a violent end, while intoxicated by a drink which they had
+contrived to make from some of the plants which they found on the
+island, thus bringing into this lovely refuge the vice and drunkenness
+which beset crowded cities.
+
+The sorrowful tale has hitherto been all dark, ever growing more gloomy
+and hopeless; but now for the first time a faint pencil of light, like
+the first streak of dawn, marks the sky, a ray which, like all true
+sunshine, comes from heaven and from God. The great and loving Father
+had not forgotten the children who had so long forgotten Him; this
+little island, so far from the eyes of human watchers was not unseen nor
+unregarded by Him. His messengers, the books which tell of Him, were
+still there, though forgotten and unread; but the time was now come when
+they were to speak again, and were to be heard and obeyed.
+
+The two remaining mutineers were a sailor named Alexander Smith, or, as
+he now called himself, John Adams, and a midshipman named Edward Young.
+The midshipman had been well educated, and had learnt above all, in his
+childhood, the blessed lessons of God's love, and of the grace of
+Christ. These lessons, too long unremembered, now came back to him.
+Perhaps he thought of the days when, a young child, he had knelt at his
+mother's knee, or standing by her chair, had read one by one, as her
+finger slowly pointed them out, the words of the Holy Bible.
+
+The good seed had lain long in a barren soil, now God in His mercy sent
+the rain and sunshine of His grace to cause it to spring up at last. No
+sooner had Edward Young begun to desire to return to the Saviour whom he
+had left, than he also wished that those around him should be taught of
+His love. The helpless women and children were, he felt, a sacred charge
+for him and his companion, to teach and guide.
+
+Accordingly morning and evening prayers were established in the island,
+and a sort of school was begun for the children, John Adams being partly
+a teacher, partly a scholar, and so preparing to take his comrade's work
+when, a little time after this change of heart and life, Edward Young
+died, and left his comrade alone on the island with his untaught charge.
+He, the only one who had the key to God's book, the only one in whose
+memory were stored any lessons of His truth, in whose life lay, as it
+seemed, the only hope that this little colony might be saved from all
+the cruelty and ignorance of savage life, and added to the number of the
+servants of Christ.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+Nearly twenty-five years had passed since John Adams was left on
+Pitcairn's Island, the sole protector and teacher of the women, and of
+the young children who were growing up around him. He was himself but a
+common sailor, who had enjoyed only a few advantages of education, his
+only acquirements the simple lessons which had been taught him in his
+boyhood, and a new but straightforward and earnest desire to serve God
+in the way which God should teach him, and in penitence and faith to
+walk himself and to lead others to walk in the way that leads to
+everlasting life.
+
+But God does not choose only the wise and the great and the strong for
+His workmen: often the weak things of the world are chosen to confound
+the mighty, and the poor and lowly to do the work of the High and Mighty
+One who inhabiteth eternity.
+
+We have seen how evil passions indulged were like a seed of sin, growing
+and spreading into a mighty and poisonous tree. Then there was planted
+by its side, through the mercy of God, a germ of good and of life--has
+that too lived and spread, or has it withered and died beneath the shade
+of evil?
+
+Two English vessels are approaching the island. At first the crews do
+not see it, but as evening draws on, the look-out man in the larger ship
+gives the signal that he has caught sight of land. "Land ho, land!"
+passes from mouth to mouth among the sailors. What land can it be? No
+island, no rock even, is marked on the chart, and the officers gather on
+deck to look over the darkening sea toward that darker point where the
+new land lies.
+
+"We may have discovered a new island for King George," says the captain.
+"We must lie to till the morning, and then we will sail nearer, and see
+this unknown shore."
+
+The morning comes, and almost before it is day some of the officers are
+on deck with their glasses, eagerly looking toward the island, which
+they can now see far more plainly. Even without a glass its lofty rocks
+and steep precipices can be distinguished. The ships are approaching
+nearer and nearer, till now their anchors are dropped, and one of the
+captains orders a boat to be prepared.
+
+"Though I doubt how we shall get her through the surf," he says,
+ponderingly; "it is a dangerous coast, and no pilot within hail. People
+there too, I see--savages. The men must go well armed. Peters, look to
+the loading of the pistols."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," answered Peters, looking, like the rest, towards the
+rocks, where groups of people coming and going were to be seen.
+
+There was evidently great excitement on the island. A ship was a strange
+and unusual sight, no doubt.
+
+Before the ship's boat could be launched, two men were seen to climb the
+top of the steep cliff which almost overhung the narrow beach. They,
+however, seemed to find no difficulty in their dangerous path, though
+each carried on his shoulders a light canoe. The strangers wore some
+kind of clothing, but even through the captain's glass it was impossible
+to tell of what race they were.
+
+Dark against the clear sky, the two figures were seen for awhile to
+stand gazing steadfastly toward the ship, and then bounded like goats
+down the rugged face of the rock, and soon launched their canoes
+fearlessly in the angry surf.
+
+"Haul the boat up, we'll wait and receive these natives on board," says
+the captain; and in a few minutes one of the canoes was under the bows
+of the ship.
+
+"Come alongside," shouted a sailor, trusting that his signs and gestures
+would explain the meaning of his English words.
+
+"We have no boat-hook to hold on by," cried in answer the foremost of
+their visitors.
+
+No words can explain the surprise with which the captain and the whole
+crew listened to these words spoken in pure English by the supposed
+savage. They looked at him and at each other, but no one spoke till the
+eager voice was again heard from the boat.
+
+"Won't you heave us a rope now?"
+
+A sailor seized and flung one end of a coil of rope, and in a moment
+their strange visitor had seized it and climbed fearlessly on deck.
+
+He was a tall man, young, and almost English-looking, save that his
+complexion was tinged by the hot sun of his country; and his whole face
+and bearing were those of an educated and civilized man. His dress was a
+light vest and short trousers, while his palm-leaf hat was adorned with
+a bunch of brilliant feathers.
+
+"Who are you?" asked the astonished captain, gazing at this strange and
+unexpected apparition.
+
+"I am Thursday October Christian, the son of the mutineer, and there,"
+pointing to the other canoe, now close to the ship, "is Edward Young."
+
+The mystery was now explained: the ships had anchored at the island
+where the mutineers, long sought in vain, had taken refuge.
+
+The officers crowded round their visitors, asking question after
+question, of their age, the number of people on the island, their habits
+and mode of life.
+
+"Who is your king?" they asked.
+
+"Why, King George, to be sure," replied Christian, quickly.
+
+"Have you been taught any religion?"
+
+"Yes," they replied, "a very good religion; that which the Bible
+teaches."
+
+The young men were led into every part of the ship; they looked with
+great interest at the many things they saw around them, the uses and
+even the names of which were unknown to them, and their questions showed
+much thought and intelligence.
+
+In the course of the morning they were led to the stalls where the
+ship's cows were kept.
+
+"What immense goats!" cried Christian; "I did not know there were any of
+such a size."
+
+Just then a little dog, belonging to some one on board, attracted the
+attention of one of the new-comers. "I know what that is," he said,
+"that is a dog, I have read of such things;" and turning to his
+companion, "it is a pretty thing to look at, is it not?"
+
+[Illustration: The Captain's Cabin.]
+
+When noon came, the two guests were taken into the captain's cabin to
+lunch, but before touching the food which was spread before them, they
+both folded their hands, and without troubling themselves at all about
+the presence of the officers, in the most simple and natural manner
+asked God's blessing on all that they should eat and drink.
+
+Many of those who were present turned away to hide, not a smile, but a
+blush of shame that they, the sons of a Christian land, should need to
+be reminded of their duty to their God by these half-taught islanders.
+
+Lunch over, the two captains went on shore, rowed by their guests, to
+whose strong and skilful hands they trusted to pilot them safely through
+the dangerous surf.
+
+On the beach they were welcomed by more of the inhabitants, among the
+rest by a young girl, the daughter of Adams, who had evidently come to
+meet the English strangers in order that she might learn if her father
+was in any danger from them, for John Adams was the last remaining
+mutineer. Her confidence was restored by the looks and words of the two
+captains, as she led them, with light step, up the steep pathway by
+which alone the interior of the island could be reached.
+
+The captains were almost exhausted long before the top was reached, but
+their guides seemed to climb as easily as the goats of their own island,
+and even the girls were so sure-footed that they were able to help the
+strangers up the difficult path. Arriving at the top, a new and
+beautiful sight delighted their eyes--a lovely valley, rich in
+fruit-bearing trees, and in cultivated fields, in the midst of which was
+built an almost English-looking village, with its church and school
+house, its cottages and gardens, and all that could speak of a simple,
+religious home life. Here they were welcomed by the remaining
+inhabitants, with Adams at their head, to whom all looked up as to their
+father. Beside him stood his blind Tahitian wife, and around him were
+groups of young men and girls with bright, intelligent faces, and smiles
+which told of the happiness and innocence of their hearts.
+
+[Illustration: John Adams and his family. (Page 115.)]
+
+Whatever the daughter of Adams may have feared in her love for her
+father, he himself did not appear afraid to receive these English
+visitors to his island refuge. For he felt that as, in the sight of God,
+his sin had for Christ's sake been pardoned, so in the eyes of men these
+long years of penitence, and of honest endeavor after a better life,
+would surely have won pardon for the sins of his youth. It was with
+feelings too deep for words that he looked once more on the faces of his
+countrymen and heard the English speech from other lips than those to
+whom he had taught it. All the memories of early days awoke in him, and
+he longed to return once more and see his native land before he died.
+But as soon as those round him understood his wish, they seized his
+hands, they clung around him, praying him with tears not to desert them,
+not to leave his children; and Adams, much moved, promised to remain.
+And indeed he would have been sorely missed had he gone, for he was the
+chief authority on the island. He it was who each Sunday led the prayers
+of the islanders, all assembled around him in the church which they had
+built, thinking, as they joined in the words of the service, of their
+unknown brethren in the great country beyond the seas. He it was who
+explained week by week the words of the Bible to his listening
+companions, taught the children, and married the young people.
+
+It was to Adams that every dispute was referred; all those slight
+disagreements which spring up from time to time, but which with the
+islanders were never, as they said, more than word-of-mouth quarrels,
+and always ended before set of sun.
+
+The captains, though anxious to linger awhile in this island home, were
+obliged to leave next day, and they departed amid the regrets and
+farewells of these simple-hearted, affectionate people, a people
+Christian in heart as well as in name,--sincere, modest, pure, and
+unselfish, whose life seemed to be fashioned on the words of God's Book,
+"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
+of others."
+
+And all this peace and happiness has sprung, under the blessing of God,
+from the seeds of His truth sown long, long years before in the hearts
+of two English sailors, and from the power of His truth in His written
+word, and in the teaching of His Spirit.
+
+
+
+
+NORFOLK ISLAND.
+
+
+Far distant from the many other islands with which the Southern Pacific
+Ocean is studded, one stands alone, rich in natural beauty, and with a
+climate almost unrivalled.
+
+This lovely island was visited by Captain Cook in 1774, and named by him
+Norfolk Island; it was then uninhabited, and neither the vegetable nor
+the animal world had been disturbed. For about two hundred yards from
+the shore, the ground was covered so thickly with shrubs and plants as
+scarcely to be penetrable further inland. The account given by Cook led
+to an attempt at settlement on Norfolk Island; but this was attended
+with difficulty. The island is small, being only about six miles in
+length by four in breadth; and was therefore unavailable for a large or
+increasing population. Lying nine hundred miles from Port Jackson, in
+Australia, it was inconveniently remote from that country; and, worst of
+all, its cliffy and rocky shores presented serious dangers to mariners
+attempting a landing. Its general unsuitableness, however, for ordinary
+colonization, was considered to adapt it as a penal settlement,
+subordinate to New South Wales, and to which convicts could be sent who
+merited fresh punishment while in course of servitude. Thus, one of the
+lovliest of earthly paradises was doomed to be a receptacle for the very
+worst of malefactors. It was imagined that the beauty of Norfolk Island,
+and the fineness of its climate, would greatly tend to soothe the
+depraved minds of its unhappy tenants, and reconcile them to compulsory
+expatriation; but such was not the case: the feeling uppermost in the
+minds of the convicts was to make their escape; and this, along with
+other circumstances, caused the island, after a time, to be abandoned as
+a penal settlement. The narrative that follows may be relied upon as a
+true relation of facts, and will, it is hoped, afford warning to such as
+may be tempted to go astray, and deeply impress those who may be on the
+verge of crime, with the danger of their situation, by showing them that
+a course of error is a course of misery, ending in consequences the most
+afflicting.
