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 UCSB LIBRARY
 
 OF 
 
 OWEN EVANS, ESQ., 
 
 SURGEON'S MATE. 
 
 Stt ^.s^ort biilj c^ibr Companions 
 ON A DESOLATE ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN SEAS 
 
 1739. 
 
 GIVEN FROM THE ORIGINAL MM. 
 BY 
 
 BBV. W. H. ANDERDON, M. A., 
 
 Impro&tff 
 
 NEW YORK 
 D. & 3. SADLIER & CO.. 31 BARCLAY STREET. 
 
 tCOKTUAZi : COS. NOTBE DAME AND ST. FRANCIS ZAVIEB BTt>
 
 'What manner of record this? why time so sprat! 
 
 Nay, were we all as wise, as good, to-day 
 
 As grace may find us on our further way. 
 
 It were indeed superfluous and unmeant ; 
 
 Then Evans ne'er had wove bis palm-leaf tent, 
 
 Nor the meek Manuel known those years' delay 
 
 Far from his mission lov'd, his Paraguay. 
 
 Yet in life's war the foe's fell armament 
 
 Hath deadly words, and pen-shafts that can slay : 
 
 Wilt scorn the marksman, who untutor'd bent 
 
 Aims, with one bolt from his weak weapon sent, 
 
 For truth and right a stroke in that wide fray? 
 
 Pass, friend, unscath'd! and speed thy bark fair weather; 
 
 Leave Owen with his five to range their isle together.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 MM 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 CHAPTER I The Island Discovered 9 
 
 CHAPTER n The Landing 1* 
 
 CHAPTER m We Start for a Ramble 21 
 
 CHAPTER IV Deserted 27 
 
 CHAPTER V Might have been Worse 33 
 
 CHAPTER VI Night and Morning 39 
 
 CHAPTER VH The First Meal, and the First Parliament..... 45 
 
 CHAPTER Vin A Disappointment and a Danger 60 
 
 CHAPTER IX Dinner, and a Battle after it 64 
 
 CHAPTER X We Discover what a Priest is. 72 
 
 CHAPTER XI The Best and Worst Shot. 79 
 
 CHAPTER XTI How m uch Goodness goes to Forgiveness 87 
 
 CHAPTER Xm A Lesson out of Shark's Mouth 93 
 
 CHAPTER XIV We Do Something Uncommon 97 
 
 CHAPTER XV Prayer Hinders No Work 103 
 
 CHAPTER XVI We Fire into the Enemy's Camp, and Retreat to Oar 
 
 Own 107 
 
 CHAPTER XVTI Fire-Side Talk 113 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII A Few Little DebU 119 
 
 CHAPTER XIX We Gain Our Prize 124 
 
 CHAPTER XX Blown into Harbor 127 
 
 CHAPTER XXI A New Arrival. 131 
 
 CHAPTER XXII Doctoring and Purveying 137 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII We are taken to be Gods 14-2 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV A Lesson in Indian. . 14 
 
 CHAPTER XXV Freedom or Slavery f 160 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI The White Man no Hero 155 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII Prodgers Learns His Lesson 160 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII We Design a Safe Retreat 168 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX- What is Truth r 176 
 
 CHAPTER XXX The Serpents' Hole 183 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI Notice to Quit 188 
 
 CHAPTER XXXfl The Mother Tongue 193 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII Various Discoveries. . . 19
 
 IV CONTENTS. 
 
 ftMft 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV A Funeral, and a Lesson for the Living iOl 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV Outwitted 205 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI We Aim at a Provision Store 209 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII The First Catechism. 215 
 
 CHAPTKR XXXVin Wonh Thinking On 228 
 
 CHAPTER XXXK A Positive Precept 226 
 
 CHAPTER XL Rambling in Walk and Talk 23-J 
 
 CHAPTER XLI The Swearer's Button 241 
 
 CHAPTER XLII A Gem of the Future 245 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII "Nimble Thought can Leap Both Sea and Laud ".... 250 
 
 CHAPTER XLTV Don Manuel's Sermon 256 
 
 CHAPTER XI,V The Archery CI ub 266 
 
 CHAPTER XL VI Archery and Pottery 273 
 
 CHAPTER XLVn The Castle with its Outworks 278 
 
 CHAPTER Xl.Vm Our Larder and Farm -Yard 284 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX We Carve out a Kitchen 289 
 
 CHAPTER L Rock Architecture 296 
 
 CHAPTER LI What we Ought to have Known Before 303 
 
 CHAPTER LII Another Leaf out of the Catechism 308 
 
 CHAITER LJII Spring-Tide Labours. 317 
 
 CHAPTER IJV Seaand Und 322 
 
 CHA1TER LV Preparing for a Change 326 
 
 CHAPTER LVI Other Reasons 331 
 
 CHAPTER LVII Spiritual Mas. 335 
 
 CHAPTER LVni The Spanish Armada 343 
 
 CHAPTER LJX Harbour and Hospital 348 
 
 CHAPTER LX A Treaty Made and Ratified 344 
 
 CHAPTER LXI The Lieutenant's Story 360 
 
 CHAPTER LX1I The Same Continued 367 
 
 CHAPTER LXI1I Lawful Wrecking 374 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV Rumours and Secrets 379 
 
 CHAPTER LXV The Best Discovery of all 384 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI Signs of Another Move, 391 
 
 CHAPTER LXVII Preparations Thereto 397 
 
 CHAPTER LXVm Departure 403 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX The Eruption 409 
 
 CHAPTER LXX Death in More Shapes Tha One. 416 
 
 CHAPTER LXXT Our Deliverance 423 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII What Happened to us all aft t. 431 
 
 SUPPLEMENT 438 
 
 PON MANUEL'S NARRATIVE... 443
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 MOAT HOUSE, LLANDEVODIOG, 
 
 IN THE COUNTY OF GLAMOBGAK, 
 this tenth day of June, 1 754. 
 
 Nephew Owen, Thy dutiful greetings came to 
 hand, Tuesday was a week, with the news of thy 
 penning thine adventures in foreign parts : nor had I 
 failed to thank thee by the carrier on the Friday last 
 past, but that Watkin Penruddock, the schoolmaster 
 at Cowbridge, who is now putting down my word of 
 mouth cometh not over to our village but thrice in 
 the month, and hath this day been so moiled in teach- 
 ing forward youths, as scarce leaveth the good man 
 (with all his painful benevolence) time nor spirits to 
 write out this my letter fair. * Indeed I might have 
 asked our new preacher (whom precious Mr. Wesley 
 
 * It is to be supposed that Mr. Penruddock felt himself 
 bound to discharge the part of a faithful amanuensis ; or he 
 would scarcely have inserted such a compliment to himself. 
 It may be necessary to add, that the epithet painful, though 
 become antiquated at the date of this letter, (which may be 
 accounted for by its being written from Glamorganshire) was 
 atill used in England not so very long before, in the sense of 
 painstaking, diligent, conscientious. Thus, we read of a pain- 
 ful student, a painful preacher, etc. ED.
 
 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 hath left amongst us, to our no small contentation) to 
 hold the pen : but in fine, I trouble thee not with the 
 divers reasons that have made me tarry till this day 
 to answer thine. It pleasureth me thou didst take 
 in good part the admonitions I felt myself bounden 
 to write to thee before, on thy return to England, 
 when thou didst inform me of thy most sad deflexionf 
 from the protestant faith. It doth even now seem 
 a mystery to my poor understanding (but we are 
 all frail creatures, prone to lean on ourselves) that af- 
 ter thy careful bringing up thou shouldst forsake the 
 way of thy fathers, and remove the ancient land- 
 marks which they have set. And for the priest, of 
 whom thou writest more like a romancer than a rea- 
 sonable man, methinks he might have attended to 
 his own concerns, or to the Spanish bodies that came 
 in the ship, who, being born papists, were not to be 
 enlightened, except Mr. Wesley had fallen in with 
 them on his mission to Georgia, which it seems that 
 precious man never did. That priest might have let 
 my nephew be, to follow the religion of the Evanses, 
 
 f Probably intended for defection ; but one must not be 
 too severe on the Welsh schoolmaster. As to the sentiment, 
 whether it be an unaided observation of Owen's aunt, or an 
 interpolation, the answer is sufficiently obvious. The deputy 
 harbor-master, in changing his religion, was but returning 
 to the way of his fathers ; and, far from removing the an- 
 cient landmarks, did but investigate their whereabouts, and 
 clear them of the rubbish accumulated over them in later 
 times. It might also have been worth the good old lady's 
 pains to inquire what was the religion of the ancient families 
 from whom she derived her descent and (apparently) hei 
 ense of some importance. ED.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 from father to son ; not to speak of his mother's 
 blood of the Perkinses, who derive from the Wat- 
 kinses, and they from the Griffiths, and they from 
 Owen Glendower, and so up to Evan Dhu, grandson 
 of Cassibalaun, nephew to King Lud as thou know- 
 est well ; for I have told thee nigh an hundred times. 
 Notwithstanding, I harbor no malice against the 
 man, but only wish he may have gone down quietly 
 to the bottom of the deep sea in that open boat thou 
 didst write of, as a judgment on his doings to my 
 poor sailor-boy. But thus much I indited to thee 
 faithfully, as my duty was, in a second letter which 
 thine uncle Pritchard carried in his portmantle as far 
 as Newbury, and then entrusted to the public post, 
 under free cover to Sir Llewellyn Tregyon, knight of 
 the shire for Cardigan, then attending at the parlia- 
 ment house in Westminster ; the which I trust thou 
 didst safely and dutifully receive. Wherefore I 
 touch no more on that head for the present ; only 
 hoping thou mayest one day come to Moat House to 
 Bee thy old aunt once more, and thereat be privileged 
 to sit under zealous Mr. David Williams, or mayhap 
 even to listen to the precious Mr. Wesley himself: 
 in which case I am fond to think thou wouldst quick- 
 ly unlearn thy papistry again. So no more at pre- 
 sent, saving to notify to thee, thy sister Jane hath 
 been married, now going for seventeen weeks to one 
 Richard Davids, who, taking for new-fangled ways, 
 electeth to call himself Davies, after the English 
 fashions, and so writeth his name, for he can write, 
 like thyself, and nigh as fairly, and liveth no nigher 
 to this than Llanychllwydog, in the county of Pern-
 
 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 broke, doing business as a wool-factor, though not in 
 so gainful a way as I could desire, to Newport and 
 Fishguard, and is an honest man of decent parent- 
 age, all but his temper, which is sudden and incon- 
 stant, and besides, which is my chief contentment in 
 it, is a joined member of Mr. Wesley's flock; and 
 thy cousin Evan Roberts died last Martinmas, 
 though I should not use that word, which savoureth 
 of thine own way of thinking, but, indeed, he depart- 
 ed about the middle of last November, of a quinsey : 
 so no more at present from 
 
 Thy loving aunt, 
 
 MARTHA JANE EVANS. 
 
 For Mr. OWEN EVANS, Esq., Deputy Harbour- 
 master, these with care : he dwelleth betwixt the Old 
 Jetty and the Fisherman's Hospital, 
 Great Yarmouth, 
 
 Norfolk, 
 
 England. 
 Postage freed.
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ISLAND DISCOVERED. 
 
 WE were going under easy sail, some three or 
 four knots an hour, with a light, fair breeze, which 
 had held, on and off, the last couple of days. But 
 we did not take advantage of it ; the captain being 
 anxious to give a last chance to our consort, the En- 
 terprise of Xewhaven, to whom we had given the 
 rendezvous in these latitudes, before we bore away 
 for California. So at least, he said ; but I had my 
 suspicions about what he might be intending ; and 
 all along, a kind of misgiving had come over me, 
 from the whole appearance and arrangements of our 
 ship. For no sooner were we fairly out of port than 
 a couple of long swivel-guns had been hauled up 
 out of the hold, and mounted on spare carriages up- 
 on the quarter-deck, so as to sweep fore and aft. 
 Then the men were exercised at these every day, 
 sponging and working them as if in action, and also 
 at the two short carronades we carried : as indeed 
 every trader of our size was used to carry at that 
 period. Our crew had been increased, even while
 
 10 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 the blue-peter was flying at the fore, by ten or twelve 
 as ill-looking, cut-throat fellows as ever you saw ; of 
 all nations, Americans, Malays, Portuguese, one or 
 two Newfoundlanders, and so on. They knew none 
 of the rest of the crew of the Spitfire, who, on their 
 part, except a small number, were no models of good 
 conduct either. But these new-comers fairly outdid 
 them in all cursing and wickedness; and they were 
 the very men who were practised every day in work- 
 ing the guns, handling the shot and powder-lockers, 
 going through the exercise with their cutlasses and 
 handspikes, etc. In short, my mind misgave me, the 
 captain was as much on the look out for some weak- 
 er trader to fall in with, as anything else ; and I 
 thought (if I did not misjudge him) there was a wick- 
 ed look in his eye when he spoke of the Enterprise 
 as if that was the enterprise he was truly after. 
 
 I got very uncomfortable at these signs of our skip- 
 per's intentions ; and the state of my mind increased 
 the distaste I had conceived against a sea-faring 
 life. It was my first voyage after being certified 
 for surgeon's mate ; but the captain (Aram Hopkins 
 was his name : 'tis no breach of charity, I hope, to 
 record it,* for every one that knows the sea, knows 
 he was hanged, three years after, on Staten Island 
 for a pirate ; though how I came to know it, the rea- 
 der may wonder) he, I say, asked me to go the voy- 
 
 * Our friend Owen is mistaken heie, however. It is al- 
 ways a breach of charity to speak in this way ; though the 
 degree of wrong varies according to the nature of the 
 charge, and the likelihood of its becoming otherwise known 
 -ED,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 11 
 
 age in capacity of full surgeon, with my berth 
 and all supplies free, promising to show me some- 
 thing of sea-life. He did, indeed ; and something of 
 land-life too, when and where I least looked for it. 
 But my part now was to keep up a good face, and 
 seem as careless as if I observed nothing out of the 
 way. This was no easy matter, as the days went on ; 
 and I could see that the captain eyed me with dis- 
 trust from time to time, and more so every day we 
 sailed. 
 
 I looked aound for some one with whom I might 
 take counsel : but could not tell whom to trust. 
 There was, indeed, an honest fellow named Tom 
 Harvey among us, of whom I shall have enough to 
 say by-and bye : I could have spoken to him more 
 freely than to any of the ship's company beside. But, 
 then, I did not know how far Tom's discretion might 
 extend : my experience of life having taught me how 
 few people there are who can keep a secret. There 
 was also a Spanish priest on board, Don Manuel he 
 was called ; who had taken his passage on board of 
 us for SanFrancisco, whither he was going to estab- 
 lish a mission of his order. More than once I resolv- 
 ed to speak to him : but I scarce know what kind of 
 a feeling held me back. I had been bred up a pro- 
 testant ; and th< >ugh, at that time, had not much re- 
 ligion of any kind, still I felt unwilling to open my 
 mind to a priest, one of a sort of men I had always 
 looked on askance, and as we say, out of the corners 
 of my eyes. 
 
 This priest, in truth, seemed a quiet man, who had 
 a kind word for every one that came across him
 
 12 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN ETAN8, 
 
 though he did not speak much. He kept a good 
 deal in the cabin, and Avas a hard reader, when he 
 was not sea-sick, On fine days he would come up, 
 and walk a little on deck, reading his book attentive- 
 ly, and speaking to himself; or counting (it seemed) 
 a string of beads that hung at his girdle. Methought 
 he was saying his prayers ; and I used to wonder 
 how any man, priest or layman, could have patience 
 to say so many prayers in the day. Once or twice 
 he asked me questions on medical subjects ; chiefly 
 on the treatment of wounds and fevers, and the use 
 of herbs in their cure : I could see he had studied 
 those subjects a good deal. Well, in spite of our 
 few conversations, the long and short of it was, I 
 had never spoken to a priest before, and would not 
 make up my. mind to open my thoughts to him. 
 
 Things were going on in this way, when, about 
 eleven in the forenoon of Monday, August the twen- 
 ty-third, the man in the top suddenly sang out: 
 " Land on the starboard bow !" and a refreshing 
 
 O 
 
 cry it was to us all; we having been almost three 
 weeks without seeing anything to break the everlast- 
 ing sea-line all round us. Up we were at once in 
 the shrouds, in the rigging, out upon the yards, at 
 least the more sure-footed ones, all eyes straining to 
 starboard. As for me, who was as eager as the rest, 
 not knowing whether this accident [as we did not 
 expect land] would bring any change to the condi- 
 tion I was in, I made my way up to the mizen-top, 
 with my own glass : a very clear one, that proved a 
 faithful companion to me afterwards, where I did not 
 expect to keep it so long as it and I staid together,
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRT580K. Id 
 
 When I got into the top, I could see, plain enough, 
 even without my glass, a haze that stretched away 
 to east-south-east of our course, like a thin bank of 
 fog, and nothing more. It lay some ten or twelve 
 miles from us, but so faint, I never should have tak- 
 en it for a sign of land. The man on the watch wa* 
 right, however, as it proved. We were sailing as I 
 said, under a light breeze, three or four points from 
 where the land lay. But the captain now ordered 
 the ship about and we stood right in for it. 
 
 As we drew nearer, I could observe this haze, or 
 heat, gradually melt away from the land, and leave 
 it clear. But the first thing to be seen in the way of 
 land was the peak of a mountain that seemed pretty 
 near the centre of the island [for island we judged it 
 to be], but nearer to its northern most end. This 
 ran up out of the mist before we could see the coast 
 and lower grounds. It was somewhat in the form 
 of a sugar loaf, like the Peak of Teneriffe, though so 
 much smaller; only that it was rather flattened at 
 the top. About half-way up, it was clothed with 
 trees, as far as we could judge at our distance, and 
 this was better seen the nearer we sailed. But all 
 the upper part looked bare, with streaks down the 
 sides of a greyish color : whence I concluded it to 
 have been a volcano, or burning mountain, and that 
 those were streams of old lava, or melted rock, that 
 had burst from the top of the mountain, and flowed 
 down the sides, hardened by cooling, perhaps ages 
 ago. As for the rest of the island, as we sailed in 
 it appeared green and wooded, well enough. We 
 could see some small savannahs, or meadow lands,
 
 14 THK ADVENTURES OF OWBN 
 
 very fresh and green, opening out among the woods ; 
 whence we judged the place must be furnished with 
 fresh running water, or the heat [for we were now 
 well within the tropics] would surely have burned 
 them brown. 
 
 So strange a desire now possessed me, that I must 
 needs go and visit this island, if it were possible, and 
 explore some of those green valleys, to see what they 
 contained, and whither they led. I wished also to 
 have a nearer view of the mountain, having always 
 taken interest in reading of volcanoes, and tracing out 
 the forms of some I had met with in different parts, 
 though they had long ceased to burn, and had be- 
 come overgrown with wood. In short, it was of no 
 use for me to reason against myself: I was deter- 
 mined that if there should be a landing-party from 
 the ship, go I would, and see what was to be seen. 
 
 Turning my glass from it at length, when I had 
 scanned it over and over again from end to end, from 
 the top of the sugar-loaf to a reef of low rocks that 
 ran out south-west from its base, over which a strong 
 surf was running, I gave a glance down upon deck 
 There stood the captain holding secret counsel with 
 the first mate, of which I shall have more to say in a 
 moment.
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOM. 16 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 THE LANDING. 
 
 So, when the preparations were making to get 
 ready the long-boat for shore, coming down on deck 
 again, I walked straightways to the captain, where 
 he stood talking in a low voice with the mate, and 
 asked to be of the party to land. 
 
 Here I must needs make a natural reflection on 
 two things which this settled desire of mine may be 
 taken in proof of ; firstly, the little foresight we can 
 have of what is to befall us ; nay, sometimes the very 
 moment before it will happen : as may be seen in a 
 thousand unexpected turns, both for good and ill, in 
 the course of this changeful life. The other is, 
 though I considered it not at the time, to see how the 
 providence of our heavenly Father orders all for the 
 best ; overruling, aye, the most untoward events, and 
 in the way we had least expected or (sometimes) de- 
 sired, to work our good as if in spite of ourselves. 
 Here was I, a youngster, it might be said by compa- 
 rison, starting in life with fairer prospects than sev- 
 eral of my betters ; and now, blind mortal that I 
 was, I came forward to get leave for a few hours, 
 that was not to expire for many years, and pro 
 nouncc against myself, with my own lips, a sentence 
 of banishment on a savage inland ! And yet, this 
 very tiling that I was now about to do against my- 
 self, as it seemed, was the means of my preservation, 
 together with that of others. For I make no doubt,
 
 had I remained in the ship, both T, and four more of 
 us had found a watery, aye, and a bloody grave. 
 She soon after turned pirate, as I have related, with 
 all hands on board ; and we, had we been there, 
 would have had the choice of joining them on their 
 robbers' cruise, or pay the forfeit of refusing. 
 
 Often since then, have I lifted up hands and eyes 
 to heaven, even with the want of all things, on our 
 desolate island, for not having long since been tied, 
 neck and heels, with a twelve-pound shot to my feet, 
 or sewn up in a hammock, to be hove overboard, or 
 made to walk the plank, as the Spanish buccaneers 
 treat the prisoners they sentence to drowning. For, 
 all these things I afterwards represented to mv im- 
 agination, adding to it (though, I own, in a second- 
 ary degree) the murder of Don Manuel, Tom Harvey, 
 and the rest who were saved with myself. And this 
 I used as a sovereign remedy against such fits of de- 
 icction, and almost despair, as came over me in the 
 course of the years I am about to give some account 
 of; when things were so bad with us, we were fain 
 to bear up against them by considering how they 
 might have been even worse. 
 
 But to make this short, let me come back to the 
 day with which our troubles began. When I asked 
 to go ashore, I was surprised, from experience of our 
 captain's surly temper, iio\v readily he granted my 
 request. There was a look in his eye, and I did not 
 understand it ; nor indeed did I understand tl.e 
 meaning of his words. " We shall not be lung be- 
 fore this island," said he, " but lime enough lor you 
 locollcci some of your rare plants: for lhat, I judge,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 17 
 
 is what you are after; so there need be no hurrying 
 back to the ship till sun-down." 
 
 By this, the long-boat was ready, and all thingi 
 found for her, sail as well as oars. While the men 
 were lowering down two large jars for fresh water, 
 and stowing away our day's rations, together with 
 Rome fowling-pieces, two muskets, and ammunition 
 [for we were to be provided against wild beasts, as 
 well as have means of killing some luxury in the 
 way of an antelope, or a goat or two ; and no small 
 treat that would be to men who had tasted nothing 
 for weeks but salt junk], I ran down the companion- 
 ladder for Don Manuel, our Spanish priest, to ask 
 him to come ashore and see what the island furnished 
 in the way of strange plants and herbs. I found him 
 prepared ; he, too, had spoken to the captain, and 
 got leave as readily as I. He had with him a port- 
 folio of sheets of blank paper, to preserve such plants 
 as would wither in the hand ; a pruning knife to cut 
 them ; and a small case of writing materials, to note 
 down anything worthy of note in his way of remark. 
 This served other purposes during our exile ; for we 
 each kept a journal on the island, after our several 
 fashions, or the reader would not have been troubled 
 with these pages. His prayer-book [his Breviary, he 
 called it], that was scarce ever out of his hands ; a 
 staff shod with iron, for climbing or pushing through 
 the bush ; and a large cloak with sleeves, such as he 
 told me the priests of his country wear on their jour- 
 neys, made up the rest of his equipment. 
 
 For my part, I hastily laid hands on some thingi 
 I should want ; as my faithful companion, the spy-
 
 I I TH1 ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 g^ass, which I slung across my shoulders ; a rifle that 
 hud been my father's and would carry a good dis- 
 taace, though now somewhat worn ; a bag of rifle, 
 balls and large horn of powder, a cutlass or hanger, 
 and a strong serviceable clasp-knife in my pocket. 
 Th's last, together with a ball of twine, I took for 
 the sake of any rare plants I might meet with during 
 our ramble. I know not by what providence it was, 
 but jurely from the whisper of some good angel in 
 mino ear, that I handed down into the boat my fish- 
 ings od and tackle : namely, a leathern pouch, with 
 two or three reels of strong fishing-lines, and a book 
 of artificial flies for casting at salmon and trout. 
 These I had myself carefully tied, to beguile the 
 tedioi.sness of the voyage, having been well used 
 to the fishing of the streams in my native Welsh 
 mount iins. 
 
 The ship was by this time hove-to, say a mile and a 
 half fix m the island ; they were afraid to venture fur- 
 ther in, owing to the many small coral-islets, and 
 jags of /ock, that lay dotting the sea all about, as 
 well as the dangerous reefs, which we could see be- 
 neath UB, the water being very clear. Into the long- 
 boat we got ; seven seamen, be&ides Don Manuel and 
 myself; ^'e pushed ofi' at once, and spread our sail, 
 which was of the kind they call a shoulder-of-mutton 
 sail. The wind became less steady as we neared the 
 chore ; and there came, now and then, little putt's or 
 flaws of wind from the valleys, that were vastly re- 
 freshing; and we could perceive the moist, fresh 
 fmell of the trees cast to seaward, so delightful aa
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 19 
 
 none can tell who know not the weariness of a long 
 sea voyage. 
 
 And now we had some ado to keep clear of the 
 reefs, which seemed to run out on all sides from this 
 island. The one I had observed from the ship's top 
 appeared the most considerable and dangerous, and 
 the surf beat over it violently, though there was so 
 little wind stirring. Yet I noticed others too, some 
 above the water and more beneath, so that we 
 grounded once or twice, and had like to have been 
 stopped altogether. 
 
 We were now forced to take down our sail, and 
 trust to our oars, that the boat might answer readi- 
 ly to her helm. As I looked over the gunwale upon 
 the reefs below [the water being as I said, exceeding- 
 ly clear], they seemed to be of two sorts, which I 
 could discern one from the other. The one darker, 
 and not coming so near the level of the sea ; and these 
 stretched away in lines, some very broad, from the 
 island. This kind I took to be streams of lava-rock, 
 once melted, and flowing down, perhaps ages ago, 
 from the top of the sugar-loaf cone : for that, I felt 
 sure, was an old burning mountain, though its fires 
 had been quenched, aye, it might be some hundred 
 years, or more. The other sort of reefs looked as if 
 they grew up from the first kind, and these came 
 near to the surface, sometimes quite, but never much 
 above it. I took these to be coral rocks, such 
 as are formed in the Pacific and other seas by the 
 wonderful work of small insects. Some were bright 
 in color, white and red, or yellow, by which, and 
 their growth, I knew them quite plainly for rocks of
 
 20 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 coral. In places, they branched out under the sta, 
 like the corals that are brought home to Europe, on- 
 ly much larger : others were so decked and grown 
 over with seaweeds, such as they have in the tropics, 
 that there were, I may say, two forests growing un- 
 der us, plainly to be seen through the water, the 
 forest of rock and the forest of weeds. 
 
 But the end of all this was, we had a difficult pas- 
 sage to wards land ; and were glad enough to find, 
 after some trials, a sort of winding channel, bet ween 
 two of the dark reefs of rock that came shelving 
 down from the mountain, and dipped at an angle 
 quite into the sea. These rocky walls [for they 
 stood pretty high] sheltered us from the surf, which 
 we heard breaking loud on other parts of the shore. 
 Only a roller, as they call it, came once and again 
 after us from the open sea, and caught the boat's 
 stern with some violence; sending us along the chan- 
 nel we had found, swifter than we would. And, 
 had not our steersman been a skilful fellow, and well 
 up to his business, we had most likely been stove 
 against the rocks before we got further on our adven- 
 tures. This afforded him ground, with two other of 
 the men, to swear he would not take the boat further 
 than a corner which we turned just after it happen- 
 ed. Here we found a little natural harbor, worn in 
 the rock by the high tides, when the sea was swollen 
 by the wind from south by-west. These men now 
 said, plain and rough, they were in trust of the boat, 
 and would not risk staving her, or getting her back 
 to the ship in bad condition. They bade us take out 
 our fowling-pieces, with the jars for fresh water, and
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRU80K. 11 
 
 exp'ore the island as much as we would, if only wo 
 inii.ht roach the ship again by the time all hands 
 we :e piped to hammocks. For themselves, they said, 
 tin y \vere content to stay there with the boat, or 
 ra nble about the rocks, and try their luck with fish- 
 in j (for they hal brought tackle with them, as well 
 a* tinder to strike a light), or to catch fresh crabs 
 and other shell-fish, enough to make a broil of, in the 
 pools below high-water mark. 
 
 I make no doubt, in looking back upon this, they 
 parted thus readily with the fire arms, to take away 
 any suspicions of ours, as to what they intended. Or 
 it might be some touch of mercy in them, such as 
 may be found at times in the hardest and wickedest 
 hearts. Xor were we, on our side (we, I mean, who 
 landed and left the three men and the boat there) so 
 simple as would appear at first sight : for their pro- 
 posal came so reasonable, and was made with such 
 seamanlike frankness, that no ground appeared to 
 harbor any thoughts against them. However; be it 
 that we were wise or foolish (for 'tis of small use now 
 to determine), sure I am we were heartily glad to 
 find our feet on land, and thought of little else. As 
 to the priest, he did not above half understand, what 
 they said, so made no great objection. For though 
 he spoke English well, yet it was like one who had 
 learned it passably out of books, as (he told me after- 
 wards) was the case. And there were many of the 
 Bea-phrases in use among the crew which, to be sure, 
 were not found in his books : so that he, who of the 
 whole party was like to have made a calm judgment
 
 22 THS ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVAN8, 
 
 on our proceeding, chanced to be the one who least un- 
 derstood it. 
 
 We scrambled up the rocks, as best we might : 
 not without slips and bruises, for the sea-weed was 
 thickly grown here-about, and slippery as ice. It 
 was well for us we escaped without sprains, or worse, 
 which misjht, as we afterwards found ourselves, have 
 
 O ' ' 
 
 proved a serious matter. But when we got above 
 high water mark (and that we did with no small trou- 
 ble), our travelling was easier, upon one of those 
 streaks or pathways of rock leading up towards the 
 mountain : like a sort of road up-hill, only so rough 
 on the surface, that soon it would have worn our 
 shoes. 
 
 Before we left the little harbor where the boat lay, 
 one of the three men came up with our fowling 
 pieces : as to my rifle, I managed to carry that with 
 me. He also threw us the ends of two ropes worked 
 into a noose, and passed round each of the water- 
 jars, whereby we easily hauled these jars up the rock 
 after us. Then they all bade us not be overtaken by 
 night on the island, and promised with many oaths, 
 they would stay for us where they were. So we 
 turned away with light hearts for our expedition 
 and never saw them on shore again.
 
 THK OATHOLIO ORU80B. 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WE START FOK A RAMBLE. 
 
 TWENTY steps, or thereabouts, brought us off thia 
 rough rock ; then we found ourselves treading over 
 a thick, soft carpet of mossy meadow, kept fresh by 
 a little runnel of pure and sweet water, that found 
 its way down to the sea through the same shaded 
 valley that was leading us up into the island. Over 
 our heads, the trees arched and met one another, lac- 
 ing their branches and thick leaves across, to form a 
 natural bower, which the rays of the sun could not 
 pierce through, or very dimly. And many of them 
 were such trees as we had never seen, though I had 
 read of them often ; with ferns and reeds, from ten 
 to eighteen feet high. For, as we had come from a 
 colder latitude, and had not touched land before, this 
 was our first acquaintance with the rich growths of 
 the tropics. 
 
 The change from our confinement on ship-board, to- 
 gether with the freshness and perfume of the avenue 
 through which our line of march lay, and which you 
 might have supposed was planted and kept in order 
 on purpose for our benefit, with the fancy, too, that 
 ire had some hours before us on this delightful island 
 (so it now seemed) to do what we would and range 
 where we pleased ; all these things did so raise our 
 spirits, that I, for my part, could scarce keep from 
 racing along the avenue: and Harvey and another 01 
 the seamen broke out into singing snatches of their
 
 24 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 rude sea songs. Even Don Manuel appeared more 
 excited than was common with him ; and the whole 
 party kept on laughing and talking, some saying one 
 thing, some another, but all merry and contented : 
 till on a sudden I stopped, and bade them remember, 
 we were in an unknown land, and knew not, as yet, 
 what we might have to encounter. It might, I said, 
 be savages, or it might be wild beasts. " Please God, 
 it may be neither," said the priest, and crossed him- 
 self. " I hope so too, sir," added I ; " but no one of 
 us can tell ; and the part of prudence is, to guard 
 against whatever may come." 
 
 So we agreed to keep all close together, and march 
 in some sort of order. I volunteered to lead the 
 vanguard, and told them the reason ; not that I 
 claimed any authority over them (men being jealous 
 enough about that, where each reckoned himself as 
 good as his fellow), but being better armed with my 
 rifle, I wished to take a full share of the danger, what- 
 ever it might be. After me, came the three men 
 with fowling pieces : the muskets had been left in the 
 boat, as seemed only reasonable, for defence of those 
 who stayed in her. 
 
 And here is a place, as good as any, for giving a 
 list of our party, as we stood there, and loaded our 
 arms for our ramble up the country. 
 
 First, I place Tom Harvey at the head of the list : 
 for a more active, honest, cheerful fellow I believe 
 never sailed. He became my right-hand man, al- 
 ways ready to second me in whatever was for good 
 order and good fellowship among our party. 
 
 Then comes Edward Hilton ; a well disposed lad
 
 t&K CATHOLIC CnUSOB. 25 
 
 ftnough in himself, but easily led by others of a firm- 
 er nature than he ; and one that gave me some little 
 trouble afterwards on that very score. 
 
 These two completed, in my mind, the brighter 
 side of the picture : as to the other couple of seamen, 
 Richard Prodgers, and Harry Gill, I had not so 
 much trust in them ; though indeed they were not 
 quite the black sheep of the vessel's crew neither. 
 
 For Don Manuel, the priest, I knew not yet what 
 place to give him in my thoughts. As T have said, 
 he was a Catholic priest, and I no Catholic at all. 
 What I had seen of him was quiet and harmless 
 enough ; but I had my opinion to form ; and, on the 
 whole, rather a prejudice against him, except when 
 we talked on the subjects we had in common, as bo- 
 tany, medicine, or the like. 
 
 Lastly, as to the three we had left in the boat, they 
 were among the very worst of the crew, though the 
 most in the captain's confidence : and I was glad 
 when I found they were to be none of our party. 
 
 Our first care now was to fill the jars with fresh 
 water : which was soon done, by placing them in the 
 channel of the little stream that was running swiftly 
 by us. We scooped out with our hands so much of 
 its bed as to sink them to half their depth in the 
 gravel and stones ; then built up the stones we had 
 displaced, into a kind of wall, or dyke, on both sides 
 of the jars, till the water rose towards their brims. 
 So we left them ; knowing they would both be filled 
 within a quarter of an hour. 
 
 After this, the matter was, to decide upon the plan 
 of our campaign. I summoned a council of war ; told
 
 26 THB ADVfcNTURM 0* OWfeN EVAN8, 
 
 tliem, as our time was not long (it being now pasi 
 three), we should consider how best to explore the 
 island, and the mountain, which seemed the most re- 
 markable part of it, while our leave of absence lasted 
 That we had come for a ramble, and a ramble we 
 would have ; for I supposed none of them wished to 
 lie down under the trees, and sleep away their time 
 a thing they might do as well under the shade of 
 a sail on board ship. At this they all declared for 
 an active bout of it till they must go aboard again. 
 Then, said I, my counsel, is to make a circuit under 
 the base of yonder mountain, following its bend, but 
 still keeping in the valley, for plants and game. In 
 this we may spend a couple of hours or thereabouts: 
 then double back, and return to this spot over a part 
 of the mountain itself, yet not to ascend too high. 
 Our return will take from two hours and a half to 
 three hours, allowing for the rusrgedness of the travel- 
 
 7 o O O 
 
 ling we may expect to find on the mountain. Thus, 
 what with our progress through the lowlands, what 
 with the elevation ol our homeward journey, we shall 
 have explored the island pretty thoroughly, seen 
 what grows on it, had a view of both sides of it (for 
 to all appearance it cannot reach far beyond the 
 mountain), and may chance to meet with some wild 
 game on the way. 
 
 Such was my plan, and I heard no voice raised 
 against it. Indeed, as is often to be remarked, where 
 there is no point started which touches self-love, or 
 interest, the nine-tenths of mankind are content to 
 have their plans laid down for them, or anything to 
 save them the trouble of thinking for themselves.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. $7 
 
 This was just the case uow. No one amongst us had 
 any thing better to propose, so they all agreed, and 
 oft' we started. First, I led the way, by general con- 
 sent : my rifle ready slung for use, and my hanger 
 at my side. Next, very naturally, for we had our 
 plants and what-nots to collect, and also, were the 
 most suited companions, next, I say, came the Span- 
 ish priest, armed with such a staff as they use in go- 
 big over the -Alps, and other mountainous passes, 
 with his cloak gathered over his shoulders for more 
 easy walking. Then Prodgers, Harvey, Gill, with 
 their fowling-pieces. Lastly, Ned Hilton brought 
 up the rear with a handspike he had borrowed out 
 of the boat ; for, being an easy fellow, he made no 
 bargain to have a gun though I afterwards found 
 he could shoot with the best of them, and better 
 than Prodgers, by a good deal. However, in this 
 world things are carried away, not by the most able 
 but by the most determined, to use them ; and the 
 stronger will overcome even the longer head, and 
 the more skilful hand. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DESERTED. 
 
 WE struck up, then, to the inland ; and at first 
 we followed the channel of this stream, which led 
 us up a ground that sloped away to the base of the 
 mountain. Here we came again to a kind of mossy
 
 28 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 lane, over-arched and shaded by groves of various 
 trees, as bananas, plantains, pepul, banians, cocoa- 
 nuts, and palm trees, of several kinds, some tall and 
 feathery, others with a broad spreading leaf, such as 
 they use to thatch their houses in the Havannalu 
 and Philippine Islands. It was, indeed, a sort of 
 natural valley, that any rich owner in those planta- 
 tions would give a round sum to have near his house 
 with a swift brook leaping, now to this side, now 
 to that, through all its length ; which gathered it- 
 self up in little pools of still water, or fell over the 
 stones with a tinkle that sounded refreshing in the 
 great heat of the day. 
 
 We determined not to part company with this 
 stream, so long as it did not lead us out of our 
 course ; though at times we had to climb over rough 
 ground, and swing ourselves round the roots of such 
 trees as came too near the brink, for many times 
 they did quite overhang it, yet we considered that 
 this way of travelling was easier than to force our- 
 selves through the close thicket on either side where 
 
 
 
 we might be torn by the prickly shrubs, and less 
 able for defence against a siidden enemy, beast or 
 man. 
 
 For my part I was on the look-out for an occasion 
 of getting up to the higher ground, that so we might 
 better judge of the extent of the island. I believe it 
 was not laid down on any of the ship's charts and 
 this, I take it, was one reason why Hopkins, the 
 captain, determined with the mate to leave us on it, 
 that he might escape being tried for our murder, yet 
 have us safe where we had little chance of being
 
 THK CATHOLIC ORUSOB. 29 
 
 picked off again, to give evidence against his vil- 
 lainy. 
 
 But now suspecting no evil, and all in the gayest 
 mood, we judged ourselves to be the first discoverers 
 of the place ; and Hilton, taking off his neck-kerchief, 
 and tying it to the top of his spike, took posses- 
 sion (he said) of the Island in King George's name. 
 This made us laugh : as, indeed, a little thing would 
 have made us on that holiday of ours. So following 
 it up, we fell into some kindly contention how to 
 name our new-discovered island. 
 
 I proposed it should be called Manuel's Island, out 
 of compliment to the priest, whom, as being of an- 
 other nation, we might consider a sort of guest, 
 claiming hospitality on our ground. But I found, by 
 the men's looks, this was a notion they disliked alto- 
 gether, though none spoke, except Don Manuel him- 
 self. And he at once thanked me with that courtesy 
 which belongs to his nation, wherein they are rivalled 
 by few, I believe among all people in the world. 
 " Senor," says he (that was his Spanish way of ex- 
 pressing Sir), with a manner between jest and ear- 
 nest, " you are too good to think of me on such an 
 occasion. A poor priest has no claim or title to give 
 his name to any spot on this great earth : he is call- 
 ed to spend his strength, or shed his blood, wherever 
 his Master sends him ; 'tis quite enough," said he, 
 raising his looks, " if his name be written in 
 Heaven." 
 
 " But," continued the priest, and his manner as he 
 spoke made us attend ; being so earnest and natural, 
 and withal so courteous to each, that the rough sea-
 
 30 THS ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 men listened to him as if he had dropped among 
 them from the trees, or the skies: '' whether," says 
 he, " we are really the first who have set foot on this 
 place or no, it must be acknowledged on all hands 
 that we have been led hither by the good providence 
 of God." And here he bowed his head, lifting his 
 hat as he spoke. " So I propose, gentlemen, that in 
 honor of Him who created us all, and has preserved 
 us safe to this moment, we call the island after some 
 of the great truths of that religion He has revealed. 
 And surely," said he, looking round on us with a 
 cheerful smile, " we may find something sacred in 
 which we can all agree, whereby to christen the 
 place ?" 
 
 When he had thus expressed himself, I must own, 
 the men looked at one another as if they had never 
 heard the like before, and what the priest said was 
 the last thing in their thoughts. I was taken aback, 
 indeed, at what he said ; for at that time I must con- 
 fess myself I was without any serious thought of re- 
 ligion at all ; and did not feel to like the priest any 
 more for having expressed himself in that way. 
 
 " Well, Senores," said he, observing our looks, as 
 we moved onward again, " among my countrymen, 
 as you have known in the course of your voyages, a 
 discovery like this would be marked by some title 
 borrowed from the gospel, and the history of the 
 Church. We should call the island after the 
 Incarnation of the Son of God, that is, the Annun- 
 ciation ; or The True Cross, or in honor of the Con- 
 ception of His most holy Mother ; or after all the 
 Saints ; or some special saint, Saint Francis, Saint
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRT: BOB. 81 
 
 Dominic, Saint Thomas ; these names, with many 
 like them, are familiar to those of you who have 
 touched at the Spanish plantations. Some of those 
 titles could not be expected in this case, since you, 
 Senores, do not admit the thoughts which they ex- 
 press : but why should we not call the place the 
 Isle of the Resurrection ?" 
 
 " And I propose," quoth Prodgers, breaking in 
 roughly, " that we call the place No Man's Land ; 
 for it belongs to us all equally, and 't is our prop- 
 erty, until the ship fires the evening gun." 
 
 " Or Gill's Country," said Harry Gill, " for I first 
 jumped ashore, and set foot on the island." 
 
 " And measured it too," remarked Hilton, " for I 
 saw you sprawling at full length among the sea- 
 weed." 
 
 So with one discourse or another, but good hu- 
 mored withal, we got through our ramble in about 
 the two short hours we had allowed ourselves. We 
 saw game in plenty ; chiefly of the hare kind, and a 
 species of peccary or wild hog, with here and 
 there an antelope, rushing through the thicket 
 as we drew near. But we would not load ourselves 
 with them at that tune, trusting to a shot or two on 
 our return to the boat. Of birds we saw several 
 kinds new to us, together with some flights of Ma- 
 caws and parrots, bright in plumage, and noisy, that 
 flew over our heads. 
 
 The wood now grew so thick and pathless, we 
 nearly lost our reckoning ; and quite lost our com- 
 panion the stream, though we had tasted of it several 
 limes to slake our thirst on this hot, weary march,
 
 32 THR ADVENTLUES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 for so it now became to us. Struggling hard, we 
 came by main force out of this wood ; and found, by 
 the rise, we were on the slope of the mountain, turn- 
 ing left ways from the side of our first entrance. 
 
 At this point we cried a halt ; and sitting down, 
 took out what provisions we had brought with us, 
 which we shared equally among our number, and 
 made a meal that was too scanty to be a long one. 
 
 When our repast was finished, " Now," said I, "a 
 short climb will take us high enough to afford a 
 clear view on both sides ; we shall have a look-out 
 to the leeward of this island then we must push on 
 smartly for the boat, lest we lose our way in the 
 dark. Remember how suddenly night comes on in 
 these latitudes." I also told them, though we had 
 hitherto reserved our fire, yet (as we had seen no 
 sign of savages, but plenty of game), when once our 
 faces were turned homewards, or shipwards rather, 
 we would let fly at anything that came in our way. 
 
 This being agreed to, we began the ascent ; dis- 
 entangling ourselves from the last of the brushwood 
 we soon found we were on the mountain indeed foi 
 it cost us some hard climbing, this side being, as we 
 afterwards found, the steepest. The trees here were 
 well nigh as close as the thicket below, so that we 
 partly lost our way again ; and bending too much 
 back toward the shore, we had, not a view of the 
 further side of the island, but a sight that did not 
 leave our eyes (our mind's eye, I mean) for months, 
 and decided our fate for years. 
 
 For we came at once on a spot of clearer ground, 
 with an opening left through the trees that looked
 
 friiie CATAOLIC CBUSO'K. ft& 
 
 straight out to seaward. Whether it had been so 
 cleared by some violent gust of wind, or other natu 
 ral cause, I know not ; but we now saw, too clearly, 
 the long-boat using oars and sail, just within a few 
 strokes of the ship ; then the men we left in her, 
 clambering up the vessel's sides, and a once all sails 
 set on the Spitfire for standing out to -ea. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MIGHT HAVE BEEN WORSE. 
 
 IF you have seen any one on whom a sudden gieat 
 misfortune hath fallen, in the first transports of his 
 grief and raging despair, trample the ground, tear 
 his hair wildly, fling his clenched hands abroad, seek 
 for some one on whom to revenge himself, and by a 
 thousand violent actions give vent to the extremity 
 of his passionate sorrow, you may have a picture of 
 the conduct of these men and myself when this most 
 woeful sight burst upon us. We ran about, up and 
 down the rocks, stamping, yelling like madmen out 
 of Bedlam we glared at each other like wild beasts 
 and I hardly know why some of us did not fling 
 ourselves down the sides of the mountain, in bitter 
 grief, to die in the gullies below. 
 
 Then, at times again we would pause, and look 
 eagerly towards the ship, as fain to persuade our- 
 selves that all was but a sailor's jest, intended mere- 
 ly to frighten UB. Wj said to one another, even
 
 84 THB ADVKN'TURIS OF OWKN RTANS, 
 
 fiercely, and trying to believe what we said, that wt 
 should see the long-boat with her sail set, tacking 
 back for UR against the breeze, which now blew oil' 
 shore. We roared out (for it was roaring indeed, 
 as if what was said so loud must be true) that Hop- 
 kins had played this trick on the priest and me, be- 
 cause we had neither of us been so near the line be- 
 fore. But all this dreadful suspense was ended when 
 we saw the ship fill her sails, and stand away steadi- 
 ly on her former course. When she veered, we saw 
 a puff of smoke ; and then came the report of one ol 
 her guns, fired wantonly by way of heaping insult 
 on our wretchedness which gave us to understand 
 all hope was over for us. At the same moment the 
 yellow flag (called by seamen the rogue's jack) was 
 hoisted at the fore. At the sight of all this, the 
 men broke out anew into such curses, ravings, and 
 passionate laments, as were more fit for men trans- 
 ported beside themselves, than for reasonable creat- 
 ures, who should gather spirits and courage to make 
 the best of a bad case. 
 
 But reason was, at that time, the last thing to be 
 found among us, and we did but add to each other's 
 grief for when one, exhausted by his violence, 
 would be silent for a while, another would take it up 
 as though he had never lamented before and thut 
 set all off again by the contagion. So that I b& 
 liev<e there has seldom been shown a more lively im 
 age of the rage and despairing lamentations of those 
 who are lost for ever, than in us five who then found 
 ourselves left on the island without hope. 
 
 I Buy, us five ; for we had no thought of the priet
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 85 
 
 all this while, nor leisure so much as to observe how 
 he bore himself in our common misfortune. We 
 knew what we had lost, and were fully occupied 
 with that : as for him, we knew not, and cared not, 
 either what he had lost, or what he possessed. He 
 had been our companion in our ramble, and pleasant 
 enough we had found him ; but when anything more 
 than a mere pastime engaged us, we turned inward 
 jn ourselves, or looked on each other only, thinking 
 10 more about him than if he inhabited another 
 world, or another island. 
 
 At length, wearied as we were with our long 
 inarch, and exhausted by all this raving, partly too 
 by want of food, we sank into a kind of stupid and 
 settled despair, casting ourselves down on the place 
 fdiere we stood. There would one seaman lie, bury- 
 ing his face in his hands, weeping even like a child. 
 Another would sit and clasp his knees, and turn his 
 face towards heaven, but without uttering a prayer. 
 A third man, with his teeth set, and his features 
 awry, more like a savage or a maniac, would watch 
 the sails of the ship as they came between us and the 
 setting sun then shake his clenched hand at her 
 while she glided away, muttering whatever the old 
 serpent whispered into his ear. Neither can I boast 
 that my angry passions were more under command 
 than theirs, or much more, to signify ; yet reason 
 sooner came to the rescue with me, and I saw the 
 need of not giving way, but thinking for the rest. 
 While I sat, and rested my head on my hand, I be- 
 gan to cast about with myself what was best to ad- 
 vise under our unhappy condition. After a while,
 
 36 TDK ADVENTURES OF OWfcN KVAN8, 
 
 chancing to turn my eyes aside, I noticed Don Man- 
 uel, some thirty paces from us, kneeling on the 
 rock, with his hands clasped and he was plainly 
 deep in prayer. 
 
 I watched him for some minutes ; but he did not 
 stir, nor indeed did he observe me at all. Then I 
 rose, and went softly to him, touching him on the 
 shoulder. As he looked up I could perceive traces 
 of tears on his cheeks ; this, I now confess, was what 
 first disposed me more kindly towards him, to see 
 him grieve in our common misfortune, though he 
 had taken it to heart in so different a way from the 
 rest. 
 
 " Sir," said I, with as much calmness as I could, 
 " it behoves us, in these unhappy affairs, to consult 
 as well for ourselves as for those who are nearly be- 
 side their wits with grief, or rage, whichever you 
 will ; and, as night will soon come upon us, no time 
 is to be lost in preparing (since needs we must) to 
 bivouac upon this island." 
 
 He rose up at once, looked at me in a friendly 
 way ; then, with the manner of a prince, yet quite 
 simple and humble too, he motioned me to a seat 
 beside him on the rock, and taking my hand with 
 much kindness, said : 
 
 " Senor, we have all suffered a great misfortune 
 together ; or rather let me say," and he crossed him- 
 self devoutly, " we have been the objects of a great 
 deliverance. Nothing of this has taken me entirely 
 by surprise ; for I have, this while past, seen some- 
 what to be wrong with the crew, and that they 
 would soon be rid of some they had on board. So
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 37 
 
 we will give thanks to God, and bear our lot with 
 equal mind. We are, indeed, ill provided even with 
 things necessary to continue our lives on this place ; 
 but, though I much desired to give you a hint be- 
 fore leaving the ship, I could neither do that with- 
 ,ut being suspected by the captain, nor myself take 
 anything away with me. True, I have little in this 
 world but my cloak, and a few books, for which I 
 v-onfess I grieve ; yet I grieve more for you. But 
 Providence has shielded us hitherto, and will shield 
 us still. 
 
 " Courage," then, said he, rising, and still holding 
 my hand ; " let us go to these poor men let us try 
 to console them, and make our preparations all to- 
 gether." 
 
 So, stepping to the rest, he addressed them in a 
 few simple words. He was sure, he said, as brave 
 seamen they would bear up against their misfortune 
 that when a sailor leaves port he commits himself 
 to wind and weather, and a thousand chances he is 
 never certain how long he will live, nor how die, nor 
 whether buried on land or in the deep. But we had 
 reason, he said, to be thankful to God that our lot 
 was not a worse one. We might have been board- 
 ed by pirates, massacred, or sold as slaves, pressed 
 into harder service, or kidnapped for the plantations 
 the ship might have been burnt at sea, and we 
 swamped in the boats, or perishing of hunger. We 
 might all have foundered together in deep water, or 
 suffered shipwreck, and been cast by the fury of the 
 waves ou some inhospitable coast with nothing in 
 our hands, a defenceless prey to cannibal savages.
 
 38 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN TITANS, 
 
 It was the part of brave men, therefore, not to be 
 cast down so long as a hope remained of repairing 
 their fortunes that the preservation of our lives was 
 an instinct implanted in us by the Author of our 
 being ; finally, that our business for the moment 
 was, to establish ourselves in safety for the night on 
 this island, and leave all further counsel for the 
 morrow. 
 
 In short, though I do not pretend he expressed 
 himself in these terms with great readiness, seeing 
 he was forced to translate his thoughts into our lan- 
 guage ; yet he made us so moving a little discourse, 
 and so persuasive, partly from the argument, partly 
 from his manner of delivering it, that it was plain to 
 see the poor men were strengthened and encouraged 
 by it to a great degree. And having so far suc- 
 ceeded, he directed them to search in the thickets for 
 the driest and fittest brushwood to kindle a fire. 
 With the help of my hanger and the seamen's clasp- 
 knives, it was soon done as he advised ; and a space 
 found on the rock that seemed like a natural hearth, 
 hollowed by no hand of man into a kind of shallow 
 basin. This we cleared of its earth and moss, and 
 disposed our brushwood there for our bonfire. "We 
 laid aside another heap of brush, and a quantity of 
 dry turf, which we pulled up in large clods from the 
 soil, enough altogether to feed our fire through the 
 few hours of dark. Then, by Don Manuel's advice, 
 each one looked carefully to the priming of his piece 
 and freshened it, lest the powder might take injury 
 by the night dews, and so render us defenceless 
 against any attack. For the same reason they were
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. S\) 
 
 feminded to keep the locks of their fowling-piecea 
 carefully covered while they lay down to sleep. But 
 Tom Harvey volunteered to keep watch over us all, 
 and not to lie down through the night. I offered to 
 share this duty with him, turn and turn about, in 
 the manner of dog-watches on board ship ; but he 
 said cheerfully, it should be my turn the next night, 
 if I would ; that he had rather stay awake one night 
 and have full rest another, than have broken rest for 
 two in succession which indeed is the hardest part 
 of all sea-service. 
 
 For beds we were at no loss there was moss all 
 about, and diy leaves in abundance, very fragrant 
 as was also the wood which we burned on the fire. 
 Don Manuel stepped a little aside to finish his 
 prayers, as I could well perceive by the fire-light 
 for now, the sun being down, the darkness of the 
 tropics was upon us at once. But we, without any 
 prayers at all, like ungrateful heathen wretches that 
 we were, cast ourselves on these couches of leaves, 
 with our feet to the fire, and so all was still. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NIGHT AND MORNING. 
 
 WHETHER the rest slept that first night of our ex- 
 ile, I scarce knew at the time ; only that all was 
 quiet, and Harvey with his gun going to and fro, 
 near to our fire, feeding the blaze from time to time 
 with fresh armfuls of the dry brushwood that he had
 
 40 THE ADVENTURES OWEN EVANS, 
 
 drawn together in a heap. This, I felt sure, would 
 keep off any wild animals that might be prowling in 
 our neighborhood it being well known by all hunt- 
 ers, and such as camp in the woods, that even the 
 fiercest tigers of the Indian jungles, unless they are 
 pressed by great hunger, will not so much as ap- 
 proach a fire by night. 
 
