so far. I told him I would make a canoe for him. He told me he would go, if I would go with him. "I go," said I, "why, they would eat me if I come there."-" No, no," says he, 66 me make them no eat you, me make they much love you :" he meant he would tell them how I had killed his enemies and saved his life, and so he would make them love me. Then he told me, as well as he could, how kind they were to seventeen white men, or bearded men, as he called them, who came on shore in distress.

From this time, I confess, I had a mind to venture over, and see if I could possibly join with these bearded men, who, I made no doubt were Spaniards or Portuguese; not doubting but, if I could, we might find some method to escape from thence, being upon the continent, and a good company together, better than I could from an island forty miles off the shore, and alone without help. So, after some days, I took Friday to work again, by way of discourse; and I told him, I would give him a boat to go back to his own nation; and accordingly I carried him to my frigate, which lay on the other side of the island; and having cleared it of water (for I always kept it sunk in the water), I brought it out, showed it him, and we both went into it.

I found he was a most dexterous fellow at managing it, would make it go almost as swift and fast again as I could; so when he was in I said to him, "Well now, Friday, shall we go to your nation ?" He looked very dull at my saying so, which it seems, was because he thought, the boat too small to go so far. I told him then I had a bigger; so the next day I went to the place where the first boat lay which I had made, but which I could not get into the water; he said that was big enough; but then,

as I had taken no care of it, and it had lain two or three and twenty years there, the sun had split and dried it, that it was in a manner rotten. Friday told me such a boat would do very well, and would carry "much enough vittle, drink, bread:" that was his way of talking.

CHAP. XVI.

I determine to go over to the Continent-Friday and I construct a boat equal to carry twenty men— his dexterity in managing her—Friday brings intelligence of three canoes of savages on shore—resolve to go down upon them-Friday and I fire upon the wretches, and save the life of a poor Spaniard-list of the killed and wounded-discover a poor Indian bound in one of the canoes, who turns out to be Friday's father.

UPON the whole, I was by this time so fixed upon my design of going over with him to the continent, that I told him we would go and make one as big as that, and he should go home in it. He answered not one word, but looked very grave and sad. I asked him what was the matter with him? He asked me again thus, "Why you angry mad with Friday? what me done?" I asked him what he meant? I told him I was not angry with him at all: "No angry! no angry!" says he, repeating the words several times, "why send Friday home away to my nation?"-"Why," said I, "Friday, did you not say you wished you were there?"—"Yes, yes," says he, "wish be both there; no wish Friday there, no master there." In a word, he would not think of going there without me. "I go there, Friday!" said I; "what should I do there?" He turned very quick upon me at this; "You do great deal much good," says he ; you teach wild mans be good, sober, tame mans; you tell them know God, pray God, and live new life."- Alas, Friday," said I, "thou knowest not what thou sayest; I am but an

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ignorant man myself."-" Yes, yes," says he, "you teachee me good, you teachee them good."-"No, no, Friday," said I, 'you shall go without me; leave me here to live by myself, as I did before." He looked confused again at that word, and running to one of the hatchets which he used to wear, he takes it up hastily, and gives it to me. "What must I do with this?" said I to him. "You take kill Friday," says he. “What must I kill you for?" said I again. He returns very quick, "What you send Friday away for? take kill Friday, no send Friday away." This he spoke so earnestly, that I saw tears stand in his eyes. In a word, I so plainly discovered the utmost affection in him to me, that I told him then, and often after, that I would never send him away from me, if he was willing to stay with me.

Upon the whole, as I found by all his discourse a settled affection to me, and that nothing should part him from me, so I found all the foundation of his desire to go to his own country was laid in his ardent affection to the people, and his hopes of my doing them good; a thing which, as I had no notion of myself, so I had not the least thought, or intention, or desire of undertaking it. But still I found a strong inclination to my attempting an escape, as above, founded on the supposition gathered from the discourse; viz. that there were seventeen bearded men there; and therefore, without any delay, I went to work with Friday, to find out a great tree proper to fell, and make a large periagua or canoe, to undertake the voyage: there were trees enough in the island to have built a little fleet, not of periaguas and canoes only, but even of good large vessels: but the main thing I looked at, was to get one so near the water, that we might launch it when it was made, to avoid the mistake I committed at first.

At last Friday pitched upon a tree; for I found he knew much better than I what kind of wood was fittest for it; nor can I tell to this day what wood to call the tree we cut down, except that it was very like the tree we call fustic, or between that and the Nicaragua wood, for it was much of the same colour and smell. Friday was for burning the hollow or cavity of this tree out, to make it into a boat: but I showed how rather to cut it out with tools, which after I showed him how to use, he did very handily; and in about a month's hard labour we finished it, and made it very handsome, especially when, with our axes, which I showed him how to handle, we cut and hewed the outside into the true shape of a boat; after this, however, it cost us near a fortnight's time to get her along, as it were inch by inch, upon great rollers, into the water; but when she was in, she would have carried twenty men with ease.

When she was in the water, and though she was so big, it amazed me to see with what dexterity, and how swift, my man Friday could manage her, turn her, and paddle her along; so I asked him if he would, and if we might, venture over in her? "Yes," he said, "he venture over in her very well, though great blow wind.” However, I had a further design that he knew nothing of, and that was, to make a mast and sail, and to fit her with an anchor and cable. As to a mast, that was easy enough to get; so I pitched upon a straight young cedartree, which I found near the place, and which there was a great plenty of in the island; and I set Friday to work to cut it down, and gave him directions how to shape and order it: but as to the sail, that was my particular care; I knew I had old sails, or rather pieces of old sails enough; but as I had had them now twenty-six years by me, and had not been