+
+"On the northern side of Norfolk Island, the cliffs rise high, and are
+crowned by woods, in which the elegant whitewood and gigantic pine
+predominate. A slight indentation of the land affords a somewhat
+sheltered anchorage-ground, and an opening in the cliffs has supplied a
+way to the beach by a winding road at the foot of the dividing hills. A
+stream of water, collected from many ravines, finds its way by a similar
+opening to a ledge of rock in the neighborhood, and, falling over in
+feathery spray, has given the name of Cascade to this part of the
+island. Off this bay, on the morning of the 21st of June, 1842, the brig
+_Governor Philip_ was sailing, having brought stores for the use of the
+penal establishment. It was one of those bright mornings which this
+hemisphere alone knows, when the air is so elastic that its buoyancy is
+irresistibly communicated to the spirits. At the foot of the cliff, near
+a group of huge fragments of rock fallen from the overhanging cliffs, a
+prisoner was sitting close to the sea preparing food for his companions,
+who had gone off to the brig the previous evening with ballast, and who
+were expected to return at daylight with a load of stores. The surface
+of the sea was smooth, and the brig slowly moved on upon its soft blue
+waters. Everything was calm and still, when suddenly a sharp but distant
+sound as of a gun was heard. The man, who was stooping over the fire
+started on his feet, and looked above and around him, unable to
+distinguish the quarter from whence the report came. Almost immediately,
+he heard the sound repeated, and then distinctly perceived smoke curling
+from the vessel's side. His fears were at once excited. Again he
+listened; but all was hushed, and the brig still stood steadily in
+towards the shore. Nearer and nearer, she approached; until, alarmed for
+her safety, the man ran to summon the nearest officer. By the time they
+returned, the vessel had wore, and was standing off from the land; but
+while they remained in anxious speculation as to the cause of all this,
+the firing was renewed on board, and it was evident that some deadly
+fray was going on. At length a boat was seen to put off from the brig,
+and upon its reaching the shore, the worst fears of the party were
+realized. The misguided prisoners on board had attempted to seize the
+vessel. They were but twelve in number, unarmed, and guarded by twelve
+soldiers, and a crew of eighteen men; yet they had succeeded in gaining
+possession of the vessel, and held it for a time, but had been finally
+overpowered, and immediate help was required for the wounded and dying.
+
+"June 21, 1842.--My duty as a clergyman called me to the scene of blood.
+When I arrived on the deck of the brig, it exhibited a frightful
+spectacle. My heart sickened at the extent of the carnage; and I was
+almost sinking with the faintness it produced, when I was roused by a
+groan so full of anguish and pain, that for a long time afterwards its
+echo seemed to reach me. I found that it came from a man lying further
+forward, on whose face the death-dew was standing, yet I could perceive
+no wound. Upon questioning him, he moved his hand from his breast, and I
+then perceived that a ball had pierced his chest, and could distinctly
+hear the air rushing from his lungs through the orifice it had left. I
+tore away the shirt, and endeavored to hold together the edges of the
+wound until it was bandaged. I spoke to him of prayer, but he soon grew
+insensible, and within a short time died in frightful agony. In every
+part of the vessel, evidences of the attempt which had ended so fatally
+presented themselves, and the passions of the combatants were still
+warm. After attending to those who required immediate assistance, I
+received the following account of the affair:
+
+"The prisoners had slept the previous night in a part of the vessel
+appropriated for this purpose; but it was without fastening or other
+means of securing them below. Two sentries were, however, placed over
+the hatchway. The prisoners occasionally came on deck during the night,
+for their launch was towing astern, and the brig was standing off and on
+until the morning. Between six and seven o'clock in the morning, the men
+were called to work. Two of them were up some time before the rest. They
+were struck by the air of negligence which was evident on deck, and
+instantly communicated the fact to one or two others. The possibility of
+capturing the brig had often been discussed by the prisoners, among
+their many other wild plans for escaping from the island, and recently
+had been often proposed by them. The thought was told by their looks,
+and soon spread from man to man. A few moments were enough; one or two
+were roused from sleep, and the intention was hurriedly communicated to
+them. It was variously received. One of them distrusted the leader, and
+entreated his companions to desist from so mad an attempt. It was
+useless; the frenzied thirst for liberty had seized them, and they were
+maddened by it. Within a few minutes, they were all on deck; and one of
+the leaders rushing at the sentry nearest to him, endeavored to wrest
+from him his pistols, one of which had flashed in the pan as he rapidly
+presented it, and threw him overboard; but he was subsequently saved.
+The arms of the other sentry were demanded, and obtained from him
+without resistance. A scuffle now took place with two other soldiers who
+were also on the deck, but not on duty, during which one of them jumped
+over the vessel's side, and remained for some time in the main-chains;
+but upon the launch being brought alongside, he went down into it. The
+other endeavored to swim ashore (for by this time the vessel was within
+a gun's shot of the rocks;) but, encumbered by his great coat, he was
+seen, when within a few strokes of the rock, to raise his hands, and
+uttering a faint cry to Heaven for mercy, he instantly sunk. In the
+meanwhile, the sergeant in charge of the guard hearing a scuffling
+overhead, ran upon deck, and seeing some of the mutineers struggling
+with the sentry, shot the nearest of them dead on the spot. He had no
+sooner done so than he received a blow on the head, which rendered him
+for some time insensible. Little or no resistance was offered by the
+sailors; they ran into the forecastle, and the vessel was in the hands
+of the mutineers. All the hatches were instantly fastened down, and
+every available thing at hand piled upon them. But now, having secured
+their opponents, the mutineers were unable to work the brig; they
+therefore summoned two of the sailors from below, and placed one of them
+at the wheel, while the other was directed to assist in getting the
+vessel off. The cockswain, a free man in charge of the prisoners, had at
+the first onset taken to the rigging, and remained in the maintop with
+one of the men who refused to join in the attack. At this moment, a
+soldier who had gone overboard and endeavored to reach the shore, had
+turned back, and was seen swimming near the vessel. Woolfe, one of the
+convicts, immediately jumped into the boat alongside, and saved him.
+Whilst this was the state of things above, the soldiers had forced their
+way into the captain's cabin, and continued to fire through the gratings
+overhead as often as any of the mutineers passed. In this manner several
+of them received wounds. To prevent a continuance of this, a kettle of
+hot water was poured from above; and shortly afterwards, a proposal was
+made to the captain from the prisoners to leave the vessel in the
+launch, provided he handed up to them the necessary supplies. This he
+refused; and then all the sailors were ordered from below into the
+launch, with the intention of sending them ashore. Continuing to watch
+for the ring-leaders, the captain caught a glimpse of one of them
+standing aft, and, as he supposed, out of reach. He mounted the cabin
+table, and, almost at a venture, fired through the woodwork in the
+direction he supposed the man to be standing. The shot was fatal; the
+ball struck him in the mouth, and passed through his brain. Terrified at
+the death of their comrades, the remainder were panic-struck, and
+instantly ran below. One of the leaders sprung over the taffrail, and
+eventually reached the launch. The sailor at the wheel, now seeing the
+deck almost cleared, beckoned up the captain, and without an effort, the
+vessel was again in their possession. In the confusion, a soldier, who
+had been in the boat, and was at this moment with the sailors returning
+on deck, was mistaken for one of the mutineers, and shot by the
+sergeant. The prisoners were now summoned from their place of
+concealment. They begged hard for mercy; and upon condition of their
+quietly surrendering, it was promised to them. As the first of them, in
+reliance upon this assurance, was gaining the deck, by some unhappy
+error, he received a ball in his thigh, and fell back again. The rest
+refused to stir; but after a few moments' hesitation, another of them
+ventured up, was taken aft by the captain, and secured. A third
+followed, and, as he came up, he extended his arms and cried: "I
+surrender; spare me." Either this motion was mistaken by the soldiers,
+or some of them were unable to restrain their passion, for at this
+instant the man's head was literally blown off. The captain hastened to
+the spot, and received the others, who were secured without further
+injury.
+
+"When we reached the vessel, the dying, dead, and wounded, were lying in
+every direction. In the launch astern, we saw the body of one wretched
+man who had leaped over the taffrail, and reached the boat badly
+wounded; he was seen lying in it when the deck was regained, and was
+then pierced through with many balls. Nothing could be more horrible
+than his appearance; the distortion of every feature, his clenched
+hands, and the limbs which had stiffened in the forms of agony into
+which pain had twisted them, were appalling. The countenance of every
+man on board bore evidence of the nature of the deadly conflict in which
+he had been engaged. In some, sullenness had succeeded to reckless
+daring, and exultation to alarm in others.
+
+"Nothing could have been more desperate than such an attempt to seize
+the vessel. The most culpable neglect could alone have encouraged it;
+and it is difficult to conceive how it could have succeeded, if anything
+like a proper stand had been made by those in charge of her when it
+commenced.
+
+"The wounded were immediately landed, and conveyed to the hospital, and
+the dead bodies were afterwards brought on shore.
+
+"The burial ground is close to the beach. A heavy surf rolls mournfully
+over the reef. The moon had just risen, when, in deep and solemn
+silence, the bodies of these misguided men were lowered into the graves
+prepared for them. Away from home and country, they had found a fearful
+termination of a miserable existence. Perhaps ties had still bound them
+to the world; friends whom they loved were looking for their return,
+and, prodigals though they had been, would have blessed them, and
+forgiven their offences. Perhaps even at that sad moment, mothers were
+praying for their lost ones, whom in all their infamy they had still
+fondly loved. Such thoughts filled my mind; and when a few drops of rain
+at that moment descended, I could not help thinking that they fell as
+tears from heaven over the guilt and misery of its children.
+
+"On the morning following the fatal occurrence, I visited the jail in
+which the mutineers were confined. The cells were small, but clean and
+light. In the first of them, I found George Beavers, Nicholas Lewis, and
+Henry Sears. Beavers was crouching in one corner of the cell, and
+looking sullen, and in despair. Lewis, who was walking the scanty space
+of the cell, seemed to glory in the rattle of his heavy chains; while
+Sears was stretched, apparently asleep, upon a grass mat. They were all
+heavily ironed, and every precaution had evidently been taken to prevent
+escape.
+
+"In the other cell I found Woolfe and Barry, the latter in much agony
+from an old wound in the leg, the pain of which had been aggravated by
+the heavy irons which galled it. All the prisoners except Barry and
+Woolfe, readily acknowledged their participation in the attempt to seize
+the brig, but most solemnly denied any knowledge of a preconcerted plan
+to take her; or that they at least had attempted to throw the soldiers
+overboard. They were unwilling to be interrupted, and inveighed in the
+bitterest manner against some of their companions who had, they seemed
+to think, betrayed them, or at least had led them on, and at the moment
+of danger had flinched.
+
+"The names of the surviving mutineers were John Jones, Nicholas Lewis,
+Henry Sears, George Beavers, James Woolfe, Thomas Whelan, and Patrick
+Barry.
+
+"The depositions against them having been taken, all the men I have
+mentioned, with the exception of Jones and Whelan, who were wounded,
+were brought out to hear them read. They listened with calm attention,
+but none of them appeared to be much excited. Once only during the
+reading, Beavers passionately denied the statements made by one of the
+witnesses present, and was with difficulty silenced. His countenance at
+that moment was terribly agitated; every bad feeling seemed to mingle in
+its passionate expression. They were all young, powerful, and, with one
+or two exceptions, not at all ill-looking men.
+
+"From the jail I proceeded to the hospital, where the wounded men were
+lying. They had each received severe wounds in the thigh, and were in
+great agony. The violence of Jones was excessive. Weakened in some
+degree by the loss of blood, the bitterness of his spirit nevertheless
+exhibited itself in passionate bursts of impatience. He was occasionally
+convulsed with excessive pain; for the nerves of the thigh had been much
+lacerated, and the bone terribly shattered. His features were distorted
+with pain and anger, and occasionally bitter curses broke from his lips;
+yet there was something about his appearance which powerfully arrested
+my attention--an evident marking of intellect and character, repulsive
+in its present development, yet in many respects remarkable. His history
+had been a melancholy one, and, as illustrative of many thousand others,
+I give it as I afterwards received it from his lips.
+
+"At eleven years of age, he was employed in a warehouse in Liverpool as
+an errand-boy. While following this occupation, from which, by
+good-conduct, he might have risen to something better, he was met in the
+street one day by the lad whom he had succeeded in this employment, and
+was told by him how he might obtain money by robbing the warehouse, and
+then go with him to the theatre. He accordingly took an opportunity of
+stealing some articles which had been pointed out, and gave them to his
+companion, who, in disposing of them, was detected, and of course
+criminated Jones. After remaining some weeks in jail, Jones was tried,
+and acquitted; but his character being now gone, he became reckless, and
+commenced a regular career of depredation. In attempting another
+warehouse robbery, he was detected, and sentenced to twelve months'
+imprisonment. By the time he was released from this, he was well tutored
+in crime, and believed that he could now adroitly perform the same
+robbery in which he had previously failed. He made the attempt the very
+night of his release from jail, and with temporary success. Subsequently,
+however, he was detected, and received sentence of transportation for
+seven years. He underwent this sentence, and an additional one in Van
+Diemen's Land, chiefly at Port Arthur, the most severe of the penal
+stations there. From this place he, with Lewis, Moss (who was shot on
+board the brig), and Woolfe, having seized a whale-boat, effected their
+escape. During three months, they underwent the most extreme hardships
+from hunger and exposure. Once they had been without food for several
+days, and their last hook was over the boat's side; they were anxiously
+watching for a fish. A small blue shark took the bait, and in despair one
+of them dashed over the boat's side to seize the fish; his leg was caught
+by one of the others, and they succeeded in saving both man and hook.