 Being made easy on that point, and on that only, 
 I fell to considering our unhappy deserted lot, which 
 did little improve for being thought upon. For 
 though 'tis true, no one of us was cast ashore alone 
 and solitary, as Selkirk* and some others have been, 
 yet the benefit of mutual society could not outweigh 
 the destitute state we were in, unprovided with any- 
 thing but our fire-arms only. " How," I reflected 
 " shall we build, or plant here ? how even burrow 
 dwellings for ourselves in the earth or the rocks, like 
 
 * Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish seaman, owing to some 
 disagreement with his captain, was left ashore in 1704 on 
 the island of Juan Fernandez, off the coast of Chili. He 
 had nothing with him but his clothes, bedding, a guu, and a 
 small quanity of powder and ball ; a hatchet, knife, and ket- 
 tle ; his books, and mathematical and nautical instruments. 
 In this solitude he remained four years and four months; 
 employing his time in chasing and taming the wild goats of 
 the island. He constantly kept a guard of tame cats about 
 him, to defend him from the rats, with which the place was 
 infested. He was at length taken off by a vessel from Bris- 
 tol, and arrive'! in England by a circuitous route in 1711. 
 The enemies of Defoe, ili; author of Robinson Crusoe, accus- 
 ed that writer of having pirated many of the details of Sel- 
 kirk's li f e from papers left by the latter in his hands. It is 
 undeniable that Defoe, like Shakspeare, founded his wonder- 
 ful fiction upon facts, which already stood recorded. Yet a 
 perusal of the narrative of Captain Rogers, who took Selkirk 
 off the island, brief and comparatively meagre as it is, forms 
 the best proof how little Defoe was indebted to any actual 
 occurrence, or the charm, or more than the first idea, of hu 
 lory. ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 41 
 
 Rome savage tribes ? How shall we so much as cut 
 down a tree, or smooth a plank, or snare the birds 
 and animals of the island, or tame them ? By what 
 means can we supply ourselves with clothes, or de- 
 fend our lives against the violent monsoons and rainy 
 seasons of the tropics ? And, when our small stock 
 of powder is once spent in coming at our daily neces- 
 sary food, with what contrivances are we to purvey 
 to ourselves a means of living from that time on- 
 ward ?" 
 
 To these questions I found no comfortable answer 
 in my thoughts ; and, as if I had turned Job's com- 
 forter against myself, I went on further to consider 
 thus: "You are," said I, addressing myself, "sur- 
 rounded by companions in misfortune, who have all 
 one common interest with your own ; to wit, mutual 
 assistance and kindliness in bettering their sad con- 
 dition. But who shall warrant that they will view 
 it thus ? For men, in the very blindness of a selfish 
 d< sire to have their way, are prone to run counter 
 every day to their true interest and that of others 
 with them. Or, if things begin well, yet with such 
 rude materials as are to hand, how long will they 
 continue so ? And what authority can you estab- 
 lish among them, for the benefit of each and all ?" 
 
 In a word, after tormenting my thoughts, as 
 many another has done, with the prospect of future 
 ills, and inventing a multitude of possible and 
 imaginary ones, as, attacks from cannibal savages 
 arid wild beasts, poison from venomous reptiles or 
 unknown, noxious herbs, and I know not what 
 forebodings of harm, I yielded to weariness
 
 42 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 like the rest, and fell asleep till morning. One 
 thing I did not forget ; that was, to wind up my 
 watch, as I knew mine to be the only time-piece in 
 our whole colony. " Yet what matters time to us," 
 I asked myself, my gloomy thoughts coming back 
 again, " now that we are commencing the life of 
 savages here ? It will be enough for us to see the 
 sun rise and set, to know another day is added to 
 our misery. And for the seasons, we shall feel 
 when it is warm and cold, and when it is wet or 
 dry, until we feel nothing further." Thinking in 
 this way, I did indeed know nothing further, till I 
 was awoke by the sun through the trees, and the 
 screaming of the parrots over my head. 
 
 'T was a wonder I had not awoke before this ; for 
 two guns had been fired, and with some success, to 
 procure us our first breakfast on the island. One 
 of these was Harvey's piece, and the other Gill's. 
 When I shook off my sleep, and came to where 
 they sat round the fire, I found they had brought in 
 some game : for Tom had shot (at least wounded 
 and then secured by some hard running) a young 
 peccary, such as we had seen the day before ; and 
 Harry Gill had brought down a bird like a bustard, 
 that he had sprung in a piece of marshy ground some 
 quarter of a mile from our encampment. 
 
 Though I considered it imprudent in a high degree 
 to let off fire-arms when we knew so little of the is- 
 land, still, the thing being done, and so much remain- 
 ing to be settled when breakfast was over, I said 
 nothing to it, but bade them good morning as cheer- 
 fully as I could, and set to work to help in cooking
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 48 
 
 oar meat. Here was indeed A difficulty for us ; for 
 though several of our number (like most practised 
 seamen) were tolerable cooks, as far as a plain boil 
 or stew on board ship went, yet what will the best 
 cook do, when he has nothing but his meat and his 
 fire to work with ? Here were we, with no sign of a 
 kettle, or pan, not so much as a dripping ladle to 
 prevent our meat burning at the fire ; plenty of mat- 
 erial, but no way of making it useful to us. And 
 though the proverb says, too many cooks spoil the 
 broth, I believe there have been seldom collected so 
 many cooks together, with so little chance of having 
 any broth among them. 
 
 There was abundant proof of the difference in 
 men's characters as we all stood around the fire, and 
 looked at the game we could find no means to dress. 
 Some grumbled and swore, some laughed at their 
 own perplexity, some set about devising first one 
 thing, then another. Prodgers was chief among the 
 surly ones, as Tom Harvey among the jokers. As 
 to Hilton, being (as I said) one of those who take 
 their cue from others, he now swore with Prodgers, 
 and then laughed with honest Tom. However, for 
 want of better, we cut us some sharp straight reeds 
 from a thicket, of a kind of bamboo, to serve for spits ; 
 we skinned the animal and plucked our bustard, then 
 spitted them, and prepared to roast. 
 
 But who should come to our help, and show us a 
 better way ? The last person, except a wild Indian, 
 we could have guessed at. Don Manuel had been, 
 up to this, walking slowly to and fro, at a little dis- 
 tance from us, reading his book, as usual. He now
 
 44 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 drew near ; and in his cheerful, courteous way : " A 
 fair morning to you," says he, " Senores and brothers 
 in misfortune : let me try and contribute my small 
 efforts for our common good." Then he explained, 
 that he had heard of some natives of such islands as 
 abound in hogs and goats, who had an ingenious 
 way of cooking, or baking their meat. They make, 
 says he, a hole in the earth, line it with stones red 
 hot from the fire, to serve as a rude oven ; then put 
 in the meat, covering it carefully with several layers 
 of broad leaves, and overlay the whole with earth 
 and stones. " So now, if you will," continued he, 
 " we will take a hint from the savages, until we find 
 out some better method for ourselves." 
 
 We thanked him heartily, and with some surprise, 
 at discovering that he knew anything about such 
 matters. But he said, with a smile, a priest who 
 left his own country upon foreign missions was ob- 
 
 iged to be 
 
 Soldier or sailor, 
 Joiner or tailor, 
 Gentlemen, apothecary, 
 Ploughboy, and all ! 
 
 Where he had picked up those odd lines I know 
 not ; but I know his cheerful, friendly manner did 
 more to comfort us under our hard lot, and put us 
 in good humor with oiirselve and each other, than 
 anything else at that moment could have done. Every 
 one began to feel a sort of trust, as it were, in follow- 
 ing his directions ; and the prospect of a good meal 
 quickened our motions. So, having understood his 
 plan, we bustled about to follow it. Some went in
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRGBOt. 46 
 
 search of stones of the proper size and shape to heat 
 in the fire ; and these were put into the hottest of the 
 tiame. Others got a heap' of dry brushwood to fresh- 
 en the fire itself, which soon blazed out more fiercely 
 than we could well stand to. One went in search of 
 leaves to lay upon the meat when the hot stones were 
 ready to put round it ; a fourth cut a sharp stake or 
 two from the thicket, to make shift for spades. With 
 these we turned up enough of earth to bank over our 
 oven. All being now ready, we waited a short tune 
 till Don Manuel, who directed the whole, told us that 
 the fire had heated the earth and stones to the right 
 pitch, and that we might clear away the embers to 
 build our oven on the rock. 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 THE FIRST MEAL, AND THE FIRST PARLIAMENT. 
 
 "SEE, gentlemen," said the priest, pointing with his 
 hand to a high tree that grew perhaps two hundred 
 and fifty yards from our fire ; " see if a merciful Provi- 
 dence hath not sent us bread as well as meat for our 
 food ! Truly, we should be doubly ungrateful not 
 to thank Him with all our hearts." The men looked 
 at him with wonder, doubting what he spoke of. On- 
 ly, sure were they, from his manner, that he was not 
 jesting now. " I am much mistaken," added Don 
 Manuel, turning to me, " if yonder be not one of the
 
 46 THE ADVBNTURKS OF OWRN EVANS, 
 
 bread-fruit trees we have read of; and the first," ad- 
 ded he in his cheerful way, " who brings us some of 
 the fruit, will be a herald of good news to our col- 
 ony." 
 
 No sooner said than done : Harvey started off, and 
 Hilton with him, after this new bread ; while we 
 stood cheering them with our voices, and clapping 
 of hands. They reached the tree nearly together, 
 and began shaking it, one on either side, to make the 
 fruit fall into their hands. But the trunk was too stout 
 for that, so they did but lose their labor ; and the 
 fruit itself, which grew in a kind of large apple, or 
 gourd, the size of a good penny loaf, was so high out 
 of their reach that, do what they would, there was 
 no getting at it, no, not by jumping their best. " I 
 see," said Don Manuel, " I must be baker's man as 
 well as cook;" and he moved towards them with his 
 long staff. But Harry Gill was now beforehand with 
 him ; for, seizing the hand-spike, he made off at the 
 top of his speed, and before the other two could pick 
 off a single apple with stones, he had brought half a 
 dozen of them to the ground, 
 
 Don Manuel met them half way. " It is indeed the 
 bread fruit tree !" exclaimed he, when he had ex- 
 amined the fruit. " Give thanks, my friends, for a 
 great boon from heaven ; as I doubt not you have 
 given thanks for your deliverance out of the ship. 
 If this be not a solitary tree, which is very unlikely, 
 and if it be the kind that will grow from slips or cut- 
 tings, we shall have enough of excellent broad, and 
 to spare. So, let us first pay our tribute to the great 
 Giver."
 
 TH1 CATAOLIC CRUSOE. 47 
 
 Seeing that none of us stirred or assented (I am 
 ashamed to record it against ourselves), he then sol- 
 emnly took off his hat, laid it at his feet, and raising 
 up one of the fruits in either hand, uttered, with a 
 loud, clear voice, something in Latin, which, though 
 I was not used to his mode of pronouncing that 
 tongue, I took to be a short form of praise. Having 
 spoken this with his eyes raised to heaven, he kissed 
 the fruit, as though he had received it straight from 
 thence : then, turning to us, he said ; " And now, Se- 
 nores, it is time to look after our breakfasts." 
 
 I know not by what magic this man seemed at 
 once to have gained such an ascendant over our 
 minds. Every one went hither and thither, and just 
 did this or that, because he so recommended it ; yet 
 there was nothing of authority in his words, which 
 indeed would at that tune have revolted our wills 
 against him : but all was quiet and gentle, in the ex- 
 treme. But I greatly believe, this influence he had 
 upon us arose from our perceiving him to have no 
 ends of his own to serve in what he proposed to be 
 done ; also because he was willing cheerfully to bear 
 his part in every fatigue and inconvenience that af- 
 fected us : in which disposition none came up to him, 
 except only Tom Harvey ; this we felt the more, as 
 time went on and we were better acquainted. 
 
 But to return to our breakfast, or preparing for it ; 
 Don Manuel, to our great satisfaction, promised ua 
 some excellent toasted bread with our pork: and, 
 though the men scarce knew how this was to be pur 
 veyed, having never seen or heard of the bread-fruit 
 before, they put such trust in what he promised as to
 
 48 tHB ADVENTURES OF OWEN F.VANP, 
 
 believe it would, somehow, be as he said. So, by hi 
 directions, the hollow slab of rock, where we had 
 kindled our fire over-night, was now swept clear of 
 the burning wood ; and the stones, which, by this, 
 were red-hot, ranged around by the help of our gun- 
 barrels and sticks, so that an open space was left, 
 large enough to hold the game we had killed. Whep 
 we had placed our peccary and bustard on this heat- 
 ed rock, and surrounded them with the stones, where- 
 on we likewise placed our bread-fruits in slices to 
 bake, by and by such a savory smell arose, as tempt- 
 ed us to fall-to without waiting further cookery. 
 
 Prodgers, in particular, who was the most self- 
 willed, or the hungriest among us, began to insist on 
 having his share at once. But he was out-voted by 
 the rest ; and we covered the meat quickly with the 
 palms and plantain leaves we had gathered : over 
 these, again, we laid other stones, and made all tight 
 by strewing on the top a layer or two of earth and 
 rocky sand. 
 
 "A short half-hour, gentlemen," then said Don 
 Manuel, " will complete our arrangements : and I pro- 
 pose that in the meantime, we make an expedition to 
 the rocks on shore, to see after a few dishes and 
 spoons." 
 
 We looked again at one another, doubtful what he 
 could mean ; but he soon explained, that as we came 
 along the rocks the day before, at that part of our 
 island where we first landed, he had noted a bed ot 
 largish oysters that lay within reach of any active 
 cliffs-man among us. The shells of these, he, said, at 
 least the larger ones, would supply our table (onr
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 49 
 
 rock rather) with a rude kind of crockery- ware, till we 
 had learned to furnish our&elves better in some other 
 way. " So, my friends," added he, " the fish and the 
 dish, you see, are sent to us together ; and both 
 from One Hand :" then he looked upward and smiled 
 cheerfully. This man seemed to have his thoughts 
 continually upon God ; on whom our thoughts were, 
 I may say, never. But it was out of the abundance 
 of his heart that he was speaking in this way ; for no- 
 thing was further from him than any attempt to 
 preach to us, though he seemed to look to us for som 
 correspondence with his grateful feelings ; and not 
 finding it, he went on all the same, to himself, as it 
 were, in his expressions of thankfulness and trust. 
 
 With all our hardness of heart, at least we fell 
 cheered about the oyster beds he spoke of; to find, 
 on our first settlement, these new possessions of ours 
 were likely to be so well stocked with wholesome 
 fish as to place us beyond present want. But before 
 we started that way, or sent any of our party on the 
 errand, we reckoned that, take what short cut \VH 
 might to the place, we should only get back to find 
 our meat and bread-fruits burned to a cinder. So 
 giving up that enterprise for the present, we pre- 
 pared to take our meat with sticks, as the Chinaman 
 will pick up a grain of rice with two chop-sticks in- 
 stead of a fork or spoon. We took the lid off our 
 oven, and found everything done passably well, 
 for a party of famished sailors who were not over 
 nice. But Don Manuel, after saying grace, which 
 he never omitted at any meal we partook of with 
 him, told us pleasantly, had we been less hungrj 01
 
 50 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 more patient, our feast on taking possession of 
 the country would have been worthier the occa 
 sion. 
 
 This whole time, I was turning in my thoughts 
 how I should address our party on some things 
 very needful to be said. If some order and rules 
 were not established amongst us from the first, then, 
 I saw clearly, we should lie exposed to the unre- 
 strained violence of several wills here present, that 
 boded us no gjood. I had now seen enough of Don 
 
 O ~ 
 
 Manuel to feel a confidence in consulting him ; but I 
 lacked opportunity, for the thing had to be done at 
 once and before our first joint act was undertaken, 
 whatever that might be. Hastily gathering my 
 thoughts into the best shape I could, while we were 
 all employed in cutting up our game with hanger 
 and knives, and helping ourselves to the slices with 
 bamboo-sticks and fingers, I ran over in my mind 
 the characters I had to deal with, and what I would 
 have them lend a hearing to. When our meal was 
 ended (and they, poor fellows, were in no hurry 
 about it), feeling that if ever they would be disposed 
 to listen, it was likely to be now, I begged their at- 
 tention for a few minutes. 
 
 So, getting upon a little ledge of rock which offer- 
 ed a natural platform to speak from, I delivered my- 
 self as follows : " Friends," said I, " as we are so 
 strangely cast into society with each other, and that 
 for such a time as we cannot foresee its end, you have 
 to consider, in the first place, whether you will re- 
 main in community, or separate in different quarter! 
 of the place where we are, and live alone and ind<>
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRCSOK. 61 
 
 pendent. For my part, I am ready to adopt which- 
 ever plan may seem good to the greater number ol 
 us ; and I call upon you to decide." 
 
 Here they broke in at once, and cried out each foi 
 himself, that to disperse over the island was a thing 
 not to be thought on. We shall be devoured, said 
 they, by wild beasts, if any are here : we shall fall 
 singly and defenceless into the hands of savages who 
 may inhabit the place, or visit it in their canoes. 
 Then, to live alone, they declared, was a savage, un- 
 natural state of existence ; they would become bar- 
 barians, little better than the wild animals themselves, 
 who still, for the most part, go in herd. In short, never 
 was anything so concluded as that, come what would, 
 we must still consort together. 
 
 " Well, friends," I continued, " that is my own 
 wish, too. I would put both before you, and I think 
 you have now decided right. But then, see what 
 follows upon this. If we live together, we must 
 have some kind of government established among 
 us." 
 
 When I announced that, which I did with a reso 
 lute manner and voice, I observed some change in 
 the countenances of a few among our small number. 
 They had no idea, it seems, of living by any law but 
 their own wills; they imagined, to talk of govern- 
 ment was to introduce tyranny into our little society, 
 even in its infant days. Richard Prodgers at once 
 showed himself displeased by a surly look ; swaying 
 to and fro with a dissatisfied air, he was going to break 
 in, when I went on; 
 
 " Nay," said I, giving the thing a jesting turn to
 
 52 THE ADVENTl-RES OF OWEN IVANB, 
 
 persuade them the more heartily, " do not suppose 
 that any one is going to set up for a king here. We 
 will have no standing army to drain our pockets 
 for we are all, indeed, the militia volunteers of the 
 place, ready to turn out at a moment's notice, and 
 tight our enemies without pay. We will have no 
 taxes levied throughout the whole island ; and if the 
 tax-gatherer do but dare show his face, we'll warn 
 him off the premises in a twinkling. Our friend 
 Don Manuel here," and I made the priest a little 
 side bow as I spoke, " will collect no tithes but with 
 our own free will. And I hope, even, we shall do 
 without police, or summonses, or quarter-sessions ; 
 no lawyers, no big-wigs, no juries, no prisoners at 
 the bar, no treadmill, not a yellow jacket to be seen 
 amongst us, nor a workhouse, nor anything in that 
 way." 
 
 At this, they could not but laugh, do what they 
 would even Prodgers was forced to it with the 
 rest. And having secured their good will, I ex- 
 plained that the kind of government I spoke of, was 
 only that each should bind himself to conform to 
 some plain, simple regulations for his own good and 
 that of all; and that one of us should be appointed 
 by general vote to see them carried out. When 
 they heard this they were well content, and after 
 some discussing among themselves, they voted that 
 I should tell them how such rules ought to be 
 framed. 
 
 " First, then," I continued, " we may look upon 
 ourselves :.s the lords and masters of this whole 
 place, for aught that appea,rs to the contrary. If it
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRC8O1, 58 
 
 prove so, we can portion out to each man a certain 
 measure of land to be chosen by lot, and every one 
 must then engage to help his neighbors build som* 1 - 
 thing of a hut, and afterwards dwell at peace with 
 them, in mutual service and good will. But, before: 
 all things else, we must needs set about to discover 
 whether there be any other inhabitants in this little 
 kingdom of ours: wherefore let us bind ourselves to 
 stand by one another to the last, and join in an ex- 
 ploring party to search the island." 
 
 This proposal was much to their mind, and they 
 would have set about the thing at once. But I was 
 desirous, while they were in so favorable humor, to 
 impress on them some points needful to us all ; so 
 begging them to Avait yet a moment. I then laid be- 
 fore them the necessity of attending to the following 
 particulars : 
 
 1. That we had no real government as yet; and 
 hoped to do without so much as naming punishment, 
 which would be little else than the ruin of our small 
 society, and set every man's hand against his broth- 
 er ; and it was therefore of exceeding need that each 
 one should keep guard over himself, his temper and 
 his words, to avoid all occasion of offence. 
 
 2. That whatever we possessed, which after all 
 was little enough, should be looked on from the first 
 as common property ; to be distributed, or used by 
 iach for the good of society as well as his own ; 
 namely, the three fowling pieces we had brought with 
 us from the ship, together with the ammunition ; our 
 clasp-knives, the jars for water, and all our small store 
 of rope-twine. To give Su example, I threw my rifle
 
 64 THE ADVENTURES OF OWKN EVANS, 
 
 and hanger into the common stock. Later, I said, 
 when we had gained some experience of what turn 
 things would take, we could portion out different 
 offices according to each one's capacity. But mean- 
 while, as every man Avas to be moderate in his de- 
 mands, so no one was to be refused any reasonable 
 use of this our common property. 
 
 At any other time, I could have smiled at making 
 so much of a common seaman's clasp-knife, and an 
 earthen pitcher. But the circumstances we are placed 
 in, quite alter our value of things : and we were now 
 in a state of life much like that of the savages, who 
 will give away their gold dust, their ostrich-feathers, 
 and pearls, or whatever has most price in the Euro- 
 pear, markets, for a knife, or- even an old hoop of iron, 
 or a few nails. 
 
 They all readily agreed to these proposals : indeed 
 the thing was reasonable, and to the advantage of 
 all ; let them be as self-willed as they might, they 
 could scarce do otherwise. I was content with this 
 beginning; but I foresaw what difficulties would 
 arise if I set about to control and keep together such 
 rude spirits, who were only in order under the cap- 
 tain's eye, and with the fear of the lash before them ; 
 and who on shore were accustomed to do as they 
 pleased. " Well," said I in my own mind, though 
 with not much spirit of religion about me, " the mor- 
 row shall take care for the things of itself; and we 
 will live for the day." 
 
 NOTE. Some difficulties occur in determining the situation 
 of Evans' island. Newhaven is mentioned as the port whence 
 Ihe Enterprise was to sail for her rendezvous in the tropics; 
 or his place of exile might have been among, or not far from
 
 THE CATHOLIC CUU80B. 65 
 
 those islands of volcanic and coralline formation which are 
 grouped in the South Pacific. It becomes further probable 
 that he speaks of Newhaven in the State of Connecticut, if we 
 consider that the crew of Hopkins' vessel numbered New- 
 foundlanders among the rest. Against this, however, may be 
 urged, that Malays and Portuguese are mentioned as part of 
 *he crew. But seamen from Malacca, whose character as 
 roving pirates was well known, might be found at any fre- 
 quented port, ready to engage in such an adventure ; and 
 might be joined by characters equally unsettled from among 
 the extensive Portuguese colonies. 
 
 Moreover, the vessel was " well within the tropics ;" and 
 coming from a colder latitude, we are told, the crew had not 
 touched land before. The northern tropic, or tiopic of Can- 
 cer, is here referred to. But how to suppose that this island 
 should have remained undiscovered till 1739, if it lay within 
 an ocean continually traversed by vessels from such maritime 
 states as England, Holland, Spain and Portugal V Two con- 
 siderations will afford a partial answer. 
 
 (1) We may overrate the then extent of such discoveries, 
 by regarding them in the light of our own geographical 
 knowledge. In England, and probably in Holland and the 
 Peninsula, the discovery of America rather gave an impulse 
 to the colonization of that continent itself than to enterprises 
 of intermediate research. The date of Evans' narrative is 
 nearly thirty years before Cook's first voyage, the primary 
 object of which was astronomical : and though in the reign 
 of George II., two important voyages had been made, they 
 were for the definite purpose of discovering the north-west 
 passage. The expedition of Anson, the year after that of our 
 author's misadventure, was an enterprise against the Span- 
 iards in the South Seas, though it resulted in important dis- 
 coveries. In short, new continents, or new ways to old ones, 
 rather than researches among islands and archipelagoes, 
 formed the objects of such expeditions as had preceded the 
 date of this narrative. 
 
 (2) The discovery of islands in a wide ocean has been ver}' 
 much the result of circumstance, often of mere accident. 
 Thus, the island of Maderia, notwithstanding the height of 
 its volcanic peak, and its favorable position for discovery, 
 remained unknown (if we except one account which reads 
 like fiction), till a vessel, driven, if I remember, out of her 
 course, approached the veil of mist in which it had lain per 
 petually concealed. If we suppose Evans' Island to lie on 
 some less direct route from Europe to the New World ; say 
 at any given point between the Cape de Ver.d Islands and 
 Guiaha'or the Brazils, there is no great improbability in its 
 remaining undiscovered till 1789. ED.
 
 5t THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN RVANi. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT AND A DANGER. 
 
 OUR expedition being now formed, we proceeded 
 much in the same order we had observed before ; and 
 began to round the shoulder of the mountain by de- 
 grees, still ascending higher as we went : so that our 
 course took the shape of a spiral curve, bending up- 
 wards, to the north-east of the island. This we did 
 to gain a bird's-eye view of the other side, both over 
 land and sea ; to mark what was the nature of the 
 place itself, for soil and produce, and whether inhabi- 
 ted, as I partly feared, or desert. Also, our purpose 
 was to certify ourselves what hopes we might enter- 
 tain of deliverance from that easterly quarter of our 
 prison, by a chain of communication with some land 
 further off. For I nourished within myself a lurking 
 hope, that perhance this same growth of coral rock 
 that increased our difficulty in landing, would serve 
 to help us off again on the further side. Could we 
 but make shift to put together a raft of branches, no 
 matter how rude, if only not too hazardous, then we 
 might, I considered, provision ourselves for a short 
 voyage, and drift from island to island, or from rock 
 to rock (the currents being supposed favorable, or 
 some contrivance made to stand in place of a sail), 
 
 till but here I stayed in my thoughts, not finding 
 
 a way to conclude this plan with any satisfaction 
 And certainly, I would not breathe it to my compan
 
 tttIS CATHOLIC CRU80K. ft 
 
 ions, fearing I might raise hopes only to have them 
 dashed again by the event. 
 
 As for the side of the island we were leaving, we 
 had suffered so much misery there as quite made us 
 mislike the very look of it. For outward things, wo 
 know, take their color from the hue and disposition 
 of our minds, so as to appear bright or gloomy ac- 
 cording to the mood in which we view them. And 
 now, this part of the island, which in truth was fair 
 enough in itself, for its variety of landscape, appeared 
 so odious to us that we seemed to breathe all tho 
 freer as we quitted it. Every step we took led us 
 away to a new scene ; and as the life of a seamen is 
 a changeful one, and little secure from disaster day 
 by day, so these men now seemed almost to forget 
 their past misfortunes, being as much taken up with 
 our exploring as though it had, indeed, been the 
 party of pleasure on which we came from the ship the 
 day before. 
 
 When we got higher on the mountain, a beautiful 
 sight did truly unfold itself to us ; for then the ex- 
 tent of the island appeared by degrees, until we 
 could see it spread out before us plainly, as a colored 
 chart might be on canvas. So far as could be meas- 
 ured by the eye, we judged it ab ut two leagues 
 in length, reckoning from the mountain southward ; 
 and in breadth, where that was greatest, something 
 over a full league. The sides ran pretty even one 
 with the other, only tapering towards a point as they 
 drew near to the southern end. But I must not 
 omit, that the shore on either side was much broken 
 ly reefs of the coral rocks, which we had already
 
 68 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 gained some experience of on the western side, and 
 which now we saw prevailed yet more to the east ; 
 so that the whole of that coast was broken up into 
 shoals, surrounding that part of the island with fringes 
 of rock, over which the surf beats with so great vio- 
 lence, that I was sure no boat that man ever built could 
 live through it. 
 
 Here, then, I saw the downfall of my cherished 
 plan of deliverance, unless the north-east part of our 
 mountain should give a more encouraging prospect 
 when we got thither. But at the same time, these 
 wails of rocks were the best safeguard we could de- 
 sire against the landing of savages on our island ; for 
 they formed such a natural rampart, and so formid- 
 able, that not the boldest, though they might be skil- 
 ful in managing their canoes, would attempt it. And 
 thus, as often is to be found in this chequered life, 
 disappointment and comfort met us hand in hand. 
 
 We had now travelled round three sides of the 
 mountain, or" thereabout ; yet no sign appeared of 
 any other island or continent neighboring our own. 
 And this view was made complete when we 
 rounded so far as to see to the east-north-east ; 
 further than that we needed not to go, for the 
 rest we had already viewed from the ship. All ap- 
 peared open sea, with only here and there a table- 
 land of rocks, some not ten yards across, lying out- 
 side the fringe of our protecting reefs : at least this 
 was as much as the haze or sea vapor drawn up by 
 the heat, the sun being now very powerful, allowed 
 as to discover. 
 
 The heat was by this time become so intolerable
 
 frttR CAfHOLIC CRUSOfc. d 
 
 over head, and indeed under our feet besides, by 
 reason of the sun striking on the bare rock, for we 
 were now got above the region of trees, quite to the 
 upper portion of our mountain ; the heat, I say, now 
 forced us to seek shelter for ourselves, so that with 
 one accord we plunged down the descent into the 
 woods, not following the course by which we came 
 up, but in a straight line making towards the length 
 of the island, as though we were bent on reaching 
 that point to the south which we had viewed from 
 the height above. 
 
 Added to this inconvenience of the heat, was an- 
 other which we had not foreseen ; for we found these 
 parched rocks swarming with reptiles, particularly 
 scorpions, and a large kind of centipede, or what 
 they call in the West Indies the " forty-legs ;" some 
 of these last we saw, grown to be seven or eight 
 inches long, and running about the loose stones so 
 that we feared to sit anywhere to rest ourselves, 
 knowing them to be well-nigh as venomous as the 
 scorpions. Some serpents also we heard, hissing at 
 us as we approached, though we did not discover 
 them ; and altogether we hastened to get out of so 
 unwelcome a neighborhood, though in truth we 
 knew not what might meet us of that kind where 
 we were going. 
 
 But as we went down, an accident befel us that 
 had near enough taken off one of our number by a 
 sudden death. This happened as follows: when 
 we had left the upper, bare part of that mountain of 
 ours, and came once more among the trees, we no- 
 ticed the leaves and stems of some of them tinned
 
 60 THE ADVENTURK8 0? OWEN EVANS, 
 
 with a yellowish dust, having the smell and taste of 
 brimstone. Any one in his senses surely would have 
 been made cautious by this unwholesome appearance : 
 but I know not how it was, Don Manuel and I, who 
 had most knowledge on such matters, were occupied, 
 I suppose, each with his own sad thoughts : and 
 mine (I well remember) were running on the disap- 
 pointment I had received from our look-out, at find- 
 ing no way of escape, nor opening to devise any. So 
 when Harry Gill, who had got ahead of us, called 
 out that he had found a cave in the woods, we thought 
 not of bidding him beware how he ventured his head 
 into the lion's den, as (in one way) it proved to be. 
 
 This cave of his was no great things for size ; but 
 rather a kind of crack or fissure in the rocks, and 
 overhung by several sorts of wild plants, all powder- 
 ed with this brimstone dust. These hung so low 
 down over its mouth, that he was obliged to creep 
 on all fours to get even a little way in : and it was 
 well for him he did not go in further. 
 
 When I caught sight of what he was about, and 
 that Hilton was preparing to follow him so soon as 
 he should be fairly within the cavern, T called to them 
 both to beware of some wild beast that misrht be lur- 
 king in this den ; " and be sure," added I, " you keep 
 your guns before you, ready for action." But al- 
 most before I had said it, and while Gill was abont 
 half crept in, we noticed him drop on his face, like 
 one who is taken on a sudden with the falling sick- 
 ness, or an apoplexy. Then we rushed forward, and 
 pulled him out with main force by the heels, not 
 without scraping his face and hands somewhat
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 61 
 
 roughly against the rocky bed of his new-discovered 
 cave. 
 
 No sooner had we got him fairly out, than I at 
 once perceived he had been poisoned by some noi- 
 some vapor exhaling from the earth : for his face was 
 of a leaden color, his eyes stark staring open, and he 
 foaming at the mouth, but quite insensible. There 
 being no water at hand to dash into his face, which 
 would have brought him round more readily, we 
 did the best by waving our hats before him, to give 
 him air ; and I took out my lancets (from which I 
 parted no more than our priest from his Breviary) to 
 breathe a vein. But this he soon needed not : for as 
 we were all busied about him, some unloosing his 
 neck-kerchief, some fanning him, some clapping the 
 palms of his cold hands, or striking the soles of bis 
 feet as if he were undergoing the bastinado, we had 
 the satisfaction to see him slowly recover his senses. 
 
 Soon after, he was able to sit up : and Prodgers. 
 having (as we then found for the first time) smug- 
 gled a small bottle of rum from the ship, now relaxed 
 so far from the selfishness of his nature as to offer 
 poor Gill a dram of.it. But when the rest saw this 
 unlooked-for bottle, they all cried out, " A prize ! a 
 prize !" and began to insist it should be equally divi- 
 ded among them, agreeably to the understanding we 
 came to before starting on this our expedition. Prod- 
 gers, on his part, was not the man to yield up any- 
 thing that belonged to him just because others wished 
 it; and, between half jest on their part, and whole 
 earnest on his, words soon began to run high amongst 
 them.
 
 62 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANg, 
 
 1 sa w the danger in our society of any quarrel on 
 what had afforded the pretext for many such since 
 the flood ; 1 mean drink. So, stepping at once be- 
 tween them, and parting them by force, wherein 1 
 was helped, through with greater moderation, by 
 Don Manuel, I cried out with some heat : 
 
 " What, my friends ? and will you wrangle for a 
 vile pint of liquor over the half dead body of your 
 comrade ?" 
 
 This seemed to bring them a little to themselves ; 
 and Harry Gill being now pretty well recovered from 
 his fit, or swoon, they were eager to ask him how it 
 had taken him, and what he thought it was owing 
 to. As for me, I saw at once that the low cave he 
 had thrust his head into, had oppressed him with 
 some heavy, creeping vapor, that from its weight 
 could not rise high ; like that grotto near the city ol 
 Naples, which suffocates a dog when it goes into the 
 cavern, while a man standing at his natural height 
 escapes the choke of the noxious gas. And this was 
 confirmed by the account which Harry himself gave us 
 of his misadventure. 
 
 " I wanted to discover," said he, " where this hole 
 in the ground led to; partly for a mere freak, and al- 
 so methought I might be the first to invent something 
 of a fortress or habitation for ourselves. So without 
 any other concern, I began to creep in ; though there 
 came such a whiff of brimstone hot smoke into my 
 nose and mouth as well-nigh stifled me on the instant. 
 I resolved to go on, thinking I should soon be past 
 the crack from which it was coming up ; but I had 
 Dot crawled three paces when I found my head swim
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 68 
 
 round on a sudden ; and than I remember nothing 
 more till I found myself lying thus with all of yoK 
 round me, and Richard here, (hearty thanks to him,) 
 washing down the brimstone with a mouthful oi 
 grog." 
 
 Well, we thought ourselves happily rid of the busi- 
 ness as it turned out; and, forasmuch as we poor 
 mortals (this is a reflection I borrowed from Don 
 Manuel, who made it in his own quiet and natural 
 way when the danger was over) never know what 
 value to put on our advantages, until they are like 
 to be taken from us, so was it now. For if Gill had 
 died there in that sulphurous hole, as he surely would 
 by running on before us further, and our not missing 
 him till too late, our party had been weakened both 
 for mutual assistance and defence. I had a thought 
 in my mind (but checked it) that another of our num- 
 ber might have been better spared. And yet poor 
 Richard had shown signs of something better than 
 usual : and altogether, I reflected, there are few per- 
 sons who possess not a better side to their character 
 as well as a worse, if only we will cultivate them as 
 we would stubborn ground, and bring out those good 
 qualities to ripeness.
 
 64 THE ADVEN1TRES OF OWEN CVANI. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DINNER, AND A BATTLE AFTER IT. 
 
 THE whole of this put me on considering further 
 the nature of the island we were upon : and I conclu- 
 ded with Don Manuel, as after experience more fully 
 showed, that the entire island had been thrown up 
 from the sea by fires from beneath ; except what 
 might have been added by the industrious coral in- 
 sects in the course of ages. Not the mountain alone, 
 I felt sure, but the plain country, was composed of 
 lava rock, only covered by the depths of its rich soil. 
 'Twas not in the way of speculation that I followed 
 out this; but for a practical end, and one that touched 
 on our own security. For, as all countries that were 
 first formed by volcanoes, are ever liable to eruptions 
 of fire, earthquakes, devastations of hot springs, ef- 
 fluvia of fatal gases, and other such causes of disturb- 
 ance, it was well we should prepare ourselves for 
 what we were to expect in that way, and what to 
 avoid. 
 
 So this accident to poor Harry, when the effects of 
 tt were over (and he soon plucked up spirits again 
 to join us as if nothing had chanced,) might be looked 
 on as a wholesome warning, that we were in a place 
 where nothing was to be ventured hap-hazard, or be- 
 yond what we understood. 
 
 As we continued our march, " See, my dear friends," 
 said the priest, " how near we are to peril, and some- 
 times to death, when we least think of it. Here was
 
 tHK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 65 
 
 our friend Geile (so he pronounced it, and made us 
 all smile, and some of the men laugh outright at his 
 way of talking English,) was a strong sailor a quar 
 ter of an hour ago, and now see 
 
 " He's as weak as a cat," replied poor Harry, and 
 indeed so he looked. 
 
 At this, we " shortened sail for him," as Ned Hil 
 ton expressed it, and what with one thing and ano- 
 ther, we all came to the conclusion that we had 
 earned a halt under the shade of the trees which 
 now branched thick over our heads. The heat was 
 indeed excessive, and we were glad of a breathing- 
 time. For though on board ship the thermometer 
 had stood at nearly the same point, (and I reckoned 
 we were at least ninety degrees in the shade), yet 
 the breeze that played over the sea, on and off, hin- 
 dered the actual heat from oppressing the spirits as 
 it did in the thickness of these our island coverts. 
 
 For, putting all things together, the priest and I 
 concluded, though we had not an instrument for ta- 
 king an observation, nor could so much as determine 
 the points of the compass further than in general 
 yet by what had dropped from the captain and mate 
 for a day or two before they so barbarously left us 
 here, and from some things the men said at times 
 in their careless way, we concluded, I repeat, that 
 the place of our sad captivity lay somewhere be- 
 tween ten and twelve degrees of latitude north of 
 the line, and in about the same degree of heat with 
 the South Caribbean Sea. This taught us we might 
 expect to meet with both the goods and ills of such 
 a latitude so long as we remained here, or indeed till
 
 66 THE ADVENTl'RKS OF OWKN FVANS, 
 
 our deaths, if indeed we were at last to find our 
 graves on this lonely place. 
 
 We then began to ask, for what aim we were hur- 
 rying in our exploring party through the island ? 
 We should but reach the end of our tether the soon- 
 er and there was a bitter feeling (I well knew) 
 awaiting us when we should arrive at the southern 
 point of our prison-yard, as we were already ac- 
 quainted with the northern. No sign of an inhabit- 
 ant had been seen by any of us, and for aught that 
 appeared we were the lords and possessors of all we 
 surveyed which was poor comfort enough. So this 
 being considered, we sat down under the shadow of 
 a large tree of the pimento kind ; and the men, in 
 spite of the hearty breakfast they had made in the 
 morning, now voted it to be dinner-time. I forgot 
 to say we had packed up the remainder of our meat 
 and bread-fruit, which Harvey volunteered to car- 
 ry on his shoulders, wrapped in palm leaves. This 
 was now spread for us on the grass, and we fell to, 
 some more, some less, according to the character 
 and aj petite of each. 
 
 Sailors mostly live for the day, and are Co used to 
 chances-and changes that it matters little to them 
 wher they make their shake-down Avhen the day is 
 over. I could not discover, from any chance remark 
 that fell from these men, they had any plan of living 
 settled in their minds under these strange circum- 
 stances in which we were placed. They seemed to 
 leave every arrangement to Don Manuel and me 
 though they would have shown themselves jealous 
 indeed, and rebellious too, had we assumed to die-
 
 fhB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 6? 
 
 tate to them. It came to be the same in the end 
 for we had to consult and suggest for the whole 
 
 oo 
 
 party at every turn. Don Manuel, on his part, sel- 
 dom expressed his opinion except when there was a 
 question of right or wrong, or when he thought he 
 could guide our minds to the better things whereon 
 his own was constantly fixed. On those occasions 
 he spoke, and always with the same even, cheerful 
 temper which had gained him our hearts, or some 
 part of them, from the first. 
 
 But I grow wearisome with these details ; only, 
 that the first few events of our establishment on the 
 island were of such importance in fixing our condi- 
 tion there for years afterwards, that it may be par- 
 donable to dwell on them at greater length. 
 
 Well, we sat or lay down, to our rest, and our 
 early dinner, and I took the occasion to speak up 
 again. 
 
 " Let us now consider," said I, " what sort of ha- 
 bitations we shall fix on, and how we shall best 
 seek to support our lives here. No more caves for 
 us, if you please, unless we can find one that has 
 no sulphur fumes coming from us. Tell us, Harry, 
 how say you ?" 
 
 " No indeed," answered he, making a wry face 
 and with an oath that did not add anything but pro 
 faneness to his discourse. And this Don Manuel 
 gently reminded him of. " Well, I was wrong," 
 added Gill, taking the reproof better than I expected 
 from him ; " but I have n't got the taste of the brim- 
 stone out of my mouth yet, and that I suppose made 
 me swear. Give us another slice of cold pork, Har-
 
 es 
 
 vey, and a crumb of our outlandish loaf there, and 
 no more about it." 
 
 " Now," said I, contimiing, " the first thing, as 
 appears to me, is to devise some method for sup- 
 plying ourselves with food, not for to-day or to- 
 morrow, but for as long as we may have to stay 
 here. This cannot be by shooting down our game 
 from day to day, for we have not powder and shot 
 among us for more than perhaps forty or fifty 
 rounds and what becomes of us when these are ex- 
 pended ? So I propose that we select, in the first 
 place, some spot for a preserve, in which to keep 
 such animals as we may snare or wound by shoot- 
 ing, and that we husband our ammunition as much 
 as possible for future need." 
 
 No one raised a voice against my proposal so I 
 regarded it as passed, and went on. 
 
 " Next," I said, " let each of us name some of the 
 things we are most in want of, and let us see how 
 we are to procure or make them, and what we must 
 needs do without." 
 
 At this, all fell to considering what they should 
 name as most important to us in our distress. 
 
 " Come, Prodgers," I went on, with a little mo- 
 tion aside to Don Manuel, that I gave the surly old 
 fellow this precedence in order to make him more 
 favorable ; " what do you propose we should make 
 for ourselves first ?" 
 
 This set Richard Prodgers a-thinking, and he be- 
 gan searching his wits in the way most sailors do 
 that is to say, he fumbled in his pockets, twirled his 
 hat round once or twice, turned a quid of tobacco in
 
 TH CATHOLIC CRUSOS. 69 
 
 his cheek, and finished by refreshing his memory 
 from his bottle of rum. At that last act of his, the 
 rest fell to laughing at him, and insisted he should 
 mention what was uppermost in his mind. 
 
 " I think," said Prodgers slowly, with a very 
 thoughtful look, " the first thing we should provide 
 is, a fresh supply of hog for our dinner to-morrow." 
 
 " And grog, I suppose," added Harvey, seeing 
 that the bottle peeped from Richard's pocket. 
 
 Prodgers looked angrily, but I took up the dis- 
 course to prevent any further jars amongst us, and 
 said none could doubt that our food must be looked 
 to without delay, as I had already expressed. 
 " And what say you, Ned Hilton ?" I continued, 
 turning to where he had sat a moment before. 
 
 But Hilton had strolled away while we were 
 speaking, and was eyeing one of the trees overhead, 
 which was a cocoa nut tree. 
 
 " It is !" cried he, with great glee. " Hallo, mess- 
 mates a real live monkey ! Look, there is another ! 
 and a third again ! 
 
 Up they all were at once, and not another thought 
 about our future plans, so eagerly did they enter in- 
 to this monkey chase. Indeed I must own it was a 
 diverting thing to see the monkeys, great troops of 
 which we now discovered in the trees, where they 
 had been watching our movements, scamper off in 
 all directions with much swiftness until they seemed 
 to think the distance among the higher branches 
 made them secure then they looked down at us 
 with such grimaces and chatterings as I believe 
 would have made an owl laugh. There was no
 
 70 TIIK ADVBNTDRES OF OWKN EVANS, 
 
 chance of catching any of them by climbing the 
 trees, though some of our men could climb like mon- 
 keys themselves ; for the trees grew so thick togeth- 
 er that their branches interlaced, and the nimble 
 creatures could easily have fled from one end of the 
 wood to the other without once touching the ground. 
 It seemed also to make no matter to them whether 
 they used their hands, or feet, or tails-; for their 
 tails, as we afterwards found, measured nearly two 
 feet in length, and were longer indeed than them- 
 selves, they being of a smaller kind of monkey, 
 though exceedingly active and mischievous. 
 
 It is scarce to be believed how they would hang 
 themselves by the very end of these strong and flex- 
 ible tails of theirs, only just clasping a small branch 
 with them, as we might hook up a rasher of bacon 
 on a nail by a small hook, just enough to keep it 
 from falling off; then, suspended in this way, they 
 would swing in any direction they chose, till they 
 swung themselves near enough to another branch to 
 catch it, or leap on to it, and so be as much at home 
 as they were before. They would throw themselves 
 about with such astonishing precision, and certainty 
 of lighting in safety, as almost equalled a bird upon 
 the wing. In short, they being among the trees in 
 their own natural element, as I may say, and we be- 
 neath them on the earth, which was ours, they had 
 us at considerable disadvantage in this game ; and 
 this they seemed to be aware of; for leaping and 
 shaking the branches till all the trees above us were 
 in a commotion, by their strange grimaces and chat- 
 tering noises they appeared as though they were
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 71 
 
 laughing at us, and bidding us come up and do our 
 best to catch them. 
 
 Such conduct irritated the men to that degree that 
 they ran for their fire-arms to shoot and bring some 
 of the monkeys down ; but I entreated them to be 
 still for a while longer, promising them some cocoa- 
 nuts for their forbearance ; for an idea had just 
 come into my head, and methought I had hit upon a 
 means of getting some of these nuts without the 
 pains of climbing for them. So I bade my comrades 
 to pick up some stones and clods of earth, with 
 which we sent a volley into the trees, that we 
 might provoke the monkeys to return our compli- 
 ment. And so indeed they did ; for after sending 
 down upon us all they could readily lay hand son, as 
 leaves, and a few dead boughs, or the like, this not 
 satisfying their vengeance, they leaped with one ac- 
 cord into the cocoa-nut trees, of which a good num- 
 ber grew hereabout, and began plucking and tug- 
 ging with all their might (at least some of the oldest 
 or the strongest among them) at the nuts, to get 
 them off to cast at us ; and they held fast to the 
 stem of the tree all the while with their tails to keep 
 themselves from falling. So great was the rage of 
 these creatures that they put forth all their strength 
 upon it ; and if one could not pull off a cocoa-nut, 
 for the nut was wrapped up in its coarse outer rind, 
 and stuck fast to the tree just under the leaves, 
 then another would come and help him, till they 
 had pulled it off with much effort between them. 
 
 It was well for our heads that these monkeys 
 were more expert in getting off the nuts than in
 
 72 THK ADVKNTUBES OF OWBN KYAN8, 
 
 taking good aim with them, or some of us might 
 have come off the field of battle with cracked 
 crowns for our pains. But the nuts were so large 
 in their outer cases as well nigh overbalanced the 
 monkeys that threw them, so that they could not 
 send them at us very exactly. Only that some lew 
 of the more cunning of their number (for it seems 
 among monkeys as among men, there are those 
 who take the lead by reason of their superior in- 
 telligence, or their greater watchfulness and cun- 
 ning,) first taking a firm hold of the tree with 
 their tails, swung themselves towards us, and de- 
 livered the cocoa-nuts straight at us, as a cricketer 
 would deliver the ball at a wicket ; by which it 
 happened that, though we kept our eyes about us, as 
 indeed we had need, and jumped aside as nimbly 
 as we might, to avoid these cannon-balls, we were 
 hit once or twice, and that smartly ; for I must 
 tell you, a full ripe cocoa-nut, thrown by an angry 
 monkey from a high tree, is no joke upon your 
 head or arm. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WE DISCOVER WHAT A PRIEST IS. 
 
 THE enemy having so far gained a success, and 
 we having by this a plentiful supply of cocoa- 
 nuts, I thought it time to put an end to the fight 
 by the superior force of our fire-arms the more
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSO1. 78 
 
 BO, that the cries of our assailants already engaged 
 against us, had drawn others of their tribe to the 
 spot, so that their numbers increased continually, 
 and the wood seemed alive with them. For this rea- 
 son, I gave the word for the three fowling-pieces, 
 which formed the main stock of our artillery, to be 
 discharged into the trees, which the men did with 
 
 o * 
 
 a hearty good will. As the pieces were loaded 
 with a kind of swan-shot, equally fitted for bring- 
 ing down small animals and the larger sort of birds, 
 we should have done great execution among the 
 monkeys, but that by a kind of sagacity or instinct, 
 such as I cannot account for, (seeing they had cer- 
 tainly never been tired at before in all their lives,) 
 no sooner did they mark our preparations than, slip- 
 ping behind the stems of their native trees, they 
 placed themselves in shelter so that we could scarce 
 touch them. Then they would look out cautiously, 
 and grin again at us, daring us to do our worst 
 The end was, that besides wounding a few, which 
 increased the noise, we did but kill one outright 
 and that was a poor monkey with her two cubs ; 
 one of them she carried under her arm, while the 
 other clasped its hands round her neck. She was so 
 encumbered with these, as not to get nimbly enough 
 out of the way. I say, we killed this one ; but it 
 could not be said, brought it down ; for the poor crea- 
 ture took firm hold of the tree with her long tail, 
 and hung there, like a malefactor in chains, only 
 head downwards, and the cubs still clinging, and 
 crying, like little infants, with the fright, and strain 
 of hanging on. I called out to Harvey that they
 
 74 THE ADVENTURES OP OWKN EVANS, 
 
 would soon drop, one after the other ; and so they did, 
 while he held his hat to receive them, having lined 
 it with his handkerchief to break their fall. 
 
 This was the result of our battle ; one killed, and 
 two prisoners, or adopted subjects, which you will. 
 For the rest, they scampered away at the report of 
 the fire-arms as though they could not get far enough 
 from the scene of action, and we saw them no more 
 that day. As to the dead monkey, we left it in the 
 tiee, as not being worth climbing for; and thinking 
 the sight of it hanging there would drive away the 
 rest from the spot, if we made our plans to retuni 
 thither ; and this indeed it did, in some degree. 
 
 So now, as we went along on our tour of discovery, 
 we took up our debate again, as to the kind of dwel- 
 lings we should furnish ourselves with. Of natives, 
 we had not seen a trace ; yet we did not on that ac- 
 count feel quite secure : the nature of savages being, 
 to lie hid so close in the bush as scarce to be dis- 
 covered till (I may almost say) you walk over them, 
 like a hare in her form ; then, rising up, to take you 
 unawares, or wait for a night attack, when they may 
 burn and massacre all before them. And, if any 
 were here on our island (or rather theirs), they had 
 certainly had notice enough of our coming, what 
 with firing of guns from the ship, and our own fowling- 
 pieces, together with our heed less shoutings ; and so 
 had been enabled to put out their fires, and hide their 
 canoes in some of the many small creeks on this east- 
 rn side. 
 
 Yet, on the other hand, the island being so small 
 9 we bad now made it out to be, it could not snp-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRCSOR. 76 
 
 port more than a few of such people as lived altoge- 
 ther by chase, and knew little of tilling the ground : 
 and the game we had already seen was so plentiful, 
 it was plain it had not been much thinned out by 
 hunting. Also, I considered, if our enemies should 
 appear, and not in great force, we had a vast advan- 
 tage in our fire-arms ; which, beside the deadly exe- 
 cution they do among defenceless savages, are always 
 known to astonish more than they kill : being looked 
 on as dreadful thunder and lightning from heaven, 
 by such as know only bows and arrows, or darting 
 spears, armed with fishes' teeth for weapons of of- 
 fence. 
 
 By this time, we were within about three quar- 
 ters of a league of that southern point Avhereto we 
 were travelling : when, seeing to our left hand a lit- 
 
 o / o 
 
 tie eminence rising up somewhat clearer of trees 
 than the thick woodland, we made for that, in order 
 to take an observation. It rose, as far as we judged, 
 seventy feet, if not more, above the sea-level ; when 
 we gained the top, we could see pretty well around 
 us, though some lofty groves of cocoa-nut and other 
 tropical growths here and there partly shut out the 
 view. But the open sea was clearly enough to be 
 distinguished on both side?, and to the south also ; 
 and more particularly we noticed that the eastern 
 coast was clearer of the lava rock, but more occupied 
 by reefs of coral. These ran out into such fantastic 
 promontories, with capes and headland, creeks and 
 bays, though all miniature, as not only made up a 
 beautiful prospect, with dwarf cocoa and palms grow- 
 ing thickly upon them, dipping their broad leaves
 
 76 THB ADVENTURES 0? OWEN EVAN8, 
 
 down to the very edge ; but promised us some quiet 
 nooks of deep water where we might get good 
 fishing for our support. And so it proved after- 
 wards. 
 
 We stayed some time on this spot, which every- 
 thing made delightful, but for the heat of the sun 
 and want of water ; and finding the situation so fav- 
 orable, we gazed on all sides, each taking my teles- 
 cope in turn, and looking out sharp enough (you may 
 be sure) for any sign of an inhabitant besides our- 
 selves. But we became assured by degrees, to our 
 satisfaction in one way, that we were, indeed the only 
 human beings on the island. Don Manuel gave a 
 little sigh when he heard us express this to one ano- 
 ther. 
 
 " Why, sir," said I, turning to him with some sur- 
 prise, " you would not wish to find savages on this 
 place ? and should we not be thankful to have a clear 
 field before us, and no enemies to drive out of it, or 
 shoot down in our defence ?" 
 
 " True, Senor," answered he, " I am not saying 
 anything against that ; we ought surely to be thank- 
 ful for every mercy and deliverance, and resigned 
 under every trial." 
 
 " But why, then," I began again ; but stopped my- 
 self, for there was a something, I know not what, 
 about the priest, that made it difficult to question him, 
 all meek and cheerful as he was. 
 
 The men listened attentively, and I saw they 
 wished, like myself, to get at the priest's mind about 
 all this. So I made another attempt. 
 
 " You expressed a hope, sir," said I, " yesterday,
 
 tHB CATHOLIC CROSOfc. 77 
 
 when we first landed, that we might meet with none, 
 man or beast, to eat us up." 
 
 "Indeed, I did, my dear friend," answered the 
 priest, with his frank, cheerful smile, " and I do so 
 still ; for I should not like to be devoured just yet; 
 unless," he added, "it were His most holy will." 
 And he lifted his hat, as was usual with him, when he 
 spoke in that way. 
 
 There was that about his manner, though I cannot 
 tell exactly why, nor wherein it lay, which stopped 
 me as if I had intruded into his thoughts ; I was go- 
 ing to let the subject drop, feeling half inclined even 
 to beg his pardon for what I had seemed to ask. But 
 after a few moments, seeing us all silent and still 
 looking at him, he laughed in his quiet gentle way, and 
 said to us : 
 
 " Well, comrades, don't let me be making myster- 
 ies out of a very simple thing. As you take a little 
 sigh so much to heart, I will explain it in a few 
 words, and then have done about myself. Or, you 
 shall help me to do it. Tell me, then, what is a 
 priest ?" 
 
 This was, I must own, a difficult question for us 
 to answer out of hand ; and I felt at once that, in a 
 courteous way, our friend had turned the tables up- 
 on us. As he stood there, leaning on his staff, with 
 his cloak dropped about him, his broad hat, and he 
 looking at us with his friendly smile, expecting our 
 answer, I thought within myself, whatever other 
 priests might be (and I had heard, from my boy- 
 hood upward, talk enough against them in many 
 there was one whom I could respect as a be-
 
 78 
 
 THE ADVKNTURKS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 ing superior to myself, or indeed to any one I had 
 ever fallen in with. 
 
 " Well," repeated Don Manuel after a while, still 
 looking round at us, and I know we felt awkward all 
 over, as we stood before him ; " well, my good friends, 
 and what is a priest ?" 
 
 Ned Hilton seemed to think it concerned the honor 
 of the party that our Spaniard should get some ans- 
 wer. So, clearing his throat, and making the best of 
 himself, he began : 
 
 " A priest, sir, I suppose, is a man who " and 
 
 here he stopped, twitching the collar of his sailor's 
 jacket, and shuffling a little with his feet, as not know- 
 ing how to go on. 
 
 " Who what, friend ?" asked the Don. 
 
 " Why, of course, you know, is, why, a priest, I 
 suppose." 
 
 At this explanation, no one could help laughing : 
 and Don Manuel, having enjoyed it a little, then said, 
 more gravely : 
 
 " A priest, my dear friends, is, or ought to be, one 
 devoted to the service of his Master, who has called 
 him. He ought never to be so happy as when speak- 
 ing to Him, or working for him. Every opportunity 
 of labor or suffering for His sake, ought to be wel- 
 come. Each one to whom the priest may do good, 
 he should consider as a brother, a friend, a spiritual 
 child. I confess I have been nursing a hope within 
 me, that as I am disabled by this great misfortune of 
 ours from proceeding to those among whom my su- 
 periors had sent me to labor, I might at least find 
 Borne poor heathens in this place whom I might win
 
 THE OATHOLIO CRU8OB. 
 
 79 
 
 to God. It is not to be so : and now you know the 
 meaning of that sigh which escaped from my heart. 
 May His holy will be ever done, and by us all. I re 
 main at least your servant. And now, shall we not 
 be moving onward ?" 
 
 There came over each one among us, I believe, 
 such a feeling while he spoke, as we had never known 
 before. On we moved, as if he had ordered it so, 
 and none spoke, for each was wondering at. what he 
 had just heard. But I forgot to mention that we 
 agreed, before this, to give to the place the name of 
 Prospect Hill ; and it was the first spot on our island 
 that we had named at all. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE BEST AND WORST SHOT. 
 
 KEEPING down this hill again, and still with a 
 southerly bearing, we came on a spring of water 
 gushing from the hill-side at about half-way down, 
 as clear, and fresh as that we had met on landing. 
 We were glad enough to discover it ; for all of us 
 were now athirst with our long, hot march: and, 
 having our time on our hands to do as we would 
 with it, sitting down by the spring, we fell into talk 
 again about the mode of living that was before 
 us. 
 
 The most natural thing to determine was, how to 
 build us some huts to dwell in. Here we were, with
 
 60 THE ADVENTURES OP OWBtt RVANS, 
 
 out any tools, or prospect of finding or making any. 
 One chance we might have, if we could meet with 
 that greenish stone of great hardness, which savage 
 nations contrive to fashion into hatchet-heads and 
 chisels. But, then, our island might furnish none of 
 these ; or, when we found them, we had no means to 
 grind them into shape, or give them an edge, without 
 great labor and expense of time. Time, indeed, ap- 
 peared to be the commodity in which we were now 
 most rich : yet I considered again that we were draw- 
 ing near the rainy season, which was like to set fair" 
 ly in ere a month or six weeks were come and gone, 
 it being now the last week in August. We all knew 
 by report the violence of these rains when once they 
 set in ; and Harvey and Prodgers had both cruised 
 in these latitudes before, and had got many a wet 
 jacket in the autumnal equinox and after. So we 
 had need to do something in the way of house-build- 
 ing out of hand, if only temporary, to last us over 
 till next spring. 
 
 A thought suddenly came upon me, as I looked at 
 the guns that lay by our sides. " "We must sacrifice," 
 said I, " one or more of these, to make us some tools." 
 They all looked at me, surprised at what I said ; and, 
 plainly, their first thought was to refuse. But I went 
 on to show that it was needful to the good of all ; 
 that unless we had a way to cut down trees, we could 
 neither build, no, not the rudest hut, nor clear any 
 plot of ground for plantations ; that our ammunition, 
 with the greatest husbandry and care, would soon be 
 spent, and then what was the use of the fowling-pieces 
 to us ? To all this Prodgers, who took on him the
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRfSOl. 81 
 
 oflice of objector-general, said, in his surly way, what 
 could I make out of a gun ? But I had my answer 
 ready, and told him smartly I could make a gun into 
 a gouge. I believe, what moved the others to come 
 into my plan was, in part, that, all enjoyed seeing 
 old Prodgers put down so readily : then, too, it waa 
 plain that, in our unhappy case, nothing better could 
 be devised. 
 
 " And which gun is to go, then ?" asked Richard, 
 jealous about his own. Now, it so happened that 
 he was the worst shot in the whole party ; so that if 
 any one of f >hem had to surrender his piece, it should 
 be this man : thus much every one felt, except Prod- 
 gers himself; and he (it was just like him) would not 
 hear of it. 
 
 But I had ere now been going to propose a shoot- 
 ing match among them, to decide which should carry 
 the fowling-pieces on our expeditions ; and this 
 seemed a fitting occasion for doing so. In short, no 
 sooner did I mention it, than the three men, Harvey, 
 Gill, and Hilton, agreed at once ; so Prodgers was 
 outvoted, which he took in no good part. I was ap- 
 pointed umpire for this trial of skill ; before we made 
 it, I promised, to salve over any sore feeling, that 
 the third and fourth man (for only two could then 
 carry fowling-pieces, if we sacrificed the barrel of the 
 third) should have an equal use between them of the 
 rifle, and that I would only claim a shot now and 
 then. 
 
 This being laid down, I bade them take notice of 
 a fruit of the orange kind, and much of the same size, 
 which by reason of its bright color was a good mark
 
 82 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 for the eye ; it grew on a low-sized tree of its kind, 
 within fair range for a fowling-piece from where we 
 stood. There were others on the tree, but not so 
 large or golden, and partly hidden with leaves. 
 " Now," said I, " he who plants most shot in the rind 
 of this fruit shall be first marksman among us, and 
 wear a feather in his cap ; and so of the next." So 
 saying, I went towards the tree ; and finding, a little 
 on one side, another of the wild fig-tree kind, with a 
 stem broad enough to give me safe shelter, I 
 stepped behind it, and called Prodgers, as the eldest, 
 to fire. 
 
 So indeed he did ; but hit neither orange nor or- 
 ange-tree, as I could plainly know by the shot pat- 
 tering into another bush that grew near. However, 
 I own that poor Dick made us bounden to him, to 
 thank him ; for he brought us our supper when he and 
 we least thought of it. For in the very bush he fired 
 into so clumsily, there sat a largish monkey of the 
 same kind that we had put to flight before ; he had 
 sat there : I suppose, watching our motions from a 
 distance, till he knew too much of us, poor fellow, 
 as some of his companions had. But of this by and 
 bye : at the present, we discovered not the execution 
 Prodgers had done ; for the monkey was killed stone 
 dead, and we found him afterwards, by accident, as I 
 shall relate in a moment. 
 
 It was now Hilton's turn to fire : and, to make all 
 this short, be it said, he and Gill were so near one 
 another in their shots, as each to plant some grain? 
 of swan-shot in the orange ; and both of them dis- 
 tanced Tom Harvey, who only peppered into thp
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 58 
 
 branches. I adjudged the fowling-pieces to these 
 two men, and gave preference to Gill for first choice. 
 Tt was easy to discover which of the three guns was 
 oldest and worst ; and this we condemned at once to 
 be broken up, stock and lock, barrel and trigger, to 
 make such rude instruments as we needed for our 
 carpenter's work. So we took it with us, till we could 
 break it at our leisure. 
 
 Moving onwards again, we came to the bush into 
 
 O O ' 
 
 which Prodgers had scattered the contents of his 
 blunderbuss ; and here we found the monkey lying 
 at the roots. We took him up, and looked at as ug- 
 ly a caricature of our poor human nature as ever was 
 drawn by a malicious pen. I could not but wonder 
 as he lay there before us. like a hideous hump-backed 
 creature as he was, grinning in death, how any one in 
 a civilized country could go and see those monkeys 
 in their cages : unless it were a philosopher to specu- 
 late on what degraded human nature might grow 
 like, if left to itself; as T have heard of an ancient 
 nation where parents would force their slaves to get 
 drunk in presence of their children, to show them, by 
 example, what a debasing thing was drunkenness. I 
 mentioned this thought to the priest, and asked him 
 how he viewed it. 
 
 " I think both of them wrong," answered Don Man- 
 uel ; " both the Spartans of old, and such parents and 
 elders now, as take their children, or allow them to 
 go, to such exhibitions. For the sight of a d runken 
 slave, or of a monkey that with the shape has not the 
 conscience or soul that belongs to us, brings no lesson
 
 84 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 that cannot be learned in better ways, and is in itself 
 vile and disgusting." 
 
 On second thoughts, after all this, we decided upon 
 taking the monkey with us, and cooking him for sup- 
 per when we should halt for the night. Only we 
 could not bear either to take him as he was ; for the 
 creature looked so human as well as hideous, that 
 our men, though no way squeamish, declared they 
 would not touch a bit of him unless he was cut up 
 and baked or broiled piecemeal. So Prodgers, as he 
 had the best right to him, undertook the office of but- 
 cher preparing for the cook ; and indeed, he was 
 helped by most of the rest. I contented my self with 
 cutting oft* the monkey's long tail and putting it inU 
 the hat of Harry Gill, instead of the feather I had 
 promised him, as best man in the shooting-match : 
 and Don Manuel turned for awhile to his prayer- 
 book, as he generally did when there was a leisure 
 moment. 
 
 However, we did not neglect to pluck some of the 
 oranges off the tree, besides the one that Harry Gill 
 had riddled with his shot, and which he gathered as 
 a trophy, carving a ridiculous face in it by making a 
 mouth and eyes with his knife in the rind, and trying 
 to make it look like a portrait of old Prodgers ; 
 which he partly did, so that Hilton could not contain 
 himself for laughing when he looked at it. But very 
 soon Harry began to grin with pain insteavl ; for the 
 milky juice that oozed out of the rind as he cut it, 
 was of such a burning quality as blistered his fingers 
 at once. And well for him, and for us all, that we 
 were so warned before we began to eat of the fruit ;
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRD80B. 85 
 
 or, I believe, no one of us had escaped death from in- 
 flammation by this poisonous juice. 
 
 When Gill cried out in his pain, and let Prodgers' 
 head (in the orange, I mean,) drop on the ground, we 
 all gathered round him to see what was the matter. 
 But no sooner did the priest observe the fruit, and 
 the tree on which it grew, than he exclaimed : 
 
 '"Tis the nianchineel tree ! Take care, friends ; do 
 not stand too near it, or you may feel its effects in 
 your eyes." And he explained to the men that from 
 the juice of this tree the savage nations inhabiting 
 countries where it grows, extract the poison in which 
 they dip their arrows. So virulent is the burn ing of 
 the juice, says he, that when the tree is to be cut 
 down for making into furniture, for which it is much 
 esteemed, the workmen kindle a fire around it to dry 
 out the sap first, and so save their eyes. 
 
 We took warning from Harry Gill's mishap, and 
 retreated to a respectful distance from the tree, of 
 which we afterwards found our island to supply a 
 good many specimens. But I now applied myself to 
 heal his blistered hands as well as might be, without 
 medical remedies ; and, casting about for something 
 to assuage the pain, lighted on a large broad leaf 
 that grew not many paces from the manchineel. 
 This leaf was thick and pulpy, containing a cool 
 juice in its fibres, that allayed the inflammation 
 caused by the other. Thus as in England they say 
 the nettle and the dock are found growing in the 
 same hedge, so here were the evil and the remedy 
 Bide by side. I gathered half a dozen of the leaves, 
 wrapping them round Gill's hands and tying them
 
 86 THE ADVKNTURR8 OF OWKN EVANS, 
 
 up with our handkerchiefs, so that he walked about 
 In a pair of large green gloves, that made his com- 
 panions call him the dandy of their society. But by 
 these means his blisters were so Deduced that he soon 
 felt them scarce at all. 
 
 I may as well here finish the history of the two 
 little monkeys that fell into our hands out of the 
 cocoa-nut tree. Harvey did all in his power to keep 
 them alive, putting one into each of his jacket pock- 
 ets to huddle them up warm, and trying to feed 
 them with cocoa-nut milk for I forgot to say, we 
 brought the cocoa-nuts also with us, and very re- 
 freshing we found both the milk and pulp of them 
 in these great heats. But for the monkeys, both of 
 them died before the second day was out ; and Har- 
 vey, who was much concerned at this, buried them 
 under two tall palm trees, not far from Prospect 
 Hill. Going that way some time after, I found he 
 had placed a large flat stone over them, and had 
 found means to scratch, rudely enough, this epitaph 
 with the point of his knife 
 
 " Here lyes y e bodys of two little apes, 
 Short was their lives, ugly their shapes ; 
 One would 'a been Pug and t'other Joko, 
 But alas, I couldn't rear ? em on cocoa."
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 17 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW MUCH GOODNESS GOES TO FORGIVENESS. 
 
 OUR trial of skill being thus over, we resumed our 
 march, and soon reached the shore on the S.S.E. of 
 our prison. As to the point due south, it ran up in- 
 to rather a high cliff, and would have cost us a dif- 
 ficult climb to gain it. We now found ourselves in 
 a little cove, wherein the water lay very still under 
 this cliff, the bottom being of a fine white coral sand 
 shelving out by degrees, not getting to a great 
 depth, as we judged, till it was some twelve or fif- 
 teen yards from the shore. After that, indeed, we 
 could see, by the dark line below the water, that it 
 went sheer down into deep sea. Also we noticed, 
 that in a part of the cliff beyond this deep water 
 line, appeared the mouth of a very low cave, scarce- 
 ly showing two feet above the sea level. So that at 
 first we doubted its being a cave at all, and took it 
 for some dent in the rock, which at that part over- 
 hung it as steep as the wall of a house. But shortly 
 we made it out to be indeed an inlet into the cliff, 
 from the hollow sound of the water inside as it came 
 and went, though the cove was so still, as I have 
 said. 
 
 " Come, boys !" cried I, " here is an adventure 
 for us. Who will be first to swim into yonder cave's 
 mouth ?" Hilton and Tom Harvey were forward at 
 once ; as for Harry Gill, he shook his head, and de- 
 clared he had known enough of caves for one day.
 
 88 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 But second thoughts bade me remind them that it 
 was best one should go alone, if indeed it were 
 worth the while to do it at all, and the rest stand 
 on the watch to see no harm happened to him. I 
 did not say what had come into my mind, but I own 
 I felt uneasy after 1 had proposed the swim, lest 
 there should be any sharks, with which these seas 
 are known to abound, cruising about in our neigh- 
 borhood. For so great is the swiftness and vora- 
 cious hunger of this dreadful fish, as no swimmer, be 
 he never so active, can escape him ; and the number 
 and sharpness of his double rows of teeth is such, 
 that it needs but one bite from him to take off a 
 limb as clean as any surgeon could do it. There was 
 a degree of safety, 'tis true, in the coral reefs which 
 seemed, by the surf dashing high over them, to sur- 
 round this part of the island at from fifty to a hun- 
 dred yards off shore. Nevertheless I feared some 
 inlet between them into our cove, through which 
 these gentlemen, the sharks (sea lawyers, so the men 
 called them) might find their way, though a boat 
 would be stove without remedy in the passage, by 
 the violence of the outer sea. 
 
 In short, it was a relief to me when Don Manuel 
 took up the discourse, saying in his quiet way, " I 
 tought, my friends" (he had left off calling us- Se 
 nores, at least mostly, since we had known each oth- 
 er so much better,) "I thought," says he, "we 
 agreed to look without delay for something of a 
 dwelling to house ourselves in. Xow this cave,'' he 
 added, smiling, " whatever wonders it may contain, 
 could hardly afford this to us, and "
 
 fHB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 80 
 
 u Begging your pardon," says rough old Prodgera 
 " I don't see that at all, for I've some thoughts of 
 living in it myself." 
 
 At this the three men set up a shout of laughter, 
 and began to banter him, as if he were never to hear 
 the end of it. One called him the hermit of the cave, 
 another the old man of the sea. Harvey said he 
 would grow into Neptune, or become finned, or at 
 least web-footed, or a Triton ; Hilton declared the 
 fishes would come and ask him to reign over them 
 " and then," says Gill, " we shall see his majesty 
 drive out for an airing in a turtle's shell for a coach, 
 drawn by six sword-fish." " With a body guard of 
 monkeys," added Hilton again. "Armed with fowl- 
 ing pieces that kill tremendously, and all by chance," 
 concluded Gill. 
 
 This last stroke was too much for old Richard, 
 who started to his feet and challenged Harry to 
 fight him on the spot. The other was no ways 
 backward ; so off went their jackets, and they be- 
 gan in earnest, before Don Manuel and I could in- 
 terfere. " Good humor, ahoy !" shouted Tom Har- 
 vey, holding back Prodgers, while the priest and I 
 tried to reahon with Gill. In short, we restored 
 them to peace with some difficulty ; and only by 
 Harry and myself, with Hilton, who joined the bet- 
 ter side this time, telling them in a determined way, 
 if they offered to strike another blow we would 
 knock them both down and tie their hands behind 
 them. 
 
 When they were calmed down, though there was 
 Borne grumbling still on either side, we made them
 
 THB ADYRNTURKS OP OWEN EVAN8, 
 
 shake hands, and no more ado about it. Don Man- 
 uel indeed whispered to me that it were prudent to 
 look after their knives, lest they might bear one an- 
 other a grudge, and so take worse revenge. But I 
 answered him in a like whisper, that 'twas the na- 
 ture of a Jack-tar to knock his man down in the first 
 blush of a quarrel, and then help him up again ; that 
 when once they had shaken hands after a fight where 
 even they might have gone within an inch of mur- 
 dering one another, they would be the best of friends 
 and messmates the next moment, each ready to risk 
 his life to save the other's ; that, as to grudge borne 
 for a fair blow, 'twas a thing unknown among them, 
 as little thought on as to fire into an enemy's ship 
 after she had struck her flag, and you had taken her 
 in tow. 
 
 All this seemed to surprise him at the time, and 
 he plainly thought it over, as I could judge by his 
 manner, but there was no leisure then to pursue it. 
 Only, next afternoon, as we walked together at a 
 little distance from the rest, he took up the discourse 
 again, as I will here relate. 
 
 He said then to me, " Senor Owen, a strange thing 
 was that you told me yesterday about anger and 
 fighting. In my country it gives the priests no 
 small WQrk to try and persuade people to forgive in- 
 juries, as these two men now seem to have forgiven 
 and forgotten too. In Spain, I am sorry to say, ow- 
 ing to our hot Spanish blood, when a man thinks he 
 has received an affront from another, his first impulse 
 is to vow revenge, and too often he begins planning 
 how to compass it. If he abandons himself to thin
 
 THfc CAfHOUC CKCSOK. ftl 
 
 evil passion and neglects the warnings of conscience, 
 
 ho will keep this settled purpose in his heart aye, 
 sometimes for years, till he meets or makes the op- 
 portunity, ami then will wreak his vengeance to the 
 full. Now, how different is the conduct of these 
 seamen ! They seem as good friends again as ever, 
 after the hard knocks they gave each other." 
 
 "That they are," I answered; "and believe me, 
 if either Prodgers or Gill were to fall into any dan- 
 ger, the other would pull him out of it, if he could, 
 at the risk of life or limb." 
 
 " God forgive me, then, for a harsh judgment," 
 said the priest, striking his breast a little; " I find 
 they are much better Christians than I took them to 
 be." 
 
 I could scarce help smiling at the notion of these 
 men being good Christians ; but I answered him 
 respectfully [indeed I respected him as much for his 
 humbly accusing himself, as for the other qualities I 
 had marked in himj and said, shaking my head, 
 
 " I fear, sir, that the most of the Christianity 
 among us is wrapped within your reverence's cloak, 
 though we never have professed anything else, to be 
 sure. Yet I know not how much we have prac- 
 tised it ; and I know, in many ways, we have prac- 
 tised the clean contrary." ^ 
 
 "But how do you tell me," answers he quickly 
 for I could see he now took the character of the men 
 warmly to heart, " how do you tell me, Senor Ow- 
 en, that they are not good Christians, since they have 
 performed one of the most bounden duties of a Chris-
 
 62 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 tian, and what is sometimes one of the hardest, for- 
 giving injuries, which they did but yesterday?" 
 
 " Well, sir," said I, and felt rather puzzled how to 
 answer him, " I am no great divine, that is certain. 
 You asked us yesterday what a priest is : now let me 
 ask, what do you mean by a Christian ?" 
 
 " A brief question, friend," replied the priest, 
 " and a long answer, if answered fully. I want to 
 know, for my part, why these brave men are not to 
 be reckoned good Christians, inasmuch as they for- 
 give ?" 
 
 " Because," answered I, i-eadily, " it costs them 
 nothing to do it." 
 
 " Ah," says he, drawing a long breath, " costs 
 them nothing, you say ?" 
 
 " Nothing whatsoever, sir. 'Tis part of their 
 rough-and-tumble life to knock down and be knocked 
 down in turn; and when they jump up again, all is 
 forgotten in the tuning of a fiddle." 
 
 The priest seemed not quite to understand my 
 expressions, so I explained my meaning in other 
 words, and then continued : 
 
 " Now virtue, I bel'^e, sir, is doing good, or 
 keeping from evil, in spite of the difficulty we feel 
 in acting thus. Am I right ?" 
 
 " Certajnly," answered the priest. 
 
 " So, if I do a thing good in itself, without finding 
 it difficult, but do it merely in an off-hand way, as I 
 would hand my neighbor a portion at dinner, when 
 I had enough and to spare; there would not be much 
 goodness in that ?" 
 
 " There may be a natural goodness," says Don
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 03 
 
 Manuel, as if he thought much while he said the 
 words ; " that cannot be called supernatural." 
 
 " What do you mean, sir?" said I, surprised in 
 my turn, " by supernatural goodness? I thought 
 miracles had ceased, and a miracle is something su- 
 
 ' O 
 
 pernatural." 
 
 " I will tell you auother time," says he, smiling 
 again. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 A LESSON OUT OF A SHARK'S MOUTH. 
 
 ALL this I have set down here ; though, to go by 
 the order of time, it should be related after. But 
 now, taking up the thread of our adventures, as we 
 ranged about our cove, Tom Harvey, who had got 
 out on a ledge of rock that divided it from another 
 inlet to the north-east, called to us, he "had found 
 a skeleton lying in shallow water.- "We started at 
 this sudden news, our mir * o 1 "funning back on the 
 old apprehensions of some savage inhabitants of our 
 island, and we thought here might be one of their 
 dead, drowned by accident or killed in war. How- 
 ever, when we got to where Harvey stood, looking 
 down into the water beneath us, which here was 
 about four feet in depth, we saw the skeleton of a 
 large fish, partly fallen in pieces, and the tail part 
 disjointed, lying here and there on the white sand. 
 The flesh, or fish rather, was as completely gone as
 
 94 THE ADVENTURS OF OWEN EVAN8, 
 
 though it had been picked clean by smaller fishes 
 which indeed was the case in all likelihood. But the 
 head-bones and jaws were entire, pointing inland ; 
 and as the body of the fish was turned on its side, I 
 judged it had pushed so far into the cove in pursuit 
 of some prey, and had stuck fast on the sand while 
 seizing it, or been left by the ebb of a high tide after 
 gorging it: the mouth of the shark, and a large 
 shark this plainly was, being so formed, and so far 
 under the snout,, that it cannot seize nor swallow its 
 prey but when lying on its back or side. 
 
 Don Manuel, when I made him observe this, re- 
 marked how the providence of God, by so ordering 
 it, prevented this tremendous fish from thinning out 
 all other inhabitants of the ocean ; setting bounds to 
 his power of devouring, when there were no bounds 
 to his appetite and cruelty. But I, meantime, full 
 of other thoughts, saw a valuable prize in this dis 
 covery. " Here, boys !" cried I, " here is what will 
 turn to our account when the po\\ der and shot are 
 gone." 
 
 " How so ?" asked they all, looking down into the 
 water. 
 
 " See those teeth," continued I ; " and tell me if 
 they will not make the best of arrow points for such 
 bamboo arrows as we ate our dinners with to-day." 
 
 " Hurrah for the bows and arrows !" cried Hilton, 
 and with that he jumped down into the water, only 
 throwing off his jacket, and was followed by Harvey 
 and Gill. They were determined, it seems, to have 
 the shark piecemeal on land. And no light job they 
 had of it, as well from the depth in which it lay, of
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRC80B. 95 
 
 four foot water, as by reason of the size of the fish 
 itself, the parts that hung together being no less than 
 ten feet in length, and the tail that was broken up 
 would have made the monster from fifteen to eight- 
 een feet in the whole. Well, having to dip theii 
 heads quite under the water each time that they 
 pulled at a piece of the skeleton, and not being used 
 to such diving, though all of them good swimmers, 
 they were exhausted to that degree they were forced 
 to give over, without getting more than two or 
 three joints of the back bone, which they threw up 
 to us on the rock. The reason was, that the greater 
 part of this sea monster, that is, the ribs and spine, 
 were firmly bedded in the sand, whereby we conclu- 
 ded he had lain there some time, having settled 
 down into the sand by degrees. Seeing they could 
 not succeed better for this turn, I called to them to 
 leave the body of the fish, and try for his head : so, 
 after much effort, pushing with the handspike, and 
 hacking with their knives, all being under water, 
 and hard to manage, they got the head free with no 
 little trouble from the neck joint, and dragged it 
 out with them to land. 
 
 It might have made one's hair stand on end to 
 view the monstrous jaws of this fish's skull, armed 
 each of them with two rows of teeth as sharp as 
 knives, and whiter and more polished than the knife 
 handle, aye, at any nobleman's table. When we 
 felt the edges of these teeth, and cut a piece of twine 
 readily by sawing it across them, it was easy to cre- 
 dit all the accounts of what a shark can do, which I 
 for one had put down among other unlikely sailor's
 
 96 THE ADVENTURKS OF OWEN EVAN, 
 
 tales. We closed the jaws and opened them again, 
 marking how the rows of teeth shut upon one anoth- 
 er, the outer on the outer, and the inner on the in 
 ner, so that what was not clean cut asunder in these 
 cruel jaws would be mangled and torn, as by a dou- 
 ble machinery of pointed knives. 
 
 " A pretty fellow," at length said Hilton, " a pret- 
 ty customer this to meet with on our swim into the 
 sea cave ! We should soon be past praying for if he 
 got a snap at us." 
 
 " Past praying for ?" asked Don Manuel, not un- 
 derstanding his way of speaking. " How, friend, can 
 any one be that, who is not certainly in heaven, nor 
 certainly in hell ?" 
 
 " I mean," says Hilton, a little surly at being tak- 
 en up, though it was so gently, " I mean we should 
 surely go down to Davy Jones's locker." 
 
 " Whither ?" asks the priest again ; and it was 
 plain he wanted to understand what the man meant. 
 
 "Why, of course," broke in Prodgers in his own 
 way, " any of us who got into such a brute's jaws as 
 that, would be soon dead, and something worse 
 that's what he means, I take it." 
 
 Don Manuel looked graver than was common with 
 him, and turning upon old Prodgers mildly atd 
 quite calm, he says, 
 
 " Comrade, there is indeed one thing worse after 
 such a death, and there are jaws more cruel to fall 
 into than those of a shark. If you meant to allude 
 to those solemn, wholesome truths, we th .nk you for 
 putting us in mind of them." 
 
 Every one felt what he would say, and there WM
 
 tH* CATHOLIC CRP80B. fc? 
 
 ft silence amongst us. Prodgers had no answer; 
 even he was subdued this time by the priest's man- 
 ner of speaking his few words. But it was Don Ma- 
 nuel's way to make us grave and gay by turns ; 
 Chough 'twas often a puzzle to me to account to my- 
 self what there was about him that drew us so to fol- 
 low his leadings. Now, after a little pause (for lie 
 seemed to wish us to think on what he had just 
 said,) he added more cheerfully, 
 
 " Well, my friends, acknowledge that the Catholic 
 Church is a gentle and compassionate mother; for 
 she never reckons any to be past praying for as long 
 as she can have a hope they have died in grace." . 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WE DO SOMETHING UNCOMMON. 
 
 " BUT for the moment," continued Don Manuel, 
 " what we have never settled is : where shall we pitch 
 our tents ? For, like the patriarchs, we have the 
 land all before us, to choose what spot we will. Xow 
 you, friend Owen, opened the parliament this morn- 
 ing with a neat Mttle speech , but we did not finish 
 the debate at that time. 'Tis an important question 
 for us, how and where to lodge ourselves ; so I vote 
 we continue it now And who will give us any ideas 
 on the subject ?" 
 
 Having thus put it before us, he seemed waiting 
 for us to speak.
 
 98 THK ADVENTURS OF OWfiN RVANS, 
 
 " Eldest go first," says Ned Hilton nodding at Prod- 
 gers. 
 
 " Well, then," answered oid Richard, gruffly, " I 
 mean to take to a sea-faring life, and build myself a 
 boat to fish in, and steer round the island." 
 
 No objection was made to this ; for I believe most 
 of ns felt it would be, as the old saying goes, " a 
 good riddance of bad rubbish," if Prodgers were to 
 take himself off thus. When I say most, there Avas 
 cne who (I am sure) did not feel this ; but it was not 
 myself. 
 
 " So you'll make the cave your boat-house ?" asked 
 Tom Harvey : " the difficulty will be, how to get in, 
 or out again." 
 
 " That's my plan," Prodgers went on, not minding 
 aim ; " and while I'm building my boat, I shall lodge 
 somewhere about the rocks hi this cove." 
 
 " Now, Harry," said I, " we listen to your plan." 
 
 "Well," answers he, " I think I shall go across 
 country, and see how I like the part we came to on 
 our first landing. There you have shade, and clear 
 water, as well as our water-jars, and all with a wes- 
 terly aspect. Besides," added Gill, and looked very 
 earnest as he said it, " that might be our best chance 
 of seeing a ship, and making signals to be taken off 
 this place." 
 
 I confess, this idea of Gill's had more than once oc- 
 curred to me; in my mind I had debated which side 
 of our island had the better prospect of some stray 
 vessel touching there, or sighting it from a distance. 
 It was plain that what Gill now said had a great ef
 
 tHK CATHOLIC CRU8OR. 9d 
 
 feet on the men, who listened eagerly, and remained 
 silent when he had done. 
 
 " And you, Hilton ?" said I, at length. 
 
 Ned Hilton was one of those who seldom thought 
 for himself; so he just answered, he would go for 
 the present with Harry Gill, and look about 
 him. 
 
 " Now, friends," says the priest, taking up our de- 
 bate, "will you let me give you a word of oun- 
 sel ?" 
 
 We listened to him ; so he went on. 
 
 " Let us keep together, then," says he, " as we $rst 
 decided; yet not so as to dwell under the same roof. 
 Tastes differ, my dear friends, and dispositions too : 
 we may best avoid little rubs and jars by having 
 each our own hut, meeting together every day for 
 dinner, and for another thing, which we have n^t 
 thought of much, as yet." 
 
 " And what's that ?" inquired Gill. 
 
 " Prayer," says Don Manuel, laying a great stress 
 on the word ; "prayer, my companions, which we 
 owe to that bountiful Lord who created us, and has 
 now kept us from so many dangers. I do not think 
 we have said one prayer together since we have been 
 on this island shall we not beonn ? Shall we not so 
 
 O 
 
 much as thank Him, nor ask Him to preserve us 
 still?" And he looked round on us as he spoke. 
 
 Any one of those he addressed, I believe, w T ould 
 not have refused to kneel down with the good priest, 
 had he been alone with him. But there is a kind of 
 shame, of which the devil is the author, that holds 
 men back from manfully professing that they feel
 
 100 
 
 THB ADVENTURES OF OW8N EVANS, 
 
 the presence of God. And we were all so hardened 
 in wickedness, and knew each other to be so, as 
 made none of us willing to be first in this new occu- 
 
 O 
 
 pation. Prayer was what we had not practised, I 
 may say, for a length of time ; and we were as awk- 
 ward at beginning as a school boy who is called up 
 to repeat his task. We felt, to judge them by my- 
 self, it would be a kind of hypocrisy to pray, and 
 then go back and forget Him to whom we prayed, 
 as completely as ever. And could we pledge our- 
 selves to be good and devout, and unlearn our bad 
 habits, and begin to serve God ? In a word, the enemy, 
 as he often does, held us back from the first right step, 
 by representing it to us as insurmountable from the 
 difficulty of it. 
 
 Thus we were all ashamed of each other as regards 
 prayer, when we had not been so in our cursing and 
 sin. But I resolved to shake this off and set something 
 of an example. So placing myself on my knees, and 
 joining my hands (and I verily think the last time 
 that had been done was by my mother on her death 
 bed, five years before), I bowed to the priest, and said, 
 
 " Well, sir, then let us pray." 
 
 Tom Harvey, as I looked at him, shuffled a little ; 
 then, as if he were doing a strange thing he blushed 
 deep, like a child that is caught stealing sugar, and 
 went down on his knees beside me. 
 
 As I guessed, so it turned out. Ned Hilton made the 
 third, though with a good deal of hesitation. But Gill 
 and Prodgers stood where they were with, their hands 
 in their pockets, looking straight before them, and 
 whistling, as sailors are used to whistle for a wind,
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 101 
 
 though Prodgers was the more dogged in this, and 
 Harry rather less so. 
 
 " O iny God !" exclaimed the priest on his knees, his 
 hands clasped, and looking up to heaven, "let there 
 be none of us resisting a good inspiration : no mere 
 spectators in this our first united prayer !" 
 
 Still the two men did not budge. 
 
 " Senor Gill," pleaded he, with such a manner as 
 I think few could withstand, " do you remember how 
 lately you were all but gone into the other world, if 
 that good Providence, to whom you now refuse to 
 bend the knee, had not guided our steps after you in 
 time to find you lying senseless in the cave?" 
 
 This shook Harry Gill, as I could see ; but his pride 
 was not yet broken. 
 
 Just then, Tom Harvey, who was kneeling beside 
 me, caught hold on my arm, pointing towards the 
 cove. I followed his hand with my eyes, and plainly 
 saw the back-fin of a large shark steering about over 
 the surface. He was right between that point of rock 
 whence Harvey and the rest had jumped into the wa- 
 ter, and the low-mouthed cave in the opposite cliff, to 
 which they had well nigh set out to swim. 
 
 " God of mercy !" cried Harvey, with the tears in 
 his eyes ; " and we might have been by this time in 
 his jaws. Lord be praised for His goodness to us 
 poor fellows/' 
 
 " Amen," said Hilton, as earnest as the other. 
 
 'T was plain that Gill too, and even Prodgers, felt 
 moved at this sight ; which did indeed seem like a 
 reprieve to a criminal when the rope is round his neck, 
 and he just going to be turned off the ladder.
 
 102 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 "Now, OLord!" cried out Don Manuel from the 
 depth of hi? heart : " let Thy grace at length triumph !" 
 
 So indeed it was. Harry Gill fairly gave way now, 
 and dropped on his knees, his face to the cove, as 
 though he would keep the shark before his eyes to 
 animate his thankfulness. The fish was steering about, 
 up and down, as partly to seek his food ; partly to 
 play and bask in the sun ; now he would break wa- 
 ter into ripples with slight strokes of his powerful 
 tail, then he would float lazily again, but kept so near 
 the surface in the water that the high back-fin was seen 
 above. He was plainly of the white shark kind : like 
 his brother whose skull was in our keeping : and this 
 kind is the fiercest and most devouring of all the tribe. 
 
 He seemed to me in the water, what a savage bull 
 is in a field; that paces up and down, tearing up 
 the earth and sods with his hoofs, lashing his sides 
 with his tail, and seeking some one on whom to vent 
 his rage. As I looked at the cruel fish (and he gave 
 us opportunities to observe him at leisure,) I felt more 
 real gratitude in my heart, than for many a long year, 
 to our Father who is in heaven, and rules all things 
 above and below, for preserving us from such a mon- 
 ster when we were just about to rush into his jaws. 
 
 We now waited only for Prodgers : as to the rest of 
 us, we were anxious, some more and some less, the 
 priest should teach us how to pray. I had well-nigh 
 said, the shark taught us with as great effect ; for he 
 kept moving about full in view, as though he were a 
 living witness, before our very eyes, of the good provi- 
 dence of God to us sinners. And this worked in Rich* 
 ard's mind, till he, too, could resist no longer.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 103 
 
 He rubbed his eye with the back of his hard hand, 
 and slowly went down on one knee, as if he would 
 have helped it if he could, but was pressed down by 
 some angel's hand upon his shoulder. Only, I must 
 remark as the priest's prayer continued, Richard went 
 down on both knees, like the rest of us. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PBAYER HINDERS NO WORK. 
 
 DON Manuel knew human nature too well to make 
 this first prayer of ours a long one. But he poured 
 out such fervent gratitude for the mercies we had 
 received, and so humbly begged pardon for our 
 want of thankfulness ; he made for us such pro- 
 testation of amendment, he put our good resolu- 
 tions into such simple, glowing language, that our 
 very hearts went along with every word : and at 
 last there was no mistaking the men, that they were 
 subdued and softened to a degree. All these rough 
 sea-faring men wept like very children before the 
 priest concluded ; and I believe every one of us now 
 felt a pure pleasure in acknowledging our sins and 
 the divine mercies, that we had been strangers to for 
 years, if indeed we had ever felt it before. I only 
 know I was in a manner transported out of myself: 
 a new world was opening itself to ine ; from my in- 
 most heart there rose the desire, " Oh ! that this may
 
 104 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWIN CYANS, 
 
 continue !" Then I turned it into a prayer : " Good 
 Lord, let not all this pass away again !" 
 
 But the voice of the priest ceased ; and there was 
 silence among us : so deep that we could hear 
 (though we heeded it not) the ripple of the water 
 that was flowing into the cave where some of us 4ia<l 
 BO nigh found a cruel death. Every one staid on his 
 knees, as though he were afraid to break that newly- 
 found holy calm. And, as I stole a glance round on 
 them, surprised at this, I saw most of the number 
 with their eyes closed, as men who pray to themselves, 
 or pondered on what they had heard. 
 
 It may be as surprising to others as (I own) it 
 was to me, to find a change like this wrought upon 
 such rude hearts, and in so brief a space. But they 
 that will put all things together ; as, our double es- 
 cape, first from the ship, then from this monster of 
 the deep, together with the plenty and comfortable 
 prospects (by comparison) we had found on this is- 
 land, our security from savages, as also the influence 
 Don Manuel had gamed over us all, and solitude it- 
 self, the nurse of devotion and calm thoughts : I 
 say, let any one sum up the total of this, and he will, 
 in some measure, cease to wonder at what I have now 
 recorded. 
 
 Be that as it may, before wearied of our new em- 
 ployment, the priest stood up from his knees again ; 
 and, turning to Prodgers, who chanced to be next 
 him ; " My dear brother," says he, " we have given 
 thanks, and confessed our sins, to our common Cre- 
 ator and Lord : and now let me beg your pardon al- 
 BO, and through you to the rest, for any want of
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 15 
 
 good example I may have given you since we have 
 known each other. You have heard," added he, 
 with a little smile, " and heard often, I dare say, of 
 people confessing to the priest ; well, as you do not 
 do this, here is the priest confessing to the people." 
 So saying, he laid his hands on Prodgers 1 shoulders, 
 and embraced him in the Spanish fashion. 
 
 " Oh, sir," faltered out Prodgers, and was scarcely 
 able to speak, for his voice betrayed his emotion, 
 whether he would or not : " we 've never seen any- 
 thing in you, I'm sure, but what was good." And 
 a murmur went round the rest, echoing the same. 
 
 " Nay," says Don Manuel, in his cheerful way, 
 " we will not carry this on, friends, any further. But 
 at least shake hands all round ; and, as you prom- 
 ised to stand by one another as companions in mis- 
 fortune, do so now all the more as companions in 
 consolation and prayer." 
 
 Never, I believe, or seldom, was there such a shak- 
 ing of hands in Europe or out of it. The men all 
 joined in a ring, and grasped each other's hands 
 hard, while the tears stood in their eyes, and they 
 looked upward. At last Hilton, to express himself, 
 or get rid of what weighed on his heart, quavered 
 out part of a hymn he had once heard (I suppose) in 
 some church or other : 
 
 " Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, 
 Praise Him, all creatures " 
 
 but lie could get no further : for his voice shook, and 
 there was a silence again. 
 
 " Now, friends," r.ried Don Manuel in a sprightly 
 tone, "having done this ? for which 1 humbly
 
 106 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 God from ray heart, let us think of our good friend, 
 the shark yonder. 'Tis time to look after him, foi 
 he has been very patient to wait for us all this 
 while." 
 
 We caught up our guns, eager for the sport : and 
 were marching down to the shore, when all at once 
 I bethought me. " Halt !" cried I ; " though I do 
 not take this gentleman to be one of your timorous 
 kind among fishes, like a shy trout in a pool, that 
 hides himself among weeds and stones, yet there 
 may be such a thing as frightening even a shark, af- 
 ter all. So let us observe some generalship, lest we 
 lose him. Our best chance of killing is, to hit him 
 in the head ; for otherwise, the monster has as many 
 lives as a cat, and will swim off easily with all our 
 bullets in him, and laugh at us as he goes." " I 
 think, though," observed Harvey, " it were well if 
 one of us aimed at the heart or so, to have a double 
 chance with him." " But how will you get at his 
 heart ?" asked Harry Gill ; " for he's a sturdy sort of 
 fellow, mind ; and I don't think," he added, letting 
 his carelessness get the better of him again, " you'll 
 be likely to soften him as we were, by asking him " 
 Don Manuel laid his hand, quite friendly, on his 
 shoulder, and Gill stopped at once, reddened, and 
 looked down. 
 
 " The only way," said the priest, without a pause, 
 saving Harry from this little confusion being noticed, 
 " the only way to hit him in the body, while he 
 keeps under water, is to fire into the water, a little 
 on this side of him." ' Why so ?" asks Prodcrers. 
 
 * O 
 
 questioning everything again, though not in his for-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 107 
 
 mer rough way. " Because," answered the Don, 
 " by that means you make the water convey your 
 bullet at an angle to the mark you would hit, which 
 it does almost as free and forcibly as the air it- 
 self." 
 
 " Like the gun that could shoot round a corner,* 1 
 says Hilton, laughing. "And so it could," replied, 
 the priest, good humouredly, " if there was a wall, 
 or tree, at the corner, for the ball to glance from. 
 Did you never hear how William Rufus met his 
 death ?" 
 
 " I never heard of him at all," says Hilton. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 WE FIRE INTO THE ENEMY'S CAMP, AND RETREAT TO 
 OUR OWN. 
 
 THE shai-k, all this time, showed himself no ways 
 disposed to get out of our reach. On the contrary, 
 I think he had caught a sight of us, and was wait- 
 ing to see what chance he had of making a supper 
 off some of our number: this I judged from his lift- 
 ing his head ever and again over the water, turning 
 his eye in our direction ; for it must be observed, 
 the shark can turn his eye every way, like a human 
 creature, which gives him that cruel look lie has, as 
 though he meant mischief. We thanked him for his 
 good intentions, but resolved to be even with him,
 
 108 THE ADVENTURES 0? OWKN EVANS, 
 
 if we could any way compass it. So we formed our 
 plan of attack as follows : 
 
 Harry Gill was to get out on the ledge of the rock 
 from which Harvey had seen the skeleton in the 
 shallow ; only he was to go further out from the 
 cove, to be ready to cut off the enemy's retreat, 
 should we only succeed in wounding him ; and to 
 give his worship a parting salute, to finish him off. 
 This being agreed on, Harry started, to take up his 
 post, and be in readiness : but we called out to him 
 to beware of his footing, and keep away from the 
 edge (the sea-weed being as slippery hereabouts as 
 on the other side of the island) ; lest a false step 
 should bring him more than a ducking, and cast him 
 into the jaws of this monster, who kept his eye on 
 him all the while as he drew nearer, and swam near- 
 er himself also, edging towards the low reef of rocks 
 on which Gill was picking his way. However, we 
 needed not to caution him ; for the danger was full 
 in view, and he went on steadily, till he judged he 
 had got far enough out from the strand of our cove. 
 Then he stood still, and looked back to us, waving 
 his hand. 
 
 As for the rest, we drew up in a line ready to give 
 our shark a volley on the first sign of his sheering 
 off. But while we waited for the moment to fire, 
 Don Manuel came in again with a word of counsel. 
 
 "Throw him, friends," said he, "a piece of the 
 monkey, and then fire at his heart as he turns to 
 seize it." 
 
 ' So said, so done. Prodgers, who had the best 
 right to claim the beast he had shot, took up a leg
 
 THR CATHOLIC CRDSO*. 100 
 
 and pitched it into the water with a good splash, and 
 the bait fell in, about half-way between the fish and 
 the strand; but no sooner had it touched the water 
 than our friend the shark darted at it like a cat after 
 a mouse, dashing the sea into foam as he swam to it. 
 " Now, be ready !" cried Don Manuel, and we lev- 
 elled our pieces at once. We had not to wait an 
 instant ; for the shark, after trying to gorge the 
 bait as he darted at it, turned on his side to take it 
 into his jaws ; and then the under side of this huge 
 fish was a fair mark for our bullets. 
 
 u Fire !" shouted I, and pulled my trigger. So 
 did the rest, with great steadiness; and thus the 
 two fowling pieces and my rifle (for we had loaded 
 the old condemned piece for this turn,) were all dis- 
 charged at once ; and all took effect, as we found 
 afterwards. 
 
 It was getting so dark, the sun being now sunk 
 on the other side of the island, as we judged by 
 the loss of light, that we could just see the white- 
 ness of the creature's side as he turned to gorge 
 his prey, and the flashing of the water as we hit 
 him. But we could hear, plain enough, the kind of 
 snort he gave > from pain and rage, as he shot off 
 towards the open sea on receiving our charge. It 
 was plain, also, as we saw from the motion of the 
 back-fin above the water level, that he swam feebly ; 
 indeed, spite of the great strength and power of life 
 possessed by this monster, he must have been bad- 
 ly wounded, what svith my rifle ball, and the large 
 Bhot from the other pieces. 
 
 " Now, Gill ! now, Harry !" cried out every one, aa
 
 110 TUB 4DVEN1TRR9 OP OWEN BVANS, 
 
 the enemy sheared off from us : " don't let him go, 
 man ! Why won't you fire ? Like a land-lubber as 
 you are," added Prodgers, in a heat. 
 
 But Gill took steady aim, kneeling on one knee^ 
 and propped his gun securely ; then, as the fish went 
 by him, he delivered his fire like a true marksman 
 aiming at his head. There came another kind of 
 bubbling snort, louder than the first ; and the shark 
 dived, or sank under water, we could not tell which. 
 
 " 'Tis all over for to-night," observed Hilton ; and 
 so indeed it was, for we could scarce see the length 
 of the muzzle as we pointed our guns ; and there be- 
 ing no moon at this time, the sooner we prepared to 
 encamp again, the better for us. So we followed our 
 plan of last night ; gathering our brushwood, though 
 we found it not in such plenty on this part of the 
 island, nor of such good stuff to burn readily. 
 When this was lit, we unpacked our supper, and 
 spread it on the ground. Then, what with the mon- 
 key, which we ate (I must say) with our eyes shut 
 and wry faces, what with the remains of our peccary 
 and bread-fruit, helped also by the cocoa nuts, we 
 made out our meal pretty well. But all our talk 
 was of the sea-monster, and what chance we had of 
 finding him in the morning. Gill made sure of hav- 
 ing hit him in the head ; and indeed I hoped so too, 
 from the noise he made, and his going down at once 
 on getting the shot. " That," said Hilton, '' with 
 what he had got before from the rest of us, would be 
 enough to settle him quietly." Tom Harvey thought 
 he had managed to get out to sea : and so, though 
 he might be dead as a door-nail, we sho ild be
 
 CATHOLIC CRUSOE. l 
 
 none the better of him. " Well," said I, taking up 
 the matter, " if we get him after all, he will be no 
 Bmall prize in many ways." " What will he serve 
 for," asked Prodgers, " more than to rid us of one 
 enemy, while there may be more of his tribe cruis- 
 ing on the ame tack ?" 
 
 On this I told them, if we could capture our fish 
 to-morrow, he would serve many useful ends at 
 once. First, his teeth would furnish us with more 
 arrow-heads ; and added to the stock we had, would 
 fill our quivers, had we been so many Tartars. Then 
 the liver is known to yield an abundance of oil, 
 sometimes to several gallons. " If only we were 
 Russians instead of Tartars," says Gill, " that would 
 do well enough." " Besides," continued I, " if we 
 can anyhow contrive to skin him, his rough skin will 
 make shagreen for us, that will come in useful for 
 more things than I can tell at this moment. And 
 his bones will turn into several tools we can hardly 
 do without, as gimlets, files, pincers, and I know 
 not what." 
 
 In a word, like many housewives, more eager 
 than experienced, reckoning their chickens before 
 they are hatched, we disposed of our shark, all to his 
 bones, while as yet we knew not if we should ever 
 see him again. And, having thus cut him up and 
 finished him, we finished our supper likewise. 
 
 " Now, my dear friends," says Don Manuel, " we 
 have proclaimed ourselves this day to be Christ- 
 ians, with a sense of gratitude in our hearts ; and 
 we shall go to rest as Christians, I am sure of it." 
 
 This time, 'twas no new idea to us to fall to
 
 112 THB ADVBNTURKS OF OWKN RVAS'8, 
 
 our prayers. Our good priest knelt down, making 
 the siscn of the cross oh his forehead and breast ; 
 
 O 
 
 wherein, I observed, Hilton tried to do like him, 
 though awkwardly enough. Then Don Manuel, 
 adoring the presence of God, and thanking Him 
 anew for His protection of us, proceeded to ex- 
 amine his conscience aloud, while we listened ou 
 our knees, wondering ; this being a thing stranger 
 to us even than prayer. He asked himself how h 
 had spent that day ; did he give his first thoughts to 
 God ? how often had he recalled the divine pres- 
 ence '? what had been his thoughts, his words, hi? 
 actions? had he carefully kept himself from sin. 
 whether of anger or any other kind (here old Prodg- 
 ers gave a gruff sort of "hem !" that nearly set Hil- 
 ton off laughing) had he considered others with cha- 
 rity, or provoked them to offend God ? (and at this 
 Harry Gill got rather red ;) and so on through a few 
 other questions, which were almost as strange to us 
 as though he were speaking a foreign tongue. Then 
 lastly, the priest asked himself what were his reso- 
 lutions for the time to come, if his life was spared 
 through the night ? did he detest his sins because 
 they were displeasing to the good God ? and break- 
 ing forth with fervor, he then said, 
 
 "O my God! I am heartily sorry for having of- 
 fended Thee ; and I detest my sins most sincerely, 
 because they are displeasing to Thee, my God"! who 
 art so deserving of all my love for Thy infinite good- 
 ness and most amiable perfections : and I firmly 
 purpose, by the help of Thy grace, never more- to
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRtSOK. 1 l8 
 
 offend Thee, and carefully to avoid all occasions of 
 sin." 
 
 With our souls thus refreshed by prayer, we set- 
 tled down to refresh our bodies with sleep; and to 
 begin, stirred our fire, though we now felt more se- 
 cure against wild beasts; yet, on these few first 
 nights of our dwelling in this strange place we used 
 it as a precaution, though more than was needful, 
 and that we might go to rest without an anxious 
 thought or care. Then, gathering round it as we 
 had the night before, we lay down in full confi- 
 dence, and most of us were sound asleep in a short 
 space ; only that Don Manuel stepped aside to finish 
 his prayers by himself. 
 
 CHAPTER XVH. 
 
 FIRE-SIDE TALK. 
 
 I HAVE noted these particulars of our two first 
 days in this place of our banishment, for as much as 
 they remained fresh in the memory of us all for a 
 long time after; but no one will expect (should this 
 record of the misery of six poor men ever chance to 
 fall into other hands) that I am to go on recording 
 the after part of our exile with a like fulness. 
 Much of our time henceforward went by, one day so 
 like another, that it were tedious to put down at 
 any length what befel us as it happened. Indeed, 
 one of my chief cares which I imparted to my kind
 
 114 THE ADVKNTURBS OF OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 counsellor the priest (for our two heads, I must say, 
 had to think for the rest,) was, how to employ the 
 men, and how to keep them amused. Tis true, we 
 had (one would think) enough to occupy our time ; 
 for we had to build, to plant, to snare and tame ani- 
 mals for our support ; to fish, whether angling, or 
 with such rude nets as we might make shift to con- 
 trive ; to practise shooting with arrows and jave- 
 lins when our powder was out : lastly, we had to 
 invent some method of weaving, however miserable 
 stuffs, to supply us with clothes. By these needful 
 employments the time would not hang heavy, could 
 we but persuade the men to keep up to their work 
 and live in peace with one another. This last thought 
 was, indeed, the one most on my mind, how to 
 preserve harmony amongst us. For a short time 
 had shown how ready the men were each to indulge 
 his humors at the expense of his fellows ; and how 
 soon, with their uncurbed passions, provided with 
 fire-arms as they were, some deadly feud might 
 spring up to plunge our small society into war, 
 ami give our island its first taste of blood. 
 
 As I sat by the watch-fire, I mused in this fash- 
 ion till I was weary of thinking alone, and felt glad 
 when Don Manuel stepped again into the circle of 
 the fire-light, and spread his cloak for his night's 
 rest. I asked him if he was too inclined for sleep 
 to talk with me a while ; then stated to him all that 
 was in my thoughts. 
 
 " Well, friend," says he, cheerfully, as was hin 
 wont ; for of all men I ever knew, he was, I think, 
 the cheerfulest : seldom laughing out loud, as the
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 115 
 
 rest would when the fit took them, but as seldom 
 (after our iirst great trial) looking any ways down- 
 cast, and never sour or stern ; " well," says he, " for 
 quarrels, you see we have been able to build up 
 something of a wall against them." 
 
 I could not for the life of me make out what he 
 meant by a wall ; and looking at him to explain 
 himself: " why, to be sure," says he, " by beginning 
 to pray, and pray together." 
 
 " I must confess, sir," answered T, " these two 
 turns that we having knelt down all in a body took 
 me by surprise, like a new thing, and gave me ano- 
 ther notion altogether of what praying means." 
 
 " Why, so ?" asks he, turning his face upon me 
 quickly : " you have prayed, of course, my friend, 
 ever since you were a child ?" 
 
 I felt overcome with shame to be thought of so 
 much better than I deserved ; and to have it taken 
 for granted I had done what I knew myself to have 
 been far enough from doing. But Don Manuel 
 went on, without taking notice of my silence ; and 
 as if he spoke to himself, part to me : 
 
 " Prayer," is the elevation or lifting of the soul to 
 God. Now, the higher the soul is lifted, the nearer 
 it draws to Him ; and the nearer it draws, the more 
 like Him does it grow : then, you see, as God is eternal 
 tranquillity and peace, so man, when he begins to pray, 
 begins to know peace; and knowing peace in himself, 
 loves to be at peace with others. He gets one de- 
 gree, say, of this blessed love of peace when he prays 
 once ; and is likely to get another degree of it the 
 next time he prays, and so on : just as a mason QT
 
 116 THE ADVBNTDRRS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 bricklayer lays one course of stones or bricks for his 
 wall, then another again, resting on that. At last, 
 the soul gains a conBrined habit of peace, and feels 
 a great pain at being out of peace, with any one, or 
 witnessing any breach of peace or charity : and tins 
 is, as it were, like topping the whole with a coping- 
 stone. So, now, that is what I call building the 
 wall. Is it not good masonry, my dear friend ; and 
 is it not worth while to raise such a wall against ha- 
 
 o 
 
 tred, violence, misery ?" 
 