+They eventually reached Twofold Bay, on the coast of New South Wales, and
+were then apprehended, conveyed to Sydney, and thence sent back to Van
+Diemen's Land; tried, and received sentence of death; but this was
+subsequently commuted to transportation for life to Norfolk Island.
+
+"Jones often described to me the intense misery he had undergone during
+his career. He had never known what freedom was, and yet incessantly
+longed for it. All alike confessed the unhappiness of their career. Having
+made the first false step into crime, they acknowledged that their minds
+became polluted by the associations they formed during imprisonment. Then
+they were further demoralized by thinking of the _glory_--such miserable
+glory!--attending a trial; and the hulks and the voyage out gave them a
+finished criminal training. The extent of punishment many of them have
+undergone during the period of transportation is almost incredible. I have
+known men whose original sentence of seven years has been extended over
+three times that period, and who, in addition to other punishment, have
+received five thousand or six thousand lashes!
+
+"After many solemn interviews with the mutineers, I found them gradually
+softening. They became more communicative, and extremely anxious to
+receive instruction. I think I shall never forget one of the earliest of
+these visits to them. I first saw Sears, Beavers, and Jones. After a
+long and interesting conversation with them, we knelt together, and I
+offered prayer. When we arose, I perceived that each of them had been
+shedding tears. It was the first time I had seen them betray any such
+emotion, and I cannot tell how glad I felt; but when I proceeded
+afterwards to read to them the first chapter of Isaiah, I had scarcely
+uttered that most exquisite passage in the second verse--"I have
+nourished and brougth up children, and they have rebelled against
+me,"--when the claims of God, and _their_ violation and rejection of
+them; His forbearance, and _their_ ingratitude, appeared to overwhelm
+them; they sobbed aloud, and were thoroughly overpowered.
+
+"For a considerable time we talked together of the past, the wretched
+years they had endured, the punishments, and the crimes which had led to
+them, until they seemed to feel most keenly the folly of their sad
+career. We passed on to contrast the manner in which their lives had
+been spent, with what God and society required from them; their
+miserable preversion of God's gifts, with the design for which He gave
+them, until we were led on to speak of hope and of faith; of Him who
+"willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from
+his wickedness and live;" and then the Saviour's remonstrance seemed to
+arrest them--"Ye will not come to me that ye might have life;" until at
+length the influences of the Holy Spirit were supplicated with
+earnestness and solemnity. These instructions and such conversations
+were daily repeated; and henceforth each time I saw them, I perceived a
+gradual but distinct unfolding of the affections and the understanding.
+
+"August.--The wounded men are much recovered, and the whole of the
+mutineers are now confined together in a large ward of the jail. They
+have long received extreme kindness from the commandant, and are
+literally bewildered at finding that even this last act has not
+diminished the exercise of his benevolence. That anybody should care for
+them, or take such pains about them after their violent conduct excited
+surprise at first almost amounting to suspicion; but this at length gave
+place to the warmest gratitude. They were, in fact, subdued by it. They
+read very much, are extremely submissive, and carefully avoid the
+slightest infringement of the prison regulations. At first, all this was
+confined to the three men I have mentioned; but their steady consistency
+of conduct, and the strange transformation of character, so evident in
+them, gradually arrested the attention of the others, and eventually led
+to a similar result.
+
+"They will be detained here until the case has been decided by the
+authorities in Sydney. They will probably be tried by a commission sent
+from thence to the island for the purpose. Formerly, however, prisoners
+charged with capital offences here were sent up for trial; but (it is a
+horrible fact) this was found to lead to so much crime, that, at much
+inconvenience and expense, it was found absolutely necessary to send
+down a judicial commission on each important occasion, in order to
+prevent it. The mere excitement of a voyage, with the chances connected
+with it, nay, merely a wish to get off the island even for a time, led
+many men to commit crimes of the deepest dye in order to be sent to
+Sydney for trial.
+
+"Two months, therefore, at least must intervene between the perpetration
+of the offence and their trial; and this interval is usually employed in
+similar cases in arranging a defence but too commonly supported by
+perjury. In the present instance, I found not the slightest attempt to
+follow such a course. They declare that they expect death, and will
+gladly welcome it. Of their life, which has been a course of almost
+constant warfare with society, ending in remorseful feelings, they were
+all thoroughly weary, although only one of them exceeds thirty years of
+age.
+
+"In addition to the ordinary services, Captain Maconochie, each Sunday
+afternoon has read prayers to them, and has given permission to a few of
+their friends to be present. Singular good has resulted from it, both to
+the men and those who join in their devotions. At the conclusion of one
+of these services, Sears stood up, and with his heart so full as
+scarcely to allow him utterance, to the surprise of every person there,
+he addressed most impressively the men who were present. 'Perhaps,' said
+he, 'the words of one of yourselves, unhappily circumstanced as I am,
+may have some weight with you. You all know the life I have led; it has,
+believe me, been a most unhappy one; and I have, I hope not too late,
+discovered the cause of this. I solemnly tell you that it is because I
+have broken God's laws. I am almost ashamed to speak, but I dare not be
+silent. I am going to tell you a strange thing. I never before was
+happy; I begin now, for the first time in my life, to _hope_. I am an
+ignorant man, or at least I was so; but I thank God I begin to see
+things in their right light now. I have been unhappily placed from my
+childhood, and have endured many hardships. I do not mention this to
+excuse my errors; yet if I had years since received the kindness I have
+done here, it might have been otherwise. My poor fellows, do turn over a
+new leaf; try to serve God, and you, too, will be happier for it.' The
+effect was most thrilling; there was a deathlike silence; tears rolled
+down many cheeks, which I verily believe never before felt them; and
+without a word more, all slowly withdrew.
+
+"This man's story is also a common, but painful one. At fifteen years of
+age, he was transported for life as an accomplice in an assault and
+alleged robbery, of which, from circumstances which have since
+transpired, I have little doubt he was entirely innocent. During a long
+imprisonment on Horsham jail, he received an initiation in crime, which
+was finished during the outward voyage. Upon his arrival in New South
+Wales, he was assigned to a settler in the interior, a notoriously hard
+and severe man, who gave him but a scanty supply of food and clothing,
+and whose aim seemed to be to take the utmost out of him at the least
+possible expense. Driven at length to desperation, he, with three
+fellow-servants, absconded; and when taken, made a complaint to the
+magistrate, before whom they were brought almost without clothes. Their
+statements were found to be literally correct; but for absconding, they
+were sent to New Castle, one of the penal stations of New South Wales,
+where Sears remained nearly two years. At the expiration of that time,
+he was again assigned, but unfortunately to a man, if possible, worse
+than his former employer, and again absconded. For this offence, he was
+sent to Moreton Bay, another penal settlement, and endured three years
+of horrible severity, starvation, and misery of every kind. His temper
+was by this time much soured; and, roused by the conduct of the
+overseers, he became brutalized by constant punishment for resisting
+them. After this, he was sent to Sydney, as one of the crew in the
+police-boat, of which he was soon made assistant cockswain. For not
+reporting a theft committed by one of the men under his charge, he was
+sentenced to a road-party; and attempting to escape from it, he was
+apprehended, and again ordered to Moreton Bay for four years more. There
+he was again repeatedly flogged for disobedience and resistance of
+overseers, as well as attempting to escape; but having most courageously
+rendered assistance to a vessel wrecked off the harbor, he attracted the
+attention of the commandant, who afterwards shewed him a little favor.
+This was the first approach to kindness he had known since when, years
+before, he had left his home, and had its usual influence. He was never
+again in a scrape there. His good-conduct induced the commandant to
+recommend him for a mitigation of sentence, which he received, and he
+was again employed in the police-boat. The free cockswain of the boat
+was, however, a drunkard, and intrusted much to Sears. Oftentimes he
+roused the men by his violence, but Sears contrived to subdue his
+passion. At length, one night, returning to the hut, drunk, the man
+struck at one of the crew with his cutlass, and the rest resisted and
+disarmed him. But the morning came; the case was heard; their story was
+disbelieved; and upon the charge and evidence of the aggressor, they
+were sent to an ironed gang, to work on the public roads. When Sears
+again became eligible for assignment, a person whom he had known in
+Sydney applied for him. The man must be removed within a fixed period
+after the authority is given. In this case, application was made a day
+beyond the prescribed time, and churlishly refused. The disappointment
+roused a spirit so untutored as his, and once again he absconded; was of
+course apprehended, tried, and being found with a man who had committed
+a robbery, and had a musket in his possession, was sent to Norfolk
+Island for life. This sentence has, however, for meritorious conduct,
+been reduced to fourteen years; and his ready assistance during a fire
+which recently broke out in the military garrison here, might possibly
+have helped to obtain a still further reduction. He never, during those
+abscondings, was absent for any long period, and never committed any act
+of violence. His constant attempt seems to have been to reach Sydney, in
+order to effect his escape from the scene of so much misery.
+
+"For some time past, I have noticed his quiet and orderly conduct, and
+was really sorry when I found him concerned in this unhappy affair. His
+desire for freedom was, however, most ardent, and a chance of obtaining
+it was almost irresistible. He has since told me that a few words kindly
+spoken to himself and others by Captain Maconochie when they landed,
+sounded so pleasantly to him--such are his own words--that he determined
+from that moment he would endeavor to do well. He assures me that he was
+perfectly unconscious of a design to take the brig, until awakened from
+his sleep a few minutes before the attack commenced; that he then
+remonstrated with the men; but finding it useless, he considered it a
+point of honor not to fail them. His anxiety for instruction is intense;
+he listens like a child; and his gratitude is most touching. He,
+together with Jones, Woolfe, and Barry, were chosen by the commandant as
+a police-boat's crew; and had, up to this period, acted with great
+steadiness and fidelity in the discharge of the duties required from
+them. Nor do I think they would even now, tempting as the occasion was,
+have thought of seizing it, had it not been currently reported that they
+were shortly to be placed under a system of severity such as they had
+already suffered so much from.
+
+"Woolfe's story of himself is most affecting. He entered upon evil
+courses when very young; was concerned in burglaries when only eleven
+years of age. Yet this was from no natural love of crime. Enticed from
+his home by boys older than himself, he soon wearied of the life he led,
+and longed to return to his home and his kind mother. Oftentimes he
+lingered near the street she lived in. Once he had been very unhappy,
+for he had seen his brother and sister that day pass near him, and it
+had rekindled all his love for them. They appeared happy in their
+innocence; he was miserable in his crime. He now determined to go home
+and pray to be forgiven. The evening was dark and wet, and as he entered
+the court in which his friends lived, his heart failed him, and he
+turned back; but, unable to resist the impulse, he again returned, and
+stole under the window of the room. A rent in the narrow curtain enabled
+him to see within. His mother sat by the fire, and her countenance was
+so sad, that he was sure she thought of him; but the room looked so
+comfortable, and the whole scene was so unlike the place in which he had
+lately lived, that he could no longer hesitate. He approached the door;
+the latch was almost in his hand, when shame and fear, and a thousand
+other vile and foolish notions, held him back; and the boy who in
+another moment might have been happy--_was lost_. He turned away, and I
+believe he has never seen them since. Going on in crime, he in due
+course of time was transported for robbery. His term of seven years
+expired in Van Diemen's Land. Released from forced servitude, he went a
+whaling-voyage, and was free nearly two years. Unhappily, he was then
+charged with aiding in a robbery, and again received a sentence of
+transportation. He was sent to Port Arthur, there employed as one of the
+boat's crew, and crossing the bay one day with a commissariat-officer,
+the boat was capsized by a sudden squall. In attempting to save the life
+of the officer, he was seized by his dying grasp, and almost perished
+with him; but extricating himself, he swam back to the boat. Seeing the
+drowning man exhausted, and sinking, he dashed forward again, diving
+after him, and happily succeeded in saving his life. For this honorable
+act, he would have received a remission of sentence; but ere it could
+arrive, he and five others made their escape. He had engaged with these
+men in the plan to seize the boat, and although sure of the success of
+the application in his favor, he could not now draw back. The result I
+have already shewn. There were two more men concerned in the mutiny,
+who, with those I have mentioned, and those killed on board the brig,
+made up the number of the boat's crew. But neither of these men came
+under my charge, being both Roman Catholics.
+
+"At length the brig, which had been despatched with an account of the
+affair, returned, and brought the decision of the governor of New South
+Wales. He had found it extremely difficult, almost impossible, to obtain
+fitting members for the commission, who would be willing to accept the
+terms proposed by the government, or trust themselves in this dreadful
+place, and therefore he had determined that the prisoners should be sent
+up for trial. The men were sadly disappointed at this arrangement. They
+wished much to end their days here, and they dreaded both the voyage and
+the distracting effect of new scenes. They cling, too, with grateful
+attachment to the commandant's family, and the persons who, during their
+long imprisonment, had taken so strong an interest in their welfare. I
+determined to accompany them, and watch for their perseverance in
+well-doing, that I might counsel and strengthen them under the fearful
+ordeal I could not doubt they would have to pass.
+
+"The same steady consistency marked the conduct of these men to the
+moment of their embarkation. There was a total absence of all
+excitement; one deep, serious feeling seemed to possess them, and its
+solemnity was communicated to all of us. They spoke and acted as men
+standing on the confines of the unseen world, and who not only thought
+of its wonders, but, better still, seemed to have caught something of
+its spirit and purity.
+
+"November.--The voyage up was a weary, and, to the prisoners, a very
+trying one. In a prison on the lower deck of a brig of one hundred and
+eighty-two tons, fifty-two men were confined. The place itself was about
+twenty feet square, of course, low, and badly ventilated. The men were
+all ironed, and fastened to a heavy chain rove through iron rings let
+into the deck, so that they were unable, for any purpose, to move from
+the spot they occupied; scarcely, indeed, to lie down. The weather was
+also unfavorable. The vessel tossed and pitched most fearfully during a
+succession of violent squalls, accompanied by thunder and lightning. I
+cannot describe the wretchedness of these unhappy convicts; sick, and
+surrounded by filth, they were huddled together in the most disgusting
+manner. The heat was at times unbearable. There were men of sixty--quiet
+and inoffensive old men--placed with others who were as accomplished
+villains as the world could produce. These were either proceeding to
+Sydney, their sentences on the island having expired, or as witnesses in
+another case (a bold and wicked murder) sent there also for trial. The
+sailors on board the brig were for the most part the cowardly fellows
+who had so disgracefully allowed the brig to be taken from them; and
+they, as well as the soldiers on guard (some of them formed a part of
+the former one), had no very kindly feeling towards the mutineers. It
+may be imagined, therefore, that such feelings occasioned no alleviation
+of their condition. In truth, although there was no actual cruelty
+exhibited, they suffered many oppressive annoyances; yet I never saw
+more patient endurance. It was hard to bear, but their better principles
+prevailed. Upon the arrival of the vessel in Sydney, we learned that the
+case had excited an unusual interest. Crowds assembled to catch a
+glimpse of the men as they landed; and while some applauded their
+daring, the great majority very loudly expressed their horror at the
+crime of which they stood accused.
+
+"I do not think it necessary to describe the trial, which took place in
+a few days after landing. All were arraigned except Barry. The
+prisoners' counsel addressed the jurors with powerful eloquence; but it
+was in vain: the crime was substantiated; and the jury returned a
+verdict of guilty against all of the prisoners, recommending Woolfe to
+mercy.
+
+"During the whole trial, the prisoners' conduct was admirable; so much
+so, indeed, as to excite the astonishment of the immense crowd collected
+by curiosity to see men who had made so mad an attempt for liberty. They
+scarcely spoke, except once to request that the wounded man, who yet
+suffered much pain, might be allowed to sit down. Judgment was deferred
+until the following day. When they were then placed at the bar, the
+judge, in the usual manner, asked whether they had any reason to urge
+why sentence should not be pronounced upon them. It was a moment of deep
+solemnity; every breath was held; and the eyes of the whole court were
+directed towards the dock. Jones spoke in a deep, clear voice, and in a
+deliberate harangue pointed out some defects in the evidence, though
+without the slightest hope, he said, of mitigating the sentence now to
+be pronounced on himself and fellows. Three of the others also spoke.
+Whelan said, 'that he was not one of the men properly belonging to the
+boat's crew, but had been called upon to fill the place of another man,
+and had no knowledge of any intention to take the vessel, and the part
+he took on board was forced upon him. He was compelled to act as he had
+done; he had used no violence, nor was he in any way a participator in
+any that had been committed.' At the conclusion of the address to them,
+Jones, amidst the deep silence of the court, pronounced a most emphatic
+prayer for mercy on his own soul, and those of his fellow-prisoners, for
+the judge and jury, and finally for the witnesses. Sentence of death was
+then solemnly pronounced upon them all; but the judge informed Woolfe
+that he might hold out to him expectations that his life would be
+spared. They were then removed from the bar, and sent back to the
+condemned cells.
+
+"I cannot say how much I dreaded my interview with them that day; for
+although I had all along endeavored to prepare their minds for the worst
+result, and they had themselves never for a moment appeared to expect
+any other than this, I feared that the realization of their sad
+expectation would break them down. Hitherto, there might have been some
+secret hope sustaining them. The convulsive clinging to life, so common
+to all of us, would now, perhaps, be more palpably exhibited.
+
+"Entering their cells, I found them, as I feared, stunned by the blow
+which had now fallen on them, and almost overpowered by mental and
+bodily exhaustion. A few remarks about the trial were at length made by
+them; and from that moment I never heard them refer to it again. There
+was no bitterness of spirit against the witnesses, no expression of
+hostility towards the soldiers, no equivocation in any explanation they
+gave. They solemnly denied many of the statements made against them;
+but, nevertheless, the broad fact remained, that they were guilty of an
+attempt to violently seize the vessel, and it was useless debating on
+minor considerations.
+
+"In the meantime, without their knowledge, petitions were prepared and
+forwarded to the judges, the governor and executive council. In them
+were stated various mitigatory facts in their favor; and the meliorated
+character of the criminal code at home was also strongly urged. Every
+attention was paid to these addresses, following each other to the last
+moment. But all was in vain. The council sat, and determined that five
+of the men should be hanged on the following Tuesday. Whelan, who could
+have no previous knowledge of a plan to seize the vessel, together with
+Woolfe, was spared. The remaining four were to suffer. The painful
+office of communicating this final intelligence to these men was
+intrusted to me, and they listened to the announcement not without deep
+feeling, but still with composure.
+
+"It would be very painful for me to dwell on the closing scene. The
+unhappy and guilty men were attended by the zealous chaplain of the
+jail, whose earnest exhortations and instructions they most gratefully
+received. The light of truth shone clearly on the past, and they felt
+that their manifold lapses from the path of virtue had been the original
+cause of the complicated misery they had endured. They entreated
+forgiveness of all against whom they had offended, and in the last words
+to their friends, were uttered grateful remembrances to Captain
+Maconochie, his family, and others. At the place of execution, they
+behaved with fortitude and a composure befitting the solemnity of the
+occasion. Having retired from attendance upon them in their last
+moments, I was startled from the painful stupor which succeeded in my
+own mind, by the loud and heavy bound of the drop as it fell, and told
+me that their spirits had gone to God who gave them."
+
+Since the foregoing narrative was written, the treatment of convicts has
+undergone considerable change, government having found the experiment of
+transporting the worse class of criminals from New South Wales to
+Norfolk Island to be a failure. The penal settlement was therefore
+broken up in 1855, and convicts are now confined in different
+establishments in the United Kingdom, where, without subjecting them to
+absolute silence or solitude, they are separated from the contaminating
+society of each other. Under the present system, it is a fixed principle
+never to allow, if at all possible, the punishment--while it may be made
+to any extent disagreeable--to injure either the body or the mind.
+
+
+
+
+THE SOLITARY ISLANDER.
+
+
+It was at the time Queen Anne began to reign, and her ships were
+carrying the English flag into all seas, for commerce, for discovery, or
+for war, when one of these vessels, called the _Clinque Ports_, put in
+to refit at the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez, on the west coast
+of South America.
+
+It was but a small island, though fertile and pleasant; it had not been
+tilled or planted, neither had any place of shelter been built upon it,
+but sometimes two or three sick sailors had been left there to recover
+health, and sometimes a passing ship would put in for water, and
+departing leave one or two of their live-stock on the island. It had
+thus become stocked with goats, which ran wild about the hills and
+craggy rocks, free from any danger of pursuit and capture.
+
+This was not the first time that the _Clinque Ports_ had touched at Juan
+Fernandez, for not long before she had left there two seamen who were
+unable to continue their voyage, and now she had anchored to reship
+these men, to take in water, and to refit for the long and perilous
+voyage to the English shore.
+
+The two seamen, coming on board, told strange stories to their comrades
+of the pleasant life they had led on the island, of the hunt for goats,
+of the abundance of shell-fish, of the delicious fruits and vegetables,
+and of the cool waters of the place.
+
+Of all the eager listeners to these tales of plenty and delight, there
+was one who never failed to fasten on each word that was said, and by
+constant questioning, to learn every detail of the life on the green
+island which lay before them. This sailor was a Scotsman, named
+Alexander Selkirk or Selcraig. He was of an impatient, overbearing
+temper, and no favorite with his captain, who was not wise enough to
+discern the good sense and honesty which lay hidden under his rough and
+uncourteous manner. Thus it chanced that the Scotch Sailor was often in
+trouble and disgrace, and resenting bitterly a harshness he did not
+think he had deserved, he began to long to leave the ship at any cost.
+
+But perhaps the beginning of his misery and discomfort must be sought
+farther back in his life. His surly speech, his unsocial temper, spoke
+of a mind ill at ease,--the remembrance of the past made the present
+sad.
+
+He had been religiously and strictly brought up by his father, a Scotch
+Puritan, but he had broken loose from the restraints which his parents
+sought to throw around him, and had led, if not a vicious, at least an
+irreligious life, without thought of God, or of the lessons of truth and
+goodness which he had been taught. Yet his conscience was not so
+hardened that he could be happy in this neglect of God, and he felt ill
+at ease, dissatisfied with himself, and with all around him.
+
+He shrank, too, from the prospect of the voyage to England in a vessel
+but half repaired, exaggerating to his own mind the perils before him,
+and fearful of his own temper with his hard and prejudiced commander.
+
+Weighing all these things, he determined on asking the captain to set him
+on shore, that he might wait at Juan Fernandez the passing of some other
+ship in which he might return home. The captain agreed to this proposal
+willingly enough, glad to dismiss from his crew so insubordinate a
+sailor; and just before the _Clinque Ports_ was about to weigh anchor,
+the adventurous seaman was sent on shore with the few things that
+belonged to him. He sprang from the boat almost before her keel had
+grazed the sand, wishing to appear gay and brave to his companions; but
+no sooner did the splash of oars begin to grow faint and distant, and the
+faces of the boatmen indistinct as they neared the ship, than all his
+courage forsook him. With outstretched hands, and frantic words and
+gestures, he implored them to return, promising to bear everything, to
+risk everything, if only he might not be left alone on the lonely island.
+But he cried in vain; the boat reached the ship, the men climbed on
+board, the sails were hoisted, and there on his sea-chest, sat the lonely
+sailor, gazing over the wide ocean, on which nothing but the lessening
+speck of white on the far horizon reminded him of the existence of any
+human being but himself.
+
+Days passed almost uncounted, for in his desolate misery Alexander
+Selkirk had but one thought left--the longing desire of rescue and
+return home. He valued the daylight only because by its aid he could
+watch for a sail on the wide, silent sea; he dreaded the coming on of
+the night, chiefly because it shut him off for a time from his one
+employment. During these dreary days or weeks he never tasted food, save
+when driven to look for it by pangs of sharpest hunger, and even then he
+would not leave the beach, but fed on shell-fish picked up on the rocks,
+or sometimes on the flesh of seals.
+
+It was September when the _Clinque Ports_ sailed, and now October had
+come, the middle of spring in Juan Fernandez, and, all round him, nature
+spoke of hope, and taught of God. But before hope could enter into
+Alexander's desolate heart, sorrow must come: sorrow for sin, for his
+disobedience to the parents whom he had made unhappy; for his reckless,
+godless life; for all the teachings of his youth forgotten, and for its
+lessons neglected. Sometimes, for a few minutes, Alexander would turn
+his eyes from his eager watch over the sea, and looking down, would
+picture instead his Scottish home. He would see clearly in his mind his
+venerable father, with his furrowed brow, and stern, unsmiling mouth;
+his mother, in her tall white cap, busied at her wheel, with a far-away,
+mournful look in her eyes, which told that she was thinking of her
+absent son. Ah! and he saw again even his poor idiot brother, to whom he
+had only used harsh words, and even rough blows. "I would be so
+different now if it should please God ever to let me see home and my
+dear ones again," he thought. And so has many a poor prodigal thought as
+he has been compelled to suffer the punishment for his sins, and found
+no way to escape from it.
+
+Little by little, there grew up in his heart the purpose of beginning
+even now this new life. He would not wait till his return to England. In
+this lonely island, with half the world between him and all he loved, he
+would strive to be one with them in heart, and to join with them in
+prayer and praise. He would seek pardon for the sins of his youth for
+the Saviour's sake, and in His strength, begin life anew. He had a Bible
+with him in his chest, and he began to read it daily, and in earnest
+prayer to seek forgiveness and blessing; then, even in his loneliness,
+comfort came to him. He was no longer alone, for God was with him. He
+knew that God was his Father, his Helper, and his Keeper, and he grew
+calm, almost happy, and was even able sometimes to leave his look-out
+over the sea, and make little journeys into the interior of his new
+kingdom.