 I could not answer him, I fairly osvn ; for my 
 heart filled again, and well nigh overflowed. I sat 
 looking into the fire; I felt the truth of all this good 
 man had been saying. Yet his talk was as simple 
 as a child's, as to the manner of it : only he seemed 
 to speak with much knowledge from having practised 
 his doctrine, which I make no doubt he had done for 
 years. After a while, I turned to him, and pursued 
 our discourse : 
 
 " And there are some people, sir," said I, " who 
 are not content to be at peace, but strive to make all 
 others be so too." 
 
 He seemed a little confused, as if I had said what 
 he did not know how to answer, and did not like to 
 hear addressed to him. 
 
 " Yesterday," continued he, as if to turn it off, 
 " when we were going up that mountain, we got 
 into clearer air the higher we went, and could see 
 further on every side of us. If any one asked you 
 \vhy, you would answer: of course, because we were 
 higher up. And so it is with our souls likewise. 
 When we struggle against the power of things pre-
 
 THB CATHOLIC CHUSO*. 11? 
 
 ent that would draw us away from God, be they in 
 the way of pleasure, or anger, or what you will, wo 
 are climbing up the mountain ; sometimes with dif- 
 ficulty and pain, in spite of many weights that 
 would drag us down again. When we pray, we are 
 climbing. When we give up to others for peace 
 when we are obliged to stand against others for 
 principle when we do good to others for charity 
 we are climbing. The oftener we do these things, 
 the higher we climb, and the stronger. The higher 
 we climb, the more pleasant is the exertion, and the 
 more delightful the prospect. I will give you some 
 lines, written by a poor heathen as much as two 
 thousand tive hundred years ago ; and then reflect, 
 if even he could see all this so clearly, what ought we 
 Christians to think about it ?" 
 
 Then he repeated, with his strong foreign ac- 
 cent : 
 
 " Baseness is easy, chosen by the throng, 
 Nor rough the way, nor far to seek, nor long : 
 Severer toil th' immortal gods have giveu 
 To fence the narrow way that leads to heaven, 
 All strait and steep, until the height be won ; 
 Then with a gentler toil it leads the traveller on." 
 
 "You see," continued Don Manuel, when he had 
 concluded his lines, " a poor man who had so little 
 idea of the One true God that he calls his idols ' the 
 immortal gods,' still knew something, at least, of the 
 truth we speak of. Reason carried him a certain 
 way ; though by virtue he only meant a proud con- 
 formity of the life to the natural conscience ; and 
 knew nothing of that charity which is the true fulfil- 
 ling of the law."
 
 til 
 
 " Nothing of charity ?" asked I. 
 
 " Certainly not," answered the priest, " for charity 
 is a Christian virtue, and follows upon faith." 
 
 " Faith ?" pursued I, as if I were determined to 
 make objections : " but then you, sir, as a Catholic, 
 would say that we who are not so, cannot have 
 faith ?" 
 
 " You cannot, indeed, my dear friend," answered 
 he, looking at me with much concern in his face 
 " and the greater pity for you. But you may have 
 several things like it, or leading the way to it, or 
 producing some of its effects." 
 
 I looked at him as if I did not understand him, 
 which indeed I did not. 
 
 " We are both too tired now," said he, giving a 
 little yawn, " to follow this much further. But you 
 may have the beginning of faith, or what is a prepar- 
 ation for it, or what is borrowed from its teachings to 
 its own disciples ; and so may do the same things to 
 some extent as if you had faith, by a kind of imita-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 A FEW LITTLE DEBTS. 
 
 OP course I was not satisfied, and he saw it. 
 
 " If, now," pursued he, looking upward, " we had 
 a moon at this time, which we have not, and it were 
 shining over our heads, it would be very bright 
 would it not, and very beautiful, and would influ- 
 ence the tides this way or that, or would light the 
 traveller on his road, and serve to read by, to some 
 degree ?" 
 
 I nodded to this, but could not see his drift at all. 
 
 " Well, after all, would it be the sun ?" 
 
 I smiled, and waited to hear further. 
 
 " No," pursued Don Manuel, speaking now with 
 so much energy that he half roused some of the 
 sleepers ; and Prodgers began to utter an oath or 
 two in his sleep : " No ! take that bright moon at 
 her full when she is most cloudless and most power- 
 ful ; and all her light is borrowed : it is a mere re- 
 flection from the sun. She is herself a dark, dull 
 body ; only capable of giving back and (I may say) 
 reporting the light she receives from the sun, the 
 fountain of all light. Take away the sun, and the 
 moon would be absolutely dark, as she is in a total 
 eclipse. But do I tire you with this ?" 
 
 " By no means, sir," said I ; " I do not see whith- 
 er you are going, but I am anxious to follow you to 
 the end." 
 
 " I am only going to this point," replied he, smi-
 
 120 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS. 
 
 ling; "that the Catholic Church, to whom a lone the 
 mission of teaching the nations is given, besides fully 
 enlightening her children, also enlightens partly 
 those who reject her. She enlightens them, so that 
 they still hold, as religious opinions, some portions 
 of her teaching, though not by faith, or in the right 
 way. They get light from her, as the moon from the 
 sun, by reflection. The faintest glimmer of twilight 
 or a meteor that shoots and expires, is better than 
 total gloom ; and a reflected light, though imper- 
 fect, is light as far as it goes. So the Church has 
 lower and lesser benefits for those who will not ac- 
 cept her best gifts ; and at every turn makes many 
 her true debtors who least acknowledge the debt. 
 But come ; it is time to snatch a few hours' sleep." 
 
 " Stay one moment, sir, I beg you," cried I again, 
 as he was settling himself to rest. " What you say 
 moves me very much, I can tell you. I do not half- 
 understand it, though. Will you give me an instance 
 of what you mean ? What have we borrowed from 
 your Catholic Church ?" 
 
 Don Manuel reckoned up on his fingers. 
 
 " First," said he, " the sacred Scriptures them- 
 selves ; for without the authority of the Church you 
 would not know which of the various writings were 
 inspired, even of those you acknowledge." 
 
 " Do not interrupt me now," added he, with a 
 good-natured look, " if you wish me to go through 
 ray list ; for 'tis getting too late to do more than 
 just read it through. Let rne go on. Secondly, 
 you owe to us the change from the seventh day to 
 the first day of the week, as a day to be kept holy ;
 
 tHE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 121 
 
 and if it were not for that, you would bo grievously 
 breaking one of the commandments every Saturday, 
 ;ind practising a vain observance every Sunday." 
 
 This staggered me, I confess; for, little as I had 
 observed the Sunday for many years, except to idle 
 it away, I did not forget the words of the command- 
 ment, " Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day 
 the seventh day thou shalt do no manner 
 of work." 
 
 " Thirdly," he went on, " but indeed I should have 
 put it first, you owe to us, as far as you really hold 
 them, the true doctrines of the most Holy Trinity 
 and the Incarnation." 
 
 " Nay, now, sir," cried I, breaking in with some 
 vexation, and feeling angry with him for the first 
 time since our acquaintance ; " how can you say we 
 owe this to you ? Why, 'tis a part of our teaching 
 too, I've always heard " 
 
 " Remind me as early to-morrow as you like," 
 answered the priest, gently, of the two names, Sa- 
 bellius and Xestorius ; and I will explain my mean- 
 ing. AVould you like me to finish my catalogue ?" 
 
 I made a sign, not a very gracious one foi I 
 was much put out by what he had said. 
 
 " Fourthly, then," continued he, " though I fear 
 to vex you again by mentioning it, you owe to us- 
 the rest of all that is found in the Creeds, the Apos- 
 tles' and the Xicene, as well as the Athanasian." 
 
 " Fifthly, 't is only by authority of the Catholic 
 Church that you have ventured to-day to taste of 
 the peccary and the bustard, or the monkey, without 
 fear of sin."
 
 122 , THR ADVKNTURKS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 By this, I quite thought he was laughing at met 
 no sooner did he see it in my countenance, than he 
 came nearer, and laid his hand on my shoulder as I 
 sat, saying : 
 
 "You do not suppose I would jest in that way? 
 I was never more serious. It would take some time 
 to explain what I mean: only remember, in a word, 
 there was a divine command against eating flesh with 
 the blood in it, issued before the law of Moses, and 
 continued after it by the Apostles.* Now, unless 
 the Church can pronounce that the command was 
 not always to bind, you are bound by it at this 
 moment. The Council of Jerusalem enforced it on 
 the disciples, who were freed from the Mosaic law. 
 But if you are bound by it, you have been guilty 
 of a grievous sin this day, and most days of your 
 life, as I have stated. That is what I mean ; and 
 thus, your release from that law of not eating blood 
 with the meat makes your fifth obligation to the 
 Catholic Church." 
 
 I could not have kept anger in my heart against 
 him, so simple and frank was he ; even had he in- 
 tended a jest upon me : but this I now felt sure he 
 did not. So I at once begged him to go on, and 
 all my old trust in him revived. 
 
 " I've come to ti*e little finger of my left hand," 
 says he, smiling, " and give you warning, friend, I 
 will not go beyond the middle finger of the other. 
 Three more points, and then I go to sleep." 
 
 " In the sixth place : do you not owe to the Catho- 
 lic Church whatever benefit you think you have had 
 
 * Se &en. iv. 4 ; Acts, xv. 20, 29.--ED.
 
 THE CATriOt.TC CRDSOi. 1^3 
 
 from Confirmation, if you have been confirmed? for 
 she pronounces it a sacrament, and they who say 
 otherwise, have kept it as a form." 
 
 "Seventhly; us you (or your teachers) think you 
 have among you a Christian ministry, handed down 
 from the Apostles : though I could not honestly say 
 you have, yet if you had, you could only have it 
 from us, as your learned writers acknowledge, nay, 
 maintain tooth and nail, as their best chanca 
 
 " Eighthly and last : if it is not from the Catho- 
 lics, whence do you get your solemn cathedrals, 
 that you make so little use of; your beautiful parish 
 churches, each with the title of a Catholic saint ; 
 your stately colleges and halls of learning, whose 
 very names, as Corpus Christi, St. Mary's, All Souls', 
 Peterhouse, prove they come from us ; your ancient 
 almshouses, where even now, a dole is given daily 
 (I am told*) to the wayfarer and the mendicant, ai 
 was once done at every convent gate ; your fasts 
 and festivals, neither of which you keep ; your 
 ruined abbeys which you visit on parties of pleasure ; 
 your healing springs, that cure even those who be- 
 lieve them to be nothing but chalybeate or medicinal 
 waters ; and so on, down to the market-crosses in 
 your provincial towns, which afford a pedestal for 
 the town clock, and a shelter for the town crier with 
 his bell on rainy days ? 
 
 " That is enough for to-night," added he, yawning 
 a little again : " so I omit Magna Charia, Habeas 
 
 * This is at least the case at the ancient hospital or mon:s 
 t crv, ofdolv Ooss nenr Winchester , ni the ff:ite o f whicli (hv 
 antient deed) a piece of bread and cup of beer may be daily 
 claimed by every wayfarer.
 
 124 THR ADTKNTURBS OF OWKN 
 
 (Corpus, and the other great bulwarks of the British 
 Constitution, together with the whole banking sys- 
 tem, that would keep us up till midnight. So now, 
 wholesome slumbers and the blessing of God." 
 
 The priest wrapped himself in his cloak ; and, 
 making again the sign of the cross, nodded to me 
 
 O O C7 f 
 
 with a kind look, and was soon quietly asleep. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WE GAIN OUR PRIZE. 
 
 BUT as for me, I sat there by the fire, thinking on 
 what the priest had said ; and found much in it was 
 very new to me, and some things I wished to find 
 an answer to and could not: until I dropped off in 
 my turn. 
 
 We were woke in the morning by a shouting that 
 caused us all to spring on our feet ; we caught up 
 our guns, and looked at once to the priming, to be 
 ready against surprise. Our first thought was of 
 savages, who might have landed in the night ; but 
 looking round, seeing Hilton was not among us, we 
 listened again, and presently knew it was his voice 
 that shouted to us from the cave. So we ran down 
 to him, eager to get some news of the shark; for 
 that, we judged, was the meaning of the noise lie 
 made. 
 
 So soon as we got clear of the trees where we had 
 encamped the night before, we saw the shark indeed
 
 THR CATHOMC CRUSOE. 125 
 
 floating quite dead (as it seemed), about a quarter 
 of a mile off shore, and Ned Hilton almost beside 
 himself with joy; he danced on the sand with extra- 
 vagant gestures ; he sang snatches of a sea song ; 
 then he shouted, now to us to come quick, now to 
 the shark, inviting him to land: in short, I thought 
 he had taken leave of his wits, so like a senseless 
 creature did he behave himself. But it is to be 
 considered, the interest we take in the objects round 
 us is measured by the employment we have for our 
 thoughts ; and I have read of a poor prisoner, chained 
 for many years in a dark dungeon, who by great 
 patience had tamed a spider in his cell, so that the 
 creature would come to him, when he whistled to it, 
 out of a crack in the wall ; and how fond he grew of 
 it, and made it a companion : how the brutal gaoler, 
 finding what delight the poor man took in this rep- 
 tile, shook it on the ground one day when he came 
 in and crushed it with his foot ; also how the man 
 took it to heart, and was like to pine for the loss of 
 his friend the spider. So that our poor Ned was to 
 be excused for the excess of spirits he showed when 
 the shark came floating back to us again : indeed, I 
 believe he was as overjoyed at this discovery as ever 
 a needy man who found in his garden a pot full of 
 guineas to pay his debts with. 
 
 But oxir concern was now, to possess ourselves of 
 this monster, and bring him to land. First, we could 
 not be sure he was truly dead : for these creatures 
 keep their life in them so long, and against all ap- 
 pearance, that I judged it foolhardy for any one to 
 ewim out to him and fasten a twine around him, which
 
 126 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 was what Hilton proposed, but I would by no raeani 
 consent to. After awhile, we had the satisfaction to 
 see the tide was now sett.ng in for the cove ; and we 
 had only to wait till the carcass should drift in near- 
 er. But I proposed to try with the rifle (as the only 
 piece among us that would touch him at that dis- 
 tance), if he were dead beyond a doubt : and I com- 
 plimented Harry Gill by offering him the first shot at 
 our enemy. So Gill began by marking the bullet, 
 to know it again when we had gained our prize: 
 then taking good aim, fired and hit him, again (as we 
 judged) under the side-tin; but he stirred not, nor 
 gave sign of life ; whereby we knew him for dead, 
 and gave a cheer for Harry Gill, whose shot had 
 killed him yesternight. 
 
 I raised no objection now to any of our number 
 swimming off to take the shark in tow. Only I 
 begged, whoever went would have a care, and keep 
 clear both of the jaws and tail of the fish ; it being 
 known that a stroke from the tail of a shark would 
 kill a man, though the fish be but in a dying con- 
 vulsion. But they all seemed content to wait till 
 the tide should bring him in, which it did nearer at 
 every beat of the waves ; a little wind blowing at 
 the time up the cove. As he lay broadside on, he 
 came drifting in heavily, till we could measure him 
 with our eyes : then we discovered he was indeed a 
 monstrous fish, and a good deal bigger than the 
 skeleton that lay in the shallow. We judged him 
 well nigh thirty feet in length, as it afterwards 
 proved when he came to land. And, to be short, 
 thn tide soon brought him so near, that the four men
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU80K. 1 27 
 
 waded into tue water with the handspike, and Don 
 Manuel's walking staff, together with some branches 
 they tore from the trees and stripped with their 
 knives. By help of these, they managed to turn the 
 shark's head Jo-shore, and so waited till the tide 
 should grouno '*>im, which it did about half an hour 
 our shot. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BLOWN INTO HARBOR. 
 
 WE w?ro favored by the wind, which still kept 
 blowing up the cove, and indeed freshened as the 
 morning advanced : for, had it not, I believe we had 
 never got our prize high enough on shore to be of 
 much use to us. And, to be short, the wind in- 
 creased so much upon us within half an hour after 
 the shark touched land, as made us look out for a 
 squall ; but truly, when it came, 'twas no squall, but 
 a hurricane instead. The sky grew blacker in the 
 offing than ever I saw it in my country on a dark 
 day in November ; on every side the sea-birds flew 
 screaming in, and swept close by us, so that, had we 
 had nothing else on hands, we could have knocked 
 them over with our staves, and the power of the 
 wind was such as bent some palm trees near the 
 shore as though they had been so many saplings, or 
 whips of osier. 
 
 Our only safety now was to throw ourselves flat
 
 128 THE ADVENTURES 01 OWEN EVAX8, 
 
 on our faces, which we all did at once, but not be- 
 fore the wind had twirled away Prodgers' hat, and 
 sent it high in the air, so that we found it not for 
 near a se'ennight after, in a banana tree some half 
 mile (I am sure) from the place we were in. But 
 now was no moment for grumbling, or thinking of 
 hats ; for the storm waxed to an awful pitch, as it 
 does in the tropics when it bursts in earnest. 
 
 What with the rending of the branches of trees, 
 and roar of the waves that now came driving up our 
 cove as fleet as a race-horse, and raging like a tiger, 
 tossing their foam high as the very trees and drench- 
 ing us with the spray, and what with the thunder of 
 the surf that broke on the coral reef outside our lit- 
 tle harbor, the scene was beyond anything I can put 
 down on paper. The tide washed up so near the 
 place where we had anchored ourselves at full 
 length, we were no longer safe in staying there. I 
 began to think the third wave, as they say the third 
 wave is ever the highest, would suck us back into 
 the wild sea. So, choosing a moment when there 
 seemed a lull, or at least the wind not being so rag- 
 ing as before, we were up and scudding before the 
 storm, till we reached some underwood that lay per- 
 haps some two hundred yards in-shore ; yet not un- 
 der the higher trees, for that we dreaded, lest they 
 should be torn up, or their branches rent off, and fall 
 on us, and so crush us out of life. 
 
 As to our prize that we had been so anxious to se- 
 cure one short hour before this tempest broke upon 
 our heads, we thought of it so little, that I believe all 
 the sharks that ever swam might have floated out to
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 12fl 
 
 icaward, without our bestowing a thought on their 
 loss to us. So important do things appear to us poot 
 mortals, till something more weighty comes in, to 
 wipe them clean out of our minds ! 
 
 But this was not all ; for the rain, or water-spout 
 rather, began now to pour down upon us in a deluge 
 so that we were forced from our brushwood would 
 we or no, and driven to seek some shelter, though 
 already we had not a dry stitch on us, a thing woe- 
 ful enough, seeing we had no change of garments 
 awaiting us in this wide world. We dragged our 
 way, so well as we might, the force of the wind not 
 abating, into the wood ; holding on by the bushes, 
 till we were sheltered by the trees, cocoa and bana- 
 na, with others, that grew pretty thick hereabouts, 
 and plenty. We ran which way soever the wind 
 would take us, not thinking of aught but to get free 
 of this deluge of rain ; however, we guessed at the 
 time, we were making for the ridge, or back-bone of 
 rock that formed the south end of this island. 
 
 'Twas not long before we saw the upper parts of 
 it towering above our heads ; and the trees that 
 crowned it, bending and swaying every way under 
 the tornado of wind ; then, working our way some- 
 what further, we got under this wall of rock, which 
 rose sheer up, much like to the side of a house. But 
 what comforted us most, was to see, about twenty 
 steps as you turned to the left, a mass or crag of 
 rock that had fallen, I suppose, from the height, or 
 been split off from the main part of the cliff by some 
 earthquake. This bent over to the cliff it had been 
 lorn from, at an angle, so that the upper part I
 
 130 THE ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 guessed to be within eight feet of it, while the base 
 was at least as many yards distant from the cliff: it 
 looked dangerous, as though it would fall upon ut 
 if we got under it : till we considered again, it must 
 have hung in that way for many ages, forasmuch as 
 trees of a large growth had sprung up between the 
 two portions of rock ; besides, the fallen mass was 
 covered with shrubs that grew upright on it, feather- 
 ing to its very top. 
 
 " Here," says Don Manuel, looking about him, " is 
 our shelter till the hurricane be past ; and I see not 
 but it may be so for many a day to come : for where 
 will you find," continued he, " a better shelter than 
 this rock over head ? See, no drop of the pelting 
 rain hath reached us: then, the trees round about 
 will be both shade and defence, and we could so 
 plant ourselves out from the world that neither sav- 
 age nor wild beast could find out our hiding-place." 
 
 " Aye, but," persisted Gill, going back to his first 
 idea, " we have no view here of the sea ; a ship might 
 touch at the island, and send her boat ashore, and 
 we be none the wiser, and lose our chance." 
 
 " I see a way out of that," says Tom Harvey, " for 
 'tis easy to climb this rock, and so to the cliff over- 
 head : then we shall have a clear look-out on both 
 sides." 
 
 " You've hit it, messmate," cried Hilton, clapping 
 him on the shoulder, " so here goes for a scramble." 
 With that, he sprang up the rock, by the help of the 
 roots of the brushwood that grew on it, as he would 
 op the shrouds of a ship. Harvey was after him, 
 and we all followed ; for by this time the worst of
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 131 
 
 the hurricane was over, though the wind moaned, 
 and the waves were lashing in fury, as high as ever. 
 But we were so wet we feared neither rain or spray. 
 From the top of our rock on to the cliff was an 
 easy leap ; for, as I said, the distance at top was not 
 more than seven or eight feet, and there was a little 
 dent or landing place in the cliff opposite, worn by 
 rain, or a torrent, or sawn out by the branches ; it 
 gave us sure footing, so we sprang across without a 
 second thought. Then a smart climb brought us to 
 the rocky look-out, from which we could sweep the 
 horizon round, stopped only by our volcano (so I 
 called it always) to the north of the island. We gave 
 a glance out to westward of our little kingdom; but 
 all was quiet there, at least by comparison ; for this 
 gale had come upon us from east-by-south, or from 
 that to due east. Harvey begged for the loan of my 
 glass : then laid himself down flat, pulled his hat 
 over his brows, and then looked out in the wind's 
 eye. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 
 
 IN a minute or two I heard him say softly to hira- 
 eelf, "There's something out there in the offing 1 
 cannot make out. Is it another big shark, or what ?" 
 Then, after looking long and steady, he jumped up- 
 and shouted out, " Boat ahoy !" 
 
 I do believe, had a dead man spoken, we could
 
 132 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANB, 
 
 scarce have been more taken aback than by this cry 
 of Tom Harvey's. All were on the alert, and Prod- 
 gers and Gill scuffled for the glass between them 
 but Torn gave it back to me, while I lay down flat 
 to take an observation of the unlooked-for stranger. 
 It was indeed a boat, I well saw, but of what kind I 
 could not so well distinguish ; only, from the prow 
 of it running up (so far as I could judge while it 
 sported like a feather on the angry waves) into a 
 high peak, like the Indian canoes of the South Seas, 
 I set it down for no jboat built in Europe or the col- 
 onies. It came driving in; and first through the 
 glass, then with the naked eye, we could see men in 
 it ; they seemed to be three or four, but could not 
 manage the boat, as was plain from the way she 
 tossed and drove before the wind. So they came on 
 for the coral reef, and we expected every moment to 
 see her go to pieces. " Lord, have mercy on their 
 poor souls !" cried the priest, dropping on his knees. 
 We all answered Amen ; for the danger was so 
 great we gave them up for lost, and kept looking on 
 and wondered to see the boat hold out still. Only 
 Don Manuel remained kneeling, and prayed on with- 
 out moving. By this the boat was within a wave or 
 two of the reef; and in a few moments more a huge 
 roller lifted her up, stern foremost, right over into 
 our cove, with all on board : she was capsized as 
 she came, and the crew flung into the boiling sea. 
 
 At this, with a common impulse, we ran down 
 again at our best speed towards the shore ; making 
 for that ledge of rock on which Harvey had stood, 
 as I said, when he found the dead shark that had 10
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRtSOS. 1 33 
 
 nigh decoyed us into the jaws of the live one. For 
 this point we made straight ; judging in our minds, 
 as we ran, 'twould give us our best chance to deliv- 
 er this ill-fated crew, who must else perish before 
 our eyes in the water. The boat had been flung 
 clean over the coral reef, as you might cast a stone 
 or weed over a garden wall ; she did not appear so 
 much broken as might be thought, for as she came 
 nearer we could observe she floated, only keel up- 
 wards ; for she had a rude kind of jury-keel fas- 
 tened on her, though now partly torn away. At 
 least, she did not fill or go down, as she would if 
 the wave that sent her into the cove had been less 
 full-bodied or powerful ; for then she must have 
 knocked about, on and off the reef, till she had eithei 
 gone down, or fairly gone to pieces. 
 
 But the condition of the poor souls that had man- 
 ned her was scarce less desperate than if they had 
 been left outside the reef. The surf was still boil- 
 ing so high and wild, we could not well see how 
 matters stood with these poor fellows ; but soon we 
 saw, to our sorrow, one of them was dead already 
 for he floated, or rather was rolled over and over 
 again by the furious waves, and made no motion to 
 swim. For the rest, they made a struggle indeed, 
 as well they might, but a weak one it was, against 
 the fury of the rollers that drove over them ; two of 
 these savages struck out for land, swimming man- 
 fully, though every other moment thev were under 
 water again. One (he seemed but a lad) clung fast 
 to the canoe; this one, we thought, had the best 
 chance, if only he could hold out a while longer, for
 
 134 tH* ADVENTURES OF OWEK KVAN8, 
 
 he liad managed to scramble on to the keel and held 
 on with the gripe of despair, while the boat came 
 higher up the cove with each stroke of the waves. 
 Yet he was not the first to reach shore, neither : for 
 by this we had made a shift to reeve our t \vine (the 
 best cable we had) into a noose, and Harvey had 
 found a branch of a tree, of a biggish thickness, but 
 short, to answer the purpose of a life-buoy, though 
 rudely enough. 
 
 Having secured this log or billet, when we had 
 stripped it hastily of some lesser branches and 
 leaves, in the noose of our twine, we all stood as 
 near as we dared to the margin of the cove, and with 
 one heave hove it into the sea towards the nearest 
 of the men that were struggling to reach us. The 
 Indian, as we had already seen them all to be, made 
 for it with his remaining strength, and after catch- 
 ing it once and losing it, he caught it again and held 
 it fast. Indeed it held him fast, too; for in the con- 
 fusion of the waves that boiled around him, twisting 
 him about like a straw in a mill-dam, he got the 
 twine around his arm, and it cut him like a knife, 
 almost to the bone. But this he i-egarded not ; for 
 what will not a man disregard when life itself is at 
 stake ? besides, he was by this time so spent, I ques- 
 tion if at the moment he much felt it. After all, he 
 ran a chance of being strangled in the water from 
 very weakness^ had not Hilton and Tom Harvey 
 now ventured in and pulled him by main force to 
 land. 
 
 Dead enough this Indian seemed to be, as the 
 priest and I carried him from the surf and laid him
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC CRU80S. 185 
 
 on the sand ; but by chafing him some time, with 
 ho ding his head so as to disgorge the sea water he 
 had swallowed, we had the comfort to bring him to 
 himself. Then I left him to see after the other two, 
 that were still struggling in the waves ; but Don 
 Manuel stayed with the first one lest he should faint 
 igain. His fellow swimmer, as we watched him, 
 had a harder escape ; we judged him older than the 
 first, he swam so feebly ; and while he still had some 
 little way to mae, we saw him cease to strike out 
 altogether, and presently he sank slowly. 
 
 At this, the poor lad who still clung to the canoe 
 set up the most dismal howl you ever heard more 
 like the cry of a wild beast at night than any sound 
 from human lips. We knew not then, this old man 
 was the lad's own father; but his cry, and the sight 
 of the sinking Indian, put us all to our wits' ends to 
 save him ; but without success, had it not been for 
 Tom Harvey again. 
 
 " Life is sweet, boys !" cried he, " though it be 
 but the life of a savage Indian. Join hands all in a 
 line, and I'm foremost man at him !" Don Manuel 
 came running down to take his share in the action, 
 and dashed into the water, next to Harvey. Then 
 came Gfil, forward for anything, and so the others, 
 holding hands firmly : so that Harvey, part swim- 
 ming, part wading, after he had been beaten back 
 once or twice, and the chain of hands all but broken 
 by the waves (though by this they were subsiding 
 apace) came up to the savage, whose head was now 
 tbove water again, driving on for shore, though a.t
 
 136 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 the last gasp; and seizing him by his long hair, 
 called to the rest to haul them ashore. 
 
 But we soon found our brave Tom had risked 
 his life in more than one way to save this fellow- 
 creature's ; for the sinking man, feeling something 
 to grapple with, clung round Harvey with such a 
 grasp as was more than Tom could do to shake off. 
 In another minute, they had both surely sunk to- 
 gether : when Harry Gill, without more ado, caught 
 Don Manuel's staff out of his hand before he was 
 aware, and dealt the Indian such a blow with it on 
 the head as sent him under water again. There 
 came another wild cry from the lad, who was drift- 
 ing in upon his canoe ; and he sprung off it into the 
 waves, to try and save his father. 
 
 It seemed a cruel act at the time ; and doubt- 
 less admitted of no defence, were it not a balance be- 
 tween losing two lives without remedy, and risking 
 one only. Add to this, Harvey was a Christian born 
 and so a more valuable life than the savage's; he 
 was our comrade, and the other a stranger cast upon 
 our shore ; he had risked a life, too, that was in no 
 danger, and that was his own to keep, for a life that 
 was all but gone; and that we had a chance of 
 saving, after we had rescued Tom's. I know not 
 what our priest would have said in this case ; for 
 after the thing was over, it never chanced that we 
 discussed it among ourselves. But putting all to 
 gether, though my first impulse was of indignation 
 against Gill, yet, thinking on it after, I knew not 
 how to blame him so much for what he had done 
 on the spui of the moment. Be that as it will, our
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRDSOB. \31 
 
 first concern was to fish up the poor old Indian ; 
 which we managed at length, with no small pains: 
 and brought him to the surface, and so to land, 
 dead as a door-nail, so far as we could see. 
 
 In truth, we all were in sad case enough, when 
 this was over: wet and wearied, and chilled to 
 the bone ; Tom Harvey half choked \\ ith his struggle, 
 and the sea-water he had swallowed ; Don Manuel 
 not much better : and, for our captives, or guestf, 
 call them as you may, one seemingly (?e?d, notwith- 
 standing all our chafing of his limbs, for it failed to 
 bring him to ; the other scarce able to rxt up and 
 moan ; and the y6ung savage howling and bearing 
 his hair like a mad thing over the body of his lather. 
 To look at us there on the shore, one would have 
 thought a slave-ship had been wrecked in that hi.-ri- 
 cane, and we, part of the crew, with a few of the 
 slaves, escaped with our lives from the boiling sea. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 DOCTORING AND PURVEYING. 
 
 As for the second Indian, with all our skill and 
 care bestowed, he came round slowly : we were 
 buised, around him, Don Manuel and I, in the mode 
 of regular practice, and the young savage in a nidei 
 way, for he crumpled up his father's fingers, and 
 pulled his ears, enough (one would think) to make a 
 very statue cry out. But it was done out of love,
 
 188 THE ADVBNTURRS OF OWEN EYANB, 
 
 to bring him to: for I never saw more concern 
 expressed than in this poor creature at what he 
 supposed his father's death. Now he would kneel 
 beside him on the sand, using the rude remedies I 
 gpeak of: now he would fling himself on the body, 
 weeping and howling : then he sprang up, stretching 
 his clenched hands towards the sky, as pleading to 
 the gods he was taught to worship, to give him 
 back the life of his father. At last, espying a sharp 
 shell on the sand, he seized it in an access of fury, 
 and began to inflict such wounds on his own head 
 and cheeks, that he soon ran down with blood. 
 
 The men had looked on, up to now with much 
 concern on their faces, to see the wild grief of this 
 untaught nature : but when he thus began to scarify 
 hhnself, Harvey and Prodgers seized each a hand, 
 and stayed him. The young savage struggled from 
 them with all his might ; when they took the shell 
 out of his clenched fist, he turned upon them with 
 threatening gestures, still pointing upward. This 
 action we did not understand at the time, until we 
 had learned to communicate with these savages in 
 a mixed language, part English and part Indian : 
 then, indeed, we made out from the lad that he had 
 offered his blood as a sacrifice for the life of his 
 father. 
 
 But Richard Prodgers having begun to practies 
 charity, seemed inspired with another happy idea; 
 and pulling his flask of brandy out of his pocket, 
 handed it to me. saying; "Try the poor old fellow 
 with a drop of this ; and 't is a wonder I had n't 
 thought on't before." Indeed, it was dull of myself,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU8OB. 139 
 
 too, not to have thought of the brandy as a remedy 
 for drowning. However, now we applied it in right 
 earnest, and gave the dead man (as he seemed) his 
 first taste of that "fire water" which has been so fatal 
 to many another, savage or civilized. 
 
 Whether it was, the brandy took more effect on 
 who-had never tasted it, or that all we had done for 
 him began to revive him without giving a symptom ; 
 certain it is, when we had poured some of this down 
 his throat, he began to choke violently, then sneezed 
 once or twice, and opened his eyes. We now lifted 
 him up ; though he could not stand, we propped him 
 up for a few minutes, then began to walk him about 
 slowly, till he gained some use of his limbs. 
 
 But you should have seen the joy of the son when 
 he saw his father revive again. Nothing was too 
 extravagant for him to make known his feelings by : 
 he gambolled and capered on before him, shouting, 
 talking to him in his own language, which had the 
 strangest discordant sound, formed, as it seemed 
 down in the throat : so he went on, till the old man, 
 growing faint, pointed with his finger to his mouth, 
 to make known to us he wanted food. 
 
 Want of food seemed now the prevailing disease 
 amongst us : every man felt by this time he had 
 earned his breakfast, but when we set about pre- 
 paring for it, we found little enough left in the 
 larder. The shark had devoured the last of our 
 monkey; and of the remaining provender, all but 
 a few scraps was gone, so wasteful had we been. 
 So, setting Don Manuel, with Prodgers and Harvey, 
 to have an eye to our Indian friends, lest they might
 
 140 TH ADVENTBRRS OF OWEN KVAK8, 
 
 give us the slip, and get into the woods, to be a 
 trouble to us after (though the poor fellows were 
 too weak and dispirited to have any thoughts of 
 it at that time,) I took my rifle, and ranged with 
 Hilton and Gill into the thicket, to cater for the 
 party. We took the young savage with us, motion- 
 ing him by signs to keep close at our heels and not 
 get before us ; as well that he might be out of 
 danger from our shot, as to prevent him from 
 escaping. But he, for his part, had nothing of the 
 kind in his head : being occupied with observing us, 
 which he did with all admiration and astonishment ; 
 he regarded us (so we judged from his looks) as 
 beings of some superior order in human shape, and 
 much, I suppose, as we should regard an angel that 
 were to appear to us ; but indeed, anything less like 
 angels, in appearance or spirit, seldom has been seen 
 on this earth. However, the Indian lad followed us 
 obediently ; and, seeing from our actions what we 
 were about, he took up a smooth stone or two that 
 lay in his path, making signs to us that he would 
 knock down any animal that came in his way, and 
 kill it, and bring it to us to eat. All this we made 
 out readily from his dumb show, which was so 
 expressive, we could not mistake it, and so ridiculous 
 we could not choose but laugh at it heartily. We 
 answered his likewise by signs, bidding him come 
 along, and drop the stones again ; which he did with 
 submission, and followed us like a very slave, cross- 
 ing his hands on his breast. 
 
 We had not gone very far, till we roused an 
 animal out of the thicket, such as we had not seen
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 141 
 
 before : neither did we often meet with such in our 
 residence on the island ; nor could I well account 
 for our meeting this one at the present. Something 
 it was of the hog kind, though not in all things like 
 our peccary, neither : but anything in shape of food 
 was acceptable to us in our hunger, so I knocked it 
 over with my rifle, and Harvey picked it up stone 
 dead, or drew it along, rather. 
 
 But we, that were so used to the sound and effect 
 of fire arms, did not reckon on what they would 
 produce upon the spirits of one that never yet had 
 heard them. We were surprised to see our young 
 savage fall to the earth on the sound of my piece's 
 discharge : he lay like a dead thing, on his face ; 
 and when we came to him and stirred him, bidding 
 him get on his feet again, he only rose to his knees, 
 supplicating us with the most moving gestures, and 
 pointing to the rifle I held in my hand : then speak- 
 ing to it, as though it were a live thing, and be- 
 seeching it not to kill him. 
 
 This- made us merry again ; till the distress of the 
 savage moved us to some compassion. I came to 
 him, and took him by the hand, holding my gun 
 behind me, to assure him I meant him no harm, and 
 so raised him to his .feet. When he had gained 
 some courage, he looked anxiously about for the 
 piece that had been fired; but when I brought it 
 forward, all his fears revived, and I believe he 
 would have fled a way, but that by my voice I half 
 commanded and half encouraged him to stand still. 
 Then I presented to him the stock of my rifle, and 
 moved it towards him: he trembled from head
 
 142 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 to foot as he eyed it ; at length, falling on his knee* 
 again, he placed the butt of the piece on his head, 
 and clasped his hands over it, by which I saw he 
 meant to worship it. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 WE ARK TAKEN TO BE GODS. 
 
 LITTLE religion as there was amongst us, except 
 what our priest had taught us lately, we were struck 
 with horror (at least I speak for myself) to behold 
 this ignorant savage bowing himself down thus to 
 the stock of a tree. T took the rifle from him angrily, 
 pointing upwards to the sky; to make him under- 
 stand that life and death came from thence alone. 
 He seemed partly to understand me, and nodding 
 his head and smiling, pointed upwards too, and then 
 to the gun ; by which I made out that he thought 
 the god whom he had worshipped (in his blind way) 
 had sent down this piece upon earth, or had come to 
 dwell in it, and so had worked the wonderful effects 
 he had seen it produce. But when I handled the 
 rifle again, and began to sponge it with my ramrod, 
 and load it with powder and ball, then he changed 
 his opinion, and began to think, as I was master of 
 this terrible engine, and could do with it as I would, 
 I must needs myself be a god. 
 
 He crept to me, with all possible signs of revei^nce 
 i^ud fear; touching the ground several times with }\\$
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU80B. 143 
 
 forehead as he came ; then, drawing nearer, he took 
 my foot with trembling, and placed it on his head as 
 he lay in the dust. This I refused with a frowning 
 countenance ; and raised my hand again to heaven, 
 forbidding him to worship a creature such as I : but 
 all of no use. The poor Indian could not get it out 
 of his thoughts that we were masters of the thunder 
 and lightning, and could do what we would with life 
 or death. So I gave it over for the time ; resolving 
 to speak to Don Manuel, and see what could be done 
 to enlighten this dark soul, and teach him to know 
 
 O ' 
 
 something of God. Meanwhile, I motioned to him 
 to take this animal (the one, I mean, that we had 
 killed) on his shoulders, and run before us to the rest ; 
 which he did willingly, and arrived before us in spite 
 of the weight. 
 
 At sight of this food, the savages were not to be 
 restrained; indeed, taking into account their long 
 fast (for we made out from them later, they had not 
 tasted bit nor sup for the best part of two days) we 
 thought it well to let them have their way ; so, cut- 
 ting off a leg and shoulder for our own use, we aban- 
 doned the rest to their heathenish gluttony. And 
 short work, truly, did they make of it, without so 
 much as a thought about cookery of any kind. But 
 I must record here, on the other hand, the tender 
 *ilial attentions paid by the poor lad to his father 
 for, seeing the old man still so weak as scarce to be 
 able to raise hand to mouth, this young savage 
 (though less a savage indeed than many a son more 
 civilized) occupied his whole care about feeding his 
 father with the choicest morsels he could tear off
 
 144 THK ADVBNTORES OF OWEN KYAN8, 
 
 his fingers ; putting them lovingly into bia 
 nouth, and talking to him all the while with that 
 strange kind of jabbering he had used at first This 
 talk, or some part of it, % I made out to be about the 
 living of the rifle, and wonderful killing of the animal, 
 without arrow, javelin, club, or even stone : for first 
 he pointed to it (or as much as was left after their 
 meal,) then ran along swiftly on his hands and 
 feet, to imitate the creature's running, which he did 
 in the most laughable way you ever saw. Then he 
 stood upright to take me off, too : but that he did not, 
 till he had first inclined towards me with great 
 reverence, crossing his hands on his breast again and 
 uttering some words, or sounds rather, that were 
 meant to show respect for the person he spoke of. 
 Then, stretching out his left arm straight, and at 
 full length, pointing his finger by way of muzzle to 
 a gun, he snapped his other fingers smartly for the 
 click of the lock, and made a booming sound, or kind 
 of rude bellowing to express the report of the piece. 
 Then again, he turned himself into the animal I had 
 shot, and went tumbling and rolling over and over ; 
 then lay still, as though he were dead, and so got up 
 again, and came back to the rest. 
 
 All this pantomime amused our men heartily : as 
 for Ned Hilton, he turned to Harvey, and bade him 
 cheer up, and not take on for the loss of his monkeys, 
 if they should not live (the two young monkeys, as 
 I said before, were sickening at this time, and died 
 very soon after : ) " For here, messmate," says he, 
 " you have a young monkey in this nigger, as full of 
 tricks as any ; and you may teach him to fetch and
 
 fHS CATHOLIC CRUS01. 145 
 
 carry: see he's not afraid of speaking and being put 
 to work." * 
 
 As for the Indians, they seemed to think there 
 was nothing laughable in what their young country- 
 man told them : no sooner had he finished his ac- 
 count, than they rose up, and coming towards us 
 with the same gestures of submission he had used 
 before, bent down before our feet ; then lifted our 
 feet gently, and were for placing them on their 
 heads, in sign of servitude, or adoration, I scarce 
 know which. I noticed the only one of our number 
 who seemed proud of this being done was Prodgers : 
 as for the rest, Hilton and careless Harry laughed at 
 it with a will ; Tom Harvey, too, was amused at the 
 odd gestures of these poor savage men. Don Man- 
 uel did wha,t I had done before, only in a better 
 way, for it came more natural to him. He took the 
 hand of the Indian who had offered him this homage 
 and that was the old man whom we had fetched 
 back from death with so much difficulty, who seemed 
 to single out Don Manuel as the one that had best 
 title to reverence. This old Indian came creeping 
 to him as though he were more than human : the 
 priest put that by, with some marks of displeasure, 
 though kindly; then, taking his hand, raised it with 
 his own towards heaven, to make him understand, 
 'twas God had saved him, and that he must adore 
 God alone. 
 
 Thus, our first communication with these savages 
 
 * The negroes in the West Indies had a notion that the 
 monkey was human, and could speak if he would ; hut that 
 he kept silence to avoid being employed as a slave. ED.
 
 146 THE ADVKNTURKS OF OWKN EVAttfe, 
 
 was, so far, on the side of Christianity ; a thing I am 
 glad to think on now, reviewing all that befel us. 
 " Too often," said Don Manuel to me when we talked 
 t over, " they who ought to have carried to the hea- 
 then the light of the Gospel, have only stirred for them 
 the fire of hell." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A LESSON IN INDIAN. 
 
 OUR next thought was, how to establish a kind of 
 language to converse with these new and 'strange 
 friends of ours. After some consulation, withdraw- 
 ing ourselves a little apart, the men asked me to 
 make the savages a speech in dumb show, to gain 
 their confidence, but their submission too. Don 
 Manuel joined this request ; and though I asked him 
 to try it himself, he still motioned me forward. So 
 I drew near to them, where they were sitting hud- 
 dled together with much anxiety, their chins resting 
 on the palms of their hands, and eyeing every move- 
 ment of ours with their great rolling eyes. But 
 when they saw me approach with my rifle, they all 
 sprang up in terror again, and prostrated their faces 
 in the dust, making no doubt I had determined to 
 kill them. Nay, perhaps they thought we were go- 
 ing to eat them too, or at least one among them : 
 for the men were even now preparing a fire to cook 
 tome portions of the hog for our meal, and they sup-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 14 
 
 posed, it seems, I was come to fetch them to increase 
 our good cheer. 
 
 Finding this, I laid aside my rifle, placing it care- 
 fully on the sand ; then still advanced a few steps, 
 and held out my empty hand to them I had no such 
 intention as they feared. I could see they watched 
 all this very closely ; and it gave them much joy, 
 you may be sure : so, seating themselves in a row, 
 and with gestm-es of submission, they listened, with- 
 out interrupting me again. I say, listened ; for I 
 found I could not get on with my dumb show only, 
 but must accompany it with words : and though it 
 may appear strange to any one who reads this, yet 
 I believe he will find, by placing himself in my cir- 
 cumstances, he would help out his actions by words, 
 even as one who speaks on what interests him much, 
 is sure to help out his words by action. 
 
 My address ran thus, or somewhat as follows : 
 " P'riends," said I, in a mild voice, smiling on them 
 all the while, " we have rescued you from those 
 waves;" and here I pointed with my hand over to the 
 sea, which was now growing calm again. This ac- 
 tion they understood very well ; and bowed their 
 heads to say, 'twas true, and they were very grate- 
 ful to us for saving them. " We are glad of it," 
 continued I ; " and thankful, as you ought to be, to 
 that great God who has preserved you from death" 
 [raising my hand, pointing upwards, though 1 must 
 say, my heart rebuked me for preaching gratitude 
 when I had put it so little in practice. But if we 
 measured our instruction by our own practice, which 
 of us would say a word to his neighbor for his good ?]
 
 148 THB AbVSNTURHS OF OWfcN KVlMft, 
 
 Well, this second action of mine was plain enough 
 to them too : only, while I pointed straight up to 
 heaven, they all pointed with both arms stretched 
 out to the sun, to make me know that was the god 
 they thought had saved them from the sea. This 
 made me feel angry again ; yet not so much as I de- 
 termined to make show of, that I might wean them 
 from that horrid idolatry of theirs. So, putting on a 
 frowning countenance, I closed my fist, and shook 
 it at them, to threaten them : at which they dropped 
 their hands again, and bowed their heads, as saying, 
 it should be just as I would. I supposed at the 
 time, and made out from them after, what was their 
 notion about us; viz., that my God must needs be 
 much greater than their god, since I was myself so 
 superior to them, and not their own, inasmuch as the 
 tempest had obscured the sun. However, I now 
 went on, part by words which they could not under- 
 stand, part by signs, which they did : I made them 
 sensible we would be good masters to them if they 
 would behave themselves orderly and well : that we 
 would not beat or ill use them (this I explained by 
 taking one of the handspikes, and making as though 
 I were beating some one severely, together with 
 kicking, shaking, and beating with my fists : then 
 threw the pike from me with every mark of abhor- 
 rence, as though all this were what I detested, and 
 should be sorry to be forced to.) 
 
 'Twas indeed strange to see, how quickly these 
 poor savages took up my meaning. They nodded 
 at me with many outlandish grimaces, crossed their 
 hands on their breasts, then placed them on their
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC OB0801. 140 
 
 head?, in token, they devoted their lives to our ser- 
 vice. Then I, on my part, made them great prom- 
 ises, pointing to some cocoa-nuts that grew at a lit- 
 tle distance, pretending to fetch them the fruit to 
 eat : then to some portions of the hog that lay about, 
 as though I offered to them all good things needed. 
 At this, they clapped their hands, and broke out 
 into a kind of song, rocking themselve to and fro a* 
 *,hey sat, with gesture of great contentment. 
 What they sang sounded much as I here set it 
 
 down : 
 
 Ooama atahai, oora, oora, 
 Tabgata makoee, kaoo, toroo ; 
 Eree-htna wariu 1 
 
 But it was not till some time later that I chanced to 
 ask the middle-aged Indian, one day when he was 
 hoeing in our plantation, what was the meaning of 
 this song ; and in particular, of the last words, which 
 they repeated again and again, drawing out the 
 notes to a great length, and raising their voices to a 
 higher pitch. He told me, in the broken English 
 we had taught him to speak, 'twas a song of grati- 
 tude for the promises I made them: and this is how 
 he put it into English ; Brown man happy, very good, 
 very good : he ivork, he laugh, morning t evening : kind 
 to him white Lords ! 
 
 After all, I thought it best to show them, as there 
 was a smooth side there might be a rough one, in 
 our dealings with each other. So, in the best way 
 I could, I began acting another little pantomime, ex- 
 pressing first a disobedient, froward servant dishon- 
 est to his master ; this I did by catching up a cocoa- 
 out, and running a little distance with it as though
 
 160 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 I had stolen it : then came back, and pointed to them, 
 to make them see I meant themselves by this ; so, 
 pointing to myself, I moved towards my rifle, catch- 
 ing it up and presenting it at them, as though I 
 would fire. But this renewed all the poor fellows', 
 mortal fright, as indeed I meant it to do, for a whole- 
 some lesson to them: they cast themselves once 
 more down before me, stretching forth their hands ; 
 and all at once cried out with the utmost vehemence, 
 Udam, udam ! which means in their language, No, 
 no ! Whether they meant only to beseech me this 
 most dreadful thing might not happen to them, or 
 to assure me they would not deserve it, I cannot 
 say ; but 'tis like enough, indeed, they meant both. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 FKEEDOM OK SLAVERY ? 
 
 OUR party being thus increased of a sudden, it 
 perplexed me to know how to secure these new 
 subjects of our little kingdom, or employ them: 
 and after our meal, which we cooked and ate in 
 our accustomed fashion, I walked a little apart 
 with Don Manuel to consult on the point, placing 
 the savages in charge of Tom Harvey. This I did, 
 both for their safe custody, also to prevent any 
 of the other men playing off their sailor's tricks on 
 thrill, or ill treating them with any tyrannical usage ; 
 a thing I apprehended^ not wholly without reason,
 
 tni CATHOLIC CRUSOE, l&l 
 
 For, though our men were indeed improved by our 
 common misfortune an I Don Manuel's influence, yet 
 'twas plain they regarded these Indians as beings 
 of a lower grade, who might be employed as their 
 slaves, or treated according to the humour of the 
 moment. Indeed, this was the question I proposed 
 to the priest, how far our savages were to be looked 
 on as slaves whom we had bought with money, or 
 prisoners taken in war. 
 
 He answered me very gravely, and with an earn- 
 est countenance, saying, we had no right what- 
 soever to regard them so : for, putting aside, says 
 he, the whole question of slavery, which you and 
 I need not now enter on, these poor men are cast 
 by misfortune on our coast ; and we owe to them 
 a share of those rights which man has with his 
 brother man. " If we should deprive them," he 
 went on, speaking more and more strongly, " of 
 their liberty, in what are we better tjian those 
 inhuman wreckers who come down from their cliffs 
 like so many sea-robbers, or vultures, to seize the 
 property of the luckless mariners that are cast on 
 their inhospitable shore ?" 
 
 To this I saw no answer, indeed : yet, thinking 
 awhile ; 
 
 " These creatures," said I, " are savages, who 
 have no law of property, nor understand any right 
 between man and man, except what the strong arm 
 gives over the weak." 
 
 " But every man," answers the priest, quickly, 
 "by the law of nature, has the right to possest 
 himself!"
 
 162 TF1K ADVKNTDRES OF OWEN 
 
 "I doubt not," pursued I, for I wanted to look 
 at this from all sides, " had we been cast away on 
 their coast, instead of they on ours, they had robbed 
 and killed us by this time, aye, and eaten us besides.' 
 
 " Even granting it," Don Manuel replied ; " that 
 would have been forasmuch as they are savages and 
 heathens. Shall we measure our conduct by their 
 standard ?" 
 
 " Has, then, the heathen savage," I objected, " the 
 same rights with the Christian and civilized white 
 man ?" But as I spoke, I felt a twinge of conscience, 
 to think what sort of civilization we owned, and 
 above all, what sort of Christians we had proved 
 ourselves to be; though Don Manuel let it pass 
 without notice. 
 
 " We must not confound two things together," 
 says he, smiling. " By the law of nature, the white 
 man and his darker brother have the same title to 
 life and liberty : though by the law of society they 
 may not have the same privileges in other ways." 
 
 " After all," said I, " the one is savage, the other 
 civilized." 
 
 " That is what I mean," insisted he, thought quite 
 mildly, as was his way. "The great difference 
 between them makes it impossible to put equal power 
 into their hands ; because the savage knows not how 
 to use it rightly. You cannot trust him, as you 
 cannot trust a mere child. When the child is grown 
 in years, in knowledge, in experience, he passes out 
 of the state of a pupil, and becomes a citizen. You 
 must educate him for his future position ; then give 
 it to him. So, you must train the savage, who in
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC CRUSO1. 16$ 
 
 many ways is a child ; and, when he has served hii 
 apprenticeship to liberty, he must be free, absolutely 
 free !" He spoke this with some warmth, raising hia 
 voice as we walked on. 
 
 " Then 'tis our duty to educate these Intians, and 
 treat them as equals ?" asked L 
 
 "Think, my dear friend?" answered the priest, 
 turning short upon me ; " I do not think about it, for 
 I am sure. Educate them first, and you thereby 
 make them equals. Let us take care," he added, 
 " we do not find them some day our superiors." 
 
 " Just what I apprehended," said I, taking him up 
 wrongly : " what if some day they should find tfcie 
 means to over master us ?" 
 
 " Build my wall round about them," said he, look* 
 ing cheerful : " for to be encompassed with that wall 
 is the truest freedom.'' 
 
 I knew well what the priest meant: and after I 
 had thought for a few minutes; "Yes, sir," said I, 
 " that wall has stood us in good stead, and I see not 
 but it might do much for these poor fellows, to teach 
 them to pray, too." 
 
 " And not to bow to the sun," added he, sighing 
 deeply, as he thought on it. " We must clear away 
 all that, and a great deal more, before we can lay 
 the foundations of our wall." 
 
 " Then it is our duty to make them Christians, 
 too?" 
 
 " Who can doubt it ?" answered he. " Duty ! ia 
 it not a privilege ? Are they not sent to us for that 
 very thing ?" 
 
 He looked at me, in wonder that I did not answer;
 
 154 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVAN8, 
 
 which I was indeed slow to do, for the idea which 
 filled his mind was new to mine. Except for what 
 he had said when he asked us, the day before, what 
 a priest was, I must own the thought had never 
 crossed me, of converting such savages as we might 
 fall in with. 
 
 " Yes," said the priest, speaking to himself; 
 " therefore are they come : even therefore are they 
 come !" 
 
 He had scarce uttered the words, when our thoughts 
 were diverted by a cry that rose among the men we 
 had left : soon we saw Hilton coming towards us in 
 haste, beckoning us to come back. My mind mis- 
 gave me, something was going amiss with the In- 
 dians ; I ran back at once, up a little slo^e of ground 
 that had hidden us from view, and Don Manuel fol- 
 lowed me close. We had fetched a compass in our 
 walk of perhaps two hundred yards : but now, taking 
 a short cut through the trees, I was soon upon them, 
 before they were aware ; and saw at once what I was 
 sorry enough, and angry enough, too, to see going
 
 TH CATHOLIC CRD8OB. 156 
 
 CHAPTER XXVL 
 
 THE WHITE MAN NO HEEO. 
 
 BEING left to themselves, and this new game afoot, 
 the men (or some of them) forgot all they had gone 
 through, in the pleasure of tormenting the unhappy 
 Indian savages : seeming to regard them as their ab- 
 solute property, or as so many head of mere cattle 
 without souls. No sooner were our back turned 
 (this we made out later from the Indians later still,) 
 than Prodgers and Gill, always our most untoward 
 members of society, began such pranks as a schoo- 
 boy might have felt himself above practising; as, 
 plucking the hair of these poor ignorant creatures, 
 blackening their faces with a burnt stick : in short, 
 whatever tricks are played off on passengers in a 
 ship on first crossing the line, were devised, and exe- 
 cuted too, by those scapegraces, spite of all Tom 
 Harvey's efforts against it. He reasoned with them, 
 and defended the Indians to the utmost of his pow- 
 er ; he ended by threatening them outright, be would 
 knock them down, did they attempt it further. And 
 'twas just at this stage of proceedings we came upon 
 them. 
 
 I ran up at once, and spoke out my mind ; laying 
 hands, roughly enough, on Prodgers' collar: bidding 
 him desist, or we would come to blows. The rest 
 joined in this ; reasoning now with Harry, to persuade 
 them how absurd as well as cruel they had been : 
 above all (for that was the thought came chiefly Into
 
 156 THE ADVENTURES 07 OWEN EYAKB, 
 
 my mind), how we should destroy our influence with 
 these savages by showing them, they whom they had 
 so lately taken for gods were subject to all the cap- 
 rices and fooleries of mere men, after all said and 
 done. 
 
 This had some little effect, for both of them now 
 became somewhat ashamed of the part they had 
 played. But pride next came in, to bolster up what 
 could not be maintained by reason : and Richard 
 Prodgers, turning thoroughly sulky again, seemed 
 resolute to have his own way, or leave us altogether ; 
 for so he declared himself. 
 
 " Hark," says he, "I give you all notice, I, for one, 
 do n't understand this submitting here and submitting 
 there, nor do n't mean to practise the same. I mean 
 to do as I please, for one : so, good bye t'ye all, if 
 that's all, and no more about it." 
 
 With that he catches up his gun, and was for 
 making off. But I saw at once, to let him go with 
 his weapon in that style would never do : for Prod- 
 gers armed, and in dudgeon, might prove an awk- 
 ward customer to the rest of us, if he meant mischief. 
 So, thinking to coax him back to good humour, I 
 was beginning in a hail-fellow-well-met sort of way ; 
 but Don Manuel laid his hand on my arm, as though 
 to say, such would be of no use for the present. 
 Nor indeed, knowing the man concerned, do I think 
 it would have been. 
 
 " At least," said I, " you do not carry away the 
 gun, for we have already voted that into the common 
 stock : and he who withdraws from our common- 
 wealth has no claim to private property."
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRU80B. ] 67 
 
 The men closed in here, and cried out I was in the 
 right of it: but Richard Prodgers was not the man to 
 yield that point, you may be sure: and a struggle 
 followed for the piece, hi the midst of which, I know 
 not by what means, it became cocked, just as Don 
 Manuel, who stepped in on one side (while I, on my 
 part, pulled Richard away,) struck up the muzzle 
 with his hand. And, so doing, he saved the life of 
 Ned Hilton ; for, the next moment, the piece went 
 off, and some of the shot grazed Hilton on his cheek : 
 but for what the priest had done with a calm pres- 
 ence of mind, it had without all doubt shot him 
 through the body. But Hilton, chafed at this, angry 
 and bleeding as he was, with one blow of his fist 
 felled Prodgers to the ground. 
 
 This put an end to the contest ; each one being too 
 much concerned in preventing further mischief not to 
 make common cause : so Richard was held down, till 
 he promised good behaviour if we let him rise. But 
 good behaviour meant, thrusting his hands in his 
 pockets, and turning away from us, while we con- 
 sulted apart what was best to be done with him. 
 
 He saved us much further trouble on that head ; 
 for turning to us again with a determined air, " 1 
 wish all here a good moring," says he, " and shall 
 take myself off." 
 
 So take himself off he did, till we lost sight of him 
 among the trees that bounded our cove to northward : 
 but afterwards it appeard, from what followed, he 
 struck down again towards the rocks on the shore 
 beyond. 
 
 I believe, none of us felt sorry at the time to be
 
 168 THB AtVKNTDRBS OF OW8N EVANS, 
 
 rid of Prodgers so easily ; only we knew well he 
 must soon come back to us and beg for food : inas- 
 much as, except his knife that would serve to kill 
 wild game, he was unprovided with anything where- 
 by to support life for so much as a day. 
 
 " He may comfort himself with the rest of the 
 brandy bottle," said Gill, and then we thought no 
 more of him, being occupied with our savages, to 
 see what use we conld make of them. 
 
 But first, Don Manuel took up that discourse, 
 representing to the men, as strongly as he had to 
 me (but not in a like way of discussing the question,) 
 that we must not think of making slaves of these 
 Indians. We might call them apprentices, he said, 
 and hold them as such, if they chose to stay with us. 
 Only, we must give them their choice, whether they 
 would stay at all, or take chance of the sea again in 
 their canoe. They were free to go, or remain ; and, 
 remaining had a right to good treatment, as man 
 should treat his fellow-man. 
 
 I could plainly see, this discourse was not well 
 relished by some that heard it ; and there was silence 
 among us for a little while, the men looking first on 
 each other, then on the ground. For indeed, to 
 oppose the priest, who had become our benefactor 
 in many ways, was a thing no one was forward to 
 do : yet, on the other hand, Gill, and Hilton too, who 
 than settled in their minds they might lord it over 
 these savages, and so lead easy lives on the island 
 while the slaves worked for them, now saw their 
 property, as it were, snatched from their grasp. 
 
 " Come, friends," said the priest, after a pause :
 
 THE CATHOLIC, CRDSOB. 1 59 
 
 ' do justice to your better thoughts, and let me be 
 ipokesinan for you to these poor souls, who are 
 created, like yourselves, in the image of God." 
 
 With that, he stepped to them ; speaking in his 
 native Spanish to give effect to his signs, he asked 
 them (for I bad some acquaintance with that tongue,) 
 whether they would stay on the island with us : and 
 here he struck down his staff on the earth, then 
 pointed to us with his hand. Or, says he, will you 
 get into that canoe again (for the canoe had by this 
 come near the shore, but had not righted, and was 
 floating keel upwards,) and go back again over the 
 wide sea ? All which he made clear to them by 
 the signs accompanying his words. 
 
 Our Indians did not debate which to choose ; but 
 all falling on their knees, they took up handfuls of 
 the earth, and first kissed it, then put it on their 
 heads, after swallowing a little of it, and throwing 
 some into the air : devoting themselves, as we under- 
 stood, to live and die on the place. Then they point- 
 ed to the boat, and made signs of disgust, turning 
 away their heads, and shaking their hands against 
 it : to make us know, they had no wish to embark 
 again, but the clean contrary. At this, Don Manuel 
 gave tokens of satisfaction, and renewed for us the 
 promises of good treatment I had made them before. 
 
 While we were occupied in this way, we heard the 
 voice of Richard Prodgers cry out, as if in terror or 
 pain, from the rocks beyond out of sight. In an in- 
 stant after, he shouted for help : we caught up our 
 guns, and dashed after him, motioning to the savages 
 to follow us. So indeed they did, and outran us
 
 160 TH ADVENTURES OF OWEN KVAH8, 
 
 too, having anned themselves with some stones that 
 they caught up most dexterously as they ran. As 
 to their running, they distanced us fairly ; for such 
 fleet creatures I never saw in human shape ; all ex- 
 cept the old man, who could very hardly keep up 
 with us. I thought it dangerous to let the other two 
 go on, lest they should escape us altogether ; so I 
 called on to them to come back, which they did 
 with great submissiveness ; and thus it chanced we 
 all came upon the scene of action together. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIL 
 
 PRODGERS LEARNS HIS LESSON. 
 
 No sooner had we got clear of the trees, than 
 'twas plain poor old Richard was not crying for 
 help without a cause : we found him kneeling on the 
 rocks, and he holding them with all his might, strug- 
 gling against somewhat that pulled him to itself, 
 with a force greater than his own while he cried 
 out in the extremity of his terror. We ran up to 
 him at full speed, and horrible it was to see him in 
 the grasp of a large cuttle fish, that almost had got- 
 ten him within its jaws. This monster had a body 
 of the bigness of a biggish gourd, and each one of 
 its eight arms [or legs, call them as you will] was 
 no less than four feet, I am sure, in the length ; with 
 suckers at the end, such as I have seen boys make 
 in leather, and pull up stones by them at the end of
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. ll 
 
 s string. It had fixed one of these suckers on Rich- 
 ard's face, leaving him scarce mouth enough to roar 
 with ; and by this, and three or four of its other 
 arms, it was pulling him towards its beak, hooked 
 like a parrot or hawk's beak, that was open to devour 
 him; whilst its large fishy eyes were fixed upon him, 
 and the rest of the legs clasped the rocks with the 
 gi'asp of a blacksmith's vice. 
 
 We were afraid to fire, lest we should miss the 
 monster, and hit our comrade' instead ; besides, a 
 bullet or two might have gone through the cuttle- 
 fish, without doing it much hurt, and would not les- 
 sen the dreadful power of its arms, that w*ere still 
 drawing, and drawing, till Prodgers' face was with- 
 in a foot or so of the cruel beak that would have 
 gored it in a moment more. 
 
 Let me live as long as I may, I never can forget 
 the look of agony Richard cast, nor his shrieks, as 
 the monster closed on him. But just then I ran up, 
 and laying the edge of my drawn hanger on the arm 
 of the fish, drew it swiftly across, and severed the 
 limb at a stroke. Then the rest of the men fell-to 
 with their knives, and we made short work of him : 
 for indeed we could find no bones but the back-bone, 
 and all the fish's strength lay in the contracting pow- 
 er of his muscles, which pull with a strain like a 
 ship's cable. 
 
 Our attention for the moment was all on our poor 
 old messmate ; he had fallen into a deadly swoon 
 from the fear of what we were just in the nick of 
 time to save him from. We had some ado to recov- 
 er him, which we did by the aid of a few drops from
 
 Itt'2 TUB ADVENTURKS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 his own flask, with dashing some salt water in his 
 face. At last he opened his eyes, and nodded 
 thanks to us for our care, sitting on the knee of Har- 
 ry Gill, who thus repaid him for his good offices of 
 two days ago, when he got the brimstone choke in 
 the cave. But hi another minute or so we saw Rich- 
 ard Prodgers slide down on his knees, still holding 
 by Harry's shoulder : I thought at first lie was go- 
 ing off again into a swoon, but soon I heard him say, 
 only faint and low: "My God, I thank Thee for sav- 
 ing me ; I am sorry for all my sins against Thee ! 
 Help me : I intend to do better !"^ 
 
 On this, Don Manuel wept aloud for joy ; and he 
 that had been so calm up to now, and calming the 
 passions of other men, surprised us no less by his 
 passionate emotion than Richard by his prayer. 
 However, the priest took no notice of us or our won- 
 dering ; he cast himself down on his knees beside 
 Prodgers, and throwing his arm over the old sinner's 
 shoulder, he looked up to heaven, and cried : 
 
 " It is fit that we should make merry and be glad, 
 for this our brother was dead, and is come to life 
 again ; he was lost, and is found !" 
 
 I know not by what blessed contagion 'twas, but 
 we all cast ourselves on our knees together, and 
 could not help it ; then, for the third time since our 
 banishment in this place, Don Manuel prayed for our 
 whole company, and guided our prayer. He thanked 
 the divine mercies for Richard's deliverance ; he 
 invoked a blessing on his head for his good resolutions, 
 and prayed that he might persevere hi them ; plead- 
 ing for this by what I shuddered to think we had
 
 Itt 
 
 Seldom heard mentioned on board ship but in cursing 
 and blasphemy the Blood and Wounds of Him who 
 hung on the cross to save us all. 
 
 This time, too, he ended before we had wearied of 
 our prayer : then stood up, and we followed his ex- 
 ample. All of us, I think, guessed by a sort of in- 
 siinct what was coming next, as he took Richard by 
 the hand, and led him towards Ned Hilton. Ned 
 was still stanching his wounded cheek with his neck- 
 kerchief. Prodgers put out his hand, and did not 
 hesitate. " Forgive and forget," said he, " mess-mate 
 'twas a mischance after all." Ned seemed to debate 
 with himself for a moment, then grasped his hand in 
 return, and all was well between them from that 
 time. 
 
 " Into hospital, gentlemen !* cried the priest, gaily ; 
 " these little accidents have laid us up, and we must 
 recover before we think of aught else, if you please."' 
 
 No sooner said than done : we placed the wounded 
 men sitting on the rocks, and I began to examine 
 Hilton's face that was grazed by the shot, but not 
 more than that. Now was the first time the savages 
 proved of use to us ; for no sooner did they remark 
 what was going on, than the middle aged Indian (so 
 I still call him, but we made out afterwards his name 
 was Rer-mimebolamba, which means Pounder of the 
 enemies' heads,) coming towards us with signs of 
 great reverence, pointed first to Hilton's wounds, 
 then stretched his hand towards the woods in the 
 interior of the island : making as though he would 
 gather something there, and apply it to the cheek. 
 
 I was inclined to let him have his way, knowing
 
 164 fH ADVENTURES OF OWEN 
 
 how skilful savages are in healing wounds by herbs 
 and simples, though unpractised in other brandies 
 of the healing art ; and, surgeon as I was, I did not 
 disdain to take a lesson from the savage : the more 
 so, as I had with me no instruments or any other re- 
 medies, these having been left behind in the ship. 
 So I bade Harvey take one of the guns, and go witn 
 the Indian into the wood, giving him strict charge to 
 prevent his escaping, and rather to shoot him down 
 than lose him in that way. 
 
 " Stay," said Don Manuel, with much concern 
 when he heard me say that ; " did not we agree, a 
 while ago, these men had a right to life and liberty ? 
 So no shooting, Senor Tomaso, for that would be 
 down right murder." 
 
 " But if he escape," says I, " he will be dangerous 
 to us all : he may lie in wait for us in the woods, and 
 we shall never be secure of our lives for a moment : 
 then, he may signal to any canoe he chances to espy, 
 and bring other savages on us." 
 
 o o 
 
 " You have no right to his life," replied the priest, 
 "unless it be absolutely needed to preserve your 
 own." And he spoke this with more authority than 
 was his wont : for he had at times the air of a prince; 
 and when he showed this, I felt awkward and shy 
 before him, do what I would. 
 
 " Put him in leading strings, if you think it neces- 
 sary to your safety," said he after a pause, and smiling, 
 " provided he consent, for he has a free choice. You 
 have some string about you, I think I saw: well, let 
 me ask him to become our prisoner as well as our 
 apprentice."
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRCSOB. 65 
 
 I handed him the ball of twine ; for indeed, by 
 this time he did with us pretty well as he would: 
 he took it, and came to the Indian, making signs to 
 him to tie his own hand, and pointed to the woods, 
 to make him know, he might go thither on his good 
 errand when he had done this. John Pounder (for 
 so we called this savage after a while, when he knew 
 the meaning of his Indian name) nodded and laughed 
 at what the priest signalled to him; then took the 
 end of the twine : with his right hand and his teeth 
 he tied a knot a round his left wrist as cleverly as 
 ever I saw a sailor knot a rope : then gave back the 
 ball into the hands of the priest, and pointed to the 
 woods, as impatient to set off. 
 
 " You see, friends," said Don Manuel, turning to 
 us, " he has done himself, by dint of a little gentle- 
 ness, what no one had a right to compel him to." 
 
 " Give a man rope enough, and he'll hang himself," 
 says GilL 
 
 " Not in this case," answered the Don : " but I will 
 cap your proverb with another we have in Spain ; it 
 may be put into English thus : 
 
 ' Up the Sierra ilorena 
 A green bough 'tices a restive mule.'* 
 
 Have you any like that, friends, among the sayings 
 of your country?" 
 
 * It seems a pity that the author has not given us the ori 
 ginal of this Spanish proverb, the meaning of which, bow- 
 ever, is obvious enough. The Sierra Morena is a lugged 
 chain of montains running between Cordova and Estremad- 
 ura ; the ascent of which was, in earlier days at least, toilsome 
 and difficult, demanding some enticement to the sumpter 
 mules and other beasts of burden employed in transporting 
 merchandize across the height. El.
 
 166 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BYAN8, 
 
 " I take it," said I, " 'tis much what I have heard 
 said, that you may draw folks round the world, when 
 you can't drive them a yard." 
 
 "Ah, just s-o, just so," said he, again and again, 
 looking much pleased : " kindness is the real loadstone 
 that draws everything. But now, off with you to 
 the woods, or our friend Hilton's wounds will grow 
 cold." 
 
 I must say, though, the Indian did not seem so 
 content to go with Tom Harvey ; for Harvey had 
 the formidable gun in his hand that was to him so 
 supernatural, and dreadful a thing : the poor savage 
 looked beseechingly to the priest, and stretched out 
 his hands, as begging him to take him rather. But 
 Don Manuel smiled upon him again, stroking his 
 head ; then laid his hand upon his own heai^t, to 
 make him see he pledged himself for his safety. 
 This seemed to content the other ; so he crossed his 
 arms on his breast, and they set out at a round trot, 
 and soon were in the woods out of sight. 
 
 Now I turned to Prodgers, who by this had pretty 
 well got back his strength : only his face too had 
 need to be doctored, what with the violent drawing 
 of the monster's paws, or suckers, grasping it ; what 
 with a kind of poison that must have exuded from 
 them : for his face was becoming bloated, and covered 
 with redness, or rather a purple colour in spots, that 
 alarmed me for him. He seemed to feel some fears 
 himself: for he said to me, in a subdued way, quite 
 unlike his former : 
 
 " Do you think, sir, I am in danger of dying ?" 
 " Oh ! I hope not, old fellow," answered I, wishing
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 167 
 
 to cheer him up ; knowing that to lose spirits in such 
 cases only makes the danger greater : " why should 
 you entertain such dark thoughts?" 
 
 " Why, death," says he again, slowly, " is an 
 awful thing, when you come to think on it ; I never 
 felt so much about it before. I fell overboard once, 
 'tis now a good eleven years ago ; all the while I 
 was struggling in the water, I had not so much fear 
 of death as now that I am sitting on this rock. To 
 pass out of life, what is that ? 'Tis to have one's 
 soul taken out of one's body, I know ; well, that must 
 be a shrewd wrench ; and where does the soul go to 
 then ?" 
 
 God forgive me, but I gave some light turn to 
 this, to keep up his spirits, as I thought : when Don 
 Manuel, who had taken his prayer-book, overheard 
 us, and shut it again as he drew near. 
 
 "Whither," said he, "do you ask? Why, you 
 know, my dear friend, as well as I, the soul is no 
 sooner sundered from the body, but it stands before 
 its Creator, to be judged." 
 
 At this, I pressed the priest's arm, to make hiin 
 sensible I desired to keep all such thoughts from the 
 mind of my patient ; but he went on more earnestly, 
 and said a few simple things about death and judg- 
 ment that seemed to go straight into Prodger's very 
 soul, so awe-struck and humble did he look : and Gill 
 too, with Hilton, listened in silence to every word he 
 spoke. But that moment we saw our Indian running 
 to us at full speed from the wood ; for Harvey had 
 released him when he had got clear of the thicket on 
 his way back. His hands were full of herbs, which
 
 168 TIIK ADVKNTURKS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 he brandished aloft, laughing and gibbering, as he 
 flew to us with the speed of a mad thing. And, to 
 be short, when he came up, we let him have his way, 
 which was, to chew those herbs into a pulp, and lay 
 them as a plaster on the men's faces, making signs to 
 ns to tie them up with their kerchiefs. There being 
 no other remedy at hand, Hilton submitted to this 
 with a tolerable grace : as to Prodgers, he was tamed 
 to that degree, he submitted like a child. And, such 
 was the healing virtue of these herbs, they soothed 
 the wounds and inflamed faces of our patients so as 
 no apothecary's drugs could excel them ; and soon 
 the two men laid them down under the shadow of 
 the rocks, to snatch a sleep ; and Harry Gill followed 
 their example. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIIL 
 
 WE DESIGN A SAFE RETREAT. 
 
 TURNING in my mind all that had befallen us, 1 
 felt yet more anxious how to secure ourselves 
 against attacks from without. For 'twas plain, 
 though we had found no trace of savages inhabiting 
 our island, we were somewhere within reach of their 
 canoes from a distance. And if a small boat (I 
 reasoned) setting forth, maybe, on a mere fishing 
 expedition, or to cross from one island or one shore 
 of a creek to another, could be driven upon us in 
 this way, what might we not expect frpm a large*
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRU8OB. 169 
 
 war-canoe, or, for matter of that, an entire fleet of 
 them, fitted out for discovery, or missing their 
 course, and so espying our mountain, as we had 
 done from the ship? For, did they once land, I 
 felt sure their Indian cunning would light on some 
 token of the island being inhabited ; and then (I knew 
 well) they would never give over their search till 
 they had found us out; and we should beyond all 
 doubt fall a sacrifice to their cruelty. 
 
 In short, this gloomy apprehension having once 
 taken hold on my spirits, 1 could not well shake it 
 oif a -.rain, do what I would: but must impart it to 
 the priest, for I would not at that time give a hint 
 of it to any of the rest. Don Manuel, I found, was 
 prepared for what I said. 
 
 "The same thought," says he, "is present with 
 me ever since we pulled these poor creatures out of 
 the water : but I delayed to speak to you of it, till 
 I could propose some plan for safety." Then he 
 went on to say, that Wi his country was an old 
 deserted palace, belonging once to the Spanish king; 
 and in the pleasure-grounds of it a labyrinth, or maze, 
 formed of close-cut hedges laid out in such-wise, and 
 with so miifh art, that among a number of turns to 
 right and left, there was only one, and that one 
 difficult to hit, that would lead to a summer-house 
 in the centre. "The king," says he," in former 
 days, when kings had little else to do. ;vould amuse 
 himself at his palace-window, watching his servants, 
 or others, not masters of the secret of the place, how 
 they would turn and wind, and run this way or that : 
 for the most part wrong, and forced to double back
 
 170 THE ADVENTURES 01 OW1N EVANS, 
 
 again, or sit down wearied till some one who knew 
 the secret came to show them out. Now I think, 
 with the help of our apprentices," and he smiled on 
 me as he used the word, " we might plant such a 
 maz.e as this : for I have seen some of the prickly 
 pear, and other close-growing shrubs, fit to form 
 the hedges of it, in several parts of our island as we 
 came along. It will take time, indeed ; for we shall 
 
 O ' * 
 
 not be secure till our hedges have taken root and 
 grow thick : but we will pray that we may not be 
 attacked before then. God helps those who help 
 themselves." 
 
 " Or what do you think, sir," said I, " of going 
 back to the cliff where we took shelter, and looking 
 out for some cleft or natural cave that we might 
 enlarge, and so burrow deeper till we had made 
 us a house in the rock ?" 
 
 " That is good, too," observed he thinking : " but 
 why may we not do both? An archer has two 
 strings for his bow ; and many of the birds and 
 animals provide their summer quarters, and winter 
 quarters, by the wonderful instinct that is theirs. 
 At all events, I will try and draw the plan of my 
 maze : come, here is a scrap of paper for you ; do 
 you the like, and we will compare notes over our 
 tire to night." 
 
 I liked the idea well enough, and I set to work, 
 first to devise a maze that should be difficult for 
 those who had not the clue, but easy to those who 
 had. Then I tried to draw it out on the paper with 
 one of Don Manuel's pens, but a blotted work I 
 made of it after all : what with correcting here and
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 171 
 
 there, and opening passages where I had first closed 
 them, the thing was so smeared as that I was half 
 ashamed to show it when it was done. The priest 
 got on better with his ; whether he was more used to 
 drawing, or more patient in trying to do each thing 
 well that he undertook, certain it is, a neater per- 
 formance he made when he finished it. 
 
 " And now for your other plan," said he, rising 
 and putting by the paper, with mine too, in his 
 portfolio : " for, having got on the track of a habit- 
 ation, we must lose no time. Remember the rainy 
 season that will soon be on us." 
 
 By this, we had come back to our company, from 
 whom we strayed in our talk : Don Manuel, seeing 
 the three savages eyed the monstrous cuttle-fish with 
 longing eyes, as though they would have fallen to, 
 and devoured it outright, proposed to give them 
 leave ; " for none of us," says he, " will have much 
 taste for him, I suppose ; and, to be sure, not our 
 poor Ricardo, that hath suffered so much from him 
 already." But first he desired to secure a bag of 
 inky fluid, or sepia, as painters name it, this strange 
 fish is always furnished with; whereby he can dark- 
 en the waters around him, and thus escape from his 
 enemies, whether fishermen or brother fishes. So, 
 borrowing Tom Harvey's knife, he cut out this ink- 
 bag very dexterously from the dead fish, and filled 
 his ink-bottle from it ; then took one of the cocoa- 
 nut shells and poured the rest into it, stopping the 
 whole with clay ; to be able, he said, to record 
 the rest of our adventures in this place of exile. 
 
 But we made up our minds to secure some portion
 
 172 THE ADVENTURKS OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 of our big fish for our own supper, too ; for I had 
 read, 'twas a delicacy in former times as well as our 
 own : so, slicing off as much as we thought to 
 make a broil of [there being enough of the monster 
 for us all, and to spare] we wrapped this in some 
 cocoa-nut leaves, and let the savages have the rest; 
 after I had secured the back-bone to make some 
 polishing powder, and the parrot-beak of his mouth, 
 for a trophy. 
 
 We left the two sick men asleep where they were, 
 but not without devising a live telegraph between 
 us and them. We made signs to the old Indian to 
 climb up a tree, one of the highest in the wood that 
 
 * * O 
 
 lay between the rocks and that cove of ours, which 
 we henceforth called always Shark Bay. This tree 
 overlooked both sides, and we could see the Indian 
 watching in it, too, as he sat there among the 
 branches. 
 
 As we went along, taking the other two savages 
 with us, I told Harvey and Gill that, as we had 
 practised various trades in this our new and strange 
 life, we were now to turn masons and stone-cutters 
 also, to make us a cave wherein we might lie snug 
 during the rainy season. They agreed to this readi- 
 ly, expressing themselves willing to labor, as indeed 
 they proved to be. So, going as straight through 
 the second wood as the tangled trees would let us, 
 we tried to hit that same cliff we had climbed up in 
 the morning. We judged that to be a convenient 
 spot, by reason of the separated mass of rock that 
 leaned towards it ; for the crag both hid the place 
 where we meant to burrow into the cliff, and
 
 fHK CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 173 
 
 9 an easy ascent to it : some of us afterwards called 
 it our hall door, and some our grand staircase, or 
 companion ladder. 
 
 "T\vas some little time, indeed, before we found 
 our cliff again ; in part, from the thickness of the 
 wood, but we rejoiced at that, as giving security to 
 our hiding-place ; also, because we now came upon 
 it from a different side. But by keeping our right 
 shoulders as near the ridge of the rock as the thick 
 woods allowed, we knew we should surely come 
 on it at last ; and soon we did, to our joy. 
 
 When we placed ourselves between this leaning 
 rock and the cliff it had fallen from, we discovered 
 'twas just the place that suited our needs; for about 
 the part where these rocks leaned nighest together, 
 there was indeed a kind of hole in the native cliff, 
 not much bigger than I have seen a mountain fox's 
 burrow ; but it gave us hope we should find the 
 rock not too hard or stubborn to work. This hole 
 lay perhaps ten feet below the brow of the cliff, and 
 'twas difficult to come at it: but that fitted it the 
 more for our purpose, if only we could make con- 
 trivance to enter it from above, or from the leaning 
 rock over against it. For the time, we determined 
 on the first way, as less dangerous ; so we set about 
 contriving a rope to lower one of us after another, 
 in turn, to work at this hole, and enlarge it into a 
 cavern. 
 
 But where in this wide world should we provide 
 us a rope ? Nothing in that shape had we, but the 
 twine, and my fishing lines, both much too slight 
 to bear our weight, put them all together. Think as
 
 1?4 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 much as I could, I could devise nothing to the pur 
 pose ; when Don Manuel said, laughing 
 
 " Now you shall see ^sop's fable put in practice 
 in an island he never dreamed of! so true is it, wis- 
 dom is the property of the human family every- 
 where." 
 
 I did not understand him, I own : but by this I 
 had got used to think over what he said, and find 
 it true. 
 
 " Look at those strong creepers," said he again 
 " how they climb about the trees, and lace in and 
 out ; well, no one of them would bear us by itself; 
 but put a dozen or so together and bind them round 
 with our twine, and you shall see we shall soon 
 have rope enough" 
 
 " To hang us all," broke in Harry Gill, who never 
 could keep back a joke that came into his head. 
 
 " Or to hang the captain and first mate, not to say 
 those gentlemen who landed us here so civilly the 
 day before yesterday," added Tom Harvey. 
 
 Don Manuel smiled at Gill's remark, but did not 
 looked pleased at the other ; however, he went on 
 about his rope. 
 
 " Union is strength," said he ; " and what is be- 
 yond the power of one, can be done with ease when 
 more than one are combined. You all remember the 
 fable of the old man and his sons, and the bundle of 
 sticks, I dare say ?" 
 
 " No indeed," answered I : " pray tell us, sir."
 
 TH CATHOLIC OBCS01. 176 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 WHAT I TKUTH ? 
 
 JUST then, the old Indian, our watchman, shouted 
 from the tree where we had left him on the look-out. 
 We all started, and caught up our arms again ; but 
 there was no occasion, for we found he was calling 
 to the men we had left asleep, to show them where 
 we were. Soon, Prodgers and Harry came to us 
 through the wood ; then the Indian clambered down 
 from his perch, and joined us too. 
 
 Now we began to reap advantage from having 
 more pairs of hands than we had landed with : for we 
 no sooner showed our Indians what we were after, 
 and that we would have them collect these creepers 
 for us to make a rope, but they sprang up the trees, 
 (at least the two younger) with the nimbleness of 
 cats, and soon tore down enough for us to begin 
 upon. I scarce think our trade of rope-making 
 would have come to much but for these savages, who 
 Bhowed themselves ingenious to a degree, in bind- 
 ing together the green withes by others of a like 
 kind, round and round, at every three feet or so ; 
 till, after a good two hours' work, we saw ourselves 
 possessed of a passably strong and pliable rope, tit 
 to bear a good weight, and eighteen or twenty feet 
 long at the least. We were all proud of our new 
 cable, and began bending and straining it every 
 way to try it ; but it did not bend nor untwist, so 
 well had our poor 'prentices worked it.
 
 176 THE ADVENTURES Of OWKN RVANS, 
 
 Our next concern was, to find something of a 
 cross-bar to reeve into our rope, that our mason 
 might sit on, while we let him down to work at the 
 entrance door. Harvey And Xed Hilton went 
 searching through the woods for some fallen branch 
 but I drew Don Manuel aside, to impart to him 
 what had oeme into my mind ; for, as we had to 
 break up the condemned gun to make chisels and 
 other tools, 1 thought it best this should be done 
 apart from the savages, lest they might lose their 
 great dread of those guns whereby they were kept 
 in such great awe. So we agreed to take it deeper 
 into the wood ; and beckoned Harry Gill to come 
 along with us, leaving Prodgers to look after the 
 Indians, who were still hard at work, finishing the 
 rope. And this we did now, with no apprehension 
 of their being hardly dealt with, so changed a man 
 was Richard Prodgers become, and from a lion, or 
 a bear rather, had grown more like to a lamb. 
 
 By dint of much hammering with stones, and 
 bending the barrel back and forward, till it broke at 
 last, we got two long chisels or augers out of our 
 old gun ; they were rude enough, to be sure, but 
 proved serviceable. One of them, and that was the 
 shorter, we kept still fastened on to the stock, to 
 have more purchase on it in working. Don Manuel 
 carried these back, wrapped in his cloak, till we 
 could conceal them better from the savages. But 
 Gill went on before, and left us together. 
 
 I had gained that confidence in the priest, 'twould 
 have made me uneasy to hide from him my thoughts 
 when they chanced to turn on what was the right or
 
 T11K CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 177 
 
 wrong of any case; and just then, a thought came 
 into my mind as we came back together out of the 
 wood. 
 
 " I know, sir," said I, " what some people in my 
 country would say to what we are doing." 
 
 " What would they say, friend ?" answered he, 
 and looked me straight in the face, and walking on 
 quietly. 
 
 " Why, to be plain, that 'tis deceiving these 
 savages to break up the gun by stealth, that they 
 may still think the guns to be something more than 
 they are." 
 
 ; ' Eh, Senor," returned he, " how long is it ago, 
 since you thought we might perhaps even enslave 
 them ?" 
 
 " Well, sir, what I say is because it came into my 
 head, and I wanted to discuss it." 
 
 " True, my dear friend," quoth he in his own mild 
 way ; " and 'tis my duty and pleasure alike to an 
 swer such questiont to the utmost. Let us see: you 
 think we ought to tell them outright, a gun is a gun ?" 
 
 " I would not like them to think," answered I, " a 
 gun was an idol or a god." 
 
 " Nor I neither," replied he, grave enough ; " but 
 are we making them think so by any act of ours ?" 
 
 " We break up the gun in the wood, out of sight," 
 persisted I, " lest they should lose their fear of our 
 other guns." 
 
 " I will answer you in this way," Don Manuel 
 said, after a moment, smiling. " When I was a 
 boy I went to a school in my native town kept by 
 one Lopez Tuero d'Alava: he was rather a stern
 
 178 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 man, and very stately in his ways. We boys looked 
 up to him as the greatest man alive, and he took 
 care to keep us impressed with that belief. One day 
 the governor of the province, his Excellency Don 
 Pedro Guzman da Cuenca, came suddenly to pay a 
 visit to the school, and entered at the head of all his 
 train. The schoolroom was filled with guards, 
 chamberlains, attendants of all kinds, in waiting on 
 the great man. When our first surprise was over, 
 we all looked anxiously to see what Lopez Tuero 
 would do. Had he taken off his hat, or made any 
 sign of submission to the governor, perhaps his au- 
 thority hi his school would never have been what 
 it had been, for we bhould have learned there was 
 a greater man in existence than he. This he knew 
 quite as well as we did. So, rising from his desk in 
 his most stately manner, he moved down the school 
 with the air of a king receiving an ambassador, or 
 any other great man treating with his equal, wear- 
 ing his hat as if it had been nailed to his head. High 
 courtesies passed between the two, till the governor 
 took his leave ; and it was not until after I had en- 
 tered the University of Salamanca, that I learned, 
 Lopez went the next day to the governor's palace, 
 cast himself on his knees before him, and humbly 
 begged pardon for having acted in a way he had 
 felt was best for those he had under his charge. 
 
 " Now," pursued Don Manuel, " was that a 
 wrong deceit ?" 
 
 "Twas more than I could answer out of hand, yet, 
 thinking a moment, " I suppose," said I, " he felt it 
 peceBsary."
 
 THE CATHOLIO ORUS01. 170 
 
 ' But was it wrong /" insisted he again, " because 
 what is wrong never can be necessary." 
 
 " May not a lie sometimes be necessary ?" asked L 
 
 " Never !" exclaimed the priest, and seemed to 
 put his whole soul into the word as he spoke it. 
 
 " And is a lie always wrong under all circumstan- 
 ces ?" 
 
 " Always ! always I" repeated he, still in the same 
 way. 
 
 Now indeed I felt somewhat puzzled, for 'twas the 
 point I had in my mind as to the breaking up of our 
 gun secret. Don Manuel saw this ; for he had, I am 
 sure, a great quickness saved my putting it in words, 
 which I was loth to do. 
 
 "I know what you are thinking," said he, " as 
 though you said it ; and I will say it for you. Cath- 
 olics, you have always heard, think little of truth ; 
 are careless about it : and a priest is likely to teach 
 it to be a matter of small importance. Is that it ?" 
 
 I was startled, I own at the way he put his finger 
 on that ; for it was just what ran in my thoughts. 
 
 " Well, listen then," he went on. " The teaching 
 of the Church is, that a lie is in its own nature evil; 
 that it is a sin that, being a sin, 'tis a greater evil 
 than anything imaginable, wliich is not an equal or a 
 greater sin : 'tis a greater evil than any mere misfor- 
 tune, or series of misfortunes ; greater than pain, sick- 
 ness, poverty, bereavement, death : greater than 
 famines, pestilences, earthquakes, or the destruction 
 of the globe itself. For, these calamities, dreadful 
 though they be, affect the creature : but a lie, as 
 a sin, is aimed against the Creator: So, if by
 
 180 THE ADVENTURKS OF OWEN KTAN1, 
 
 telling a lie I could save your life, my dear friend, 
 and the lives of all our companions ; if I could by 
 one little lie work out the conversion of our poor 
 savages, and secure the salvation of us all : nay, of all 
 England, all Spain, all other nations and countries 
 together : if by telling a lie that would harm nobody, 
 that would only be a little venial sin, I could empty 
 Purgatory (which you don't believe in) of all the 
 suffering souls it contains ; and block up the mouth 
 of Hell (which I suppose you do believe in) that no 
 soul should ever cast into it more : I should be doing 
 the greater evil to obtain the lesser good. And after 
 this, what do you think of a lie?" 
 
 I remember these words, as I here set them down, 
 because they were so impressed on me at the time by 
 his manner as he spoke them. Then he went on to 
 say, 'twas one thing to deceive a person by word or 
 deed, to state falsehood to him, or act falsehood be- 
 fore him ; and quite another, to allow him to draw 
 his own conclusions from what he observed, when 
 you did nothing to lead him that way, and when you 
 had just cause for letting him have his opinion, ut 
 least, for a time. 
 
 " If," pursued he, " we showed them, a gun might 
 be broken by working at it with a stone, they might 
 try the experiment while we slept; and then what 
 becomes of our lives ? Another boat-load of savages 
 might land on the island ; or these very men, with 
 the craft and cunning they have learned at their 
 mother's knee, might take a fancy to sacrifice us to 
 the sun or moon, to secure a good voyage home 
 again. Then we are murdered, and they remain
 
 THK CATHOLIC CKUSOB. I SI 
 
 heathens. Is it not for their good, as well as ours, 
 that we should not disarm ourselves by taking away 
 their wholesome fear in our fire-arms ?' 
 
 After a little while, neither of us speaking, the 
 priest added : 
 
 " I gave you a sort of parable just now : well, let 
 me give you another. Suppose a furious murderer, 
 with drawn sword, rushed suddenly upon a child, 
 and threatened to kill it unless the child told him by 
 what road its lather had left the house, that he might 
 go after him, and take his life. What would you ad- 
 vise the child in that case ?" 
 
 " I think there is no doubt at all," said I readily. 
 
 " But what ?" insisted he. 
 
 " Of course, the child might tell the murderer the 
 wrong road ; nay, ought to do so to save its father's 
 life, or indeed any person's life." 
 
 "Then the child might tell a lie?" 
 
 " Could it not point down the wrong road ?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " That would be a lie in act" insisted he, " and as 
 truly a lie as one in words." 
 
 " Well, then, the child might tell the lie, or act 
 the lie, either way, for such an object as to save a 
 life." 
 
 " You are right wrong, my friend," returned he, 
 laughing: "for no one ought to do any such thing." 
 
 At this, I looked at him in some surprise. 
 
 " Did I not say," he went on, "that a lie is always 
 a sin ; and that a sin is greater evil then any mere 
 misfortune? Now, 'twould be a great misfortune, 
 doubtless, for the father to lose his life, and the child
 
 182 
 
 to lose its father : but no child, nor any one, has a 
 right to make even a venial sin avert even a great 
 misfortune." 
 
 What he said turned out so clean against my ex- 
 pectation, and he proved so much more severe about 
 truth than I had supposed him, I had nothing to say. 
 
 "You remind me now," pursued he, gaily, "of a 
 bad horseman, who, when you put him up on the 
 horse at one side, falls over on t'other. A while 
 ago you stumbled at what was lawful, and now no- 
 thing will content you but that falsehood must be 
 lawful in an urgent case. Extremes ! my dear friend, 
 extremes ! And you see, extremes meet sometimes." 
 
 "Aye," he added, thinking, and slowly, "we must 
 always go from side to side of the road, like an un- 
 eteady drives, unless we have a sure guide and a 
 sure track." 
 
 " And who or what is that guide ?" asked I, for I 
 felt anxious for his answer. 
 
 "Aye, indeed," said he, very slowly, looking me 
 in the face ; and said nothing more.
 
 TBK CATHOLIC OKUIOB. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE SERPENTS' HOLE. 
 
 BY this, we had come back to the rest ; and set 
 about our operations of mining into the rock : but 
 first we had to decide which of us should take the 
 lead in being lowered to explore the hole. I thought 
 of casting lots for it, as 'twas a post of honour and 
 of danger alike ; for we knew not what we might en- 
 counter down there, whether some wild cat-o' the- 
 inountain, or, more likely, a brood of serpents in 
 their nest. But Don Manuel insisted on being first 
 to explore, in a way I knew not well how to answer. 
 " If anything befall me, friends," said he, " you will 
 be little the worse of it ; but you could ill spare the 
 help of one another in your exile." I would still 
 persuade him not to venture ; but he finished all by 
 saying cheerfully : 
 
 " 'Tis on the banks of the Ganges, I have heard, 
 children are used to eat their parents because they are 
 old and useless : and you may as well let the wild 
 animals have a chance with me for the same rea- 
 son." 
 
 " You have quoted a heathenish example for us, 
 sir," answered I ; "but I suppose it must be as you 
 will : and we will stand watching you above, be 
 sure, to help to our utmost in case of need." 
 
 So, having knelt down to a brief prayer apart, and 
 made the sign of the cross over himself, he threw off 
 his long cassock ; and bidding the men knot our new
 
 184 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 rope fast round the roots of a cocoa-palm that grew 
 near the edge, and keep a good hold, as he said smil- 
 ing, " for the honour of the British flag," he slid 
 from the cliff, and swarmed (as our sea-phrase is) 
 down the rope, till he soon had his feet resting on 
 the edge of the hole : he carefully bent himself 
 down, and looked in. 
 
 Before we could count ten, we heard him cry out, 
 " Pull up, pull up quick !" We did it with a will, 
 yet so as not to scrape his hands and face against the 
 cliff; and soon we caught him in our hands, and had 
 him safe again on the top. Then he told us, we were 
 right in our conjecture, for that the place was swarm- 
 ing Avith serpents. 
 
 On that news, we determined to smoke them out 
 of their hole, or smother them in it ; and making my 
 wish known to the savages by signs, they soon col- 
 lected for us some brushwood and other branches, 
 pretty dry, in places sheltered from the storm. But 
 we would not as yet trust them out of sight, and 
 made them know it by our threatening gestures ; 
 though I believe the poor simple creatures had now 
 become so attached to us, as well as looking on us to 
 be some superior beings whom they could not oppose, 
 we misrht have trusted them all over the Island. 
 
 o 
 
 However, they soon gathered us a good heap, enough 
 to have smothered whole families of serpent? ; and 
 did more than that, too ; for Johu Pounder, crying 
 out, " Kukui kukidf pointed to a kind of dwarf- tree 
 with grayish leaves, that looked like an olive nt a 
 distance, though we had not noticed it before : mak- 
 ing signs, 'twas good for our purpose.
 
 CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 185 
 
 f let him have his way ; so off he darts to the 
 tree, and comes back with some biggish nuts in his 
 hand, motioning to me to cut a slender stick sharp at 
 one end with my knife. I did this to humor him; 
 so he plants the stick upright in the earth, the sharp 
 end uppermost ; and sticks three or four of the nuts 
 on it, one over the other. I signed to the rest to be 
 still, so Pounder had it all his own way ; and hia 
 next performance was to get a light after his country 
 fashion, which I had heard of, but never seen done 
 before. For he begged so beseechingly for the use 
 of my knife, I could not deny him ; but threatened 
 him again to make no bad use of it. He searched 
 about a while, till he found a short thickish branch, 
 of the bigness of my wrist ; he quickly brought the 
 end of this to a point with the knife ; then, coming 
 to a stump of tree that had been broken off by some 
 former storm, quite dry, and half touch-wood, he 
 held the point of the stick on it, and began twirling 
 it about with the palms of his hands as swiftly 
 as ever you saw a machine bore a hole into a board 
 with an auger. He had not done this for five or six 
 minutes, when first there rose a little smoke, then 
 the tree smoked pretty thick, and all at once there 
 burst forth a flame of fire under his hands. 
 
 Our men expected this so little, for they had laugh- 
 ed at Master Pounder's contrivance, that now they 
 greeted his success with a hearty cheer : and the 
 other savages showed, in their own fashion, they 
 were glad he had pleased us, though noways surpris- 
 ed at what he had done : for it seems, this method of 
 kindling a fire is their common way. But now,
 
 1 86 THIS ADVENTURES Of OWEN RV A* 8, 
 
 gathering up a handful of dry leaves, ho kindle* 
 them, and comes to the nuts strung upon the stick ; 
 and they took flame readily, by reason of an oil they 
 are filled with. Then Pounder, while the nuts burn- 
 ed slowly down, like a candle, prostrated himself be- 
 fore us again, till we bid him rise. 
 
 To find candles thus ready made, and growing on 
 a tree, pleased us greatly then, and more afterwards, 
 when we came to use them in the winter evening. But 
 for the time we had, as the saying is, other fish to fry : 
 for we were to .dislodge the serpents in the hole by 
 fire and smoke ; and take possession of their lodging. 
 And the way we set about it was this : 
 
 We tied up our dry brushwood, with the leaves in- 
 side, into bundles, or faggots, as many as seven or 
 eight of them, ranging these in order on the top of 
 the cliff: but first, we sent Pounder for some more 
 candle-nuts, and thrust a few of them into each bun- 
 dle, as I have seen housewives in Wales bind up a 
 pitched stick in a faggot, to light their fire the better. 
 When all was ready, and nothing wanted but to 
 descend to the hole, and so set fire to the first bun- . 
 die, and push it in with others after it, to give our 
 gentlemen there a warm entertainment, we ques- 
 tioned, which of our number to send on this adven 
 ture. For now we knew the fulness of the danger 
 we felt sure, unless the man who went down were 
 quick and steady, to stop the mouth of the hole with 
 the very first bundle, one of the serpents, or more, 
 would spring out on him ; and we guessed that to be 
 certain death. All of us stood looking, one on the 
 other; and at length, we well nigh thought to give up
 
 tHi CATHOLIC ORUsd. . 187 
 
 the enterprise, and seek some other place. But theu 
 again, this place was so commodious, or might b 
 made so, for its dryness and security, we took up our 
 resolution to make the venture. 
 
 But this was put an end to by the old Indian ; I 
 may as well call him Mark, for that was the name we 
 gave to him when he was baptized somewhat later. 
 He now drew near to us with as much reverence as 
 before, holding John Pounder by the hand. He 
 made us a long speech in his own tongue, of which 
 we understood not one word ; but he went on, partly 
 speaking, and part by signs, to offer Pounder for 
 this venturesome feat, who, for his part, offered him- 
 self too, with great eagerness; expressing, by many 
 odd gestures, his contempt for the serpents : (for the 
 savages had made out from our signs, 't was serpents 
 that inhabited the hole.) 
 
 The men had gained that degree of good feeling, 
 as that none of them were willing to risk our poor 
 apprentices in this service of danger. But, to our sur- 
 prise, Don Manuel now urged that Pounder should 
 be allowed to go down. 
 
 " 'Tis not here," said he, " a question of life against 
 life, nor of equal danger to one or to another ; in 
 that case I would say, let none of us go. But I be- 
 lieve these savages are so used to deal with serpents, 
 and disarm them of their fangs, or can so easily find 
 a simple remedy in the woods if they receive a bite, 
 that 'tis little risk to them by comparison. I could 
 tell you a story (only it would take us too long now) 
 to show this; but I have heard many such, from 
 trustworthy persons."
 
 THK ADVINTURKS OF OWRN EVANS, 
 
 Pounder seemed to understand his meaning, in 
 great part ; he nodded his head with many grimaces, 
 then, taking up one of the green withs we had bound 
 about our rope, he twisted it every way, to represent 
 a serpent ; wound it on his arm, shook it about, 
 laughing all the time, and finished by stripping off 
 the end of it with his teeth, to show us, that was how 
 he would bite oif the snake's head for him. Then he 
 pointed to my knife, and the hanger by my side, as 
 begging me to grant him the use of them : so armed 
 with these, he went to the rope, as though he would 
 slip down it at once. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXL 
 
 NOTICE TO QUIT. 
 
 " AVAST," cried Tom Harvey ; " were it not best 
 we should load a brace of the guns with small shot, 
 and fire into the hole, to bid them look out for us ?" 
 
 We all agreed to this ; only, we thought one of the 
 guns enough, not to waste powder and shot : we put 
 in a full charge, and gave the piece to Gill ; for since 
 his victory over the shark, he was our captain of 
 marksmen. But this proceeding was very much 
 against the orain of our savage friends; who, I 
 
 O O *^J ' * 
 
 truly think, would sooner have faced a wood full of 
 serpents than one discharge of our terrible guns. 
 They cast themselves on their faces, and remained 
 there, trembling, while Harry Gill leaped back across
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 189 
 
 the gulf with his gun, and clambered leisurely down 
 the hanging rock ; and this was a work of danger, too, 
 for he had to go down the under face of it, as it 
 leaned over him. However, he kept his footing, with 
 the gun slung over his shoulder ; and went down 
 with hands and feet two or three yards, till he came 
 all but opposite the hole. Then he leaned against 
 some twisted roots springing out of the rock ; un- 
 slung his piece, with a good aim, and so fired into 
 the hole. The piece made a terrible report, being 
 discharged in so close a place ; the echo went back 
 and back again from cliff to crag, and from crag to 
 cliff; and the poor Indians were half dead with fear. 
 Out of the hole there came sounds of hissing, by 
 which we knew, however much execution the shot 
 might have done, yet Gill had not killed all the brood. 
 But, what was worse, at that moment, whether from 
 the shock or his weight, or both, the roots that poor 
 Harry had learned against, now gave way under him. 
 He had but just time to catch at some saplings as he 
 fell ; but he managed that, like a nimble seaman as 
 he was : and there he hung by his hands, I am sure 
 full three fathoms above his mother earth. 
 
 We, who watched all this from the cliff, were so 
 distracted at the sight, that what to do we knew 
 not : for, did we pursue our advantage over the ser- 
 pents, we must leave our comrade hanging there, and 
 then drop he nmst soon, to the peril of'his neck or 
 bones: or did we go over to help him. we feared our 
 enemies might escape from their hole, and glide 
 down, and so get at him if he should fall before we 
 csme to the rescue.
 
 190 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 Amid the confusion of our thoughts, as we looked 
 this way and that, the priest called out, with all the 
 decision of a general leading his men to the charge, 
 and a voice like a trumpet : 
 
 "You, friend Owen, take my cloak; away with 
 you, and Tom, and Hilton ! Hold it under him ! 
 Break his fall. Ricardo and I will do the rest here .' 
 
 Quick as thought, we obeyed the words : I seized 
 on the cloak, and cleared the gulf at a bound. The 
 other two were after me ; and how we found our- 
 selves on firm ground below with our necks unbroken, 
 we never stayed to inquire. But we spread out the 
 cloak under our messmate, and held on hard, keeping 
 it taut, perhaps five feet off" the ground. Then we 
 hailed him, and bid him drop himself soft and steady. 
 So indeed he did ; but withal his weight broke away 
 the cloak out of our hands, pulling us all down to- 
 gether in a heap. Though his fall was greatly 
 broken by the cloak, he did not altogther escape, 
 neither ; and coming down lengthways, bruised and 
 stunned his head a little, but hurt his shoulder 
 more. 
 
 No sooner did Don Manuel see him safe (though 
 somewhat the worse of his fall,} but he beckoned 
 Pounder to go down the rope ; at the same time, he 
 slungr down a bundle of our combustibles to the 
 
 o 
 
 hole's mouth, having kindled it from our stickful of 
 nuts, that was burning still. The Indian went down 
 quick, as readily as if there were no serpents within 
 a mile of the place ; and with Don Manuel's staff, 
 pushed the burning faggot right into the hole, which 
 it quite stopped up ; then with my knife he cut the
 
 THB CATHOLIC CHDSOB. 191 
 
 twine, and the priest hauled up the end to tie another 
 faggot, and let it down to him. So they went on, 
 faggot after faggot, Master Pounder doing his work 
 well ; though I believe he would sooner have shown 
 his skill in wringing the serpent's necks than smother- 
 ing them thus by blockade. 
 
 We made out by the loud angry hissings that 
 came from the hole, our enemies had no other way 
 of escape from us ; a thing we had rather feared, for 
 in that case our fire would have driven them out and 
 dispersed them in the woods, to make the whole 
 place unsafe for us. But one, and 'twas a smaller 
 one, found means to glide out through some unper- 
 ceived cranny, and wriggled himself with great speed 
 down the face of the cliff: but we had an eye to him, 
 and just before he alighted, I scotched him with a 
 stone. 
 
 When t> last faggot had blazed out, John Poun- 
 der, swinging by the rope, made no difficulty of 
 thrusting his head and one arm into the hole, though 
 the smoke was like to blind or choke him : then, in a 
 few moments, drawing back again, he shouts out 
 " Oora, aora .'" which in their language, it seems, 
 means very good; laughing now to us, now to Don 
 Manuel above ; and in his hand a was serpent, dead 
 and half roasted, that he kept swinging about, and 
 then flung it down to us. So, by degrees, with the 
 end of the staff and his hand he rakes out nine more 
 of them, great and small, one after the other, and 
 flings them down. When he had finished this, 
 " Well," cried I up to him, " well John, are there 
 any yet to come out ?" He understood what I would
 
 192 THE ADVENTURES OF .OWEN EVANi, 
 
 ask, and shook his head, laughing, and cried out 
 again ; " Oora, oora" with a wild hoop, that made 
 the rocks ring about our ears. Then, shutting his 
 hand tight (for he held on to the rope by the other, 
 together wdth his feet,) he stretched forth, first one 
 tinger, then another, counting all the time, till he 
 came to five then shut his hand again, and so did 
 the same over a second time : then one finger alone, 
 and so pointed to the ground, where the serpents 
 were lying all about : to make us know, there were 
 but eleven in all, and they dead or dying there 
 below. 
 
 This was joyful news, you may be sure ; we now 
 looked on the place as our own, and were impatient 
 to take possession and begin our mason's work at it. 
 But by this, the light warned us, no more was to be 
 done at that time ; and we must think of supper, 
 and our night quarters. We told Pounder, by signs 
 (for, what with fire-lighting, and his other services, 
 we began to look on him as our special footman) we 
 would have our fire kindled : this he soon did, with 
 the help of the other two, who gathered the brush- 
 wood fast enough, while we sat at our ease, and 
 talked over the day's adventures. Then we supped, 
 as we could, on cuttle-fish ; though we found it coarse 
 and strong-tasted, not the delicacy 'twas said to be ; 
 out this fish was one, which might be the cause ; 
 tnough indeed not so large, by far (if all tales be 
 be true) as they are found in the Indian seas. Only 
 Richard coiild not be prevailed on to taste a bit : so 
 we gave him all the cocoa-nut, we could spare, which 
 was not much; and he eked it out with a little sup
 
 fHK CA-THOLiC CfctJSOB. 198 
 
 frt>m his bottle. As to the Indians, they made a 
 Inn-rid meal on the roasted serpents ; in which we 
 rured not to disturb them. But when \ve had done, 
 and Don Manuel had said grace for us, we called 
 the savages to us again, not to lose sight of them in 
 the dark. 
 
 CH AFTER XXXH. 
 
 THE MOTHER TONGUE. 
 