+
+As his mind became more peaceful, he turned his thoughts to the question
+of a shelter from the storms of the approaching winter, which, even in
+that mild climate, was often accompanied with frost and snow. There were
+plenty of trees on the island, and with their stems and branches he soon
+built for himself a rough hut, which he thatched with long grass cut and
+dried in the sun. This attempt was so successful that he determined to
+build another hut at a short distance, so that he might sleep in one,
+and in the other, prepare his food. Now that he had once looked in the
+face the thought of spending the winter in the island, he grew, slowly,
+more reconciled to it, and began to take an interest in preparing, as
+far as he could, for its approach.
+
+His huts must be furnished in some fashion; first, he brought up from
+the shore his sea-chest, which contained his few clothes; then he cut
+and fastened up a shelf on which to keep his Bible and the other books
+which he had brought on shore. He had with him a large cooking-pot in
+which to prepare his food, and a smaller drinking-can which he had
+brought, most likely, from home, and which bore the old-fashioned
+inscription, "Alexander Selkirk, this is my one." It was needful to make
+for himself a bed, for hitherto he had slept on the beach, so that at
+the first moment of opening his eyes he might begin his watch over the
+sea: now he must sleep in his hut.
+
+This bed he determined to make of the skins of goats, for he had begun
+to hunt the wild goats for food, having by this time wearied of his diet
+of fish. At first he was able only to overtake and capture the young
+kids, for he had no gun, no bow and arrow with which to kill them at a
+distance; then as exercise and practice increased his strength, he found
+himself able to pursue and take the largest and swiftest goats, and
+having killed them, to carry them on his shoulders to his hut. But as
+goat's flesh, his principal food, could only be obtained by him while he
+remained in full strength and vigor, he determined to provide a store in
+case of illness or accident, and so, catching several young kids, he
+slightly lamed them, so that they could move but slowly, and then
+trained them to feed around his hut, and these gentle creatures, who
+soon learned to know him, brought some sense of companionship to the
+lonely man.
+
+His life began now to have its regular duties and interests. In the
+morning when he rose, he sang one of the old Scotch psalms, after the
+practice which he had been taught from childhood, and then read aloud a
+chapter of the Bible, and prayed long and fervently.
+
+Then he betook himself to light a fire by rubbing together two dry
+sticks till a flame was produced, and this fire he fed from time to time
+with branches and logs from the woods. He had also, his food to obtain
+and to cook--goat's flesh or cray-fish, which he boiled in his large
+sauce-pan; and to gather the tender tops of the cabbage-palm or other
+vegetables, for bread. These necessary employments finished, he would
+take his Bible, and, sitting in the door of his hut, or on the beach,
+would study it for hours, finding new truths and deeper meaning in the
+blessed words familiar to him from his childhood. Or he would choose one
+of his books on navigation, and study with a care which he had never
+before thought it worth while to give, hoping in this way to be a better
+sailor, and be able to take higher rank in the service, if it should
+please God to restore him once more to the duties and work of life. In
+this regular, peaceful, and religious life his spirits gradually
+recovered; nay, he became far happier than he had been since his
+childhood, for something of the trust and the love of a little child
+were restored to his heart.
+
+He would adorn his hut with fragrant boughs, and as he fed and caressed
+his kids, would sing with a light heart the songs of old Scotland. Then
+at set of sun he returned to the hut in which he slept, and there once
+more sang, and read, and prayed, and so lay down to sleep in peace,
+because he knew that it was the Lord only that made him dwell in safety.
+
+"I was a better Christian in my solitude than ever I was before, or than
+I fear I shall ever be again," he said, years after he had left the
+island. In this there was both truth and error. He had been led by the
+merciful goodness of God to repentance and to an earnest desire to
+escape from sin, but it was in the life among his fellows that this
+repentance and these new resolves--must be tested. It was in the daily
+little trials and crosses of a life among other men, that he must learn
+to subdue his proud spirit, and curb his hot temper.
+
+Months and even years passed on, and but little happened to vary
+Alexander's quiet life in his island home. He had now a large number of
+kids around his hut, and had added to his list of favorites several
+tamed cats, which he needed to protect him from the troop of rats which
+gnawed his bed-clothes, and even nibbled at his feet as he lay asleep.
+He had taught the kids and cats, too, to dance, and many a merry hour he
+spent among these his daily companions and friends. The clothes which he
+had brought on shore had been long since worn out, and he had supplied
+their place by a cap, and trousers, and jacket, made of goat-skin. His
+needle was a nail, and his thread thin strips of the skin; among his
+stores was a piece of linen, and this too he had sewn into shirts,
+unravelling one of his stockings for a supply of thread. He was
+barefoot, and the soles of his feet had grown so hard that he could
+climb sharp crags, and run over the stony beach, unhurt.
+
+[Illustration: A narrow escape.]
+
+Twice or thrice during these lonely years he had seen a sail
+approaching, but on these he looked with as much terror as hope, for
+should the crew prove to be Spaniards, he knew that he should be made a
+prisoner by them, and either put to death, or sent into hopeless
+slavery.
+
+Once, indeed, the crew of a Spanish vessel, putting in for water, had
+caught sight of the strange figure in the goat-skin dress, and had
+chased him, but so swift-footed was he that he soon left his pursuers
+far behind, and then lay hid in terror for hours, till the vessel had
+departed. His life had been besides in other danger, for once while
+pursuing the hunt from crag to crag, in wild and delightful adventure,
+he had set foot on the hidden edge of a precipice: the grass which
+seemed to promise so fair a footing gave way beneath his feet, he fell
+headlong, and lay hurt and senseless below. He judged by the size of the
+moon, when at last he opened his eyes to consciousness, that he must
+have been lying stunned and helpless for more than twenty-four hours,
+and it was with the greatest pain and difficulty that he could drag
+himself to his hut, and lie down on his bed of skins. His tame favorites
+came about him but none of them could help him, and he was too weak to
+care to procure for himself food or water. But even in his great
+distress he did not lose his confidence in God, and he lay calm and
+patient, satisfied that he was safe in the care of his Heavenly Father.
+After many days of suffering he recovered and once more enjoyed full
+health and vigor.
+
+He had been alone on Juan Fernandez for more than four years when one
+evening, looking out seaward before lying down in his hut, he saw the
+sails of an English-built vessel which was standing in very near to the
+shore. Alexander could not resist the sudden and strong desire which he
+felt, to be once more among his fellow-men, to hear once more the
+English speech, and feel once more the grasp of a friendly hand.
+Hurrying down to the beach, he piled and lighted a large bonfire, to
+carry a message to his fellow-countrymen, but the ship, instead of
+sailing shoreward, or of putting off a boat at once, tacked and went
+farther from the island, taking the fire to be the lights of an enemy's
+ship at anchor in the bay.
+
+Alexander spent the night in hope and in doubt: he killed some goats and
+prepared them for food, hoping the next day to entertain some of his
+countrymen in his island home, and at the first dawn of day he was again
+on the beach, gazing at the now distant but motionless ship.
+
+Those on board were also keeping an anxious watch, but when morning
+light showed them that there was no other ship near, the captain
+determined to send a boat on shore to discover the cause of the strange
+light which they had seen the night before. As they approached the
+island they saw a strange figure running to meet them, and by gestures
+and shouts pointing out the best place for landing. Alexander, with his
+long beard, his tanned complexion, his goat-skin dress, had lost almost
+all outward resemblance to a civilized man, and they wondered much who
+this friendly and solitary savage might be.
+
+But who can describe his joy when he heard once more the speech of his
+own country, and looked on the faces of his kind. He welcomed his
+visitors in the best English he could remember, for even his speech was
+half forgotten, and led them to his hut to partake of the banquet he had
+prepared.
+
+Yet in the midst of all his joy he could hardly determine to leave his
+beloved island, so accustomed had he grown to solitude, and to his wild,
+uncontrolled life. At length the remembrance of his aged parents, and of
+his friends at home, made him determine to ask a passage in the ship
+which had touched on his island shore, and the captain, finding how much
+he had learnt of seamanship and navigation, offered to rate him as mate.
+And thus Juan Fernandez was left once more in utter solitude, and
+Selkirk, gazing from the ship's deck, saw its green hills and pleasant
+coasts disappear in the distance, as he left the island and all its sad,
+its sacred, its happy memories forever. He soon grew tired of the
+society of men, and when not busy about the ship, would always seek to
+be alone, dreaming of the life which he had left. He found it hard, too,
+to accustom himself to the salt meat and biscuits which were sailors'
+fare, and to the dress and boots in which he must now appear. Soon every
+other thought was lost in his longing desire to see once more his
+parents and his home, for the shores of England were in sight. It was on
+a Sunday morning that the wanderer entered once more his native village,
+where all seemed quiet and unchanged. He did not turn his steps to his
+father's cottage, for his parents, as he well knew, would be at the
+kirk, and there would he look on their faces once more. Would they
+recognize, he asked himself, in the strong and bearded man, the youth
+who had left them years ago for the life of adventure which he loved
+best? Would they know the fine gentleman in gold lace and embroidery to
+be their son Alexander, their lost sailor lad. Pondering such thoughts
+as these, he walked on almost unconsciously. How well he knew every step
+of his way! In this farmhouse, his sister and her husband used to live;
+there was the wood where he had so often gathered nuts, or climbed for
+birds' nests with his boyish companions; there, its thatched roof more
+lichen-covered than of old, stood his father's cottage, at the door of
+which years ago he had kissed his mother for the last time--ah! was she
+still alive to welcome the returning wanderer?
+
+Seated in the kirk among unfamiliar faces, his eyes sought at once the
+well-known corner where, as a boy, he had been used to sit, and with an
+almost overwhelming rush of thankfulness and joy he saw once more his
+mother's face, the same, yet changed, its added wrinkles and silvered
+hair telling, perhaps, of many tears and long sorrow for her lost sailor
+son.
+
+There sat his father, too, the portly, respectable-looking elder, in
+blue cap and coat of homespun tweed. In vain did Alexander seek to join
+in the psalm or prayer, his looks and thoughts were ever wandering; and
+he was not alone in this, for the dark eyes of his old mother turned
+continually with an eager, inquiring gaze to the grand stranger
+gentleman, strange yet so familiar. Then her eyes were cast down once
+more on her book, as she tried to give heed to the service, till at last
+a sudden smile which lit up Alexander's face, showed her that she saw
+before her the son for whom she had longed and prayed, whom no doubt she
+had before this counted as among the dead. In her sudden joy the old
+woman forgot all else, and rising, rushed towards the place where the
+returned wanderer was seated.
+
+The whole family, with Alexander in their midst, now made their way out
+of the kirk, and returned home to talk of the great deliverance which
+God had given to their lost kinsman.
+
+On this true story of Selkirk was founded the tale of the Adventures of
+Robinson Crusoe.
+
+
+
+
+CAPTAIN COOK'S LAST VOYAGE.
+
+
+The discovery of a supposed north-west passage from the North Atlantic
+to the North Pacific Oceans, had for many years been ardently sought
+for, both by the English and the Dutch. Frobisher, in 1576, made the
+first attempt, and his example was in succeeding times followed by many
+others. But though much geographical information had been gained in the
+neighborhood of Hudson's Bay, Davis' Strait, Baffin's Bay, and the coast
+of Greenland, yet no channel whatever was found. By act of parliament,
+L20,000 was offered to the successful individual. But though Captain
+Middleton, in 1741, and Captains Smith and Moore, in 1746, explored
+those seas and regions, the object remained unattained. The Honorable
+Captain Phipps (afterwards Earl Mulgrave) was sent out in the
+_Racehorse_, accompanied by Captain Lutwidge, in the _Carcase_ (Lord
+Nelson was a boy in this latter ship), to make observations, and to
+penetrate as far as it was practicable to do so. They sailed June 2,
+1773, and made Spitzbergen on the 28th; but after great exertions, they
+found the ice to the northward utterly impenetrable. Once they became
+closely jammed, and it was only with great difficulty they escaped
+destruction. On August 22, finding it impossible to get further to the
+northward, eastward, or westward, they made sail, according to their
+instructions, for England, and arrived off Shetland on September 7.
+
+Notwithstanding these numerous failures, the idea of an existing passage
+was still cherished; and Earl Sandwich continuing at the head of the
+Admiralty, resolved that a further trial should be made, and Captain
+Cook offered his services to undertake it. They were gladly accepted,
+and on February 10, 1776, he was appointed to command the expedition in
+his old, but hardy ship, the _Resolution_, and Captain Clerke, in the
+_Discovery_, was ordered to attend him. In this instance, however, the
+mode of experiment was to be reversed, and instead of attempting the
+former routes by Davis' Strait or Baffin's Bay, etc., Cook, at his own
+request, was instructed to proceed into the South Pacific, and thence to
+try the passage by the way of Behring's Strait; and as it was necessary
+that the islands in the Southern Ocean should be revisited, cattle and
+sheep, with other animals, and all kinds of seeds, were shipped for the
+advantage of the natives.