 SEATED round our fire, we whiled away the time 
 in teaching our savages a little English. They sur- 
 prised us, truly, by their quickness in learning our 
 words, with some short sentences we taught them by 
 degrees ; and I may here say, that in four or five 
 days or so (for Don Manuel and I worked at it with 
 them a little every day) we contrived to hold talk 
 with them pretty well about common things. Only 
 we got out of our depth, for want of expressions, 
 when we would come at their notions of religion, or 
 the nature of the earth, the sky, the sens, and so on ; 
 all which the priest labored at with great patience, 
 as I shall set down in order. We were curious to 
 know their names for some things, as well as to im- 
 part to them ours ; and we went about it thus : 
 
 I would point to the ih-e, then look at them, nod 
 to them, opening my mouth, moving my lips as 
 though I would speak, but indeed not speaking at 
 all ; then I would put my hand to my ear as though 
 I listened for something they were to say ; thus I
 
 194 THE ADVENTURES 0V OWBN KVANB, 
 
 made them understand I desired to hear their name 
 for the thing I pointed to. This went on well 
 enough, for when they once made out my dumb 
 show they answered very readily. Then, listen in o 
 to what they said, I would shake my head, and 
 look a little displeased, as though that were not the 
 true name, and I misliked the sound of it ; then 1 
 would give the English, and repeat it three or four 
 times, till they caught the sound ; and I would do 
 so louder and louder, as insisting they should repeat 
 it after me, which they did willingly, and seemed 
 delighted with the new name, for they kept on re- 
 peating it till they had it perfect. 
 
 In this way we learned some of their Indian, too. 
 I suppose the language will die out if white men 
 come to penetrate into those native countries of the 
 savages, or at least 'twill become mixed and 
 changed. So I here set down some of the words 
 they gave us, till they had got our English so well, 
 we ceased to ask them further. 
 
 First I will set down the name of their country, 
 which we made out after some pains ; for 'twas a 
 hard question for them to comprehend : at last they 
 did, and gave the name of it, Toonati-nooka. They 
 described it by signs, that 'twas an island, with an- 
 other island lying near it, smaller, and either not 
 fruitful, or disagreeable from some cause, or maybe, 
 at war with the inhabitants of the first : for when 
 they named it, John Pounder shook his head with a 
 look of disgust, and pushed out his hands as though 
 he would push the island from him; this second 
 island they called Hai-vavaoo.
 
 THt CATHOLIC CRU80B. lft5 
 
 The young savage, whom I will call by the name 
 he gave himself, Poula-faihe (but later we christened 
 him Samuel) drew a plan of these two islands very 
 neatly with the end of a stick in the sand, as we sat ; 
 iiul while we let him work on, he finished such an 
 excellent raised map of the two islands as I never 
 saw exhibited in a museum. He hollowed out the 
 sand, and smoothed it, to represent the sea-level : 
 then got some sharp stones and shells to stand for 
 the cliffs and headlands of their island ; he also stuck 
 in a few leaves and sprigs for the groves of trees ; 
 then he raised up some little mountains in miniature, 
 as the saying is, " making a mountain out of a mole 
 hill ;" in a word, he worked at his map with that 
 diligence that he soon had it completed in the rough. 
 So, standing up, he looked on it with much satisfac- 
 tion ; clapping his hands together, he danced round 
 it, he leaped across it back and forward, pointing 
 now to one island, singing out all the time, " Too- 
 nati-nooka" then " Hai-vavaoo." But Pounder, 
 stopping in his talk with us to examine this map, 
 misliked some parts of it, and began to alter them. 
 He pulled up one of the groves, knocked down a 
 cliff or two, or changed them to other places : car- 
 ried away a mountain here, set it down there, and 
 made such changes as pleased him, but displeased 
 Samuel in turn ; in the end they appealed to the 
 old man as umpire in their dispute. And the old 
 Indian's decision had all respect from the other two ; 
 for no sooner had he spoken, and made some altera- 
 tions of his own, than all questions were set at rest
 
 196 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 VARIOUS DISCOVERIES. 
 
 FOUNDER told us, too (in his way) this larger 
 island took two months to go round it in a canoe 
 pointing to the moon, for a young moon had be- 
 gun to appear, then holding up two fingers, and 
 sweeping his hand round Poula-faihe's map of the 
 island : then motioning with his hands as though lie 
 were paddling one of their canoes. It was very fer- 
 tile, he said, and well wooded (so he expressed by 
 pointing to the trees round us, then to the leaves and 
 sprigs the other had stuck in the map, making signs 
 of pleasure and admiration) and that it had a great 
 many inhabitants ; for so he told us by pointing to 
 himself and the other two Indians, opening and shut- 
 ting his hands several times, and calling out Eah'i- 
 
 o o 
 
 noue each time he did it. And this was all AVC 
 learned from him that night : for Don Manuel called 
 us to prayers, and soon after we were all asleep, 
 having wrapped our guns carefully in our jackets, 
 and laid them under our heads, together with the 
 broken one. But we had before agreed Xed Hilton 
 should watch for us to-night till he saw the savages 
 
 o o 
 
 asleep : indeed he had not long to watch for it. 
 
 Our hard day (so it had been to us all) made us 
 sleep so sound, we woke later next morning than 
 our wont; when we found a clear sky, and the 
 wind quite gone down, as if no hurricane had
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 197 
 
 blown at all ; for indeed by this time it had blown 
 itself out. A flight of parrots came screaming and 
 whistling over our heads, with troops of monkeys 
 too, chattering after their way in the trees : so there 
 was noise enough, as Gill said, to pipe all hands 
 from the hammocks. Up we rose, and shook our- 
 selves free from sleep : then, by a common feeling, 
 all looked for Don Manuel, as our chaplain. He 
 was a ew paces off, reading his prayer-book to him- 
 self; but so soon as he saw us risen, he put by, and 
 came to us. 
 
 "You have stopped your own prayers for ours, 
 this morning, Senor," said I, coming to meet him ; 
 and I pointed to the men who were ready. 
 
 " I am happy to do so, my dear friend," answered 
 he ; " and 'twill give me another reason to say a 
 Gloria Patria when I begin them again." 
 
 So, without more delay, he shook hands heartily 
 with the men, all round; then we all knelt down 
 together, and the three Indians, seeing this, followed 
 our example, out of submission, I suppose. The 
 priest led our devotions, praying with us, and for us ; 
 and he put in some little petitions, suited to the 
 change in our state from the arrival of the savages: 
 as, that we might be kept from the sins of tyranny, 
 oppression, and injustice to our inferiors ; that they, 
 too, might remain submissive and peaceable, and at 
 length have grace to become Christians. This, with 
 beseeching the Divine majesty we might be kept from 
 sin through the day, and from all evil accidents or 
 sudden death, and might advance His glory and our 
 salvation, made up the priest's short and fervent
 
 198 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN BTANS, 
 
 prayer. Nor need I mention after this, he had got 
 us all so into the way of praying, as that we fell to 
 it regularly thenceforward : and soon the men would 
 as little have thought of going without morning or 
 evening prayer as losing their breakfast or supper. 
 
 Breakfast, indeed, now engaged us all ; though 
 we had but some scanty slices of our enemy, the 
 cuttle-fish, with a little pulp and milk that remained 
 of our cocoa-nuts. We broiled the fish and pulp 
 together, to make out a meal; for I was in haste, 
 and they too, to get down to the shore and see after 
 our shark : or, indeed, our sharks, for we now hoped 
 to find the hurricane had lifted the skeleton one too, 
 handier to us. Prodgers, though, could not be got 
 to taste of the cuttle-fish ; being persuaded, say all 
 we could against it, there was some poisonous quality 
 in the meat of the fish as well as in the suckers of its 
 limbs, that made his face all of a smart even now. 
 As we had dressed our whole larder, already, poor 
 Richard had a chance of going without his breakfast ; 
 when Samuel, our young Indian, seeing this, stood 
 up, and bowing down before us, made a little speech, 
 pointing to an open space beyond the wood. 
 
 We could not well make out what he meant ; only 
 that he promised Prodgers something to eat, out of 
 the earth : for he made as though he were digging, 
 or tearing up some vegetable with his hands. We 
 had gained confidence now in our poor savages, that 
 they would not desert us, nor do us harm: so I 
 waved my hand to him to be off on his errand, and 
 he darted away like an antelope, striking up for the 
 middle of the island, as though he would make for
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOK. 199 
 
 Prospect Hill. When he had been gone a lew min- 
 utes, I doubted my wisdom in letting him go at all ; 
 and hallooed after him to come back to us : but pres- 
 ently he came back through the woods at another 
 point, and appeared laden with some large vegetables 
 on his shoulders, though he still ran very fast under 
 the weight. When he came panting up to us, and threw 
 them on the ground, those of us who had been in the 
 West Indies (and that was the greater number) knew 
 them to be yams. 
 
 This was a precious to us ; more so, by far, than if 
 we had found a mine of rubies or diamonds on our 
 walk. We might now look on our kitchen-garden 
 as indifferently well stocked (what with bread-fruits, 
 cocoa-nuts, and now yams beside,) let us remain on 
 the island as long as we might. Don Manuel did 
 
 o o 
 
 now just what he had done when we discovered the 
 bread-fruit : he held a yam in each hand, having first 
 laid his hat on the ground ; he raised the yams as a 
 thank-offering to heaven, and said his Gloria Patri. 
 But the difference now was, joined by us all in this, 
 as a matter of course: so much can misfortune and 
 good example soften the hearts of the rudest. 
 
 Then, raking together the ashes of our fire, we 
 peeled one or two of the yams, and sliced them ; these, 
 with some oil from our candle-nuts, make out Rich- 
 ard's breakfast pretty well.' But the water herea- 
 bouts was brackish ; for I suppose the see- water 
 filtered in through tke soil. And this, we saw, might 
 prevail against our making our abode hereabouts, 
 except we could discover some other spring, or find 
 means to convey pure water hither from a distance.
 
 200 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 The badness of the water was Richard's excuse foi 
 taking a little pull at his bottle : after that, he sur- 
 rendered it to me with a good grace, saying he would 
 have it reckoned into the common stock, and kept for 
 a case of sickness, or other need. So we all took our 
 way down to Shark Cove. 
 
 We were sorry enough to discover, so soon as we 
 got clear of the trees, not the shark only (though he 
 was there, too) but the dead body of that fourth 
 Indian, whom we had seen drowned as their canoe 
 capsized over the reef; the body had been flung by 
 the force of the tempest, high and dry, and lay 
 stretched on the sand. The savages set up a loud wail 
 on seeing this ; they ran to the body, and began to 
 lament over it, after their fashion. But I believe 'twas 
 more out of custom than much regard : for we made 
 out from them, he. was not of their kinsmen, though 
 of the same tribe ; and had gone a-fishing with them 
 when the hurricane caught them all, and drove 
 them on the island. However, the first thing we 
 had. to do was, to give the poor savage decent, if not 
 Christian burial : we set to work on a little rising 
 ground, safe from the reach of any tempest ; for 
 nothing but another deluge (we thought) could touch 
 it, though we lived to find our mistake.
 
 IE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 A FUNEKAL, AXD A LESSON FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 THE grave was long in digging, to make it deep 
 enough : though we had nothing to dig with but a 
 kind of flat sharp stones, like slates, that we found 
 near the spot, yet, as we had leisure for the work, 
 we thought to do it thoroughly; and putting our 
 hands together we made the grave, I am. sure, near 
 five feet in depth. Then the old Indian, who had 
 asked by signs, to go into the wood, came back with 
 a load of leaves of the cocoa, palm, banana, and other 
 broad leaved trees, together with a quantity of the 
 same creepers we had made our rope out of. In 
 these they lapped the body of the dead Indian from 
 head to foot, and bound it about ; then, at our 
 bidding, they lowered him carefully into the grave. 
 When we came to know them and their ways better, 
 we found they did this out of submission to our will, 
 thinking the white man's way mnst be best in all 
 things. For their own custom in disposing of their 
 dead is, to place them on a ledge constructed of poles, 
 in some place apart, till with the sun, and weather 
 and process of time, they are wholly consumed. 
 
 But now Don Manuel, standing bare-headed over 
 the grave, lifted his voice, and said aloud ; " May 
 the Lord be merciful to all whom He knoweth to be 
 His !" With that, we shovelled in the earth, and made 
 the grave secure with such large stones as we could
 
 202 IHB ADTENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 find about ; some, indeed, so large, we were forced 
 to roll them, two and three of us together, to the 
 spot. This we did, to secure it against being disturb- 
 ed by any wild animals of prey that might haunt the 
 island ; though as yet we had seen none such. Then 
 we named the place Indian's Rest, and so left it be- 
 hind us. 
 
 Our next concern was the shark, which had been 
 thrown somewhat further up the shore; for he was 
 the sport of the hurricane at its first burst, but the 
 Indian only came to land when it began to abate. 
 A big, ugly monster did this fish look, truly, as he 
 lay along there ; and called forth from us again some 
 natural expressions of thankfulness for having been 
 kept out of his cruel jaws. After consulting, we re- 
 solved to skin him first, and then cut him up : neither 
 of them pleasant things to do, but useful to us in our 
 need. " PC is a mine of wealth to us, friends," said 
 I, " as I told you. We shall get shagreen from his 
 rousrh skin, and then oil from the liver, knives and 
 
 O ' ' 
 
 arrow heads from the teeth, and all kinds of instru- 
 ments out of the bones." " And pickled pork," add- 
 ed Hilton, merrily, " from the flesh, could we but salt 
 it well, for many a long day to come." 
 
 " From his aws, too," said the priest, " which we 
 will set on a pole, we shall have a memento to calm 
 us into content again, if we are tempted to repine 
 at our present lot." 
 
 " Aye, indeed," chimed in Prodgers and Harvey 
 together. 
 
 " I warrant," says Harry Gill, " our 'prentices" 
 he looked at the priest, and laughed a little, but
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 203 
 
 'twas now in a civil sort of way, " have skinned a 
 shark for their own use before now. What if we 
 bid 'em do it, and leave the job so ?" 
 
 This seemed fair enough ; so putting our knives 
 into the Indians' hands, we made them know, we 
 would have the monster skinned, and that his skin 
 should be carefully dealt with to preserve it. They 
 set to work cheerfully, and with skill, too : when I 
 saw from their first slices, they would do justice to 
 our wish, I proposed to the rest to go back and work 
 at our habitation in the rock. We left Richard, with 
 his gun, for a captain over the savages : and now 
 Don Manuel said he would take his turn at watching 
 from the tree, as the old Indian had watched before. 
 " I have some of my prayer-book to read," says he, 
 " and can do that as well in the tree as on terra 
 fir ma." 
 
 " I believe indeed, sir," answered I, as we all went 
 along, " you could pray anywhere." 
 
 " My dear," he answered with great affection, and 
 his hand on my shoulder, " in all parts of our lives, 
 and everything we do, 'tis not so much where we are, 
 as what we are." 
 
 "That's true, indeed," says Hilton: "I little 
 thought, when an old uncle of mine took me, I may 
 say dragged me by the ears, to church in our village, 
 the Sunday before I ran away to sea, the next time I 
 prayed (except once, when I prayed in a storm) would 
 be on a savage island in some unknown latitude, no 
 one knows where." 
 
 " In No Man's Land, eh, Senor ?" asked Don Man 
 a el, looking on him archly.
 
 204 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 " Ah," says Tom Harvey, laughing, " that 
 what old Dick said when we first landed, and he 
 grumbled at having the place called Manuel's Is- 
 land." 
 
 " I don't think," said I, " Dick would make that 
 kind of speech now. From the rough old tar he once 
 was, 'tis wonderful to see him 'fined down into another 
 being." 
 
 " Many people," the priest said taking up his for. 
 mer vein, " think they would be better Christia'ns, 
 and more able to save their souls, were they in differ- 
 ent circumstances, surrounded by other prople, en- 
 gaged in other duties, and I know not what else. 
 Now, 'tis true, each man has a vocation to be this or 
 that, would he take pains to discover it. But 'tis 
 likewise true, all depends on the interior will, wheth- 
 er a man shall be good or bad ; whether, too, he 
 shall be slothful or fervent in good. He may be good 
 in a camp of soldiers, or bad in a choir of monks : 
 for God gives him liberty, and sufficient grace, which 
 he may use, or sin away, at will." 
 
 " And could he be good in a ship like the old Spit' 
 fire . ? " asked Ned Hilton, more grave than his wont. 
 I had forgotten to say, that was the vessel we had 
 all embarked in. 
 
 " If any one," answered Don Manuel, " should find 
 himself where he could not be good, from the flood of 
 wickedness all around him, he would be bounden to 
 depart out of that place as soon as he might. For 
 he has to save his soul in the first place, and to fulfil 
 other duties of life in the second. That is what we 
 Catholics are used to call, avoiding the occasiops of
 
 THI CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 205 
 
 sin. But come, here is my tree ; which gives me the 
 occasion of serving you. So we will fulfil what is 
 expected of us ; you to work beyond, and I to watch 
 up here." 
 
 " Watch and pray, sir," broke in Harry Gill, " as 
 the parson used to say in North Budenham, where I 
 was brought up." 
 
 " And if the parson had never said anything worse 
 than that," answered the priest, rather gravely, " I 
 should have had some respect for him. Let us 
 not make a jest, friend, of sacred words." 
 
 So saying, he clambered into the high tree, and 
 left us on our way to the cave. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 OUTWITTED. 
 
 UP the rock we were, and sprang across the chasm, 
 eager to begin working at our hole. It soon appear- 
 ed, yesterday's attack on the serpents was a triumph ; 
 for we saw nothing, nor heard either, of any more ot 
 that family. We were glad, too, that the fire having 
 burnt so freely showed the place to be free from 
 noxious vapours within : for these would have quen- 
 ched any fire as well as quenched human life. So 
 we now cast lots among us, which should begin our 
 
 O J O 
 
 mason's work ; each man wishing to be first : but no 
 two could work together till the opening was made 
 bigger. The lot fell on Ned Hilton : so down the
 
 200 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVAN8, 
 
 rope he went, merrily ; and lashing himself fast to it 
 by aid of the twine, twisted with four or five strands 
 together, be made all snug, and began chiselling 
 away. 
 
 He soon found, to our satisfaction, the rock was 
 very proper for our purpose ; being composed of a 
 dark sand, or sandstone, such as I have read is found 
 in plenty about the city' of Rome, made up (as is 
 thought) of sand once thrown out of burning moun- 
 tains, hardened and compacted by time. It worked 
 freely under the stroke of Ned Hilton's chisel, 
 though that was a rude mason's tool enough : but 
 we, who watched from above, thought he was mak- 
 ing the entrance too wide ; so we called to him, to 
 leave that as small as that a man could creep in on 
 hands and knees (lest the place should be discovered 
 easily,) and work more to the inside. In forty min- 
 utes, about, of hard hewing, he fairly made his way 
 within ; then, unlashing himself, he called for anoth- 
 er to come down. 
 
 Harvey now begged for his share of the work, too ; 
 BO I sent him down, while I stood watching ; and, to 
 .be short, between them they worked a passage of 
 nine feet, or so, into the living sandstone rock, wide 
 enough for the two to work abreast, though not high 
 enough to stand upright : for they crept along and 
 chiselled on their knees. It seems, they wanted to 
 discover if the whole cliff were made up of the same 
 rock ; which they found it to be, with this in their 
 favour, that it grew softer the further they got in : at 
 length they worked it easy enough, and threw out 
 the loose sand with their feet, But crack or hollow-
 
 TH CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 207 
 
 they found none, as they hoped, to make their labour 
 easier ; so 'twas plain, we must make good every inch 
 of the way, by sheer labour. For my part, I was glad 
 of this news ; I though any chasm in the rock would 
 be filled (more than likely) with such poisonous 
 vapours as had nearly been the end of Harry Gill on 
 our way down from the volcano. 
 
 When I found, by their voices they were well into 
 the heart of the rock, I must needs go down too, and 
 take my part in the business. So, without bestowing 
 a thought on securing the rope, I slid down to the 
 hole and crept in as I could, for the rubbish hindered 
 me greatly. But the rope had now got so loosened 
 from the roots of the tree we bound it to, by the 
 weight of three men upon it, one after the other, that 
 'twas a mercy I had not broke my neck with my 
 want of heed : and it gave occasion for some enemies 
 of ours to play a trick on us that might have cost us 
 dear enough, as I will now tell. 
 
 No sooner was I got within the hole, than I heard 
 a noise of chattering above, and swinging of bran- 
 ches, such as I could not well account for. But it 
 made me somewhat anxious, as I well knew (by re- 
 port, at least) the cunning of savages, who might 
 have lain concealed in ambush all this while, waiting 
 for their moment to take me unawares. And 
 truly, a more favourable moment for them scarce 
 could have been ; for with their arrows and javelins 
 they might have killed us all three defenceless in the 
 cave there, before we had brought our arms to bear on 
 them ; or have overwhelmed us at that disadvantage 
 by numbers, in spite of our shot. I looked up, and un-
 
 208 TDK ADVENTt'RES OF OWKX EVANi, 
 
 slung my rifle, ready to do what I could ; but before 
 I had time to tire, what was my vexation to see a dozen 
 monkeys' faces that peered and gunned at me from 
 the cliff ; and the shaking of the rope plainly proved 
 they were tugging at it to loosen it from the tree. Ii 
 short, whether 'twas from mere imitation of what 
 they had seen us do in tying it, as they watched us 
 unnoticed from the treCs around ; or whether some 
 instinct of mischief more than common is possessed 
 by these strange caricatures of ourselves, I know 
 not : but within a minute, at the juncture when I had 
 got ready my rifle, to discharge it upward, with no 
 hope of killing, but every hope of frighting them 
 from their mischief; at that very moment, I say, the 
 rope came tumbling about my ears ; and, but that I 
 caught one end, would have fallen to the ground be- 
 low. 
 
 Let me be as vexed as I would at this mishap, T 
 could not forbear laughing, neither, at the cunning of 
 our enemies, and their success. But there was no 
 help for it, but only to go on with our work, and 
 wait till the rest came to us, and so with their help 
 make fast the rope again. I would not throw it down 
 out of my hand, though ; lest some unforeseen chance 
 might cause us to need it to let ourselves down; 
 though nothing less than a mere necessity could 
 persuade us to that ; for the rope did not reach the 
 ground, I am sure, by fourteen feet or so, and he 
 might have likely met a shrewd fall who should at- 
 tempt it, beside leaving his last comrade [if not twoj 
 imprisoned still in the hole. 
 
 So we worked on, in quietness if not content, for
 
 THE OATHOLIO CRUSOE. 209 
 
 three hours more, or thereabout, one resting always, 
 and two working, each by turns ; by which time we 
 had got a prodigious way into the living rock, con- 
 sidering our number of hands. I say, one resting ; 
 but I mean, one was not handling an instrument ; 
 but he had worked, all the same, though of a lighter 
 kind, in shovelling the loose sand with his feet to- 
 wards the entrance, then shovelling it over the edge 
 to get rid of it. 
 
 We meant to work straight inwards, to discover 
 what we might ; but, having with us no level, nor in- 
 strument to gage our work by, and keep us straight, 
 we found on looking back, it was bad irregular 
 work, indeed : for here it rose, and there it fell again, 
 and here the height was greater, and there it was 
 less. Only, we had not turned much to the right or 
 left ; at least, nothing to speak of: for hi that matter 
 we guided ourselves by the light behind us. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVL 
 
 WE AIM AT A PROVISION STOKE. 
 
 WE were pretty tired now with our morning's 
 work, and thought it high time we were released out 
 of this hole : the air, too, had become hot and stifl- 
 ing, and our limbs felt cramped to a degree by the 
 straitness of the place. 'Twas no good wishing to be 
 out, however; so, as a first effort, we joined our voices 
 in as loud a halloo as we could raise all together ;
 
 $. THE ADYBNTOBBS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 then waited and listened. But whether the depths 
 we had reached stifled our voices [for we could not 
 be at the mouth all at once, and were all much in 
 each other's way,] or whether the sound was beaten 
 back by the rock opposite, we got no answer to our 
 hail. Again we tried it, and a third time ; but 
 heard nothing from Don Manuel : we then began to 
 think we should have to stay there till the others had 
 finished their work with the shark, and came to look 
 after us for dinner, or supper, rather. 
 
 " Once more, comrades," said I, " with a long pull, 
 and a strong pull ; as if we were cast adrift on the 
 open sea, and were hailing a ship as our last chance." 
 
 So, putting our hand to our mouths, and our whole 
 hearts into it, we gave such a hail as (I think) three 
 men had seldom given before ; so that Hilton fell 
 back exhausted after it. But we had now the satis- 
 action to hear Don Manuel shouting to us hi return, 
 from his tree ; though the sounds came to us very 
 faint. Nor could we hear him at all when he turned 
 the other way [as he afterwards told us.] and shouted 
 to Prodgers and the Indians to come to us quick, not 
 knowing what might have mischanced. 
 
 The savages were quick enough in coming ; for in- 
 deed, they were the swiftest creatures I ever beheld 
 afoot : all but old Mark, and he, too, distanced Prod- 
 gers in the race, by a good deal. No sooner did 
 they see our plight, than catching at the rope's end, 
 Samuel [who ran in first] was up the rock in a twink- 
 ling, and over the gulf hi another, with Pounder after 
 him ; and knotting the rope firmly again to the tree, 
 he slipped down, and darted into the hole, to give us
 
 THI CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 211 
 
 help. By coming on us thus of a sudden, it is true, 
 he preceived our broken gun plain enough : but 'twas 
 all one to him ; he thought [1 suppose] we could do 
 as we would with those terrible engines, so great 
 was the power of white men. Nay, when we bade 
 him take up the piece of gun, and go on with our 
 work, he did so with great obedience, handling it 
 with some fear, indeed, but more curiosity: and 
 Pounder creeping in just after [for by this time old 
 Murk was on guard at the rope above] we fairly set 
 them both to work, and gladly swarmed up the rope, 
 to get a breathing of the fresh air. 
 
 We then went down, as before, by the hanging 
 rock, and met first Don Manuel, and next Prodgers, 
 who arrived soon, somewhat the worse for his race. 
 Yet he found breath to tell us how the Indians had 
 not only skinned, but cut up the shark too, in good 
 style : so that, had we but tubs and brine, all was 
 ready for pickling the monster, or some quantities 
 of him. Brine, truly, was there in plenty, in the 
 great salt sea on all sides of us; but where should 
 we get pickling-tubs, for love or money? However, 
 talking it over, we were so possessed with this no- 
 tion of pickled shark, as put us on contriving some 
 way, if even rude and imperfect. Could we make 
 shift to dig salt-pans in the earth, and line or smear 
 them inside with somewhat that might serve us foi 
 mortar, to keep the pickle from soaking away into 
 the ground, and to slice up our shark, and lay him 
 in the brine, and cover him over air-tight ; could we, 
 I say, have contrived all this, our task had been 
 done. But that was, to my thinking, as reasonable
 
 212 THE ADTENTCRES 0V OWEN 1YANS, 
 
 as if I should exhort my companions to build us m 
 ship out of the trees of the island, and so sail away 
 from our place of exile ; or to do anything else thar 
 was out of our power altogether. 
 
 I gave them my thoughts, however, as we went 
 along ; and finding them to catch at this ; " Well, 
 sirs," said I, " let any one propose a method to make 
 a lining for our salt-pan." 
 
 "Caulk it," says Harry Gill, who was ready 
 always with the first word. " as you would caulk the 
 sides of a ship." 
 
 " And where's your oakum, then, and your caulking- 
 irons, and your rosin and your boiling pitch ?" asked 
 Prodgers, grumbling a bit, in something of his ancient 
 fashion. 
 
 " Boiling pitch!" says Don Manuel, thinking; "ah, 
 that gives me an idea: I should not be surprised if on 
 this island of ours, which was plainly once a burning 
 mountain, we found such a pitch spring as is met with 
 in other like places, where the pitch comes hot out of 
 the ground, at boiling point." 
 
 " Or, could we find some such clay," Tom Harvey 
 said, " as might be proper for the purpose." 
 
 " Nay," answered I, "if we light on any clay, we 
 have found pots and stew-pans in plenty with a little 
 care and labour; and we must needs come to some- 
 thing of that, if we are not to live like savages to 
 the end." 
 
 But meanwhile, we agreed to prepare some slices 
 of our shark for dinner, in the way we had taken for 
 our first dinner on the island ; and this we did with 
 pur own hands, for we could not, as yet, trust the
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU9OB. 213 
 
 savages, who might (we thought) find means to pois- 
 on our food. 
 
 We dug an oven in the ground, we gathered wood, 
 or our servants did it for us, rather ; for having them 
 at hand, we now grew lazy at that kind of work: 
 then Pounder kindled our fire, as he did before, and 
 we heated our oven with stones, then filled it with as 
 many slices of the shark as 'twould hold, with the 
 remainder of our yams. So, banking it over with 
 earth, we left it in charge of Prodgers, who was the 
 least active among us on a march ; and Don Manuel 
 stayed with him too. 
 
 We took the savages with us, all but old Mark; 
 for he with the priest and Prodgers, was to do some- 
 thing in the way of digging holes in the sand, to stow 
 away the rest of our shark in, for the chance of pre- 
 serving him. The six of us started on a party to ex- 
 plore the island for a league or so northward, along 
 the east shore ; and particularly to look out for any 
 potter's clay, or such natural pitch as Don Manuel 
 had spoken of. Bat, for this time, we found nothing 
 of the kind, nor came to aught particular in other 
 ways ; only that in a piece of marshy ground we lit 
 on- a self-sown plantation of bamboo canes. We 
 hailed these with joy, foreseeing they would prove 
 useful articles to us, as they afterwards did, for 
 several uses. Some of the middle-sized we tore up 
 by the roots ; though that was a hard task (so deep 
 were they bedded in the mud,) yet easier than to cut 
 them with our knives. 
 
 Having loaded ourselves and Samuel (for I sent 
 back Pounder to help in the great larder business,
 
 TH ADVBNTCRKS Of OWKtf EVANS, 
 
 before we had reached half a mile ;) having, 1 say, 
 got our load of bamboos, perhaps three or four dozen 
 in all, greater and smaller, we found ourselves pretty 
 well knocked up with our wading, knee deep or 
 more, through the slush and mud that had lain in 
 our way. For several streams, running down from 
 the neighborhood of Prospect Hill, discharged them- 
 selves into the sea on this side the island ; and some, 
 being blocked up with coral reefs and banks of sand 
 when they came to the shore, rose on their channels, 
 and formed marshes and quagmires that made our 
 travelling difficult enough. 
 
 So we turned our faces homewards (if we could 
 call it home) slow and weary; and glad enough we 
 were to cast down our burdens of bamboos at length 
 where the skeleton of our shark was lying ; for the 
 est of our number had so completely disposed of 
 him, that I might call him a skeleton almost as much 
 as the one we dragged out of the water. They had 
 buried portions (as much as would last us for months, 
 if only pickled) in six or seven small pits they had 
 contrived to dig ; and the two Indians were cleaning 
 away at the bones with great diligence. To be brief, 
 we lit our evening fire under a spreading tree, a little 
 distance from the shore; our supper of shark we 
 found palatable enough to men who had hunger for 
 their sauce; then we spent the dark hours talking 
 over our day's adventures, till 'twas time for pr; jer, 
 and BO to bed.
 
 THi CATHOLIC CBDSOK. 2l6 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 THE FIRST CATECHISJI. 
 
 I WOULD fill a book, and a good one, to relate the 
 talk that went on between Don Manuel and the 
 Indians, by our watch-fire o'nights. I will give one 
 of these discourses, so well as I can recall it : only, 
 as I do not undertake to put the savage's broken En- 
 glish into fitter language (as I cannot pretend, 
 neither to very choice English myself,*) it must be by 
 jotting down just what they said, as far as memory 
 will serve. 
 
 " John," said the priest to Pounder, who was busy 
 fixing some shark's teeth into a handle, to serve for 
 a saw ; let me see if you remember what I said to 
 you yesterday. Attend, now, for our talk must be 
 serious. How many gods are there ?" 
 
 " White Sa," answered Pounder [so they called us, 
 trying to say, Sir,] " he say, none but one." 
 
 Don M. " But do you not see, yourself, there can 
 only be One ?" 
 
 * The state of education in Wales during Owen's younger 
 days must be taken into account in criticising his entire pro- 
 duction. Supposing him to write fifteen years, or so, after 
 the events he records, and to have spent a part of that time 
 in civilized society, we have still to account for the total 
 polish, and even accuracy of expression, which marks his 
 narrative. It has been thought, however, that it would prove 
 more satisfactory to the general reader to have Evans' plain 
 unvarnished tale presented to him in the dress in which the 
 author clothed it. And it must be remembered, that the 
 " Welsh schoolmaster'' of that day stood as the very type of 
 much that was rude and uncultured ; as the very reverse of 
 the " schoolmaster abroad" ED.
 
 216 THE ADVBNTCRKS OF OWEN EYANS, 
 
 Pounder. " White Sa, he say yes. Me s'pose ; 
 me no know. Rer-mimepolamba know small," He 
 meant to say, he was ignorant, and understood but 
 little. 
 
 Don M. " But Rer-mimebolamba, can think. If 
 there were two Gods, or many, would they be equal, 
 one as great as the rest, one as powerful as the 
 rest? or would one be greater, more powerful ?" 
 
 On this, poor Pounder mused for some time ; then 
 he said, meekly : " Me no know ; me say as White 
 Sa he say. Eberyting all right." 
 
 Don M. \smiling:\ " Yes, but that will not do, 
 You must know and believe for yourself, my dear. 
 Listen to me again : What is God ?" 
 ' With much reverence he said this, and raised his 
 hat as he spoke, bowing his head. Pounder bowed 
 his too, but said nothing. Mark, the old man [his 
 Indian name was Toefaoloo,] took it up here. 
 
 Mark. "White Sa, Paowanga, he our god. Erron- 
 anatoona, he our god. Tamaete-solloo, he our god. 
 Haveoeekee, he our god. Eaha-noue, eaha-noue 
 [great many, great many,] he all our god" [he could 
 not express the plural, they, in his English.] 
 
 At this, Pounder and Samuel nodded, and kept on 
 saying, "oora, oora." 
 
 Samuel. " And Kongadoowaia" [pointing to the 
 moon,] he our god." 
 
 Mark. " Oorr, oora, Poula-faihe :" as much as to 
 tell the young Indian, he had well spoken. 
 
 Don M. " But which of these gods, think you, is 
 the greatest ?"
 
 *a CATHOLIC CKDSOE. 21* 
 
 Samuel. " Me s'pose, Kongadoowaia, he most 
 most." 
 
 Pounder. " Unan, Unda [no, no :] Erronanatoona 
 he most most." 
 
 Mark, " Udan, Rer-mimebolamba : me s'pose, 
 Paowanga, he most most : me s'pose, Havaeoeekee, 
 he most most." [He meant by this, he could not 
 decide in his mind, which of the two he named, was 
 the greatest.] 
 
 Don M. " So, it seems you are not able to balance 
 among them all. Bnt / say to you, now, there can- 
 not be more than one God. To say, many gods, is to 
 say, no God. None of those you tell me of, is God 
 at all." 
 
 Mark. " Me s'pose, none of 'em god at all ?" 
 
 Don M. " Well, then, is there no God V" 
 
 Mark. " Me s'pose, no god. Eberyting all right, 
 White Sa he say." 
 
 Don M. "Ah, poor creature! hast thou lived all 
 these long years, and grown old, in this dark state of 
 soul ? Good Lord, assist me to do somewhat, and 
 enlighten this soul which Thou hast created ! Now, 
 Toefa-oloo, tell me : where does God live ?" 
 
 Mark. " Me s'pose, Erronanatoona, he live here 
 [pointing to one quarter of the heavens :] Tamaete- 
 solloo, he live here [pointing to another quarter :J 
 Paowanga, he live Toonatinooka [the name of the 
 island they came from :] Havaeoeekee, he live in 
 oloeeo : Eaha-noue [he meant, all the rest of his many 
 gods] he all live here, here, here, here, here" [pointing 
 about on all sides, up and down.] 
 
 Dom M. " And what is oloeeo /"
 
 218 
 
 Old Mark seemed not well able to explain what he 
 meant by this : he sat for awhile, and looked into the 
 fire, shaking his head. Presently, Don Manuel 
 tried Pounder, to make him explain it better. 
 
 Don M. " Well, Remimebolamba, do you tell 
 us, what is oloeeo ?" 
 
 Pounder. ' White Sa, oloeeo all same as place 
 whore Havaeoeekee he live, he sleep, he stay." 
 
 Don M. " Is it up there, then ?" [pointing to the 
 Heavens.] 
 
 Pounder, shaking his head. " Udan, udan." 
 
 Don M. " Where is it, then ?" 
 
 Pounder, " Rer-mime ( so he called himself, for 
 shortness,) leave it Rer-mime's house six suns back," 
 He would have said, six days before. 
 
 Don M. '" Left it hi your house ? is it so small ?" 
 
 Pounder. " Rer-mime hold it so, so" (doubling up 
 his hand.) 
 
 This caused a silence again: we could none of us 
 make out what he meant by this oloeeo At length 
 Don Manuel began to question him once more : 
 
 " What is it like ?" says he, * what is it made of?" 
 
 Pounder held up the shark's teeth he was working 
 at, and the handle he was fitting them into ; and 
 said 
 
 " Oloeeo this way."* 
 
 * In an account of the island of Madagascar, of about the 
 same date as this narrative, mention is made of aa owley 
 (probably the English version of some native word,) as being 
 an amulet in frequent used in that country. It it supposed to 
 be the residence of one of the local demons, and, like the 
 Fetish of the African tribes, appears to be regarded at once 
 as a charm, or talisman, and an object of quasi-adoration. 
 These owleys are described as small and portable, " made of 
 a peculiar wood, in small pieces, neatly joined, and making
 
 THB CATHOLIC CBUSOK. 2> 
 
 Don M. " And do you think, one of your gods 
 lives in a thing like that ?" 
 
 Mark interrupted here, but with great respect : 
 " White Sa, Havaeoeekee he live in oloeeo this day, 
 he no live in oloeeo that day," meaning, not always. 
 " He live in oloeeo, if no Paowanga he drive him 
 out some time." 
 
 In short, the deeper we went into their miserable, 
 dark misbelief, the fuller did we find it of absurdities, 
 each gainsaying the other. Nor did they seem to 
 have so much as the first rude notions of the true 
 God, nor capable of receiving them from us as yet : 
 though they submitted to all the White Sirs chose 
 to say on that, or any other matter. But such dis- 
 courses had a good effect on our men, though seem- 
 ingly lost on the savages : for after a while, Harry Gill 
 broke out with saying: 
 
 " Tis a great treasure, Sir [as I find,] we have had 
 all along; though I fear me, I have little thought on 
 it. TTe have always known there was one true God ; 
 and that is something these poor niggers, it seems, do 
 not," 
 
 " Indeed, 'tis something," answered the priest, " and 
 much as the foundation of all beside. Then, also, 
 you have known, that the true God has spoken to 
 you." 
 
 Harry Gill. "Spoken to me, Sir? As how? I 
 don't understand that." 
 
 almost tl>e form of an half moon, with the horns downwards, 
 between which are placed two alligator's teeth; this is adorned 
 with various kinds of beads," etc. "it is not difficult to suppose 
 the narrative referred to, and this passage of Owen's adven- 
 ture*, to present us with something in common. ED.
 
 220 f HI ADtBNf CRKS OF OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 Don M. '' Has He never spoken, my friend, to 
 your understanding, or to your conscience, or to 
 your heart ? And did He never speak to those that 
 went before you, from whom you have derived, at 
 least, a part of His message ?" 
 
 Gill seemed puzzled to know how to interpret this : 
 he remained for a little while thinking ; then said, in 
 a low tone : 
 
 " I never heard God's voice, Sir." 
 
 Don M. " Well, we have talked enough for to- 
 night : but if you would desire to know what I mean, 
 I will tell you to-morrow night, if we live. May 
 God give us rest now, and eternal rest in heaven." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIIL 
 
 WORTH THINKING OX. 
 
 SOMETHING in what the priest had said gave me a 
 sleepless night, I well remember: and 'twas chiefly 
 on account of these words of his ; If we live. I had 
 somehow taken it as a thing of course, in spite of 
 dangers and chances that had befallen me, I should 
 live to a ripe old age, after all. True it was, I had 
 heard of others dying on a sudden, when they and 
 their friends least thought on it; I had seen even 
 younger men die, who were shortly before in the vig- 
 our of youth : also, in my studies and practice of 
 surgeon, I had stood by many a deathbed, unable to 
 etay that cold hand of death from grasping the
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 221 
 
 heart-strings of others : all this had scarce taught 
 me, my own time was coming too. If I ever figured 
 to my mind my own death, 'twas as an old man, dy- 
 ing many years after : the real truth is, I scarce ever 
 imagined it at all. 
 
 But now, whether 'twas something had shocked 
 me in the horrid heathenism of our new acquain- 
 tances, who were living " without God in the world," 
 or that those few words spoken by Don Manuel in 
 his simple way, as of a thought familiar to himself, 
 impressed me in a manner the same thing never had 
 hitherto done : I lay before the fire turning them over 
 in my mind ; they now possessed a strange power 
 with me, such as I could not shake off. 'Twas in vain 
 to compose myself to sleep : still there came, as if 
 it were a small voice, that whispered in mine ear; 
 If you should live ; then, Tf you should die ! Those 
 two came, one after another, ringing through my 
 brain, as it were, in turn ; like the solemn ding-dong 
 of the two old bells I have heard, times out of num- 
 ber, chiming to church in my native hamlet of Lland- 
 dwy Cwmyoy.* If you should live ! If you should 
 
 * Probably some obscure village is Glamorganshire, which 
 seems to have been Owen's native county, from his mention 
 of CardiT and Llantrisant, both situated within its confines. 
 I am unable to assign an exact meaning to the addition, 
 Cwmyoy ; but the former part of the name signifies the Church 
 or St. David. This is a name of frequent occurrence in 
 Wales ; many churches having been dedicated there in hon- 
 our of the great Archbishop of Minevin, the patron of the 
 entire principality, whose name was given, after his dentil, to 
 the present Catherdal and diocese of St. David's. Thus, we 
 have Llan-ddewibrevy(t. e. the Church of David on or near 
 the river Brevy,) in Cardiganshire, the spot where the great 
 British Synod was held early in the sixth century against 
 Pelagius, at which St. David assisted. There is also Llan
 
 222 THS ADVBNTURES OF OWTSN KVAN8, 
 
 die ! If you should live ! If you -should die ! I al- 
 most thought I was dreaming, at one time. But no ; 
 there I was, broad awake; and I did not so much 
 think as listen to the words which some one else 
 seemed to repeat and repeat again to me. 
 
 I felt my pulse, and found it somewhat heated and 
 feverish; this, I began to think, might explain the 
 whole ; yet, on the other hand, the voice [as I must 
 call it] sounded so quiet and gentle, like the voice of 
 a friend anxious for my good, and loving me ; and 
 there were no disturbed visions before my sight, as 
 would appear if a fever were setting in. 
 
 I now gave up all thoughts of sleep ; I rested my 
 aching head on my two hands, my hands on my knees, 
 and set to work thinking in right earnest. If I should 
 die! What then? I began to ponder. After all 
 said and done, I was not so ill taught in some truths 
 of religion, but I knew " after death comes judgment." 
 But then Judgment, I had been used to think, was 
 like to bear hard upon such villains as thieves, mur- 
 derers, traitors, pirates, spoilers of widows and or- 
 phans, robbers of churches, utterers of base coin, 
 forgers, and such like ; of which I was none, nor 
 ever had been. 
 
 That was a comfort, so far as it might go ; but it 
 somehow grew lesser, by a good deal, as I thought 
 it over. For then I began to consider how many 
 good gifts I had had given me, and that I must be 
 
 ddewi- Aber^wesin, in Brecknockshire, Llan-ddewi-Skirrid 
 and Llanddwy-Rytherch, in Monmouthshire, and doubtless 
 m:iny others in Wales proper ; to which may perhaps be add- 
 ed Llandewednack at the Lizard Point, in the kindred Celtic 
 district of Cornwall. ED.
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRCSOK. 223 
 
 judged for them all ; what illuminations in my spirit, 
 what a knowledge of the better path I had still not 
 pursued ; how many examples from others, warnings 
 and encouragements both in looks and in actual life; 
 lessons at every turn : and I, like a perverse, ungrate- 
 ful creature, had closed my eyes and ears and heart 
 against all ! Now, as I thought on them, they 
 seemed to multiply before me, just as multitudes of 
 stars come forth at night when the man at the helm, 
 or on the watch, keeps gazing into the sky ; now here 
 one, now there another, and another again, till the 
 heavens appear full of them. 
 
 So then, I began to see, every rational creature is 
 accountable for his gifts to God, who gave them, if 
 even he never hath offended against the laws of his 
 fellow-creatures : and a man, 'tis possible, may be re- 
 spectable and upright (though I was unwilling 
 enough to acknowledge it), and yet be condemned, 
 too, for offences against the divine law. 
 
 What (said I to myself) if the great Judgment 
 shall take a like course with that providence which 
 bestows talents and powers unequally on mankind ? 
 I have heard men say human justice is a copy and 
 image of the divine : and what is the known rule in 
 all human courts ? Criminals are recommended to 
 mercy, or receive a lighter sentence, if ignorance can 
 be fairly pleaded for them: on the other hand, they 
 are heavily punished in the degree of their knowledge 
 or advantages. Then I remembered what happened 
 in my boyhood, when once being taken to the Car- 
 diff Assizes, and I little more than a stripling, I heard 
 the trial of two men, one William Lloyd and one
 
 224 THE ADVENTURES OF OWBN BVANS, 
 
 Jones Pen Rice, for forgery, who were tried before 
 Sir Peregrine Tullock and Baron Brainerd, when 
 they went the Welsh Circuit that year. Lloyd was 
 a poor, simple man, who could write but ill, and from 
 journeyman baker had become master-baker in a 
 small way, and from that rose to be an exciseman ; 
 but Pea Rice was a practiced schoolmaster all his 
 days, and for smartness of scholarship worth two of 
 the other. It came out on the trial that the school- 
 master had overpersuaded his neighbor, Lloyd, to 
 counterfeit the sign-manual of the junior partner in a 
 linen-draper's firm, while he himself had forged the 
 name of the senior to some quittance or other. But 
 the upshot was, the exciseman being no such adept 
 as the schoolmaster, his clumsiness betrayed them 
 both : so that every one that heard the trial wondered 
 how so shrewd a man should employ so poor an in- 
 strument when his neck was the forfeit. Neverthe- 
 less, all things taken into the account, Lloyd got off 
 with seven years in the hulks ; but Pen Rice was cast 
 to be hanged, and hanged he was accordingly. To 
 make a long story short, I well remembered the sen- 
 tence of Justice Brainerd in addressing the prison- 
 ers, (his brother judge, Sir Peregrine, being taken 
 with a touch of gout, and not able to sit that day, for 
 the trial lasted two days and a half, so subtle a de- 
 fense did Pen Rice make for himself and his accom- 
 plice). 
 
 " For you, Jones Pen Rice," said the judge, put- 
 ting on his black cap, " I can hold out no prospect of 
 mercy from the Crown. Your education, your intel 
 ligmce, the sacred duty entrusted to you of guard-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 225 
 
 mg the morals amd forming the character of youth, 
 the influence which, by superior endowments, you 
 acquired over your unhappy accomplice, and which 
 you employed to so base an end, all combine to 
 stamp your crime as one unpardonable in the eyes of 
 man. That you may find mercy at a higher tribu- 
 nal is my hope and prayer for you : to that end, I 
 exhort you to spend the short time remaining to you 
 on earth in fervent supplications to obtain forgive- 
 ness of your crimes from your offended Maker. The 
 sentence of the court is, that you be taken hence to 
 the place from which you came, and that on the fifth 
 morning after the present day you be drawn on a. 
 hurdle from thence to the gallows erected on the 
 place called Piper's Heath, and there hanged by the 
 neck till you be dead, dead, dead ! and may the Lord 
 have mercy upon your soul !" 
 
 On which, I also remembered (for by this I was all 
 but nodding off to sleep ; and our snatches of dreams, 
 we know, bring up strange fragments of recollection, 
 and oddly assorted words and things, little thought 
 on during the interval,) I remember plainly, I say, 
 that when the judge had solemnly pronounced those 
 words with a deep voice and shake of his head, and 
 the crowded court was hushed, except the poor wife 
 and daughter of the condemned man in the gallery, 
 shrieking, and in hysterics, the head-waiter of the 
 King's Arms elbowing in near the judge, leaned for- 
 ward, and said in a loud whisper : " So please your 
 lordship, my lord, my master bid me say, the haunch 
 of venison will be ruinated and burnt to cinder." 
 Whereat the court broke up in haste, and adjourned
 
 226 TH ADVINTURBS OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 to the duty of dining at the King's Arms, to drink 
 his majesty's health, and the rest of the royal family. 
 Just before I dropped to sleep, I heard Don Man- 
 uel, speaking to himself: " Toonati-nooka !" Me- 
 thought he was practising the name of the savages' 
 island ; but looking at him, I perceived he was sound 
 asleep : then I guessed, his dreams were taking him 
 to that heathen place, and he was bent on something 
 for their good. Presently, he became more restless, 
 and began to murmur things that I could not catch 
 so well : all at once, he started, broad awake, crying 
 " Save them ! Save them, or they perish !" then, see- 
 ing me, gave a little quiet laugh, as though at himself, 
 and turned from the light of the fire ; so I heard no 
 more. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 A POSITIVE PRECEPT. 
 
 Bur has my truant pen run away with me ? When 
 I began this narrative of our misfortuners, I meanl 
 no more than to note the heads of what befell us ; tc 
 guide my memory more than for any other's sake be 
 side: and already I have blotted many sheets with 
 the history of a few days of our exile in that place. 
 Yet our situation on the island was so strange as few, 
 I think, could match by their experience ; and, had I 
 but the fresh rememberance, as I have now the leisure, 
 tuoh uncommon things as befell us there demand as
 
 tHK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 22? 
 
 full an account, day by day, as I have given of them 
 up to this. 
 
 I know not whether to record the bare heads of the 
 journal I began to keep, after our first week or so, 
 on some of Don Manuel's folio paper, and with the 
 cuttle-fish ink; or to go on drawing out at full what 
 I then put down in brief: for, indeed, as I read those 
 notes over, the whole time and place, and almost 
 every word then spoken, seems to start up before 
 me, though now some years agone, as fresh as any- 
 thing I did a month since. As I write now, in my 
 little parlour-room, looking over the harbour, with 
 the pier-head and shipping right in front, my wife 
 beside me, and my children round me, I seem almost 
 to hear with mine ears, and to see with mine eyes, 
 that past and half-savage life come round again. 
 But there is a portrait that hangs against my wall, 
 the portrait of my dear, most dear Don Manuel God 
 rest his soul, if he can need such a prayer that looks 
 down on me, seeming to bid me go on, and record all 
 and each, to the best of my memory. How mild he 
 shows there, and how humble: how grave, yet how 
 gay, both strangely mingled ! My Yarmouth paint- 
 er, that I tried to describe him to, has done his best 
 to produce him on the canvas ; but the man has not 
 caught that look, neither, and small blame to him. 
 For that portrait's sake, I will go on as before : least- 
 ways, till I have completed the history of a week; 
 then we will see. 
 
 Above all, could I but read, in turn, the thoughts 
 of my readers (if any there should be,) to discover 
 the interest they take in what interests me in the re-
 
 228 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 membrance, I should know better how to guide n.y 
 pen. For a man may be the hei-o of his own adven- 
 tures, and to his entire satisfaction alone: as our 
 old schoolmaster at Llantrisant was used to describe 
 some conceited persons as sui amantex, sine rivali. 
 Bnt, rather than be counted among those self-satisfied 
 prosers, who satisfy no one beside, I would cast what 
 I have here written behind the fire, and turn to use 
 my spare time somehow else. 
 
 When we woke the next morning, our first thought 
 (after our prayers,) was that pickling trade we had 
 resolved to embark in : and it seems, we had all been 
 thinking, or dreaming of it, for each one had his plan. 
 Some were for digging a pit, or salt-pan, lining it, 
 too, as best we might, with such earth or clay as 
 came to hand; baking it hard with heated stones 
 and burning wood, as we were now used to bake our 
 dinner. Some were for hanging up the slices of 
 shark's meat to dry in the sun, basting them with 
 salt and water, or rubbing them with handfuls of 
 salt, which we might find in holes of the rocks ; so to 
 pickle or salt them dry. At last Hilton cried out : 
 
 " What about the jars we left in the stream, that 
 day we were betrayed, on 't other side the island ? 
 We have not bestowed a thought on them ; yet they 
 would serve us to admiration !" 
 
 We all answered with one voice, that, indeed, 'twas 
 the best plan we had hit on: though a second thought 
 told us, how unlikely it was, the villains who had 
 betrayed us would leave us anything so good or 
 useful as the jars; yet we determined to form an
 
 THE CATHOLIC ORU80B. 229 
 
 expedition, and hark back to that side of the island 
 without delay. 
 " Besides," said Harvey, " we shall have some 
 
 chance of knocking over another peccary, or so 
 among the woods on our way." 
 
 " Or what will be better," added Don Manuel, 
 " of getting some of those oysters I saw on the rocks 
 thereabouts." 
 
 Under favour, though, Sir," returned Harvey, " I 
 see not how oysters are better than peccary for us." 
 
 "Better for us to-day," said the priest. 
 
 " To-day ?" asked I, taking it up here, and looking 
 at him, surprised. 
 
 " Yes," replied he, smiling, " for the week is run- 
 ning round, friends, and this is Friday morning, you 
 remember." 
 
 " Catholics, my good friend ?" asked he : " certainly. 
 But I have been told by those who know your 
 prayer-book (for a fellow-student of mine at Salam- 
 anca was preparing to be sent as chaplain to our 
 ambassador at St. James', and he had the curiosity 
 to enquire ;) it seems, I say, your own book enjoins 
 you to abstain from meat on all Fridays in the 
 year." 
 
 " I fear me," said I, surprised at this, " the Spanish 
 chaplain knew more of our English prayer-book than 
 I : all I know is, I never heard of this custom being 
 enjoined, nor knew of it practised, by any protestant, 
 in my life." 
 
 " Now I think on't," says Tom Harvey, " there 
 was an old aunt of my cousin's wife, that never 
 would touch meat on a Friday, nor through the Lent,
 
 230 THE ADVENTURES OF OWIN BVAN8, 
 
 till she fell sick ; but then she had been brought up 
 half a Catholic, by her grandmother ; and she again 
 had this handed down to her by a priest, who came 
 to that side of the country from foreign parts, and 
 was hanged soon after at Worcester." 
 
 " And why was he hanged ?" enquired Don Man- 
 uel and Hilton, both in a breath. 
 
 " Indeed," said Harvey, " I cannot say ; but he 
 was looked on as a kind of rebel, as I've heard tell ; 
 and would not take some oaths or other, I never 
 rightly knew what." 
 
 So that discourse dropped for the present. 
 
 I cannot pretend, what the priest had said on the 
 point in hand came home with that force to us, that 
 we readily conformed. For (as I now see) the pre- 
 cepts of natural religion, planted in man's heart as 
 man, apart from revelation or Christianity, can ap- 
 peal even to the half-awakened conscience, telling us 
 such-like things as to assist one another in need, to 
 deal justly and fairly, forgive injuries, ask forgiveness, 
 abstain from offence, search our own conduct, come 
 before our Maker in prayer, and so on. Whereas, 
 here was a precept of positive law declared to us, 
 beyond anything laid down in the law of reason 
 written in my mind ; and the authority whereof I 
 could not at once bow to. For my reason (if that 
 were all) would still teach me, the animals I had a 
 dominion over were as much given for my use on 
 Fridays, as on Thursdays, Mondays, or any day 
 whatsoever. From this arose my doubts, whether I, 
 ur the rest, could be held bound by such a law ; to 
 which we had never subscribed, either formally or by
 
 THB CATHOLIC OBUSOJt. 23 1 
 
 afcy other act, I thought, that implied it ; in which 
 none, whether minister or layman, had instructed ua 
 by word or writing ; which our elders and betters had 
 not observed ; which we had not heard of, read of, 
 dreamed of, till that moment when Don Manuel 
 brought it up on a sudden. 
 
 'Twas, indeed, a small matter enough in itself; 
 nor any denial, to speak of, for men who were used 
 to fare hard, and held a piece of salted junk, with a 
 biscuit half full of weevils, and a horn of weak 
 grog, little better than bilge-water, to be feast for 
 an admiral. But then, again, it came with an air of 
 authority : though I would have done the thing ten 
 times over, and beaitily, to oblige a mess-mate, or 
 relieve a poor disabled seaman; my will (I own) 
 kicked against it, when it claimed to bind us by an 
 obligation. 
 
 In this way I turned the question over for a while : 
 but for breakfast, was no controversy, for nothing 
 but shark was to be had ; and shark was fish, all the 
 world over : so to it we set, and broiled some pieces, 
 with yams and bread-fruit, having freshened our stock 
 of these from the neighbouring woods, by help of the 
 savages. But savages I must call them no longer; 
 for, if they began by submissiveness, they were now 
 devoted to our service : indeed, they told us after 
 (when they had gained language enough) nothing 
 could equal their joy to find by degrees, we were 
 neither going to eat them, nor sacrifice them to our 
 gods : this being their custom, it seems, with all who 
 are wrecked or cast on their shores, or taken prisoner! 
 in war.
 
 232 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN RYANS, 
 
 After our fish-breakfast, we bore away north-north, 
 east, at a smartish pace; we all desired to see whether 
 these jars remained to us or no: yet each I believe- 
 felt unwilling (some more, some less) to revisit that 
 part of the island where our great misfortune first 
 had burst on us. But after all, during the five days, 
 or so, we had spent in this strange unlocked for way, 
 our minds had been so raised to better things, our 
 hearts too, so calmed and softened, by the society 
 and example [more even than his words] of the 
 companion we had all learned to love heartily, that 
 we were prepared, if not willing, to look again on a 
 spot where we had cursed, and raved, and ground 
 our teeth, so shortly before. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 FBOM near the top of the mountain, where we 
 stood three days ago, viewing the extent of the 
 island, we had made out its length to be some three 
 British leagues : that is, two full leagues south from 
 the mountain top [as the crow flies,] and about half 
 as much to the northward, on a rough guess. 
 Coming, as we did now, from the extreme southeast, 
 or nearly so, with an intention to leave the slopes of 
 the mountain well on our right, we reckoned there 
 lay before us a march of a couple of leagues, or 
 thereabout. But the greater part of our way took
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRC8OB. 281 
 
 us through the thick woods, with high trees arching 
 over, so we did not fear the heat. 
 
 We felt, though, our want of a compass on this 
 inarch : the more so when we left the shore, plunging 
 into the thick growth of trees, that might entangle 
 and mislead us, to the loss of our time. If any chance 
 reader should smile to think of our reckoning the 
 value of time, seeing we had nought in this wide 
 world to do with it, but to keep from sin and save 
 our souls, as best we might ; let him consider again 
 fas we did] that the rainy season was at hand, and 
 we must needs house ourselves in the cave before it 
 came on us. Indeed, we were so anxious about this 
 [I mean, the priest and I, for 't was our two heads 
 alone that seemed to forecast anything, if 1 make 
 some exception for Harvey,] I felt regret we should 
 lose a day upon our expedition ; I think, had I not 
 l>eeii ashamed to abandon it now, I had more than 
 likely proposed to turn back to our mason's work, 
 
 I lowever, what we had to do was, to note the 
 position of the sun, and so guide ourselves by guess- 
 work towards that channel, or inlet, of our first 
 unhappy landing. Could we have used the sagacity 
 of our Indians here, I doubt not they had struck out 
 the path for us ; but they knew not whither we were 
 iroing, and trudged at our heels, like as many faithful 
 hounds. We kept all together, to guard against 
 surprise ; and marched in this order : first came I, with 
 my rifle ready for action ; next, Don Manuel with 
 his piked staff; then the three Indians each with a 
 bamboo, which he had pointed at the end, and burnt 
 the end hard with fire, so making it into formidable
 
 234 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN IT A Kg, 
 
 kind of javelin, enough ; then Ned Hilton and Gill, 
 whose office 't was to keep a sharp eye to the savages, 
 with their guns ready against the least sign of trea- 
 chery ; next Prodgers, last, Tom Harvey, brought up 
 the rear, each armed with a bamboo-pike too. 
 
 Before we had got on very far, we were stopped 
 by a marsh, that spread out so wide as made it im- 
 passable : for we knew not how deep it might be in 
 ihe middle. All we could do was to strike up to the 
 right, keeping to firm ground ; we could see thia 
 quagmire was narrower to that side than towards the 
 left, and so we judged it to be formed by some 
 stream that came down from northward. Soon we 
 found our selves right in supposing thus much ; for 
 the soft ground grew less and less, until we traced 
 the opening of a small stream that ran into it. 
 
 Here we came upon another discovery ; and 't was 
 due to Hilton, whose foot slipping on a sudden, 
 nearly brought Ned down upon his nose. As he 
 looked to see what he had slipped on, he cried out : 
 " Clay, as I'm alive !" We crowded round the place, 
 for this was joyful news to us all ; and found indeed, 
 he was not mistaken : for the east bank of this small 
 stream was made up of a greyish marl, or clay, very 
 fit for moulding into pots and dishes, if only we had 
 skill to bring to our material. We traced the clay 
 [some of us searching up the stream, and some down] 
 for sixty or seventy yards ; then we gave over, for 
 we found we were rich enough to employ a score of 
 hands, or more, in the pottery trade, had we been so 
 numerous. 
 
 We rejdfced at finding this, and rendered thanki
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 235 
 
 to God ; but would not delay on it for the present. 
 Our only concern was, how to mark the place that 
 we might come hither again when our house was 
 built (I mean, when our cave was hollowed wide 
 enough,) and employ our new-found treasure. 
 
 " And let that be soon, friends," said Don Manuel ; 
 " for next to a lodging, a good householder looks to 
 his furniture. In Holland, where I once was, the 
 bouses of the better sort, indeed of all, from the 
 burgo-master down to below the middle rank, are 
 ornamented chiefly with such glazed delftware and 
 tiles as they have a great art in making ; and they 
 have such wealth of this pottery-ware as descends 
 from father to son, and is valued even beyond its 
 worth. Though we cannot rival their native manu- 
 facture, on our first essay, we may contrive, with 
 care and pains, some vessel that will stand the fire, 
 and cook a hash." 
 
 " Or make a fish-soup on Fridays," says Harry 
 Gill ; and with that he made a little wry face, but 
 the priest did not see him. And indeed, though 
 Harry had rather taken the place of being scape- 
 grace amongst us, which Prodgers had left vacant, 
 there was no great malice in him, neither ; only he 
 did harm, so far as it went, to Ned Hilton. For 
 Hilton [as Don Manuel once said of him] was like 
 the animal they call a chameleon, that takes the 
 colour of everything 't is next to, green among the 
 leaves, but gray on the bare ground. 
 
 To mark this spot, and find our clay-quarry again, 
 we bade Samuel climb a high tree of the fir kind, just 
 over against it, with the saw that Pounder had made
 
 236 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 of the shark's teeth ; and notch the rind with such a 
 mark as could be seen from below. When the young 
 Indian made out our wish, up he went, as spruce as 
 any monkey : and before five minutes he had cut a 
 cross deep into the bark of the tree, on the side look- 
 ing towards Shark's Cove. Then he came down 
 again as nimbly and we went on our way. 
 
 I could not but remark to the priest, 'twas strange 
 how the young savage, who had not so much as 
 heard of Christianity, should choose the sign of the 
 cross to cut into the tree. But he smiled when I 
 said it, and answered me : 
 
 " Nature, friend Owen, and Grace, both come from 
 the same Lord: is it any wonder, then, that even 
 nature sometimes witnesses to the things of Grace ? 
 The Arabs, as I have heard, at the sandy desert, 
 mark their camels with the same precious sign, either 
 to know them among others, or as a sort of charm. 
 Not that they believe in the Cross [poor souls !] or in 
 Him who died on it : but, I suppose, because 'tis the 
 most natural sign, and comes first to hand, as you 
 may see yourself, if you try. Children in their 
 games, when one has to make a sign against the 
 other, choose a cross and a round o, because these are 
 the easiest made. Some of the most beautiful flowers 
 are cruciform : and they say, no plant whose flower 
 takes this shape is ever poisonous. So it is, that our 
 loving Lord speaks to those who wUl listen to Him, 
 and prepares (in some degree) the minds of those He 
 has never spoken to. But this would lead us too far, 
 to follow it up." 
 
 " Not too far for for me, Sir," said I ; for this man's
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU80B. 237 
 
 lightest sayings seemed to wake up unusual thoughts 
 in ray mind : " pray go on, if it doth not weary you. 
 You are so used, and I so little used, to ponder these 
 things, it must seem to you like teaching a school-boy 
 his A, B, C." 
 
 " Well, then," pursued he, " many of our early 
 Church writers, or Fathers, while she was persecuted 
 in her infancy, as well as after, remark as follows : 
 that in the natural forms of things, you often may 
 see the sign of the cross where there is struggle, 
 contention, motion, et ccetera , not so much in things 
 that denote peace. In the square-yai'd of a ship 
 placed cross-ways against the mast ; the outspread 
 wings of a bird beating against the air ; the arms of 
 one who is violently running or struggling; the cross- 
 hilt of a sword ; a cross-bow, and the like. Mind, I 
 do not affirm how much there may be in this remark, 
 but 'tis, at least, a beautiful idea : and one that would 
 come home to them, who were called on to bear the 
 cross from day to day, and sometimes crucified, to 
 the very letter, even as their Lord." 
 
 So he went on, with more than I can recall, about 
 virtue lying in the carrying the cross, in continual 
 strife and resistance against enemies, within and 
 without ; that we all profess to be soldiers of the 
 cross, and must not desert from our standard ; that 
 if the cross weie thus impressed on mere nature [as 
 Poula-faihe had just shown, when he least thought 
 on it] 't was, far more, the very foundation of all 
 things in Grace ; the sign of that redemption without 
 which we had all of us remained hopeless slaves of 
 the devil, and the heirs of hell : again, how reason-
 
 238 THE ADVENTURES OF OWKN EVANS, 
 
 ably the Catholic Church taught her children often 
 to make the sign of the cross, to keep these things 
 (one and all) ever before their eyes and hearts. 
 Then, as I asked him to do, he showed me the way 
 Catholics had of making this sign, and repeated to 
 me, in Latin, the words wherewith they accompanied 
 it: in nothing of which I could perceive the least 
 departure from what was lawful and reasonable. 
 
 Such discourse was broken in upon by our discov- 
 ering, when we had traced the stream a little way 
 up, this was the very same that flowed from the 
 southern declivity of Prospect Hill. For there was 
 the hill itself (as I may say) leaning on our right 
 shoulders ; but we chose to give it the name of 
 River-head now instead, and drank of the fresh 
 water again, to the success of our expedition, " And 
 who knows," quoth Hilton, "but River-head may 
 one day becom a famous place in history?" "I 
 warrant," says Don Manuel, " 't will have more 
 harmless fame than many a celebrated spot, where 
 men have cut their brothers' throats by wholesale, 
 betrayed a town, or proved themselves villains on a 
 large scale." 
 
 So, going still forward, we had scarce got two 
 miles on when Pounder called out, pointing to some- 
 thing that grew in another swampy piece of ground 
 to our left. From the look of the plant, though the 
 pods were not yet burst, I knew it for the cotton- 
 plant, and bade the Indian go and gather us some. 
 He brought us a good handful, which Don Manuel 
 and I examined ; but we were not so greatly rejoiced 
 at this as at our former pieces of good -luck, seeing
 
 tfi> CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 239 
 
 the difficulty of weaving this cotton into any cloth 
 for ourselves. At last I said : " 'T is true, we cannot 
 weave, for we have no means to come by a loom, nor 
 skill to make one : but we can learn to knit, I suppose, 
 and that will answer us as well." 
 
 At this, the men all burst into laughter; they asked, 
 when were we to begin this old-wife's trade, and sit 
 at our doors knitting, with spectacles on our noses ? 
 Then Gill, like a luckless Harry as he was, turned 
 round on old Prodgers, and tells him, he would 
 make a famous grandmother at that sort of work. I 
 know not what Richard might have said or done ; 
 nor how far his new-found gentleness had stood 
 proof against this sudden thrust of the reckless 
 fellow : but Don Manuel at that moment laid his arm 
 gently over Prodger's shoulder, and called out good- 
 humoredly : " I mean to begin at it ! see, if I don't 
 take out a patent for the first pair of stockings !" 
 
 There's many a true word spoken in jest, says the 
 proverb : so, thinking it over, I made my mind up to 
 see if we could turn our spare time to account in this 
 way of cotton-knitting : in truth, our clothes even now 
 were not of the best ; and if our exile was prolonged 
 as there looked every prospect of it, that trade 
 might become, not a comfort, but sheer necessity. 
 
 But now we jourueyed on ; though partly mistaking 
 our way, we bore up somewhat too much to north- 
 ward ; yet, when we felt ourselves getting on the 
 slope of the volcano, we struck west again, and after 
 a while came upon the head of that little glen 
 through which the stream came down that we had 
 placed our jars in. We were overcome with eager-
 
 240 THE ADVKNTURKS OF OWEN RVAH8, 
 
 ness to see whether these were left to us, among our 
 small possessions ; so we made a headlong rush for 
 it. ai d one or two of us fell into the brook over the 
 felippery roots of trees : till we got into that mossy 
 lane we had travelled up before; and found (as 
 indeed I more than suspected,) the fellows who 
 landed us had no more charity than we gave them 
 credit for; for one of the jars was clean gone, and 
 the other lying beside the bed of the stream, broken 
 into pieces ; but whether out of sheer malice, or by 
 some accident, is more than I can say. 
 
 We uttered some exclamations of disappointment, 
 'tis not to be doubted ; but I heard not a single curse 
 among all our number. Should this appear to any 
 as a small matter, or not one to lay great stress on, 
 to me, on the other hand, who knew the way of sea- 
 men, and how glibly an oath slips from the lips of 
 men that have given themselves to uttering them, it 
 seemed next door to a miracle, to find how much had 
 been done in the line of good within five short days. 
 
 " True," says the priest : for I seldom had a 
 thought now without imparting it to him ; " it only 
 shows that every one can keep from sin with the 
 help of God, where he is resolute to watch over him- 
 self. I will tell you what chanced once in Spain, en 
 this subject of swearing, to prove what I say "
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 241 
 
 CHAPTER XLL 
 
 THE SWEARER'S BUTTON. 
 
 **MY story," says he, "is this : in the town of 
 Espinosa, in the province of Toledo, there was an 
 officer, quartered with his regiment ; he was a good 
 sort of man, and in the main, possessed with the fear 
 of God. But, from living in camps with bad example 
 around him, having also to deal with men under his 
 command on whom soft words seemed utterly wasted, 
 he had contracted a vile habit of profane swearing ; 
 and this came out on every occasion that roused him 
 to impatience, or anger. That much, with the remain- 
 der of the story, I heard him relate afterwards at the 
 table of the bishop of Cuidad Real. It seems he 
 made some efforts to overcome this evil habit of his ; 
 but all to no purpose. At length, the beginning of 
 one Lent, he applied to a Jeronymite monk, of the 
 convent in Espinosa, to explain his case. The 
 father asked him, was he in earnest ? did he truly 
 wish to unlearn his swearing habits? The captain 
 professed himself, that he did indeed desire it. Then, 
 says the other, will you punctually follow the advice 
 I am about to give you ? Then captain says, again, 
 there was nothing he would not do to correct himself; 
 and so gave his promise as a man of honour. ' "Well, 
 then,' says the good monk, smiling, ' I will hold you 
 to it, hijo mio : and what you shall do is this : The 
 very next time an oath slips from your lips (remem- 
 ber, you have promised me) draw your sword, and
 
 242 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN ETAN8, 
 
 cut off the top button from your uniform coat : and 
 so on, a button for every oath after that.' 
 
 " A bargain is a bargain, among men of honour : 
 as this officer had promised, he held himself bound 
 to perform. But he felt much confused, even before- 
 hand, at the bare thought of appearing in his uniform 
 with a button less; and determined by all means to 
 avoid the disgrace. "Well, he left the monastery, 
 and went back to his quarters, full of good intentions; 
 scarcely had he set his foot within the barrack-gates, 
 when something went wrong, and one of his men 
 gave him cause of offence. Out came a thundering 
 big oath, according to custom; and, when he be- 
 thought himself, there was the old evil done again. 
 How should he act now ? Being a man of his word, 
 cost him what it might, he draws his sword, and cuts 
 off the top button, just under his chin. Though, I 
 dare say, none of his fellow-officers noticed it, yet he 
 thought every eye was on the place where the button 
 should have been ; and went about all day in a 
 sheepish kind of way, feeling something was amiss 
 with him altogether." 
 
 *' Now," continued the priest, turning to me, " how 
 many buttons, think you, did he lose, owing to that 
 promise of his?" 
 
 " Truly," said I, " 'tis to be feared, he was left at 
 length without so many as would hold his coat 
 together." 
 
 " On the contrary," says he again, smiling, " he 
 never had to cut off a second ; and the careful guard 
 he kept on himself, lest he should lose the next button, 
 grew into a habit, that cured him of his swearing."
 
 THB CATHOLIC C1U80B. 243 
 
 I was much struck with that story, I own ; and 
 needed not that the priest should enforce its moral on 
 me: he, for his part, did not add another word. 
 
 Nor do I find any particular thing to record in 
 the after part of this day, nor indeed hi the next, 
 which was Saturday. Don Manuel led us to the 
 place where he had observed the oysters ; which we 
 found in abundance, and of a prodigious size : 
 whether I am to call them oysters, or cockles rather, 
 they furnished xis with more food than we desired. * 
 As if, too, we were to be rewarded for our obedience 
 to the precept, now first announced of eating no meat 
 on this day, I must note that, even as the people of 
 Israel, turning from the flesh-pots of Egypt, were 
 sustained in the wilderness by manna from Heaven, 
 so now, besides our oysters, that were (as our priest 
 had said before) both " fish and dish," we discovered, 
 in another creek somewhat to the south of these rocks, 
 such a colony of fine cray-fish, as made us have no- 
 thing more to say to shark on Fridays. 
 
 Indeed, as far as fish went, I concluded we had 
 settled on the worser side of this island. But we 
 had taken a fancy, or whim (whichever I may call 
 
 * For the size to which shell-fish grow in the tropics, see 
 Cook's Voyage round the World : " At four o'clock in the 
 afternoon the boats returned with two hundred and forty 
 po mis of the meat of shell-fish, chiefly of cockles, some of 
 which were as much as two men could move, and contained 
 twenty pounds of good meat." Friday, 17th August, 1770. 
 
 As to the sea "cra-fish, r ' or lobsters, Anson (or his biographer) 
 assures us that on the island of Juan Fernandez, " they gen- 
 erally weighed eight or nine pounds apiece, were of a most ex- 
 cellent taste, and lay in such abundance near the water's edge, 
 that the boat-hooks often struck into them, in putting the 
 boat to and from the shore." Anson's Voyage 
 World, p. 177, ed. 1748. Ep.
 
 244 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN ETANS, 
 
 it,) in favour of our cave, and determined to stick to 
 it: as men have stuck to things less reasonable, just 
 because they willed, and only so. Stewing our cockles 
 and cray-fish in their own shells, and dining ex- 
 cellently well, we then loaded the Indians with some 
 of each sort, to establish a fish-pond, or preserve, 
 in Shark Cove ; and set our faces homewards. But 
 having ill secured the claws of the cray-fish, one of 
 the larger of them getting loose, gave Samuel a 
 shrewd nip on the shoulder, as he was carrying him. 
 The poor fellow started off like a fury, yelling louder 
 than any madman with the pain : he rushed through 
 the wood, and the rest after him ; shaking himself in 
 vain, to be free of his tormentor, then rolled on the 
 ground, and roared till the echoes rung again. Poun- 
 der now proved his title to the name he bore, and 
 finished the enemy by hammering at him with stones. 
 But Samuel was under my hands for three days after, 
 for the creature's bite was no joking matter, believe 
 me. 
 
 Saturday was a day of hard work at our cave, with 
 nothing more to chronicle. We took turn-and-turn 
 about, and made progress ; working on a regular 
 plan : and for dinner we had a young peccary that 
 we had met (to his grief) in the woods the day be- 
 fore ; for we killed him, at least, on Friday, without 
 remorse or scruple.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU8O1. 246 
 
 CHAPTER XLIL 
 
 A GERM OF THE FUTURE. 
 
 XEXI day was Sunday, thirtieth of August, 1739 
 being the first Sunday we had spent in this exile ; 
 and so Don Manuel reminded us, while we sat to 
 breakfast under a spreading tree. 
 
 " And we may see, friends" (says he,) " how wise, 
 how loving, is the commandment to keep one day in 
 seven as a day of rest : not only to refresh our weari- 
 ed bodies from toil, but to raise our minds to that 
 heaven where we hope to be one day, and for ever; 
 remembering, we are on earth but for a short while, 
 at most." 
 
 "'Twill seem a long while, though," says Gill, 
 rather down-cast, " if this kind of life goes on, upon 
 a desolate island. I don't know, but, for my part, I'd 
 as lief be in a tight, well-trimmed craft, with a smart 
 crew, and sixty guns, or so, upon a cruise after some 
 of them Spanish galleons, under favour, Sir," says 
 he, touching his hat to Don Manuel, " with sharp 
 look out after my share of prize-money, than" 
 
 " Than in heaven, do you mean ?" asked the Don, 
 quietly. 
 
 '' Well," pursued Harry, shaking his head, " I sup- 
 pose I ought to say no such a thing ; but I can't help 
 feeling, all the same, that heaven, d'ye see, a place 
 I've no acquaintance with ; whereas, a seafaring life, 
 with its ways of going on, in ship's companies, calms 
 and breezes, dog-watches and idle times, and ups
 
 246 TUB ADVENTURES OP OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 and downs, like, is what I have used, and so under- 
 stand 'em." 
 
 At this, the priest smiled a little, but not much, 
 seeming as if he only would not look too grave at 
 what Gill said. Ned Hilton chimed in with much 
 the same ; he declared, for his part, sometimes he 
 had as soon be in the Old Bailey, or any other jail, 
 as on this island. 
 
 " Nay, mess-mate," cried Harvey, breaking in 
 here, " 'tis not for me, of all men, to turn preacher : 
 but we would be unthankful dogs, not to compare 
 our state with what it might have been : had we 
 been clapped under hatches by old Hopkins, now, how 
 had that suited us, I wonder ?" 
 
 " Or left to the tender mercies of the first mate ?" 
 Prodgers added. 
 
 " And," said the priest, " when you speak of pri- 
 sons, never forget, there are prisons more dreadful, 
 more hopeless, than mortal eye hath ever seen. You 
 tell me, dear friend (or some of you) you had rather 
 be on earth than in heaven : what think ye, then, of 
 hell r 
 
 With that, he settled the question; leastways, 
 no one seemed disposed to answer ; and now, hav- 
 ing an idle day before us, we began to straggle 
 about under the trees ; and the men, from sheer want 
 of something to do, were for throwing stones at a 
 mark, or jumping height and distance, getting up a 
 wrestling match, or anything else, to kill time. I 
 foresaw, some untoward thing might come of this 
 idleness ; for our quarrelsome passions were, as yet, 
 only like the candle that is newly blown out, smok-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 247 
 
 ing still, and easy to be kindled again. I whispered 
 this to Don Manuel, who whispered back to me, he 
 had his own fears about it, and something must be 
 invented to occupy them. At the same time, he 
 asked to borrow my clasp-knife, to show them, he 
 said, a game played by the country folks in Spain, 
 with four sticks laid across. 
 
 When he took the knife, I saw him look curiously 
 at it, as being in make and fashion different from 
 what are used in Spain : suddenly, he cries out with 
 joy and wonder, so that we were startled in a literal 
 sense, and came crowding round him. He remained, 
 without noticing us, looking earnestly on the knife, 
 which he had not opened ; he spoke a little to him- 
 self, then grew silent, as if he pondered something 
 deeply, but never takes his eyes off the knife the 
 whole time. All of us were amazed; as we looked at 
 him we grew afraid : for I believe, the rest thought 
 as I did, he might be losing his head. Perhaps, said 
 I to myself, with much alarm for him, this injustice 
 we have suffered together, that roused our angry 
 passions for a time, has gone deeper into this man's 
 sou*,, being of a graver and a more reflective turn ; it 
 hath lain working there unseen, till it comes out at 
 last in this strange, unheard-of way. 
 
 Soon he recovered himself, shook his head once or 
 twice, then fetched a deep sigh, and thinking aloud, 
 he says, " I fear me 'tis not possible." With that he 
 opens the clasp-knife carefully, and shakes something 
 out of it into the palm of his hand : then reaching his 
 hand to me, showed me what lay on it, and said, with
 
 248 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 gravity and a touch of sorrow : " Look, here is a 
 grain of wheat." 
 
 I found it was so, on examining it : one single 
 grain, and a good sound one, that had stuck in the 
 knife between the hasp and the blade ; and now I re- 
 membered I had thrust a handful of it into my pocket 
 from the corn-bin on board ship, like an idler as I 
 was, and thought I had ate it all. No occasion had 
 made me open my knife since we came ashore ; for 
 'twas too good a one to employ on the shark or the 
 oysters : and the bamboos would have broken it out- 
 right. So, by a strange providence indeed, this one 
 grain, that might lay the foundation of an entire har- 
 vest, and feed our whole population, turned up at 
 this odd moment, and was the best discovery we had 
 made hitherto, by far. 
 
 But I could not account, neither, for the sadness 
 which Don Manuel showed after being the instru- 
 ment of this good to us. Indeed, putting all to- 
 gether, there was something so out of the way in his 
 conduct we were not yet assured he was right in his 
 mind. He had before told us what made him sorry 
 to find no savages on our arrival whom he might con- 
 vert : but we quite feared to ask him anything about 
 the present case, dreading to confirm our dark thoughts 
 of his understanding being gone. For by this time, 
 though not of the same religion, we had learned to 
 think and feel about him as a father, a guide, and a 
 friend. 
 
 He soon relieved us, however ; for, fetching another 
 sigh from the very depth of his bosom : " Friends," 
 gays he, with a sad smile, shaking his head, " I have
 
 THE CATHOLIC CBUSOK. 249 
 
 been dreaming of other times and employments ; this 
 little grain of wheat has made me do it." 
 
 We looked at him, and looked at one another; 
 still the same idea running in our minds. Then I 
 ventured to say, watching his countenance narrowly : 
 
 " Dreaming of what, Sir, may I ask?" 
 
 " Of Mass " answered he, and looked up again to 
 heaven. 
 
 " Yes," he went on after a little, " I was thinking 
 whether it would be possible to celebrate that august 
 sacrifice which we have in the Catholic religion, even 
 here, on this desolate island. Most of the essential 
 things, I have felt all along, were lacking and could 
 not be had ; when suddenly I come upon one of 
 them, and that is wheaten corn. Still, where are the 
 others ?" and again he shook his head, and became 
 silent. 
 
 " And what are they, Sir ?" asked Tom Harvey. 
 
 " Several, friend," answered he, " but chiefly, the 
 fruit of the vine, and a consecrated altar-stone. 
 Come, come," he added more cheerfully again, like 
 himself, " if we cannot have the reality of that great 
 blessing, why not unite ourselves in spirit with 
 who have ? Listen to what I mean."
 
 $50 THB ADVENfUKKS OF OWKN EVAN*, 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 ** 
 
 " NIMBLE THOUGHT CAN LEAP BOTH SEA AND LAND. 
 
 HE drew his clo^k round him, and became so ear- 
 nest in voice and look, there was no need now to bid 
 us attend. " This very day," says he, " many mill- 
 ions of Christians, spread over the face of the globe, 
 of every clime, colour, language, race, are kneeling 
 before such an altar as I vainly wish for, hearing 
 Mass said by one of God's anointed priests. They 
 come, because the Church inviting them at other 
 times, commands them to come on Sundays and some 
 days beside. But the more earnest among them 
 come also because they love that thrice-holy Sacri- 
 fice, and feel they need its benefits, and have special 
 intentions to bring to it. I say, this day ; but I say 
 not, at this hour alone : for all day long, from early 
 dawn to night, Mass is somewhere being said : when 
 'tis early in one part of the Church, 'tis late in an- 
 other ; and she is truly that world- wide empire on 
 which the sun never sets. That voice of prayer, and 
 Btill more, that act of Sacrifice, girdles the earth 
 round ; since the habitable globe itself is the appoint- 
 ed dwelling of the universal family, ' the household 
 of faith :' and the dawn, as it run swiftly westward, 
 awakens freshly that consent of hearts, that union 
 of intentions, that one, great Catholic act of obedi. 
 enoe and love. So is fulfilled, Sunday by Sunday, day 
 by day, a prophecy of Malachias, the last of the 
 prophets, in which holy Mass was foretold, as clearly
 
 fHB CATHOLIC CRUSOK. 251 
 
 as if the seer had beheld the priest at the altar with 
 his bodily eyes ; yet four hundred years before our 
 Lord first celebrated it in Jerusalm the night He was 
 betrayed. I will try to put the words into my 
 poor English, and they would run somewhat as this : 
 * From the sunrise to the sunset, My name is great 
 among the nations : and sacrifice is going on in every 
 place, and a pure oblation is offered in My name : 
 for great is My name among the nations, saith the 
 Lord of hosts.'* 
 
 "Now, dear friends," added he, after a while, 
 " shall we not join them? shall we refuse to unite our 
 intentions to theirs ?" 
 
 " How can we join them," asks Prodgers, object- 
 ing still, but not like the Prodgers of a week since ; 
 rather puzzled than objecting, after all: "how can 
 we do that, Sir, when we don't see 'em, and per- 
 chance are a thousand miles away from 'em ?" 
 
 " We can join them in intention" says the priest, 
 " though not seeing them." 
 
 " Does not your perspective," and he turned to 
 me, " bring close to you, as it were, things that are 
 clean out of sight of your unaided eye? Or the cap- 
 tain's speaking trumpet, does n't it make the sailors 
 in the main-top hear him above the howl of a tem- 
 pest, quite beyond his natural pitch ? And will not 
 faith carry our souls one degree further than the per- 
 spective carries the sight, or the trumpet carries the 
 sound? 'We walk by faith,' religion teaches us, 
 
 * Moloch., i. 11. Don Manuel quotes the prophet with toler- 
 able accuracy from the Vulgate, and even renders sacrificatur 
 perhaps, more literally than the Douay version. ED.
 
 262 TH ADVKNTCRKS 4 OF OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 ' not by sight.' If a dear friend of mine were in the 
 next room to me, and a thin partition between us ; 
 while I heard his voice, would my regard for him 
 be cooled or lessened because I did not actually see 
 him ? Or, if I ceased to hear his voice, yet if 1 knew he 
 was there, should I regard him less for neither seeing 
 nor hearing him ? If I heard him praying in his room 
 would not my heart unite itself with his prayer ? 
 If I could not hear him pray, but knew he prayed 
 at that moment, might I not join my prayers, my in- 
 tention, with his ? If I were blind, and in the same 
 room with him, could I not pray with him just as 
 well ? What is there in the mere want of sight to hin- 
 der all this?" 
 
 He stopped, looking round on us : I am sure, he 
 read in our faces, we listened ; yet no one spoke. 
 
 " If, now," he went on, " from our Cape-Look-Out " 
 (so we had named the promontory over our cave,) 
 " or from yon volcano, Senor Owen, we saw a ves- 
 sel in distress, though leagues away on the wide sea ; 
 would not you, with your seaman's eyes, know at 
 a glance what was doing, and what was amiss; 
 would not you, with your hearts of men used 
 to danger, have a fellow-feeling with the sufferings 
 of the crew? Say that the veseel, amid all that 
 peril, sheers out of sight ; you would not cease to 
 think of them, nor cease (now that you have learned to 
 pray) to pray with them, because you saw them not ? 
 Well, then, we may assist at Mass, with intelligence, 
 and offer a ' reasonable service,' in some vast cathe- 
 Iral. too far from the priest to catch an accent of his 
 voice : and we may join, with true devotion, in the
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 253 
 
 intentions of a Mass that is celebrated a thousand 
 leagues from the spot were we kneel." 
 
 As he paused again, there was something so new 
 to me in all this, I found neither words to answer, 
 nor objections to propose to him. But I said : 
 
 " Once, Sir, in Buenos Ayres, as I strolled about the 
 town on some holiday or other, I turned in idly 
 to see the cathedral, following a whole posse of peo- 
 ple who were nocking in from every side. Mass was 
 going on, I believe ; at least something at the altar, 
 which I could not s< j e nor understand, being such a 
 distance oif. At first, I own I thought it all mum- 
 mery ; the priests (there were three of them, and some 
 attendants,) none of them took any notice of the 
 people ; and there was bowing and burning incense, 
 with movements from side to side. I never saw 
 anything half so strange ; there was nothing of com- 
 mon prayer about it, like a minister getting into a 
 desk to say, ' Dearly beloved, the Scripture moveth 
 us,' or whatever 'tis they say. But I must own, as 
 it went on, a something came over me, like nothing 
 else I ever felt : whether the behaviour of the people 
 [at least some of them, for others were careless, look- 
 ing about them, almost as we did in Wales,] \vhether 
 'twas their devotion impressed me, or what, I cannot 
 say : but when a little bell rang, and there was a 
 hush all through the place, so that you might hear a 
 pin drop, and the most careless and fidgetty went 
 down on their knees, bowing their heads, and beating 
 their breasts, at that moment, I knew not why, nor 
 know to this day the words came rushing into my 
 mind [and where they came from, I know not well,]
 
 254 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWKN BY AN 8, 
 
 * Put off thy shoes from thy feet ; for the place 
 n hereon thou standest is holy ground :' and I found 
 myself on ray knees with the rest, calling on God 
 earnestly, then did mine eyes wet with tears. Yet 
 there was no moving music, nor fine discourse, at the 
 moment : nothing but silence, dead silence, broken 
 by a little bell. What was it spoke to me thus, I 
 wonder ?" 
 
 " 'Twas the presence of God," said the priest, with 
 reverence : " God was really present on that altar, 
 yet you saw Him not ; as truly as He was, even then, 
 enthroned in the heaven of heavens ; and from that 
 altar He addressed you, yet you heard not His 
 voice. He who created you, spoke to your understand- 
 ing. He bade you reason and think, a Christian 
 assembly, some of them with no small degree of 
 education and intelligence, representing a greater 
 multitude then alive all over the globe, and more 
 again, extended through seventeen hundred years, 
 were not likely to have met, Sunday by Sunday, to 
 witness a mere act of mummery, and listen to a lit- 
 tle bell. He bade you suppose, there must be some* 
 thing beyond all this ; something you could not see, 
 nor that multitude either ; but which they knew and 
 believed, while you did not. More than this : He 
 who redeemed you with His precious blood appealed 
 to you from that altar; He whispered to your heart, 
 that He was there Himself. And you responded; 
 not by faith, for that had been a miracle, and your 
 conversion sudden, like Saul's on the road to Damas^ 
 cus but by an emotion of the soul that prepared 
 the way for faith, and signified its first dim awaken- 
 ing And when was all this, Senor Owen ?"
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSWS. 255 
 
 " Nay, sir," said I, " 't is three years since, at the 
 least." 
 
 The priest lifted up his eyes, and said words (in 
 Latin) which I now know to mean : 
 
 "As yet, the vision is far off; and it shall appear 
 at the end, and shall not lie : if it make any delay, 
 wait for it : for it shall surely come, and it shall not 
 be slack."* 
 
 " Btit what," I pursued, and the others seemed to 
 ask the same by their looks and manner, "what, 
 after all, is Mass, that I was present at then ?" 
 
 "I promise you all, friends," says he, looking 
 round on us kindly, " to answer that question in full, 
 the next time you ask it. For the present we have 
 spoken enough, and I fear to weary you. T is now 
 almost time to think of preparing a dinner for our 
 oven : then we can leave it baking, and talk again ; 
 and I propose a quiet walk, after. But, as 'tis Sun- 
 day, and our minds are turned on such important 
 subjects as we spoke of a while ago, are you disposed 
 to listen, if I can scrape English enough together to 
 give you a little Sunday sermon ?" 
 
 The men all voted 'twould be a treat for them; so 
 much had they began to respect and love him already, 
 that every word he spoke was winged the deeper in- 
 to their hearts by what they saw his conduct to be, 
 So, after some quiet amusement, followed by dinner, 
 he took us aside to where there was a shady bank of 
 turf to sit on, and a little platform of rock: and 
 getting on it, he said a few prayers with us, wherein 
 we joined heartily; then delivered himself much a 
 follows ; 
 
 * Habacuc, ii. 8. ED.
 
 256 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EYANI, 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 DON MANUEL'S SERMON. 
 
 " I KNOW not," he began, "dear friends and brothers, 
 how the words of my text run in any English version j 
 BO I must give them to you from our Latin Bible : 
 and they are thus : Quee videntur, temporalia sunt: 
 qua autem non videntur, aterna sunt* That means, 
 plainly, that all we now see round us, above us, 
 below us, all our eyes rest on, near or far off, will 
 only last for a time : these things have their day, 
 though it be a long one. Then they will have their 
 end ; they will pass away. But there are other things 
 that we do not see yet : we shall see them soon ; we 
 shall find ourselves amidst them ; and they will never 
 pass away ; never ! they have no day, but the endless 
 day of eternity. So, ' the things that are seen, are 
 for a time : but those which are not seen, are for 
 ever.' 
 
 "Yes," he went on, "time is to-day, and the 
 things of time ; the trials, and the griefs, the tempt- 
 ations, duties, opportunities, and graces, of time. 
 They are all with us to-day. To-morrow comes eter- 
 nity, and the things of eternity ; the rewards, aye or 
 the punishments of eternity. Time ! Eternity ! the 
 Now, and the Then ! the passing, the enduring ! the 
 shadow, the substance ! the labour, the reward ! or 
 the sin, and the punishment ! 
 
 *[" The things which are seen, are temporal : but the things 
 Which are not sten, are eternal,'' II. GOT., iv. 18. ED.
 
 fas CATHOLIC CRUSO*. 257 
 
 "There are only three points, dear brothers, I 
 would have you fix your thoughts on ; and I will be 
 as short upon them as I can. Listen ; they are 
 these : 
 
 " We are placed in time, to prepare for eternity : 
 " We are only placed in time once, once for all : 
 " Our eternity depends on our use of time. 
 " First : We are placed here, to gain a happy eter- 
 nity by our conduct here. Here, I mean in life; 
 though I might also say, here in solitude and quiet, 
 removed from many dangerous temptations, with 
 abundant leisure to cultivate our souls. Why, but 
 because our loving Father, who knows our weakness, 
 hath placed us here, that He may the sooner and the 
 surer take us to Himself? But, whether here or else- 
 where, we and all other men, even our poor savage 
 friends that have been sent to us, are all in life, that 
 we may thereby inherit life eternal. How, do you 
 ask? By obeying the commands of God, keeping 
 from sin, corresponding with grace, increasing it, and 
 BO growing like to Himself. And by what power ? 
 Surely, by no strength of our own, but by His grace. 
 And what grace ? Ah ! that is a subject for another 
 time ; one on which I should have much to say, and 
 you have something still to learn. 
 
 *' Well, then, if life is the time given us to prepare 
 for eternity, is it an important time? Nay; who 
 shall tell how important, how valuable ? Ask a man 
 of covetous soul, whose affections are centred on 
 scraping money together, what he would do, if one 
 hour, just one hour, were given him to spend in a 
 rich gold mine. If he IB honest in his answer, he
 
 268 tHS ADVENTURES 0* OWEN EVANS, 
 
 will tell you plainly, he would spend that hour with 
 diligence, anxiously, to the very last minute, hus- 
 banding every scrap of time, to get as much gold 
 out of the mine as he could. lie would work while 
 his time lasted ; he would do the utmost he was 
 able; and he would be son y when the last moment 
 was come. 
 
 "But all this very feebly sets forth the value of 
 our time; very, very feebly indeed. No gold or 
 precious metals, nor anything that bears the highest 
 price on earth, can be weighed in the same balance 
 with time, that can gain for us a brighter crown, a 
 nearer place to God's throne, and so a fuller measure 
 of bliss, for ever and ever. 
 
 " No, I assert it, my friends, you must be able to 
 measure the distance from earth to heaven, you must 
 weigh that which comes to an end against what en- 
 dures for ever, ' the things that are seen, and tem- 
 poral,' against ' the things that are not seen, and 
 eternal,' before you can prize at its true worth, any 
 hour of any day of that time in which we are placed, 
 to prepare for eternity. 
 
 Eternity ! but eternity has no measure, except 
 only itself. Eternity is not a number of hundreds 
 of thousands of years, nor any possible number of 
 them multiplied into itself; nor the ages of millions 
 of worlds multiplied into themselves. In this way 
 of calculation, you may get to conceive a sum so 
 vast, that your mind cannot really grasp it ; no, not 
 for a moment. But that is not eternity. That is 
 time, though a vast sum of time ; only time, after 
 all. If an insect crept one inch in fifty thousand
 
 fttfc CAT&6LTC CRTJ&OB. 269 
 
 years, till it travelled from here to the sun ; that is 
 not eternity ; 'tis only time. Eternity is like nothing 
 but only itself. For ever ! that has nothing to do 
 with time. Yes : but time has one thing to do with 
 it ; 'tis given us to prepare for it. 
 
 " Then, secondly : all this would be true, had we 
 several lives to live, one after another ; could we 
 come back again from death, to repair the error of a 
 mis-spent life. Even then, how valuable would each 
 life be, as it was given in turn ! For it would be 
 an opportunity of making up lost ground, and saving 
 the soul in one life, that had not been saved in a 
 former. But no such opportunity is given. Once 
 and once only, and once for all, we are placed, in 
 time. Once, only once, once for all, we can prepare 
 for eternity. Once, only once, once for all, I say 
 again, we are able to save our souls. When this 
 one life is once over, no second time of trial, no day 
 of grace, comes after. As we die, so we are judged ; 
 when we die, then we are judged. If we die in 
 grace, in the favour of God, we are safe for ever : if 
 we die out of His grace, we are lost, and lost for 
 ever. In the one case, we are safe, without fear of 
 being lost ; in the other we are lost, without hope of 
 being saved. The sacred Scriptures express this 
 truth in a striking way : ' If the tree fall to the south, 
 or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall there 
 shall it be.'* 
 
 " Thus, dear brothers, had we been murdered on 
 board ship, we had been taken away by the hand of 
 death ; rather, conducted by the hands of our guard- 
 
 *Eecl., xi.-ED.
 
 260 THB ADVENTURES OF OWBN BVAN*, 
 
 ian angels, placed at once before our Judge. No 
 more time for us then : none of those prayers, good 
 thoughts, lessons of God's love and providence, acts 
 of repentance, we have experienced since. We should 
 then have known the worth of our souls, and of the 
 time we had to save them in ; but we might have 
 known all this too late. Had we died then, what 
 state were our souls in ? how far prepared to meet 
 our God, and be judged ? But why do I say then 
 only ? No ; look back over your whole lives ; view 
 them at a glance, as you will view them when the 
 last moment is indeed come. At any moment of any 
 day, you might have died a sudden death, as others 
 have died before you, as others will after you. That 
 very moment you would have been judged; sen- 
 tenced for eternity: for there is a particular judg- 
 ment awaiting each man at his death, as well as a 
 general judgment for all mankind together. Once 
 sentenced, there is no reversing, no mitigating, no 
 recommendation to mercy, no appeal to another 
 court, or to find trial. As we die, so we remain ; 
 for ever ! for ever and ever ! for evermore, without 
 end ! We are placed in time once ; and once for all. 
 Are these things true, my dear brothers? Am I 
 making them out too strong, or drawing from fancy ? 
 Nay, you know I am not. If they are true, what 
 conclusion must we come to from them ? How 
 ought they to affect us ? What rules shall we lay 
 down for ourselves because they are true? 
 
 " In the third place, our eternity depends on our 
 use of time ; that is, we have the power (by divine 
 grace) to determine whether the eternal state we are
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 261 
 
 hastening into, shall be happy or miserable ; an 
 eternity of pain. But what happiness and pleasure ? 
 Or what misery and pain ? The greatest, either way, 
 we can imagine or conceive. Is that all? No! far 
 greater than we can imagine ; far greater than we can 
 conceive : such as ' eye hath not seen, not ear heard, 
 nor hath it entered into the heart of man to con- 
 ceive.' And the choice lies with us : with v* I 
 we are bidden to choose ; we cannot help choosing 
 we choose every day, every hour we live : for every- 
 day, every hour, we take a step one way or the other. 
 We step towards heaven, or we step towards hell ; 
 one degree nearer to one or the other, every action 
 we perform, every word we say, every thought we 
 deliberately think. O my brothers ! 'tis an awful 
 thing to step towards hell ; to take one foot-breadth, 
 by one hair-breadth, away from God, towards the 
 edge of the pit ! Can you dare to do it ? 
 
 " Even if you were sure how many steps, exactly, 
 you could take that way, without falling down the 
 sides of the pit ; yet what rebellion, what ingrati- 
 tude, to take one step, one little step ! But you can- 
 not measure this ; you cannot tell which step be the 
 last, the irrevocable one ; nor how many steps off it 
 is from you now, nor how sudden the slip may be. 
 ' He that despiseth little things, shall fall by little 
 and by little.' He who places himself, by his own 
 act and deed, on the downward slope that leads to 
 the pit of hell, has only himself to thank, if he slip 
 on a sudden, and never regain his footing. 
 
 " But there is not only a hell to be avoided there 
 is a heaven to be gained ! Hell ! Heaven ! Eternity
 
 262 THE ADVEXITRKS OF OW1K EVAN8, 
 
 in hell! Or eternity in heaven! O my brothers! 
 'twould be imposible for any souls to sin against 
 God, that had once looked down in hell, once looked 
 up in heaven. Souls fall into hell, and lose heaven, 
 because they know nothing really of hell or of heaven 
 nothing of eternity. Strictly speaking, they do not 
 disbelieve those things ; they only live as if they had 
 never heard of them. They live on, day by day, as 
 if time were all, eternity nothing : then they come 
 to die, some one day or other, and find (find too late !) 
 time was nothing, eternity all ! 
 
 "Ah, bring me back, if you can, one soul that has 
 fallen down into the pit of hell; the soul that died 
 yesterday ; the bad Catcholic who died in Spain, the 
 poor dark misbeliever who died in England ! Bring 
 back the soul that was condemned yesterday to an 
 eternity of torment to everlasting fire ! condemn- 
 ed by a God, all-merciful, all-loving, but all-just, to 
 that lake burning with sulphur, to that prison-house 
 of pain, to that gnawing worm, to those chains of 
 darkness, to that company of devils, to their merci- 
 less torments and insults ; above all, to that banish- 
 ment from God, that shame and everlasting reproach, 
 that despair, that self-accusation, that hated God, of 
 goodness, of self, of all ! Bring back that soul, that 
 we may question it: ask it what it thinks now of 
 time, of eternity. What would it give none now, 
 when too late, too late for ever how much would 
 it give, at what price would it redeem, one little 
 month, one week, one day , one hour, only to repent ? 
 What for a chance, what for a loop-hole, aye, but 
 one ray of faintest hope? How would it despise
 
 THE CATHOLIC CR0801. 
 
 Wealth, honour, pleasure ! how would it make noth 
 ing of pains, mortifications, penances ! Anything, 
 anything ! but to set one foot out of hell ! All the 
 wealth of the Indies, all the crowns and diadems of 
 earth, all the priceless gems, mountains of gold 
 heaped one on the other, any pi-ice you may name 
 or think of, would be absolutely nothing, for one 
 little drop of water to cool that hell-parched tongue, 
 that fire-pierced tongue ! that God-blaspheming 
 tongue ! 
 
 " Or, could I call down but one of those happy 
 souls who have entered into eternal bliss, who 
 bask already in the countenance of God : the very 
 least, the lowest, in the kingdom of heaven ; that one 
 just withinside the golden gate ! Ask that soul now, 
 what is the value it places on time past ? Does it 
 regret one good action, done with denial of its own 
 will, done with difficulty, toil, and pain ? is it sorry 
 for time spent in fervent prayers ? for having over- 
 come temptations, and been watchful over itself, and 
 against the demons, its cruel foes ? Ah, no : it now 
 blesses Almighty God continually for having placed 
 it amid so many opportunities to gain merit for eter- 
 nity. Each of those pains endured, those tempt, 
 ations overcome, is now a jewel in its bright unfading 
 crown. 
 
 " But, ask it again : What would you do, were you 
 decreed to return for awhile to earth ? if you still 
 had five, ten, twenty years to spend in this state of 
 trial ? Oh ! I seem to hear the answer quite plain. 
 1 If I were sent back to earth,' says that blessed 
 Boul ; 'if I were still on my trial, and could still gain
 
 264 THE ADVENTUKKS OF OWEN KVAMS, 
 
 merit, I would labour, without pause, to reap in the 
 largest harvest, to go before my God at the end of 
 my time with my hands fullest. I would reckon 
 myself to have done nothing, while I could yet do 
 more. Even if I knew my salvation secure, I would 
 labour, I would delight in it, to let each moment 
 and each act have its merit. I would be as the bee 
 in the garden when 'twas near sunset, laborious on 
 one thing alone, to be able to fly home, laden with 
 honey back to the hive !' 
 
 " And you, filii hominum, O sons of men, whose 
 salvation is not secure, and who know it : usquequo 
 gram corde ? how long mean you to be so dull, so 
 indolent, so heedless, in the great affair of salvation ? 
 Ut quid diligitis vanitatem ? Why are ye so in love 
 with all, that is empty and unsatisfying, while you 
 miss the time, the solid good ? Et quceritis mend- 
 acium? And wherefore make you as though ye 
 sought to persuade yourselves to a falsehood ? 
 
 " For time, my friends, is a mere show and false- 
 hood, when it come< under any aspect but as a 
 preparation, a training, for eternity. ' What is your 
 life ?' asks the holy Apostle, ' It is a vapour which 
 appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall van- 
 ish away.' What is your life? asks a^ain St. Bern- 
 ard : ' Momentum, undependet ceternitasS A moment, 
 he answers ; but a moment on which eternity de. 
 pends. Yes, I say again ; time, eternity ! time is 
 nothing : eternity is all. Quod aternum non est, 
 nihil est. That which is not eternal, and has no in- 
 fluence on our eternity, is nothing. But our eternity 
 depends on our use of this moment of time Depend* !
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU8OK. 266 
 
 do we understand that ? According to our use of 
 minutes, which make up days, which make up years, 
 you and I will be in heaven or in hell, when days and 
 years and ages are no more ; when there is nothing 
 but one long, changeless eternity, without division 
 of time, or end, or death or nothingness ; only eter- 
 nity, and yet again eternity, and eternity, and eter- 
 nity ; in the fulness of bliss or the extremity of tort- 
 ure and despair, as long a* truth is truth, and good- 
 ness is goodness, and evil is evil, and the soul is the 
 soul, and God is God ! 
 
 " Utquequu gravi corde ? Let us awake, dear 
 brothers ; let us begin really to use our knowledge 
 of these great and tremendous truths ; let us live, 
 and not dream life away. We are here on a 
 desolate island ; but we have duties even here : duties 
 to God, to one another and to ourselves. Let us 
 work, watch, pray, repent, cultivate all the virtues 
 within our reach, and ask for more ? Live as those 
 who may die any moment ; who must die some 
 moment : who know not when. Live as they who 
 are daily preparing to be judged for the whole of 
 their time. Then 1 promise you (all other things 
 supposed, of which I will speak hereafter,) I promise 
 vr *.he name of my Master, a holy life and a happy 
 wc, a blessed death, a favourable judgment, 
 heavenly joys for ever."
 
 266 THE ADVENTURES OF OWKN BTANB, 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 THB ABCHERY CLUB. 
 
 1 HAVE thus (within a little) concluded the history 
 of our first week on the island ; and, because 't were 
 tedious to my readers more than to myself, to go 
 through with like details, I shall be content with a 
 summary of what befell us thenceforward. We be 
 gan to portion out our time like a company of phil- 
 osophers, or statesmen ; so much to work, so much 
 to amusement, so much, again, to ranging the island, 
 which partook of both : 't was work in the way ot 
 providing us food, and brought us acquainted with 
 every lurking nook of our domain ; but 't was recre- 
 ation, too, for the variety of objects and places we 
 came across, with a number of little adventures, and 
 dangers now and then, on a small scale. 
 
 A serious thought, however, began to engage us ; 
 I mean, the wasting of our powder and shot, of which 
 w had no more than perhaps twenty rounds left in 
 all. 'T was a dismal prospect for us, who had only 
 been a week on the island : and what to do when 
 that small stock was spent, or how to hinder the 
 spending of it, I knew not ; unless we found means 
 to snare the wild creatures for food, or betook our- 
 selves to bows and arrows, in which we had no 
 skill. 
 
 In this,. another consideration perpelxed me; for 
 what, said I to myself, if you teach the Indians the 
 use of this archeiy ? or, if they know such weapons
 
 THE CATHOLIC ORUBOE. 267 
 
 Iready (as 'tis likely), what if you put them into 
 their hands? how can you be secure they will not 
 turn them against yourselves ? Now came back the 
 old fears of these savages escaping into the woods, 
 to run wild there, and lie in ambush for us, to harrass 
 us, and so hunt us down at last. 
 
 When I stated these thoughts to my companions, 
 't was agreed not to allow the Indians any use of 
 bows or arrows for the time ; and to keep a close 
 watch on them, to hinder their contriving that or any 
 other weapon of offence. Not, I must say, that we 
 had seen in them so much as a sign of independence 
 or conspiracy, since they were thrown among us; 
 but he that is on the safe side is secure, as Prodgers 
 remarked, when we debated on it. 
 
 However, not to deprive them of all means to 
 knock over some food for our common use, I made a 
 trial of what they could do with mere stone-throw- 
 ing : and calling them to me on the shore, at a place 
 where tho reef was parted by an inlet, and so the 
 breach of the sea had freer access to wear the peb- 
 bles smooth, I set up a bread-fruit for them by way 
 of mark, on the point of a rock, perhaps seventy yards 
 from where they stood : telling them by signs and 
 words alike (for they now understood us better) I 
 desired to see who could knock it over first. To it 
 they went, with a good will ; and proved themselves 
 skillful marksmen, too, considering the distance. 
 Only the old man was least expert of the three, his 
 hand not being so steady nor vigorous, nor his eye 
 as true, as I warrant it had been in his best days. 
 Bo Pounder and Samuel had the match between
 
 268 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEK EVANS, 
 
 them : after making the rock ring again with their 
 pebbles, so cloee to the fruit, 't was a wonder the 
 stone did not hit it outright, going within such a 
 hair's breadth ; at last, I say, on the sixth shot, John 
 Pounder voted with a plumper, and sent the bread- 
 fruit skimming into the water beyond. 
 
 This was enough for me, and the rest who looked 
 on ; for we found the savages would be a full match 
 for us at that work, should they grow ill-disposed : 
 and 'twould be little odds to a dying man to be sent 
 out of the world by an arrow, or a dart, or by the 
 blow of a stone. So we bade them desist, some- 
 what sternly, and this trial made us a little jealous 
 of them again. 
 
 For ourselves, we set about to purvey us some 
 archery weapons ; first, the bamboo canes we had 
 pulled out of the marsh proved quite serviceable for 
 bows, being more springy than English yew, and as 
 much to the purpose as the hiccory wood of the 
 American forests, which the natives make use of for 
 their bows. As regards bow-strings, too, we found 
 means to dress some sinews we had met in cutting 
 up our shark ; which proved tough and springy to a 
 degree, sending off the arrow with a twang like the 
 sound of a Welsh tarp on my ear. Only, our stock 
 of arrows was scar.ty ; we found nothing fitter for 
 the purpose than the younger and slenderer of the 
 bamboos we had brought home ; and out of the 
 whole bundle we contrived no more than seven 
 arrows in all, cutting them to the proper lengths : 
 measuring that from the clenched fist of our left hand 
 Stretched at full length, to the tip of our right ear.
 