+
+Every preparation having been made, the _Resolution_ quitted Plymouth on
+July 12, taking Omai, the native, from the Society Isles. Having touched
+at Teneriffe, they crossed the equator September 1, and reached the Cape
+on October 18, where the _Discovery_ joined them on November 10.
+
+The ships sailed again on November 30, and encountered heavy gales, in
+which several sheep and goats died. On December 12 they saw two large
+islands, which Cook named Prince Edward's Islands; and three days
+afterwards several others were seen; but having made Kerguelen's Land,
+they anchored in a convenient harbor on Christmas day. On the north side
+of this harbor one of the men found a quart bottle fastened to a
+projecting rock by stout wire, and on opening it, the bottle was found
+to contain a piece of parchment, on which was an inscription purporting
+that the land had been visited by a French vessel in 1772-3. To this
+Cook added a notice of his own visit; the parchment was then returned to
+the bottle, and the cork being secured with lead, was placed upon a pile
+of stones near to the place from which it had been removed. The whole
+country was extremely barren and desolate, and on the 30th they came to
+the eastern extremity of Kerguelen's Land.
+
+On January 24, 1777, they came in sight of Van Diemen's Land (now
+Tasmania), and on the 26th anchored in Adventure Bay, where intercourse
+was opened with the natives, and Omai took every opportunity of lauding
+the great superiority of his friends, the English. Here they obtained
+plenty of grass for the remaining cattle, and a supply of fresh
+provisions for themselves. On the 30th they quitted their port,
+convinced that Van Diemen's Land was the southern point of New Holland.
+Subsequent investigations, however, have proved this idea to be
+erroneous, Van Diemen's Land being an island separated from the mainland
+of Australia by Bass's Strait.
+
+On February 12, Captain Cook anchored at his old station in Queen
+Charlotte's Sound, New Zealand; but the natives were very shy in
+approaching the ships, and none could be persuaded to come on board. The
+reason was, that on the former voyages, after parting with the
+_Resolution_, the _Adventure_ had visited this place, and ten of her
+crew had been killed in an unpremeditated skirmish with the natives. It
+was the fear of retaliatory punishment that kept them aloof. Captain
+Cook, however, soon made them easy upon the subject, and their
+familiarity was renewed; but great caution was used, to be fully
+prepared for a similar attack, by keeping the men well-armed on all
+occasions. Of the animals left at this island in the former voyages,
+many were thriving; and the gardens, though left in a state of nature,
+were found to contain cabbages, onions, leeks, radishes, mustard, and a
+few potatoes. The captain was enabled to add to both. At the
+solicitation of Omai, he received two New Zealand lads on board the
+_Resolution_, and by the 27th was clear of the coast.
+
+After landing at a number of islands, and not finding adequate supplies,
+the ships sailed for Anamocka, and the _Resolution_ was brought up in
+exactly the same anchorage that she had occupied three years before. The
+natives behaved in a most friendly manner, and but for their habits of
+stealing, quiet would have been uninterrupted. Nothing, however, could
+check this propensity, till Captain Cook shaved the heads of all whom he
+caught practicing it. This rendered them an object of ridicule to their
+countrymen, and enabled the English to recognize and keep them at a
+distance. Most of the Friendly Isles were visited by the ships, and
+everywhere they met with a kind reception. On June 10 they reached
+Tongataboo, where the King offered Captain Cook his house to reside in.
+Here he made a distribution of animals amongst the chiefs, and the
+importance of preserving them was explained by Omai. Two kids and two
+turkey-cocks having been stolen, the captain seized three canoes, put a
+guard over the chiefs, and insisted that not only the kids and turkeys
+should be restored, but also everything that had been taken away since
+their arrival. This produced a good effect, and much of the plunder was
+returned.
+
+[Illustration: Deliverance. (Page 194.)]
+
+Captain Cook remained at the Friendly Islands nearly three months, and
+lived almost entirely during that period upon fresh provisions,
+occasionally eating the produce of the seeds he had sown there in his
+former visits. On July 17, they took their final leave of these
+hospitable people, and on August 12 reached Otaheite, and took up a
+berth in Oaiti-piha Bay, which, it was discovered, had been visited by
+two Spanish ships since the _Resolution_ had last been there.
+
+Animals of various kinds had been left in the country by the Spaniards,
+and the islanders spoke of them with esteem and respect. On the 24th the
+ships went round to Matavai Bay, and Captain Cook presented to the king,
+Otoo, the remainder of his live stock.
+
+They here witnessed a human sacrifice, to propitiate the favor of their
+gods in a battle they were about to undertake. The victim was generally
+some strolling vagabond, who was not aware of his fate till the moment
+arrived, and he received his death-blow from a club. For the purpose of
+showing the inhabitants the use of the horses, Captains Cook and Clerke
+rode into the country, to the great astonishment of the islanders; and
+though this exercise was continued every day by some of the _Resolution's_
+people, yet the wonder of the natives never abated.
+
+On the return of Omai to the land of his birth, the reception he met
+with was not very cordial; but the affection of his relatives was strong
+and ardent. Captain Cook obtained the grant of a piece of land for him
+on the west side of Owharre harbor, Huaheine. The carpenters of the
+ships built him a small house, to which a garden was attached, planted
+with shaddocks, vines, pineapples, melons, etc., and a variety of
+vegetables, the whole of which were thriving before Captain Cook quitted
+the island. When the house was finished, the presents Omai had received
+in England were carried ashore, with every article necessary for
+domestic purposes, as well as two muskets, a bayonet, a brace of
+pistols, etc.
+
+The two lads brought from New Zealand were put on shore at this place,
+to form part of Omai's family; but it was with great reluctance that
+they quitted the voyagers, who had behaved so kindly to them.
+
+Whilst lying at Huaheine, a thief, who had caused them great trouble,
+not only had his head and beard shaved, but, in order to deter others,
+both his ears were cut off. On November 3, the ships went to Ulietea,
+and here, decoyed by the natives, two or three desertions took place;
+and as others seemed inclined to follow the example, Captain Clerke
+pursued the fugitives with two-armed boats and a party of marines, but
+without effect. Captain Cook experienced a similar failure; he therefore
+seized upon the persons of the chief's son, daughter, and son-in-law,
+whom he placed under confinement till the people should be restored,
+which took place on the 28th, and the hostages were released. One of the
+deserters was a midshipman of the _Discovery_, and the son of a brave
+officer in the service. Schemes were projected by some of the natives to
+assassinate Captain Cook and Captain Clerke; but though in imminent
+danger, the murderous plans failed.
+
+At Bolabola, Captain Cook succeeded in obtaining an anchor which had
+been left there by M. Bougainville, as he was very desirous of
+converting the iron into articles of traffic. They left this place on
+December 8, crossed the line, and on the 24th stopped at a small island,
+which he named Christmas Island, and where he planted cocoa-nuts, yams,
+and melon seeds, and left a bottle enclosing a suitable inscription.
+
+On January 2, 1778, the ships resumed their voyage northward, to pursue
+the grand object in Behring's Strait. They passed several islands, the
+inhabitants of which, though at a great distance from Otaheite, spoke
+the same language. Those who came on board displayed the utmost
+astonishment at everything they beheld, and it was evident they had
+never seen a ship before. The disposition to steal was equally strong in
+these as in the other South Sea islanders, and a man was killed who
+tried to plunder the watering-party, but this was not known to Captain
+Cook till after they had sailed. They also discovered that the practice
+of eating human flesh was prevalent. To a group of these islands (and
+they were generally found in clusters) Captain Cook gave the name of the
+Sandwich Islands, in honor of the noble earl at the head of the
+Admiralty.
+
+The voyage to the northward was continued on February 2, and the
+long-looked-for coast of New Albion was made on March 7; the ships,
+after sailing along it till the 29th, came to anchor in a small cove. A
+brisk trade commenced with the natives, who appeared to be well
+acquainted with the value of iron, for which they exchanged the skins of
+various animals, such as bears, wolves, foxes, deer, etc., both in their
+original state and made up into garments. But the most extraordinary
+articles were human skulls, and hands not quite stripped of the flesh,
+and which had the appearance of having been recently on the fire.
+Thieving was practiced at this place in a more scientific manner than
+they had before remarked; and the natives insisted upon being paid for
+the wood and other things supplied to the ships, with which Captain Cook
+scrupulously complied. This inlet was named King George's Sound, but it
+was afterwards ascertained that the natives called it Nootka Sound.
+After making every requisite nautical observation, the ships being again
+ready for sea on the 26th, in the evening they departed, a severe gale
+of wind blowing them away from the shore. From this period they examined
+the coast, under a hope of finding some communication with the Polar
+Sea; one river they traced a long distance, which was afterwards named
+Cook's River.
+
+They left this place June 6, but notwithstanding all their watchfulness
+and vigilance, no passage could be found. The ships ranged across the
+mouth of the strait. The natives of the islands, by their manners, gave
+evident tokens of their being acquainted with Europeans--most probably
+Russian traders. They put in at Oonalaska and other places, which were
+taken possession of in the name of the King of England. On August 3, Mr.
+Anderson, surgeon of the _Resolution_, died from a lingering
+consumption, under which he had been suffering more than twelve months.
+He was a young man of considerable ability, and possessed an amiable
+disposition.
+
+Proceeding to the northward, Captain Cook ascertained the relative
+position of the two continents, Asia and America, whose extremities he
+observed. On the 18th they were close to a dense wall of ice, beyond
+which they could not penetrate. The ice here was from ten to twelve feet
+high, and seemed to rise higher in the distance. A prodigious number of
+sea-horses were crouching on the ice, some of which were procured for
+food. Captain Cook continued to traverse these icy seas till the 29th.
+He then explored the coasts in Behring's Strait both in Asia and
+America; and on October 2 again anchored at Oonalaska to refit; and here
+they had communication with some Russians, who undertook to convey
+charts and maps, etc., to the English Admiralty, which they faithfully
+fulfilled. On the 26th the ships quitted the harbor of Samganoodah, and
+sailed for the Sandwich Islands, Captain Cook purposing to remain there
+a few months, and then return to Kamtschatka. The island of Mowee was
+discovered on November 26; and on the 30th they fell in with another,
+called by the natives Owyhee (now Hawaii); and being of large extent,
+the ships were occupied nearly seven weeks in sailing round it, and
+examining the coast; and they found the islanders more frank and free
+from suspicion than any they had yet had intercourse with; so that on
+January 16, 1779, there were not fewer than a thousand canoes about the
+two ships, most of them crowded with people, and well-laden with hogs
+and other productions of the place. A robbery having been committed,
+Captain Cook ordered a volley of musketry and four great guns to be
+fired over the canoe that contained the thief; but this seemed only to
+astonish the natives, without creating any great alarm. On the 17th the
+ships anchored in a bay called by the islanders, Karakakooa. The natives
+constantly thronged to the ships, whose decks, consequently, being at
+all times crowded, allowed of pilfering without fear of detection; and
+these practices, it is conjectured, were encouraged by the chiefs. A
+great number of the hogs purchased were killed and salted down so
+completely, that some of the pork was good at Christmas, 1780. On the
+26th, Captain Cook had an interview with Terreeoboo, King of the
+islands, in which great formality was observed, and an exchange of
+presents took place, as well as an exchange of names. The natives were
+extremely respectful to Cook; in fact, they paid him a sort of
+adoration, prostrating themselves before him; and a society of priests
+furnished the ships with a constant supply of hogs and vegetables,
+without requiring any return. On February 3, the day previous to the
+ships sailing, the King presented them with a quantity of cloth, many
+boat-loads of vegetables, and a whole herd of hogs. The ships sailed on
+the following day, but on the 6th encountered a very heavy gale, in
+which, on the night of the 7th, the _Resolution_ sprung the head of her
+foremast in such a dangerous manner, that they were forced to put back
+to Karakakooa Bay, in order to get it repaired. Here they anchored on
+the morning of the 11th, and everything for a time promised to go well
+in their intercourse with the natives. The friendliness manifested by
+the chiefs, however, was far from solid. They were savages at a low
+point of cultivation, and theft and murder were not considered by them
+in the light of crimes. Cook, aware of the nature of these barbarians,
+was anxious to avoid any collision, and it was with no small regret that
+he found that an affray had taken place between some seamen and the
+natives. The cause of the disturbance was the seizure of the cutter of
+the _Discovery_ as it lay at anchor. The boats of both ships were sent
+in search of her, and Captain Cook went on shore to prosecute the
+inquiry, and, if necessary, to seize the person of the King, who had
+sanctioned the theft.
+
+The narrative of what ensued is affectingly tragical. Cook left the
+_Resolution_ about seven o'clock, attended by the lieutenant of marines,
+a sergeant, a corporal, and seven private men. The pinnace's crew were
+likewise armed, and under the command of Mr. Roberts; the launch was
+also ordered to assist his own boat. He landed with the marines at the
+upper end of the town of Kavoroah, where the natives received him with
+their accustomed tokens of respect, and not the smallest sign of
+hostility was evinced by any of them; and as the crowds increased, the
+chiefs employed themselves as before, in keeping order. Captain Cook
+requested the King to go on board the _Resolution_ with him, to which he
+offered few objections; but in a little time it was observed that the
+natives were arming themselves with long spears, clubs, and daggers, and
+putting on the thick mats which they used by way of armor. This hostile
+appearance was increased by the arrival of a canoe from the opposite
+side of the bay, announcing that one of the chiefs had been killed by a
+shot from the _Discovery's_ boat. The women, who had been conversing
+familiarly with the English, immediately retired, and loud murmurs arose
+amongst the crowd. Captain Cook, perceiving the tumultuous proceedings
+of the natives, ordered Lieutenant Middleton to march his marines down
+to the boats, to which the islanders offered no obstruction. The captain
+followed with the king, attended by his wife, two sons, and several
+chiefs. One of the sons had already entered the pinnace, expecting his
+father to follow, when the king's wife and others hung round his neck,
+and forced him to be seated near a double canoe, assuring him that he
+would be put to death if he went on board the ship.
+
+Whilst matters were in this position, one of the chiefs was seen with a
+dagger partly concealed under his cloak, lurking about Captain Cook, and
+the lieutenant of marines proposed to fire at him; but this the captain
+would not permit; but the chief closing upon them, the officer of
+marines struck him with his firelock. Another native, grasping the
+sergeant's musket, was forced to let it go by a blow from the
+lieutenant. Captain Cook, seeing the tumult was increasing, observed,
+that "if he were to force the king off, it could only be done by
+sacrificing the lives of many of his people;" and was about to give
+orders to re-embark, when a man flung a stone at him, which he returned
+by discharging small-shot from one of the barrels of his piece. The man
+was but little hurt; and brandishing his spear, with threatenings to
+hurl it at the captain, the latter, unwilling to fire with ball, knocked
+the fellow down, and then warmly expostulated with the crowd for their
+hostile conduct. At this moment a man was observed behind a double
+canoe, in the act of darting a spear at Captain Cook, who promptly
+fired, but killed another who was standing by his side. The sergeant of
+marines, however, instantly presented, and brought down the native whom
+the captain had missed. The impetuosity of the islanders was somewhat
+repressed; but being pushed on by those in the rear, who were ignorant
+of what was passing in front, a volley of stones was poured in amongst
+the marines, who, without waiting for orders, returned it with a general
+discharge of musketry, which was directly succeeded by a brisk fire from
+the boats. Captain Cook expressed much surprise and vexation; he waved
+his hand for the boats to cease firing, and to come on shore to embark
+the marines. The pinnace unhesitatingly obeyed; but the lieutenant in
+the launch, instead of pulling in to the assistance of his commander,
+rowed further off at the very moment that the services of himself and
+people were most required. Nor was this all the mischief that ensued;
+for, as it devolved upon the pinnace to receive the marines, she became
+so crowded, as to render the men incapable of using their fire-arms. The
+marines on shore, however, fired; but the moment their pieces were
+discharged, the islanders rushed _en masse_ upon them, forced the party
+into the water, where four of them were killed, and the lieutenant
+wounded. At this critical period Captain Cook was left entirely alone
+upon a rock near the shore. He, however, hurried towards the pinnace,
+holding his left arm round the back of his head, to shield it from the
+stones, and carrying his musket under his right. An islander, armed with
+a club, was seen in a crouching posture cautiously following him, as if
+watching for an opportunity to spring forward upon his victim. This man
+was a relation of the king's, and remarkably agile and quick. At length,
+he jumped forward upon the captain, and struck him a heavy blow on the
+back of his head, and then turned and fled. The captain appeared to be
+somewhat stunned: he staggered a few paces, and, dropping his musket,
+fell on his hands and one knee; but whilst striving to recover his
+upright position, another islander rushed forward, and with an iron
+dagger stabbed him in the neck. He again made an effort to proceed, but
+fell into a small pool of water not more than knee-deep, and numbers
+instantly ran to the spot, and endeavored to keep him down; but by his
+struggles he was enabled to get his head above the surface, and casting
+a look towards the pinnace (then not more than five or six yards
+distant), seemed to be imploring assistance. It is asserted that, in
+consequence of the crowded state of the pinnace, (through the withdrawal
+of the launch), the crew of the boat were unable to render any aid; but
+it is also probable that the emergency of this unexpected catastrophe
+deprived the English of that cool judgment which was requisite on such
+an occasion. The islanders, perceiving that no help was afforded, forced
+him under water again, but in a deeper place; yet his great muscular
+power once more enabled him to raise himself and cling to the rock. At
+this moment a forcible blow was given with a club, and he fell down
+lifeless. The savages then hauled his corpse upon the rock, and
+ferociously stabbed the body all over, snatching the dagger from each
+others' hands to wreak their sanguinary vengeance on the slain. The body
+was left some time exposed upon the rock; and as the islanders gave way,
+through terror at their own act and the fire from the boats, it might
+have been recovered entire. But no attempt of the kind was made; and it
+was afterwards, together with the marines, cut up, and the parts
+distributed amongst the chiefs. The mutilated fragments were
+subsequently restored, and committed to the deep with all the honors due
+to the rank of the deceased. Thus, February 14, 1779, perished in an
+inglorious brawl with a set of savages, one of England's greatest
+navigators, whose services to science have never been surpassed by any
+man belonging to his profession. It may almost be said that he fell a
+victim to his humanity; for if, instead of retreating before his
+barbarous pursuers, with a view to spare their lives, he had turned
+revengefully upon them, his fate might have been very different.
+
+The death of their commander was felt to be a heavy blow by the officers
+and seamen of the expedition. With deep sorrow the ships' companies left
+Owyhee, where the catastrophe had occurred, the command of the
+_Resolution_ devolving on Captain Clerke, and Mr. Gore acting as
+commander of the _Discovery_. After making some further exploratory
+searches among the Sandwich Islands, the vessels visited Kamtschatka and
+Behring's Strait. Here it was found impossible to penetrate through the
+ice either on the coast of America or that of Asia, so that they
+returned to the southward; and on August 22, 1779, Captain Clerke died
+of consumption, and was succeeded by Captain Gore, who, in his turn,
+gave Lieutenant King an acting order in the _Discovery_. After a second
+visit to Kamtschatka, the two ships returned by way of China, remained
+some time at Canton, touched at the Cape, and arrived at the Nore,
+October 4, 1780, after an absence of four years, two months, and
+twenty-two days, during which the _Resolution_ lost only five men by
+sickness, and the _Discovery_ did not lose a single man.
+
+By this, as well as the preceding voyages of Cook, a considerable
+addition was made to a knowledge of the earth's surface. Besides
+clearing up doubts respecting the Southern Ocean, and making known many
+islands in the Pacific, the navigator did an inestimable service to his
+country in visiting the coasts of New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land,
+New Zealand, and Norfolk Island--all now colonial possessions of
+Britain, and rapidly becoming the seat of a large and flourishing nation
+of Anglo-Australians--the England of the southern hemisphere.
+
+The intelligence of Captain Cook's death was received with melancholy
+regrets in England. The king granted a pension of L200 per annum to his
+widow, and L25 per annum to each of the children; the Royal Society had
+a gold medal struck in commemoration of him; and various other honors at
+home and abroad were paid to his memory.
+
+"Thus, by his own persevering efforts," as has been well observed by the
+author of the 'Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties,' "did this great
+man raise himself from the lowest obscurity to a reputation wide as the
+world itself, and certain to last as long as the age in which he
+flourished shall be remembered by history. But better still than even
+all this fame--than either the honors which he received while living, or
+those which, when he was no more, his country and mankind bestowed upon
+his memory--he had exalted himself in the scale of moral and
+intellectual being; had won a new and nobler nature, and taken a high
+place among the instructors and benefactors of mankind."
+
+Honor and fame are not to be achieved by seeking for them alone, nor are
+their possession the end and aim of human existence. It is only by an
+unwearied striving after a new and nobler nature; only by being useful
+to our fellows, and making the most of those qualities of mind which God
+has given us, that happiness is to be attained, or that we fulfill the
+ends of our being.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+EXCELLENT BOOKS.
+
+SIX MONTHS AT MRS. PRIOR'S. By Emily Adams. Illustrated. Boston: D.
+Lothrop & Co. $1.25.
+
+"In this fresh little story, which is addressed especially to young
+girls, the author tries to impress the lesson that the disagreeable and
+annoying duties of life may be made pleasant by accepting them as
+inevitable, and asking help from above. Mrs. Prior is the widow of a
+clergyman, and has been left with five little ones to support. She
+discharges her servant, and divides the lighter duties of the household
+between herself and the two eldest of her children, Minnie and Helen.
+Unaccustomed to any thing but study and play, the girls find it very
+hard to have their old time appointments for enjoyment circumscribed,
+and complain bitterly at first. The book gives a history of their
+experience, and shows how the work that was so irksome at first became
+in the end a source of pleasure and means of healthful discipline.
+
+"Six Months at Mrs. Prior's" is a sweet story of womanly tact combined
+with Christian trust. A widow, with scanty means, makes a home happy for
+a group of children, restless, wayward and aspiring, like many American
+children of our day. The mother's love holds them, her thrift cares for
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+
+MISS PRICILLA HUNTER, by Pansy, opens a new view for that charming
+writer, but one eminently popular at the present time. It deals with the
+payment of a church debt, and shows how an humble woman, with a
+Christian character which gave power to her words, raised the money to
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+Pansy's best fashion: her encounters with crabbed folks, and stingy
+folks, and folks determined not to give to the church debt, are highly
+amusing, as well as her devices to get something from everybody.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
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+YENSIE WALTON. By Mrs. S. R. Graham Clark. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co.
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+
+Of the many good books which the Messrs. Lothrop have prepared for the
+shelves of Sunday-school libraries, "Yensie Walton" is one of the best.
+It is a sweet, pure story of girl life, quiet as the flow of a brook,
+and yet of sufficient interest to hold the attention of the most
+careless reader. Yensie is an orphan, who has found a home with an
+uncle, a farmer, some distance from the city. Her aunt, a coarse, vulgar
+woman, and a tyrant in the household, does her best to humiliate her by
+making her a domestic drudge, taking away her good clothing and
+exchanging it for coarse, ill-filling garments, and scolding her from
+morning till night. This treatment develops a spirit of resistance; the
+mild and affectionate little girl becomes passionate and disobedient,
+and the house is the scene of continual quarrels. Fortunately, her uncle
+insists upon her attending school, and in the teacher, Miss Gray, she
+finds her first real friend. In making her acquaintance a new life
+begins for her. She is brought in contact with new and better
+influences, and profiting by them becomes in time a sunbeam in her
+uncle's house, and the means of softening the heart and quieting the
+tongue of the aunt who was once her terror and dread. Mrs. Clark has a
+very pleasing style, and is especially skilful in the construction of
+her stories.
+
+"Yensie Walton" is a story of great power, by a new author. It aims to
+show that God uses a stern discipline to form the noblest characters,
+and that the greatest trials of life often prove the greatest blessings.
+The story is subordinate to this moral aim, and the earnestness of the
+author breaks out into occasional preaching. But the story is full of
+striking incident and scenes of great pathos, with occasional gleams of
+humor and fun by way of relief to the more tragic parts of the
+narrative. The characters are strongly drawn, and, in general, are
+thoroughly human, not gifted with impossible perfections, but having
+those infirmities of the flesh which make us all akin.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+RECENT BOOKS.
+
+JOHNNY'S VACATIONS AND OTHER STORIES. By Mary E. N. Hathaway. Boston: D.
+Lothrop & Co. $1.00.
+
+Few more entertaining stories for small boys have lately made their
+appearance than _Johnny's Vacations_. The author seems to have had
+experience with boys and tells in a charmingly natural manner the story
+of a vacation spent on a farm by one of them, Johnny Stephens by name.
+In addition there are six shorter stories, in which the girls will be as
+deeply interested as the boys. Among them are "The Doll's Party," "Biddy
+and her Chickens," "The Wild Goose," and "Pansy's Visit."
+
+ROYAL LOWRIE. A Boy's Book. By Magnus Merriweather. D. Lothrop & Co.,
+Boston. With eleven illustrations by Hopkins. 16mo. Price, $1.25.
+
+Despite the efforts of publishers, a brilliant book for boys is a _rara
+avis_; therefore "Royal Lowrie" is likely to be appreciated by all
+lively boys between twelve and forty. While in literary finish the book
+ranks with the best novels of the day, the characters are the boys and
+girls of our modern High Schools. The plot is of breathless interest,
+but of such a character that we will warrant when the general
+mystification is dispersed no reader will feel like ever undertaking to
+seem what he is not. The humiliation which at last overtakes Royal
+Lowrie and Archer Bishop is so very thorough that the two gay,
+thoughtless fellows, in the language of the _American Bookseller_,
+"resolve in future to be wholly true, even in little things. Royal
+Lowrie is an especially engaging rattlepate, and we do not wonder that
+he wins forgiveness on all sides."
+
+Although it is an irresistibly humorous story of high-spirited boys and
+girls, the book is calculated to exert as strong a restraining influence
+as any volume which will be found in our Sunday-school Libraries.
+
+ENTERPRISE.
+
+We copy the following from _The American Bookseller_, New York:
+
+Few people can have failed to notice the great enterprise, if they have
+not observed the scrupulous care with which Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co.
+have published a class of books adapted to the highest culture of the
+people.
+
+It is only ten years since they commenced the work of publishing, and
+their list now numbers more than six hundred volumes.
+
+We are glad to make record, that brave and persistent following of a
+high ideal has been successful.
+
+Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co. have given special attention to the publication
+of books for children and youths, rightly considering that in no
+department is _the best_, as regards literary excellence and purity of
+moral and religious reading, of so great importance. Yet the names of
+works by such authors as Austin Phelps, D.D., Francis Wayland, and Dr.
+Nehemiah Adams on their catalogue, will show that maturer readers have
+not been uncared for.
+
+Of their work projected for the coming season, we have not room to speak
+in detail; it will suffice for the present to say that it is wide in
+range, including substantial and elegantly illustrated books, all in the
+line of the practical and useful, and fresh in character and treatment.
+
+Their two juvenile magazines, _Wide Awake_ and _Babyland_, are warmly
+welcomed in every part of the English-speaking world.
+
+We advise any of our readers who desire to know more about these
+publications, to send to D. Lothrop & Co., Boston, for an illustrated
+catalogue.
+
+All who visit their establishment, corner of Franklin and Hawley
+streets, will not only be courteously welcomed and entertained, but will
+have the pleasure of seeing one of the most spacious and attractive
+bookstores in the country.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BABY BUNTING. Short Stories with Bright Pictures. By the Best American
+Authors. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.00.
+
+_Baby Bunting_ is a beautiful quarto with one of the most attractive
+outsides we have seen for a long time. It is made up of choice stories
+adapted to the reading of children from four to eight years of age. They
+are all short, few of them being over a page in length, and each is
+accompanied by a full page engraving. It is just the kind of book that
+ought to be popular, and undoubtedly will be.
+
+YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF GERMANY. By Charlotte M. Yonge. Boston: D.
+Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.50.
+
+This handsome volume is the first of a series, which will include the
+principal countries of Europe, the succeeding numbers of which will
+appear at brief intervals. Miss Yonge, whose talents have been exerted
+in various directions for the benefit of young readers, has been
+peculiarly successful in this series, which has had a very large sale in
+Europe, and deserves a like popularity here. It covers not only the
+entire period of German civilization down to the present time, but it
+gives an account of ancient Germany and its inhabitants in times which
+might almost be called pre-historic. The first chapters are explanatory
+of the German mythology, and of the ancient methods of worship. The
+Nibelungen Lied is described and its story told. The real history begins
+about the year 496 A.D., at a time when the Franks were the victorious
+race in Europe. From that time down to the beginning of the present year
+the record is continuous. The volume is profusely illustrated.
+
+HAPPY MOODS OF HAPPY CHILDREN. Original Poems. By favorite American
+authors. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.00.
+
+We venture to say that no publishing house in the country will issue
+this season anything choicer in the way of a presentation book of poems
+than this charming volume. The poems it contains were written expressly
+for Mr. Lothrop, and have never before been brought together in
+collected form. Among the authors represented are Elizabeth Stuart
+Phelps, Clara Doty Bates, Margaret G. Preston, Ella Farman, Mrs. Platt,
+Harriet McEwen Kimball, Mary A. Lathbury, Nora Perry, Mrs. L. C. Whiton,
+Celia Thaxter, Edgar Fawcett, and many others. Although the volume is
+ostensibly preferred for children, it is one which grown-up people will
+equally enjoy. There are a score or more of illustrations, most of them
+full-page, exquisitely drawn and engraved.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+PANSY'S PAGE.
+
+FOUR GIRLS AT CHAUTAUQUA. By _Pansy_. 12mo. Illustrated    $1 50
+
+The most fascinating "watering-place" story ever published. Four
+friends, each a brilliant girl in her way, tired of Saratoga and
+Newport, try a fortnight at the new summer resort on Chautauqua Lake,
+choosing the time when the National Sunday-school Assembly is in camp.
+Rev. Drs. Vincent, Deems, Cuyler, Edward, Eggleston, Mrs. Emily
+Huntington Miller, move prominently through the story.
+
+HOUSEHOLD PUZZLES. By _Pansy_. 12mo. Illustrated    1 50
+
+How to make one dollar do the work of five. A family of beautiful girls
+seek to solve this "puzzle." Piquant, humorous, but written with an
+intense purpose.
+
+THE RANDOLPHS. By _Pansy_. 12mo. Illustrated    1 50
+
+A sequel to Household Puzzles, in which the Puzzles are agreeably
+disposed of.
+
+GRANDPA'S DARLINGS, By _Pansy_. 16mo. Illustrated    1 25
+
+A big book, full of "good times" for the little people of the family.
+
+ESTER RIED                By Pansy.  1 50
+JULIA RIED                    "      1 50
+THREE PEOPLE                  "      1 50
+THE KING'S DAUGHTER           "      1 50
+WISE AND OTHERWISE            "      1 50
+CUNNING WORKMEN               "      1 25
+JESSIE WELLS                  "        75
+DOCIA'S JOURNAL               "        75
+BERNIE'S WHITE CHICKEN        "        75
+HELEN LESTER                  "        75
+A CHRISTMAS TIME              "        15
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+MISS JULIA A. EASTMAN is one of the most popular of our modern writers.
+
+YOUNG RICK. By _Julia A. Eastman_. Large 16mo. Twelve illustrations by
+Sol Eytinge. $1.50
+
+A bright, fascinating story of a little boy who was both a blessing and
+a bother.--_Boston Journal._
+
+The most delightful book on the list for the children of the family,
+being full of adventures and gay home scenes and merry play-times.
+"Paty" would have done credit to Dickens in his palmiest days. The
+strange glows and shadows of her character are put in lovingly and
+lingeringly, with the pencil of a master. Miss Margaret's character of
+light is admirably drawn, while Aunt Lesbia, Deacon Harkaway, Tom
+Dorrance, and the master and mistress of Graythorpe poor-house are
+genuine "charcoal sketches."
+
+STRIKING FOR THE RIGHT. By _Julia A. Eastman_. Large 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 75
+
+While this story holds the reader breathless with expectancy and
+excitement, its civilizing influence in the family is hardly to be
+estimated. In all quarters it has met with the warmest praise.
+
+THE ROMNEYS OF RIDGEMONT. By Julia A. Eastman. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+BEULAH ROMNEY. By _Julia A. Eastman_. 16mo. Illustrated    $1 50
+
+Two stones wondrously alive, flashing with fun, sparkling with tears,
+throbbing with emotion. The next best thing to attending Mrs. Hale's big
+boarding-school is to read Beulah's experience there.
+
+SHORT-COMINGS AND LONG-GOINGS. By _Julia A. Eastman_. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 25
+
+A remarkable book, crowded with remarkable characters. It is a picture
+gallery of human nature.
+
+KITTY KENT'S TROUBLES. By _Julia A. Eastman_. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+"A delicious April-day style of book, sunshiny with smiles on one page
+while the next is misty with tender tears. Almost every type of American
+school-girl is here represented--the vain Helen Dart, the beauty, Amy
+Searle, the ambitious, high bred, conservative Anna Matson; but next to
+Kitty herself sunny little Pauline Sedgewick will prove the general
+favorite. It is a story fully calculated to win both girls and boys
+toward noble, royal ways of doing little as well as great things. All
+teachers should feel an interest in placing it in the hands of their
+pupils."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOOKS FOR YOUNG HEROES AND BRAVE WORKERS.
+
+VIRGINIA. By _W. H. G. Kingston_. 16mo. Illustrated    $1 25
+
+A stirring story of adventure upon sea and land.
+
+AFRICAN ADVENTURE AND ADVENTURERS. By _Rev. G. T. Day, D. D._  16 mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+The stories of Speke, Grant, Baker, Livingstone and Stanley are put into
+simple shape for the entertainment of young readers.
+
+NOBLE WORKERS. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D. D._ 16mo.    $1 50
+
+STORIES OF SUCCESS. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D. D._ 16mo.    $1 50
+
+Inspiring biographies and records which leave a most wholesome and
+enduring effect upon the reader.
+
+MYTHS AND HEROES. 16mo. Illustrated. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D.
+D._    $1 50
+
+KNIGHTS AND SEA KINGS. Edited by _S. F. Smith, D. D._ 12mo.
+Illustrated    $1 50
+
+Two entertaining books, which will fasten forever the historical and
+geographical lessons of the school-room firmly in the student's mind.
+
+CHAPLIN'S LIFE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 16mo. Illustrated    $1 50
+
+LIFE OF AMOS LAWRENCE. 12mo. Ill.    $1 50
+
+Two biographies of perennial value. No worthier books were ever offered
+as holiday presents for our American young men.
+
+WALTER NEAL'S EXAMPLE. By _Rev. Theron Brown_. 16mo.
+Illustrated    $1 25
+
+Walter Neal's Example is by Rev. Theron Brown, the editor of that very
+successful paper, _The Youth's Companion_. The story is a touching one,
+and is in parts so vivid as to seem drawn from the life.--_N. Y.
+Independent._
+
+TWO FORTUNE-SEEKERS. Stories by _Rossiter Johnson_, _Louise Chandler
+Moulton_, _E. Stuart Phelps_, _Ella Farman_, _etc._ Fully
+illustrated    $1 50
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+"MISS FARMAN has the very desirable knack of imparting valuable ideas
+under the guise of a pleasing story."--_The New Century_.
+
+MRS. HURD'S NIECE. By _Ella Farman_. Ill.    $1 50
+
+A thrilling story for the girls, especially for those who think they
+have a "mission," to whom we commend sturdy English Hannah, with her
+small means, and her grand success. Saidee Hurd is one of the sweetest
+girls ever embalmed in story, and Lois Gladstone one of the noblest.
+
+THE COOKING CLUB OF TU-WHIT HOLLOW. By _Ella Farman_. 16mo. Eight
+full-page illustrations    $1 25
+
+Worth reading by all who delight in domestic romance.--_Fall River Daily
+News_.
+
+The practical instructions in housewifery, which are abundant, are set
+in the midst of a bright, wholesome story, and the little housewives who
+figure in it are good specimens of very human, but at the same time very
+lovable, little American girls. It ought to be the most successful
+little girls' book of the season.--_The Advance._
+
+A LITTLE WOMAN. By _Ella Farman_. 16m.    $1 00
+
+The daintiest of all juvenile books. From its merry pages, winsome
+Kinnie Crosby has stretched out her warm little hand to help thousands
+of young girls.
+
+A WHITE HAND. By _Ella Farman_. 12m. Ill.    $1 50
+
+A genuine painting of American society. Millicent and Jack are drawn by
+a bold, firm hand. No one can lay this story down until the last leaf is
+turned.
+
+_WIDE AWAKE._ AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE For the Young Folks. $2.00 PER
+ANNUM. POSTAGE PREPAID. Edited by ELLA FARMAN. Published by D. LOTHROP &
+CO., Boston, Mass.
+
+It always contains a feast of fat things for the little folks, and folks
+who are no longer little find there lost childhood in its pages. We are
+not saying too much when we say that its versatile editor--Ella Farman,
+is more fully at home in the child's wonder-land than any other living
+American writer. She is thoroughly _en rapport_ with her readers, gives
+them now a sugar plum of poesy, now a dainty jelly-cake of imagination,
+and cunningly intermixes all the solid bread of thought that the child's
+mind can digest and assimilate.--_York True Democrat._
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The $1000 Prize Series.
+
+_Pronounced by the Examining Committee, Rev. Drs. Lincoln, Rankin and
+Day, superior to any similar series._
+
+Striking for the Right,         $1.75
+Silent Tom,                      1.75
+Evening Rest,                    1.50
+The Old Stone House,             1.50
+Into the Light,                  1.50
+Walter McDonald,                 1.50
+Story of the Blount Family,      1.50
+Margaret Worthington,            1.50
+The Wadsworth Boys,              1.50
+Grace Avery's Influence,         1.50
+Glimpses Through,                1.50
+Ralph's Possession,              1.50
+Luck of Alden Farm,              1.50
+Chronicles of Sunset Mountain,   1.50
+The Marble Preacher,             1.50
+Golden Lines,                    1.50
+
+_Sold by Booksellers generally, and sent by Mail, postpaid, on receipt
+of price._
+
+BOSTON:
+D. LOTHROP & CO., PUBLISHERS.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Famous Islands and Memorable Voyages, by Anonymous
+
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