 THK CATHOLIC OBUSOB 269 
 
 It cost us some labour to smooth these canes for 
 our arrow-making : I mean, to take off the knots they 
 were encumbered with, of which each several arrow 
 had three or four at the least : but in this work the 
 Indians were our journeymen, with help of the 
 shark's teeth and our knives ; and in two or three 
 hours we managed to have them as smooth as a 
 tobacco-pipe, or a gun-barrel turned out complete by 
 a Bromwicham gun-smith. 
 
 Thus, we formed ourselves into an archery club ; 
 I mean, Gill, Harvey, myself, and Ned Hilton, who 
 were like to be most expert at the practice ; as for 
 Prodgers, he volunteered, to our surprise, to stand 
 near the butt (which was the stump of a tree) and 
 fling back our arrows that missed the mark : also to 
 keep our score. Nor did I see in anything more 
 than in this, the change that had come over our old 
 comrade : for he that a while ago had struggled for 
 the gun with so obstinate a temper as had like to 
 end in manslaughter, now stood in the best of humour 
 while we shot, and gave us back our arrows without 
 a thought of rivalry or discontent. 
 
 We were careful, though, to send the Indians out 
 of the way during our first practisings, lest they 
 might see (and in this 'twas easy) we were inferior 
 to them in anything. Don Manuel engaged to lead 
 them back the first day to the bamboo-marsh, to 
 fetch us a fresh supply of canes. Telling Samuel of 
 this, he made him guide of the party, and they went 
 off at a pace. They were away about three hours in 
 all ; when they came to us again, 'twas with a good 
 load of bamboos, mostly of the smaller sort: but
 
 270 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANfl, 
 
 three or four, too, of the oldest and, biggest they 
 could meet with ; and these were Don Manuel's choice, 
 he told us, to make trial of a plan that came into hi* 
 head while they were cutting them. 
 
 For he wanted to see if he could make these large 
 hollow canes any how serve as a conduit to convey 
 to our cave some of the fresh water from River-head, 
 or elsewhere. This was a first necessity, indeed ; the 
 water near our castle [so we began to call that hole 
 in the rock] being saltish in taste, and unwholesome, 
 which was the chief drawback, we began to see, in 
 our choice of the place. We now applied ourselves 
 to this work ; we lit a strong fire, and thrust the 
 longest piece of gunbarrel into it, having fitted & 
 smaller bamboo to this, by way of a long handle. 
 When 'twas red hot, drawing it forth, we thrust it 
 into the end of the large cane, till we burnt quite 
 through the knot that stopped the passage : at least, 
 part burning and part boring, we got through it 
 somehow. Then we did the same again and again 
 (there being no fewer than fourteen knots within a 
 length of three yards or so) till, burning through 
 them, now at this end, now at the other, at last the 
 hot barrel bored the length of pipe clear through. 
 
 But then, we reckoned how much time it might 
 take, and how many bamboos employ, to lay a 
 conduit from point to point ; that is, from the 
 fountain to our cave, which we now found to be 
 farther off than it seemed before. This, with cutting 
 the bamboos, and dragging them to the spot, wo 
 reckoned would be a work of months, and hard 
 work too. To save ourselves needless labour, we
 
 *H1 CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 271 
 
 made some expeditions into the woods on every 
 side, in parties of two or three at a time, und all 
 our aim was to search for water. But finding none 
 to compare to the spring at River-head, and being 
 determined, on the other hand, not to abandom our 
 castle, we e'en made up our minds perforce to go on 
 with the conduit : and appointed gangs, or working 
 parties, to carry on that trade, together with the 
 mason's work we had in hand. 
 
 For it is time I should now inform the reader how 
 we distributed ourselves to these employments. It 
 must be noted that we had three great trades to 
 carry on ; house-building, or mining ; making our 
 conduit ; and purveying food : and nine workmen to 
 employ in them. I say, nine workmen, for the priest 
 would not hold himself released from the burdeu, 
 neither ; and when I told him we were well content 
 if he would but pray for us, or take such light em- 
 ployments as might turn up, he reminded me, Saint 
 Paul was a tentmaker, and Saint Peter and the other 
 apostles, fishermen : " as though," says he, " to teach 
 us, 'tis not alone eyes and brain heart and tongue, but 
 hands and feet, thews and sinews, are to be used in 
 the service of our Master." 
 
 Thus we divided our working gangs : Harry Gill 
 and I were charged to provide our daily meal from 
 the woods, turn and turn about ; we charged our- 
 selves, too, above all things, to be very sparing of 
 the ammunition, and never waste a shot. But in no 
 long time, as I have just said, we learned to spare 
 our guns altogether, and brought down everything 
 by archery. Prodgers and old Mark were set to
 
 22 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN BVAN8, 
 
 bore the bamboos with a hot gun-barrel, and keep 
 np the fire: Pounder had to make some mason's 
 tool's out of shark's teeth, and flints hammered to 
 an edge (he fitted them into handles of a hard wood, 
 which we call iron-wood, and bound them in tight 
 with the shark's sinews ;) Samuel, who was supposed 
 to be more or less under the eye of the priest, was 
 always going back and forward to the marsh to 
 fetch bamboos ; which he did very actively, and by 
 little and little brought in a middling-sized heap. 
 The other men, Tom Harvey and Hilton [with Gill 
 or myself, whichever had not the shooting turn that 
 day,J worked steadily at our cave, of which more 
 hereafter. 
 
 Among tnese employments I know not under what 
 head to class our archery practice, which we persever- 
 ed in daily, always having the Indians at a distance, 
 employed on some hand-labour, with Prodgers or 
 Don Manuel to watch them. But as a prince has 
 his standing army under continued discipline, with 
 great field days, and skilful maneuvering, no less 
 than his finance or victualling department, and 
 board of works, so we, hi our small kingdom, reck- 
 oned our archery among such military operationi 
 as are always, I hope, the profession of a gentle-
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRU80B. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 ARCHERY AND POTTERY. 
 
 WE now agreed to lay aside our guns altogether 
 and husband our powder to the utmost ; so, depending 
 on our archery, as though we had no guns at all, 
 'tis incredible what a skill we attained within a few 
 weeks of practice [for we practised at the least an 
 hour and a half daily,] till at length we made noth- 
 ing of hitting a bread-fruit without fail at eighty or 
 ninety yards. I said the priest and Dick Prodgers 
 made none of our party at this ; but 'tis only true 
 to say so at the first: for, hearing of our skill, they 
 begged for their share in the practice too. They 
 came, indeed, at a disadvantage, being late in the 
 field ; yet, by extra diligence, they made up for lost 
 time : till, at length, I scarce could tell which bore 
 away the palm. But I am sure, the worst of us 
 would have been hailed a first-class shot at any ar- 
 chery in England ; and I question if Robin Hood 
 had many to beat us in his Sherwood band. Yet 
 on a comparison, though some days one and some 
 another, again, would shoot surprisingly well, and 
 then fall back into the ranks, we ranged much in the 
 order I here set down : 
 
 Harry Gill, captain, by consent of all ; 
 
 Myself, fairish, and pretty equal ; 
 
 Ned Hilton, unsteady, better and worse ; 
 
 Tom Harvey, diligent, never making a great 
 miss;
 
 274 THR ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 Don Manuel, the same, only with want of prac- 
 tice. 
 
 Richard Prodgers, worst, but good humored 
 about it. 
 
 At this stage, we could show ourselves as archera 
 before the Indians, without fear of being looked 
 down on ; so one day, taking them with us on an 
 expedition, our guns slung over our shoulders, 
 but our bows in our hands, in the course 
 of our ramble we knocked over, each of us, and quite 
 with a natural ease, a something to prove our skill : 
 one a bird, another a fruit, a third fixed his arrow in 
 the knot of a tree : in a word, we shot so well that 
 now we gave (or lent, rather) each of the Indians a 
 bow and arrow like our own, and elected them mem- 
 bers of the club : having provided a plenty of bam- 
 boos, both great and small, in two or three journeys 
 we made to the swamp. 
 
 Let any one explain it as he may, but these sava- 
 ges, by some natural instinct, gained ground quick- 
 ly upon us in the use of their weapons ; so that soon 
 we ceased to have trials of skill, lest we might be 
 worsted, and confined ourselves to what archers call 
 ranging, aiming at any chance thing that met us on 
 our walks, instead of a butt or target. 
 
 So, to enlarge my list, I have put down the In- 
 dians in the order wherein we reckoned them (among 
 ourselves,) though we did not let them know it. 
 Thus we stood; 
 
 John Pounder, captain (without knowing it.) 
 Harry Gill, as before, but, stirred up to rivalry by 
 Pounder's shooting, improved daily;
 
 THE CATHOLIC ORE SOB. 275 
 
 Samuel, came very nigh to Harry, and beat him 
 Boon; 
 
 Myself (though I say it that should not say it) 
 not much behind Samuel ; 
 
 Ned Hilton, mended his shooting as he mended 
 his character for steadiness ; 
 
 Tom Harvey, got on by degrees ; 
 
 Don Manuel, ditto, but with a better eye than 
 Harvey, 1 hough his hand not so strong ; 
 
 Old Mark, rather past his shooting, but managed 
 to hit fairly well ; 
 
 R. Progers still brought up the rear. 
 
 While this was going on, we made some attempts 
 to mould the clay we had found by that stream I have 
 spoken of, into pottery ware : but our attempts 
 were awkward, and the things we produced, clumsy 
 to a degree. Our Indians brought us five or six 
 heavy loads of the clay, and did what they could to 
 help us in the work ; but here they were novices, as 
 much as ourselves. For (it seems) they had never 
 hit on any of the like manufacture among those 
 savage tribes; but were content with such cala- 
 bashes and other vessels to hold water as they could 
 fashion from gourds aud such-like rinds, dried and 
 baked in the sun : as to boiling or stewing, they had 
 not a notion of it, further than to put some pieces 
 of flesh into a calabash with water, and throw in hot 
 stones as a make-believe to boil, and nothing more. 
 All this we made out from old Mark, who wonder- 
 ed, with his brother Indians, at what we were after. 
 The truth is, we were tired of seeing no-thin or before 
 
 O O 
 
 is but baked meat at table, (getting fanciful, as 't ii
 
 276 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BVAN8, 
 
 human nature to do, amid our abundance,) so, resolv 
 ed to persevere at this making of pots and pans, till 
 we had produced a kettle, and so a boil or stew of 
 some sort. 
 
 They say, man can compass, by perseverance, 
 whatever is possible in itself; and succeed we did, 
 at last, at least enough for our needs: though 'twere 
 a curious catalogue to present the reader with, did I 
 number up all the larger boiling kettles and stew- 
 pans, some deeper, some shallower, [for we tried all 
 ways, and all shapes and sizes,] together with such 
 smaller attempts, as butter-boats, drinking mugs, oil- 
 flasks, and what not, that we cracked in the oven, 
 trying to bake them hard. We made a vast collec- 
 tion of dry wood for this purpose ; and spent many 
 hours experimenting, now with a fierce fire, now with 
 a slack one ; now we made the clay so wet it was 
 mere mud, and would scarce stand upright ; now 
 again we worked it so dry, 'twas hard to work it at 
 all. - Each time we moulded one, and heaped wood 
 round it, setting it on fire, we stood round to watch, 
 and hoped it was going to be the first success. 
 Never, I believe, did a chemist in his laboratory so 
 eagerly watch some great experiment going on un- 
 dr his eyes, as we did, when we raked away the 
 ashes with great care from round our clay-vessels, 
 and drew them forth with bamboos ; but cracked and 
 useless, like the former. 
 
 At last 'twas on a Saturday, the eleventh of 
 September, just before the rains set in, and a great 
 day in the history of our colony whether we had 
 tempered the clay better, or got it from a finer vein ?
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 27? 
 
 or whether the fire had been kindled more evenly all 
 round the clay at once, or kept up steadier to the 
 right pitch [for both these we discovered to be very 
 material points in the business], at length, I say, to 
 our inexpressible joy, having slackened our fire for 
 the third time that very day, preparing our minds for 
 a fresh disappointment to which we had become 
 used, as the eels are to being skinned this one 
 blessed time we drew forth, with shouting, a large, 
 ugly, misshapen thing, but sound as a bell, and burnt 
 as red as a brick-bat, that would hold, I am sure, 
 from four to five gallons of water. I say shouting, 
 but I might add dancing, too : for we began to caper, 
 like s many madmen, round the work of our hands ; 
 and you might have supposed us all [I mean all but 
 Don Manuel, who stood by and laughed aloud while 
 he shared our joy] to be a party of wild Indians, per- 
 forming a war-dance round some captive they had 
 triumphed over, before they fell to eating him. At 
 length, when our extravagance had subsided some- 
 what, we returned to the fire again, and found with 
 fresh joy one large flat dish, three mugs, and a plate, 
 all equally good, beside a few that were part spoiled, 
 but could be made to do till better offered. And 
 from that time we burned some every day, with much 
 till the rain drove us into covert in our cave
 
 278 THB ADVENTURES OF OWKN EVANS, 
 
 CHAPTER XLVH. 
 
 THE GASTLE WITH ITS OUTWORKS. 
 
 IT may surprise my readers that all this time w 
 Lad not looked after the canoe that was thrown 
 ashore ; considering how anxious we were, all along, 
 to devise some means of escape from this prison of 
 ours. But the truth was, Prodgers, in an idle mo- 
 ment, had strolled down to that part of the beach, 
 and found the thing lying keel upwards, half buried 
 in the sand, and so broken-backed as to be no longer 
 seaworthy for the calmest sea. When he reported 
 this to us, we gave up all thoughts of refitting her, 
 having no tools proper for the purpose ; for knives 
 and gun-barrels never yet built a ship, nor repaired 
 one: though, to be sure, our Indians might have 
 done something in that way, had we so employed 
 them. But we hasted, as I said, to house ourselves 
 before we were caught by the rains, which we now 
 expected to come upon us almost daily : so that work- 
 ing at our cave, together with purveying our food, 
 became our chief employment. Nor can I write the 
 annals of our little colony, though briefly, and not 
 give a word to each of these works of ours. 
 
 First, Our Cave. By dint of steady mining in 
 gangs or relays, as I have explained, we had now 
 got some way in without finding crack or vein in 
 the rock, nor aught to give us help, nor hindrance 
 either : for all seemed of one material, only it got 
 softer, the deeper VK went. So that at last we
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSO. '279 
 
 worked nearly as much with a large bamboo out 
 Bharp (somewhat like a pen, about three feet long, 
 and pointed with a large flint,) as with our chisels, 
 which we spared as well as we could. In this way 
 we had gone in, I am sure, near thirty feet before 
 we began to enlarge our cave in height or breadth : 
 but we were soon forced to set about that woi'k too, 
 from the heat and closeness of the air, which scarce 
 permitted us to breathe freely, and hindered our work- 
 ing long at a spell. Beginning with height, we now 
 worked over our heads, till we were able to stand 
 upright at the inner end, which was a great relief to 
 us : for up to that, we had gone on nearly bent 
 double, or upon our knees. So now, having an inch 
 or two to spare overhead, we set our faces (I mean 
 the two that worked together, one hewing to his right, 
 the other to his left,) towards the entrance, and 
 worked steadly back on our steps : till nearing the 
 entrance itself, we left that pretty much as we found 
 it, small and rude, like the burrow of some wild 
 animal, for our greater security and hiding. But, 
 for the rest of our cave, it grew more spacious every 
 day : until over a fortnight from our beginning to 
 work, we found ourselves possessed of a comfortable 
 house (though very dark,) thirty feet long, with a 
 height ranging from six to seven feet, and about the 
 same in breadth. Together with these dimensions 
 our house or castle was much drier than many old 
 houses I have known in civilized parts ; there being 
 but one place where we discovered the least drip of 
 water. As we found this water, on tasting it, very 
 cold and pure, free from so mutfh as a taint of sulphur
 
 280 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 or any other, we reckoned it no small advantage to 
 the cave, and agreed we would enlarge it into a well 
 or reservoir when we had more leisure on hand. 
 
 So far, we were prepared for the rains, come when 
 they would. Only, the easier we worked, and the 
 further we went in, the larger grew the heap of rub- 
 bish we were forced to throw out of our cave ; till 
 at last it reached more than half way up from the 
 ground outside, to the mouth itself, like a pyramid 
 of loose sand, leaning against the cliff. We feared 
 to leave it where it was, knowing 't would easily be- 
 tray our whereabouts to the cunning of any savages 
 who might visit the island ; and the first thing to do 
 now was to clear it away, or (better still) make it a 
 part of our defences. So, quitting our inside work alto- 
 gether for a time, we considered how to dispose of this 
 great heap of soil. For let any one reckon a mining- 
 work of the measurements I have stated, and add 
 to it this also, that the rock which was compact in its 
 native quarry, made up a larger bulk when 'twas 
 thrown out as loose soil; and he will have some 
 guess of the mountain of work that now lay before 
 as. 
 
 But the worst was, we had no tools whatever, such 
 as shovels, to set to work with; nor prospect of any 
 but the clumsiest make-believes to stand in their 
 place. All we could devise was this ; to fit some 
 such slaty stones as we had dug the Indian's grave 
 with, into bamboo handles : this we managed passable 
 well, but spent upon it the remainder of our t\vim> ; 
 yet, after all this contrivance, the slates v/ere for 
 ever breaking in the work, or coming unbound f'rotu
 
 ttifc CATHOLIC CRCSOfc. 281 
 
 the handles. However for want of anything better, 
 to it we went; supplying for the badness of our tools 
 by the number of workmen [for we now called all 
 hands to this, and Don Manuel, too, took his day's 
 work like any journeyman,] and by an extra stock of 
 good will and good humour. 
 
 Our plan was, to block up with this sand the whole 
 passage between the cliff and leaning rock, on the 
 side by which we first entered our hiding-place ; for 
 on that side the trees were scantier, and 't would be 
 more easy to find us out. Then, when the rainy 
 season should be over, and the earth left moist and 
 easy to be worked, we resolved to plant all outside 
 of this bank of soil, and the bank itself, with young 
 trees, or shoots, such as we might discover to grow 
 quickest, and bear transplanting ; so as both to bank 
 and plant ourselves out from the world altogether. 
 But this was a mighty labour indeed, for nine pairs 
 of hands and nine awkward spades ; and I question 
 if they who built the pyramids of Egypt had more 
 work before them, considering the number of work- 
 men, than we with our bank of sand. We did the 
 best we could ; though 't was a bungling piece of 
 business, after all; and banded our work together 
 with such large stones as lay in the neighbourhood, 
 heaving them to the spot with levers of bamboo : 
 then using them as masons use the larger stones to 
 bond a wall. 
 
 Upon the whole, this was even harder work than 
 mining into the cliff, and without the interest of 
 discovery to animate us : for our Royal Sappers and 
 Miners [so we called the two workmen] were always
 
 282 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN KVANS, 
 
 expecting, every stroke they made, to break into 
 some cave already formed in the heart of the rock, 
 and so end their labours at once. In short, our 
 sand-banking became so irksome and laborious, we 
 had no small ado to keep the men at it, during the 
 time [which was four full hours] we had agreed to 
 devote to it every day. The weather, too, was 
 sultry, which added to our labour, and increased the 
 discontent of those who were disposed to grumble : 
 hu that every now and again, one would throw down 
 his tool, and protest, for his part, he was no galley- 
 slave, nor any slave, black or white, to keep on at 
 this work any longer. 
 
 I had to behave like the captain of a ship when 
 signs of mutiny begin to appear on board ; now I 
 humoured them, now reasoned, now joked with them : 
 some times I went the length of a threat, if they 
 would not make common cause in our labour, they 
 should be banished from our commonwealth, and 
 sent away to the further side of the island : though 
 I must say, matters seldom went that length. But 
 what persuaded them to endure, more than all 
 words, was the example of our patient, cheerful 
 Spanish friend; who worked harder, in proportion, 
 than any of the rest, with a smile and a word for all ; 
 nor even rested, but to take up his breviary awhile : 
 though you could see, he felt this hard labour more, 
 by far, than the rough tars working side by side with 
 him ; and his very hands bore witness he had been 
 used as little to handle a spade, as a rope or an oar. 
 
 As to the further entrance, 1 mean that other 
 ide of the passage between the cliff and our grand
 
 CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 28$ 
 
 stair-case, opposite to that one we were banking up; 
 we had less care for that, seeing 'twas more thickly 
 set with trees, and turned away more from any 
 practicable landing-place : therefore we would not 
 bank up that, but kept it for our own approach to 
 our castle below. Only, we contrived a winding 
 path through the trees, narrow and difficult to hit ; 
 clearing away some bushes here, and matting them 
 together there : besides getting rid of a tree or two 
 that stood right in the path, by burning it all round, 
 a little above the roots, with our gun-barrels heated 
 red-hot, and sawing it through afterwards with 
 Masters Pounder's shark's teeth saws. In this wind 
 ing path we also contrived several traps and blind 
 alleys, to mislead an enemy who had not the secret 
 of the place ; though not with so much art as Don 
 Manuel and I had drawn our mazes on paper with, 
 yet enough to puzzle a stranger, or several together, 
 till we should get ready, and give them a warmer re- 
 ception. Moreover, we dug two or three narrow pit- 
 falls here and there, as deep as the height of a man, and 
 as narrow as saw-pits ; covering them with small weak 
 branches laced across, and a thin layer of earth over 
 all. Cunning places they were, truly, into one of 
 which old Prodgers fell, not long after, by taking a 
 wrong turn in a hurry; and proved [against his will] 
 the excellence of the trap, not being able to free 
 himself till we pulled him out with a rope. All this 
 happened some time after ; but I set it down here to 
 show how we made our defences complete to the 
 utmost we were able.
 
 284 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIIL 
 
 OUR LARDER AND FARM-YARD. 
 
 SECONDLY, Our Food. Harry Gill and myself [I 
 have said], being better shots than the rest, were 
 mostly purveyors to our society ; and after, when we 
 laid aside our guns, taking to the bows and arrows, 
 and went ranging through the island for practice, 
 still it was to us they chiefly looked for securing the 
 daily meal. Our island furnished game in plenty, as 
 we were thankful to find, more and more ; so we had 
 no lack of it. We went on adding, too, to our stock 
 of arrows, and, with onr growing skill in archery, we 
 became lords and masters of all the live stock in the 
 place, four-footed or winged : I might say, web- 
 footed, too ; for as time went on, we found amazing 
 numbers of sea-fowl that harbored on the south-west 
 quarter of the island, at least during several months 
 in the year. 
 
 But these we rather looked on as distant allies, or 
 wandering tribes on the frontier, than as regular 
 subjects of our kingdom ; and spared them all the 
 more, fearing to lose our arrows by aiming at them : 
 nor did we ever attempt it but when the tide was 
 setting strongly in-shore. 'Twas no loss to us to let 
 them alone ; for one or two that we pierced from 
 time to time, when they floated in, proved to have 
 an indifferent, fishy taste, not fit for the table of gen- 
 tleman who had the stock of an island to pick and 
 choose from. All things, indeed, are by comparison j
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 285 
 
 for I have heard of some poor fellows turned adrift 
 in a boat on the open sea, to whom a booby or a 
 penguin, when they could knock them over, have 
 been delicious fare in their hunger; and we should 
 have been ungrateful wretches not to acknowledge 
 our better plight. 
 
 But one of our great endeavours in the article of 
 food was to take some wild animals alive, so as to 
 preserve or tame them, and make a farm-yard around 
 us by degrees. 'Tvvas some time before we succeed- 
 ed at all in this ; at last, one day, Harry Gill and I 
 being out together, we came on a sudden upon a 
 herd of peccaries, old and young. Or, I should say, 
 they came upon us, rather; for we were in their way 
 in the middle of a path they had worn for themselves 
 by constant traffic through the woods, to get at fresh 
 water that flowed between the volcano and the w.s. 
 w. of the island. Now the peccary, like many hu- 
 man creatures, is a much bolder and fiercer gentle- 
 man when he has got numbers to back him than when 
 you take him alone ; yet even alone he is apt to be 
 savage, and turn on you with his tusks if you slightly 
 wound him and despatch him not outright. This we 
 knew well, having at times been forced to dodge 
 among the trees to get away from a wounded one till 
 we could settle him by a second shot. So now, find- 
 ing ourselves face to face with so many together, we 
 gave them the wall (as I might say) with great re- 
 spect : slipping quietly aside into the jungle or bush, 
 Harry Gill on one side, and I on the other, to leave 
 their path clear. 
 
 On they came, at a kind of shuffling trot, grunting
 
 286 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 and squealing like a herd of wild pigs, as indeed they 
 were ; first came some of the older and stronger 
 of the herd, with formidable tusks truly, like pioneers 
 to clear the way, and 'tis my belief, had they charged 
 against a regiment in a line, they had put many a 
 veteran soldier to the rout. Next cantered on sev- 
 eral scores of others, led by these brave captains, and 
 the little pigs enclosed among them for shelter and 
 protection. But 'twas just one or two of these 
 youngsters we had fixed our minds on : so, making a 
 sign to Harry Gill to get into a tree on his side the 
 path, I did the same on mine ; when, being both well 
 settled in our perches, " Now !" cried I, " aim at the 
 young pigs, Harry ; and try to disable them, not to 
 kill." 
 
 At the sound of my voice the leaders of the herd 
 stopped short ; for by this, they had all but come up 
 to our ambush, and began snuffing the air, grunting 
 with rage to know an enemy was nigh, yet not able 
 to see him. After a little, when they had poked 
 about among the bushes, they seemed not to like the 
 chances, and determined on a retreat ; so, giving a 
 deep grunt or two, as a word of command, they all 
 wheeled about, and were for trotting back the way 
 they came. 
 
 That was not the welcome we meant to give them, 
 by a great deal ; so, bidding Gill take good aim, and 
 have a second arrow in readiness, we both let fly, 
 uid winged each our pig ; then, fitting at once an- 
 other arrow to the string, we gave it them again, be- 
 fore they had recovered the first surprise and confu- 
 sion ; on which there rose such a grunting and squeal-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 28 / 
 
 ing of the herd as would have sent a musician out of 
 his wits: however, the end was, off they all scamp- 
 ered, leaving the wounded to fare as they might. 
 When we saw the coast was clear, and heard them 
 liurry pell-mell through the woods, we came down 
 from our trees to secure our booty : and I must take 
 credit for our archery, seeing but one out of the four 
 we had shot was dead, the rest only wounded, as we 
 designed, and one so slightly it cost us no little 
 trouble to secure him. 
 
 On this, we blew our horns ; which calls for a 
 word of explanation here. I should have related, 
 before now we had found a kind of couch, or large 
 winding shell, among the rocks, on our first Fi'iday's 
 expedition to the further side of the island ; we soon 
 found means to fashion these into a kind of trumpet ; 
 and they served us as well, as if we had been so many 
 Tritons, giving forth a deep souud, like the bellowing 
 of a bull, that might be heard a good way off. These 
 horns soon brought to us two of the Indians, Pounder 
 and Samuel, who, from their swiftness, were the light 
 skirmishers of our party. Amongst us all, we 
 managed not only to secure the three piglings, but to 
 bring them home, together with the dead one. Bnt 
 these young peccaries were fiercer than their size or 
 age warranted : and we had some ado to escape being 
 torn by their tusks, though small ; indeed, we did not 
 ceme off unscratched from the fight. 
 
 When we got them home, we were at a loss how 
 to bestow them; for first, we had to heal their 
 wounds, and next, to keep them safe : tve feared they 
 would die and be usele*? to u- or live and run away
 
 288 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN BTAS, 
 
 to the woods again. By degrees they grew tamer ; and 
 we cultivated their friendship on the same terms as 
 the slave who, fleeing from his master, took refuge 
 in the lion's cave, became friends with the lion he 
 found there with a thorn that festered in his paw : 
 that is to say, we first extracted our arrows with 
 more tenderness than we had shot them ; then, by 
 aid of the Indians, found some of those same leaves 
 they had plastered Prodgers' face with and applied 
 them to the wounded peccaries. At length, the 
 poor little beasts began to look on us as their bene- 
 factors ; and we, on our side, grew more liberal in 
 giving them such food as they liked : for at first we 
 kept them on short commons, to tame them by 
 hunger. 
 
 All this while, we had them tied by the leg to 
 three trees, just outside our encampment, where we 
 could see them from the cave's mouth : resolving, if 
 ever we observed a sign of savages visiting the 
 island, to turn them loose into the woods, lest their 
 squealing might betray us. To make a long story 
 short, within a reasonable time they grew so tame, 
 I believe we might safely have cut the ropes, and 
 they had stayed with us : but, having come by them 
 hardly, we would run no risk of parting with them 
 lightly : so, fetching a compass with them till we 
 found means to mount them up on a part of Cape 
 Look-Out, we wattled off a small piece of table-land 
 there for a farm-yard, weaving branches of trees in 
 and out, till we made a ring-fence large enough for 
 them to range in. We strengthened this here and 
 there on the outside, driving in some live stakes of a
 
 tHB CATHOLIC CRBSOB. 28$ 
 
 tree of the nature of a willow : but it took root faster 
 and firmer, and sent out strong shoots the very next 
 spring ; so that we lived to see our stakes form a 
 circle of flourishing young trees. This is the history 
 of our farm-yard in its infancy ; and this was the last 
 out-door work we engaged in before the rains came 
 to shut us up. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 WE CARVE OUT A KITCHEN. 
 
 SOON after this, as I said, the rainy season came, 
 and came in earnest ; those of us who had not yet 
 known the tropics during the autumnal equinox, had 
 to learn (as they now did) what rain can do. 'Twas 
 not a shower, nor a tempest, and then over ; but it 
 rather came down in sheets of water than in the way 
 of rain ; and that too, both day and night continually, 
 as though it were poured out of some mighty reser- 
 voir in the heavens above. Don Manuel, on our re- 
 marking this, spoke to us of the great deluge that 
 was once sent upon the earth for the wickedness of 
 man: when " the flood-gates of heaven were opened, 
 and the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty 
 nights," till all the human race was destroyed but 
 eight persons alone. This, he said, might stand as 
 one testimony of the extreme provocation of sin 
 against the Lord who commanded His creatures' 
 obedience ; eo going on, from one discourse to an-
 
 290 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 other, while we were busied at work in our cave, and 
 turning all into good, like the old king in the fable, 
 whose touch turned all into gold. 
 
 Being now close prisoners [for we could not stir 
 out without being drenched,] we set to work on 
 completing our cave architecture ; we determined to 
 make it a regular habitation, and commodious enough 
 to hold ourselves and our stores together. Our first 
 care was to provide a kitchen ; which I hope the 
 reader'will not take amiss, as though we were grown 
 too fond of the good cheer which the island afforded, 
 but will remember (as the saying of some wise man 
 is reported,) though we did not live to eat, we must 
 eat to live. Well, this kitchen of ours was the part 
 of our mansion that gave us most trouble, by far ; 
 and that, because of the chimney it needed, which at 
 first was beyond all our engineering. We tried, 
 once or twice, to cook our meals in the great vestibule, 
 or cave itself, that we had hollowed; but \\e were 
 fairly put to flight, and driven out into the rain, by 
 the stifling smoke that rose from our wood tire. So, 
 making a virtue of necessity, we set about smoking 
 what meat we had provided, [as several flitches and 
 hams of peccary, together with some large wild-fowl 
 we had brought down with our arrows,] and so lay- 
 ing it up in store to consume by degrees. Here we 
 employed our Indians, who were not so much afraid 
 of a wetting as we ourselves ; making them under- 
 stand what we would have done, we had the satis- 
 faction to see them, under our own eyes [for one of 
 us always stood to mount guard at the cave's mouth,] 
 et up a small booth, or curing-house, of four trees
 
 *THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 291 
 
 thatched with leaves, to smoke the bacon in. They 
 built this booth within the embankment I have spoken 
 of, which we always called our fortification, or out- 
 works, leaning one side up against the cliff. 
 
 The benefit of this plan was, it needed not that we 
 should gather dry wood for the business ; but on the 
 contrary, green wood smoked the meat more thorough- 
 ly, and we saved our dry fuel to warm us by, or for a 
 little slow fire of very dry sticks, almost like char- 
 coal, whenever we should boil our vegetables, or 
 make soup of a piece of fish with yams and bi-ead- 
 fruit, in one of our clumsy vessels of pottery. Yet, 
 after all, a kitchen and a chimney we must needs 
 have, and that for three purposes at once; namely, 
 first, to warm ourselves by, and dispel the damp of 
 our cave, if we found the rain to penetrate ; but that 
 it never did, except in the one place, where it formed 
 our well, so our fears were groundless on that score : 
 then, secondly, to cook our daily meal, for we could 
 not endure the smoke that aro*e even from our little 
 fire for boiling ; and, thirdly, for our oven ; inas- 
 much as we were now grown too dainty to be content 
 with bread-fruit, but must have real bread beside. 
 So we set about our kitchen as follows : 
 
 "We resolved, as the smoke from our chimney 
 must find some vent to the upper air, this should be 
 turned as far as possible from that part of .the island 
 our Indians had been driven upon : fearing it might 
 invite a visit from some others of the fraternity, not 
 so easily tamed as these. Little did I think, indeed, 
 at the time, what benefit a smoke from the island
 
 THB ADVftN-TURKS OF OWrfN RVANft, 
 
 was to bring to us hereafter. But I must not out- 
 run my narrative, 
 
 For this purpose, we went to the furthest end of 
 our cave, being, as I said,. full thirty feet from the 
 entrance : then turning Jeft ways (for we would not 
 have our fire in a line with the cave's mouth, lest its 
 light should ever betray us,) we cut a passage nearly 
 five feet wide into the living rock, working two at a 
 time, in gangs, or relays, as before. When we had 
 got from fifteen to eighteen feet in, the two workmen 
 then separated, each his own way, facing away from 
 one another, and began hewing round again in a 
 half circle ; that is, the right hand man bore continu- 
 ally over towards his right shoulder, and the left hand 
 man towards his left ; till at length, after incredible 
 labour about (I am describing in a few lines what took 
 up several weeks to accomplish,) each man completing 
 his half round, they came out again, nearly opposite 
 one another, into the passage they began by cutting, 
 as I said, leading out of the main cave. 
 
 To be sure, this did not look much like a kitchen ; 
 for 'twas nothing but a circular burrow, about the 
 height of a man, with a straight passage, broader, 
 running through it, so as to divide it into two halves : 
 as my reader will see, if he hath attended to my rude 
 account of it. Nevertheless, this was our kitchen in 
 outline : and now, setting about to complete it, we 
 resolved in the first place, we would leave tnougli of 
 the rock on either side, (I mean, of the solid rock 
 round which we had mined this burrow of ours,) to 
 stand as a natural pillar, and prop up the T oof. For we 
 feared to leave so large a stretch of roof without
 
 TH CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 293 
 
 iupport; lest our cave might, some day. on a sud- 
 den, prove our sepulchre too. Thus we Avent on, 
 making the passages wider, and reducing the two 
 masses of standing rock : now the whole of our party 
 could work at it once, and it went on much quicker. 
 Only, our tools were imperfect, forever breaking and 
 getting out of use, it made the work slower, and 
 tried our patience more ; the gun-barrels were by 
 now much worn down with constant hewing, and 
 we began to debate on sacrificing one of the other 
 pieces to break up into mining tools. Indeed, our 
 bow and arrows had taken the place of these weap- 
 ons, and had we burnt a single grain of powder 
 since we so improved in archery. On second 
 thoughts, prudence bade us keep all our fire-arms in 
 readiness, in case of any attack from savages ; for we 
 reckoned, one discharge of our guns would be -of 
 more service in terrifying them, than whole quivers 
 full of arrows, which are their own familiar weapons, 
 and inspire them with no dread. 
 
 But Pounder one day suddenly gave us more 
 help in the way of tools than any one could, short 
 of an ironmonger : for, being sent forth on a Friday 
 morning to help Xed Hilton bring in some cray-fish 
 and oysters from the other side the island (the rain 
 having then somewhat slackened,) he brought, be- 
 sides, one or two pieces of a very hard stone, tran- 
 sparent like* glass, and splitting off to a shape edge; 
 such (I believe) as learned people call quartz, and 
 simple folks call glimmer. He had found these in a 
 crack or vein, between t\vo rocks, down which ran a 
 little rapid stream, that had loosened these pieces
 
 294 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 from the rocks ; and he said there was a good quan- 
 tity more of the same to be found in that spot. By 
 this time we were better skilled in binding our stones, 
 hammers, or axe-heads, into the bamboo-handles, 
 whereby we got on the faster at our work. At last 
 we had so cut away the rock, we left nothing stand- 
 ing on either side the kitchen but the two pillars of 
 a biggish thickness : and the apartment itself was 
 an irregular oval of about fifteen feet across, the 
 longest way ; by twelve, the shortest. We could 
 not then stay to shape it more to our fancy, nor to 
 carve out a seat, or transom, round the walls, as was 
 afterwards done; our immediate concern was to 
 pierce a vent, or chimney, up through the solid rock, 
 over that part where we designed to make our fire, 
 slanting to westward of the ridge of our look-out. 
 
 This was the hardest task, by far, we had on hand ; 
 nor do I think, except for the lucky discovery of the 
 glimmer-stones (that cut sharper and easier than 
 others,) we had ever accomplished it. But, by help of 
 a strong, determined will, and often changing the 
 workmen, we overcame all obstacles : so, hauling up 
 two young cocoa-palms into the cave, we made them 
 into a rude ladder ; lacing them across with those 
 same tough tendrils we had made our rope of, which 
 the men called supple-jack. Thus we made a some- 
 thing between a ladder and the shrouds of a ship, 
 by help of which we mounted to the rocky roof of 
 our kitchen, and began to pierce it at a slant ; so, 
 still hewing on with perseverance, we made us an 
 opening about three feet across, for convenience of 
 working : and by degrees cut our way upward into
 
 TH CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 295 
 
 rude steps that supported one man at a time ; but, 
 from the cramped position he was forced to maintain, 
 and heat of the place, no one could work at this 
 more than a quarter of an hour at one spell ; and we 
 were stiff and weary enough when we came down. 
 
 After a full week's work at the chimney alone, one 
 morning, when Tom Harvey had taken his turn at 
 the work, as he was boring upward with the gun- 
 barrel [for that we did first, to pioneer, and then cut 
 away the sides with the glimmer,] all at once he 
 thrust the barrel forward freely at his arm's length ; 
 at the same moment some fresh wet earth fell into 
 his eyes and mouth, and the cool air blew down up- 
 on his face. Harvey was blinded and half choked ; 
 and down he came, floundering among us in the 
 kitchen, as we hewed at the pillars : nor could he 
 answer our questions but by sputtering with his 
 mouth full of earth. But Hilton, going to the 
 hole, shouted out the thing was done ! and, sure 
 enough, when' we ran to look, we saw the light of 
 day, like a pale star, at the top. 
 
 The rest was easy; for Harvey having left his 
 tool sticking out at the top, when he was thus sa- 
 luted by mother Earth to his discomfiture, we had 
 but to send one of our party on to the promon- 
 tory, and enlarge our chimney-pot from above. 
 But we charged him ['twas Pounder that went] 
 only to make it wide enough to allow vent for the 
 smoke, and be careful to build it round with 
 bushes and sticks laid across ; as well to conceal 
 it from human eyes, as to prevent any wild ani- 
 mals paying us the unwelcome honor of a visit 
 down the chimney.
 
 296 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVAN*, 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 BOCK ARCHITECTUBB. 
 
 WHILE this troublesome work was on hands, they 
 who were not up the chimney were at other employ- 
 ments; this being one among the things we had 
 learned on the island, that man is destined to labour, 
 even in solitude and amid plenty, if he would keep 
 mind or body in health. So, importing another cargo 
 of glimmer, with some fresh bamboos, into our cave, 
 we fell to making a good stock of mining instruments. 
 This done, then, under our priest's directions (who 
 seemed to understand such things more than might 
 be thought,) we marked out the entrances to several 
 other rooms leading off from our main cave, and 
 hewed them out, as we had hewn the kitchen. 
 
 To go to work on a regular plan, we made a list 
 of the rooms we designed to have, which stood 
 thus: 
 
 A chapel^ to serve for our morning and night 
 prayers, and for our private devotions. For, I must 
 say, we had begun the habit of praying by ourselves 
 a little, ere now; and sometimes I would come on a 
 sudden in our woods and walks upon one of our 
 comrades on his knees, and I would strike into another 
 path to avoid disturbing him ; this sort of thing grew 
 up, as 't were, by itself, and was getting quite com- 
 mon, no one noticing it as strange. This little chap- 
 el too, was to be for our instruction on Sundays ; 
 for Don Manuel preached to us now every Sunday,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 297 
 
 and some other days, too; holy days, as he said, 
 called so for one reason or another, which he told us 
 as they came round. Lastly, on these days and Sun- 
 days our chapel served another chief purpose, as I 
 will tell. 
 
 Then, we needed a store-room^ as well for our dried 
 meats as to lay up fruits and vegetables : we deter- 
 mined to make it with recesses in the wall, like cup- 
 boards without doors, all round, to keep the several 
 stores apart from one another : besides, we thought 
 to dig a kind of shallow well, or vault, in the floor 
 of this store-room, at the further end, and cover it 
 with palm and other leaves, to keep such stores as 
 would spoil unless they were kept cool, as cocoa-nut 
 milk, and such like. For all which reasons, we meant 
 to have this room as far as CQiild be contrived from 
 the kitchen fire. 
 
 Item, one recess apart in the driest and safest 
 corner of the cave, to stow away securely our small 
 stock of powder: 'twas but a mere handful, in- 
 deed, yet might prove the safety of us all in case of 
 attack, or be our destruction if we were heedless 
 enough to let any spark get to it. 
 
 Besides, we needed a work-room, for such employ- 
 ments as would litter or lumber our great cave (so 
 we called it,) too much to carry on there. 'T would 
 be, indeed, a luxury more than necessity to us : 
 nevertheless, as it was to be bought by labour, and 
 lawful to enjoy, we determined to have it, in its 
 turn : though it came lower down on our list. Fur- 
 ther, a sleeping-place or two for ourselves, and an- 
 other for the Indians. At one time, we thought of
 
 298 THE ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 contriving a kind of stable, or out-house (if they can 
 be called so, that were inside the rock,) for our live 
 stock, to protect them from wild creatures of their 
 own kinds, or beasts of prey. But our other works 
 in the cave took up such a time, we were forced to 
 give over this last plan, at least for a while. Nor was it 
 of so much importance as the rest, after all ; for our 
 peccaries throve well enough in the ring-fence above 
 our heads, and were never molested, at least, nothing 
 to speak of: though once or twice a sea-eagle made 
 a swoop on our farm-yard, and carried off a young 
 
 Pig- 
 
 I say, a young one ; for, what with two or three 
 litters bred in the farm, and some beside, that we 
 captured and brought in from time to time, we were 
 soon very thriving farmers of live stock; in short, 
 we had so many, we were rather concerned to thin 
 them out, than add to them. And from thencefor- 
 ward we never shot down peccaries for our larder ; 
 for that were like carrying coals to Newcastle : but 
 when we took our bows (and we took them every 
 day again, when the rains were over) 't was more to 
 keep our hands in practice, and to fetch in a dainty, 
 in shape of a wild turkey, or brace of parrots, or 
 what not. And at last, we took to shooting fish, too, 
 with some success. 
 
 But to return to the cave ; I believe nine men (un- 
 less galley slaves, or exiles in the Siberian mines) 
 seldom worked harder under ground than we did, 
 all through the rainy season : for it must be observed 
 we were miners on our own account, and worked 
 for no task-master ; who, the moment his eve was
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 299 
 
 off, had no more work done for him.* Nor were 
 we ever reduced to drive a bargain, or haggle about 
 charging by the piece, or by the time. All was 
 straight before -us, and all was our own ; our hands 
 strong, our hearts cheery; and be ing bound together 
 by one common interest, each was forward to help 
 the others, well knowing he would be helped hi 
 turn. Don Manuel gave us the plan, Indeed, for our 
 caves ; but was far from being like some who insist 
 on doing good in their own way, or not at all. He 
 adopted on the spot some changes we wished made ; 
 and took his turn so cheerfully in hewing the other 
 rooms, we were eager to help him with the chapel. 
 
 I will have done with all this, after a few words 
 about that chapel of ours. 'T was very neatly coved 
 or vaulted over, as high as we could well reach, 
 standing mostly on a log and some large stones. 
 Having time on hands, we took a pride in smooth- 
 ing the roof fair and even ; as to* the walls, we deter- 
 mined not only to smoothe them, but plaster them 
 too, as we afterwards did with well-kneaded clay, 
 tempered and stiffened with a gluey kind of sap that 
 we found oozing out from some gum trees up and 
 down the island. This with small holes drilled here 
 
 * If Don Manuel had heard (as perhaps he did) this remark 
 of Owen's, he would probably have reminded his friend, that 
 we are bidden, in our service to our Divine Master, not to 
 resemble those servants who are only faithful as long as they 
 are under their employer's eye. " Servants," says the Apostle, 
 " be obedient to them that are your lords according to the 
 flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your hearts, 
 as to Christ : not serving 'to the eye, as it were pleasing men, 
 but as the servants of Christ, doing the "will of God from the 
 heart ; with a good will serving, as to the Lord, and not to 
 naeu.' 1 Ephes., vi. 6. 80 also Coloss. iii. 22, 24. Ep.
 
 BOO TUB ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 
 
 and there in the walls, as a kind of hold-fasts, made 
 the clay stick well enough, and we were not a little 
 proud of our plastered chapel. But the chief of our 
 care we spent on the altar-end ; for there we hollowed 
 out an alcove in the rock, vaulting the roof of it in a 
 half circle. In the midst of this, we left the altar 
 standing, being a block of the native stone, which 
 we shaped by degrees, according to Don Manuel's 
 directions. 
 
 Then, nothing would content us, but we must paint 
 this end, as well as plaster it : so, while the clay was 
 still moist, we contrived some red colour from the 
 juice of a wild berry; the Indians fetched these to us, 
 when they understood what we would be at. They 
 also brought in some earth of a brownish yellow, 
 like ochre, and this gave us two colours ; being light- 
 er in the natural unburnt state, and turning to a 
 tawney red when calcined in our wood fire. Some 
 black loam, or peat, of decayed leaves or fibres, 
 made up our list of colours : with these four, we set 
 to work ; first mixing them up with our gum, till 
 they were near as stiff as japan painting on a screen 
 or tea chest. Then we drew patterns within the 
 alcove, on the yellow- white of our clay plaster; 
 marking it all over with regular lines, now in one 
 colour, now with another, sometimes with several 
 together, side by side, and here and there with an 
 imitation of trees, plants, and birds. 'T was all under 
 our friend's guidance ; for he showed himself, indeed, 
 no mean artist here : at length, our rock chapel was 
 a wonder for its decorations, and, when lighted up 
 with candles, 't was really a sight to look st r
 
 frfiR CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 301 
 
 This bird and tree-painting (except only grinding 
 and mixing the colours) we pursued mostly on Sun- 
 days, after our morning devotions, and before evening 
 prayers, ru- just before or after the sermon: for all 
 these things we had every Sunday, and two of them, 
 i. e., prayers twice, with no sermon, every day. It sur- 
 prised me a little that Don Manuel, who was so exact 
 in many things where we had seen no harm, should 
 even encourage us to do this on the Sabbath day , 
 but he explained to us, 't was not servile work, which 
 alone is forbidden to Christians on Sundays : artist- 
 paintings like these, especially when done only for 
 pastime, not for gain, being a liberal occupation, and 
 what rich men do (if they have skill in it) merely to 
 entertain their minds, who would scorn to receive 
 payment for it. From which he took occasion to re- 
 mark, how needful it was to have a surer guide on 
 such points, as to what was right and what unlawful, 
 than men's own wayward fancies ; and repeated again 
 what he said to me once before [and vexed me with 
 him at the time] about our eating meat with the 
 blood in it, simply because the Church said we 
 might. 
 
 " We must always honour," says he, " a man for 
 following his conscience; unless 'tis so plainly astray 
 that he ought to see 't is misleading him. All this 
 great exactness about keeping the Sabbath comes, 
 perhaps, from a good principle ; but a good principle 
 may run mad, as it has done in this point. It aimed 
 at keeping the commandment ; and so far well. But 
 the human mind, left to its own guidance, fails to see 
 where the commandment begins and ends; what
 
 362 THB ADVKNTDRE8 OF OWEN KTAN8, 
 
 observance is retained, and what is lawfully modified. 
 If you obey the commandment to the letter, you 
 ought to keep Saturday holy, not Sunday at all. 
 Except for the Catholic Church, I say again, you 
 commit a sin every Saturday of your lives, and de- 
 serve to be stoned as the man was stoned in the 
 wilderness, for gathering sticks on the Sabbath.* 
 The Church, by the authority she derives from 
 her Lord, has changed the day itself, and the mode 
 of its observance. Your teachers, dear friends, have 
 kept the Christian day, but not with Christian 
 observance. Accordingly, in England, I am told, 
 Sunday is a very gloomy affair, while other evils 
 are rife, which are too lightly thought of. And 
 in your colony of New England, the special plan- 
 tation of Puritan colonists, they make it criminal 
 for a citizen to smoke his pipe on Sunday, or have 
 a hot dinner, or take a quiet walk for recreation. 
 Ah, poor souls, poor souls !" continued he, with a 
 look of pity : " well for them, if that were all ! But 
 they that in vain observe vanities, forsake their own 
 
 mercy." 
 
 * Humbert, xv. 82, 86. ED.
 
 THB CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 303 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 WHAT WE OUGHT TO HAVE KNOWN BEFORE. 
 
 OtrB evenings were spent, as they had been out of 
 doors, round our fire ; but not idle time, neither : we 
 scarce knew what it was to sit with our hands be- 
 fore us, as some do who have what they call " time 
 on their hands," and find it weigh heavy there : we 
 always worked at somewhat, by the light of our can- 
 dle-nuts, or lamps of shark's oil, or tallow of the 
 peccaries kept heated, and a cotton wick. For in 
 these three ways we had contrived for ourselves 
 lamps, or candles, howsoever you please to name 
 them ; and having good store, both of these and dry 
 wood for fuel, and no poor in our community, for 
 whom we could spare anything, and deny it to our- 
 selves, we kept up a rousing fire, with plenty of 
 light, so that our cave, on winter nights, was a 
 cheerful place indeed. 
 
 If our hands were busy, so were our tongues : for 
 whether we filed arrow heads or fitted them to bam- 
 boo shafts, new-strung our bows, or plaited cocoa- 
 fibre, or spun off our cotton, or sharpened knives 
 and hatchets of glimmer, yet talk we did, all the 
 while, with that freedom that comes from confidence 
 and brotherly charity. 
 
 Don Manuel took a principal part in this ; and 
 'twas not in the nature of man to be dull when he 
 was by; at one time he could entertain us with sto- 
 ries of what had chanced to himself in Spain or since
 
 304 THK ADVBNTLTRRS OF OWKN RVANS, 
 
 he loft it : at another, with some strange adventure 
 he knew to have befallen others. Several evenings 
 together, at our request, he related some passages ot 
 his own life : and did it in such a simple, unaffected 
 way, we never tired of listening to him, and would 
 sometimes ask him to go over and over again our 
 favourite stories. ' T was plain, indeed, he had ex- 
 perienced many chances and dangers; and the men, 
 who had encountered such themselves, from a rest- 
 less spirit that made them scapegraces at home, or 
 from necessity to earn their bread at sea, wondered 
 at a man like this, a gentleman born (for so he could 
 not but imply, though he never said it), a scholar, 
 and one of studious habits and refined taste, braving 
 the wildest adventures for the love of God and souls. 
 All this was even more than a sermon to us, though 
 given under the guise of pastime: so that even now, 
 methinks a life of Don Manuel had been of more in- 
 terest to the reader, had I earlier attempted it. 
 That, however, is too late, or must be thought of at 
 a future day. 
 
 Well, such discourse tended to good, whether by 
 its own nature, or the turn he gave to it : so that, 
 begin at what point we would, in most cases we 
 found ourselves end with a talk about religion. 
 And 't was Don Manuel's way so to order things, 
 that what he said was suited both to the Indians 
 and ourselves : or now a bit for us, then again some- 
 thing for them. Besides, we practised their language 
 by this discourse, and they ours; our talk being 
 made up of a jargon betwixt English and Toonati- 
 nookish, half and half. Indeed, I found this mode of
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 305 
 
 speaking so hard to shake off, after the years we 
 pent at it, that when I came back to England (a 
 thing I never thought to do at the time I now write 
 of), I was for ever coming out with Indian worda 
 unawares : so that my friends would jest with me, 
 saying, I was but a half-reclaimed savage, after alL 
 In particular, that exclamation of theirs, Oora, oora, 
 at anything that pleased them much, would stick by 
 me; together with tabanna, to express, thank you. 
 and ebelo, a word signifying dislike or pain of any 
 sort. But all this is by the way. 
 
 We had begun in such ignorance of whatever re- 
 ligion we were thought to profess, as made a great 
 part of Don Manuel's discourse to the savages use- 
 ful to us also. At first, indeed, my in-bred dislike 
 against priests and Popery, with all those old wives' 
 fables I had been brought up in (though softened 
 by my knowledge of the man), made me watch his 
 discourse narrowly, to discover the point, as I sup- 
 posed, where true Christianity ended, and papistry 
 began. For though I acknowledged in my heart, 
 the priest was a good man indeed, and a model for 
 any, yet (said I to myself,) the East Indian faquirs 
 also lead austere lives, and Quakers are harmless, 
 charitable people : also, I knew an old man living 
 near Caerphilly, that believed in no rising again 
 after death ; leaving it in his will, he should be buried 
 under a rose bush at the end of his garden, with his 
 favourite dog and magpie : yet gave large sums to 
 the poor at Christmas, and put out to 'prentice no 
 less than five orphan children, besides other good 
 deeds. Yet they were all wrong in their opinions
 
 306 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN BTAN8, 
 
 of a surety ; and so, said I to myself, may our friend 
 here be, too, with all his good Christian life. 
 
 However, one evening, when he was speaking on 
 a point that gave rise to such thoughts in me, so that 
 I ventured, with respect, to remind him we were 
 protestants, after all ; he turns round to me with 
 surprise, and (speaking only in Spanish now, with 
 some little Latin intermingled, that the Indians 
 might not perceive there was a difference betwixt 
 us:) 
 
 " Why, friend," says he, " do not you believe that, 
 as well as I ?" 
 
 " You know," he added, in a more affectionate 
 way, " how sorry I should be to give you pain : but 
 let me say, plainly, no one who does not believe 
 what I was then saying, can be called" And here 
 he stopped, seeming not to know how to go on. 
 
 " A Catholic, I suppose ?" said I to him. 
 
 " Well," he answered, " let us leave it so, for a 
 time." 
 
 " A Roman Catholic then ?" I pursued, for I 
 wanted to see what he meant by this. 
 
 " That Was not what I had on the tip of my tongue," 
 says he, smiling, " nor is there any such distinction 
 to be made between the terms : but shall I offend 
 you, my friend, or shall I pain you, if I say what I 
 really was thinking ? Would it not be better to 
 follow this out another time : say, next time we walk 
 together ?" 
 
 " Do not fear, Sen or," I replied, " for you could 
 not offend me, unless you became other than I havr 
 known you up to this. I will only ask for the 009
 
 TUB CATHOLIC CR080E. 307 
 
 word you did not say. The man who does not be- 
 lieve the Virgin Mary is to be venerated as the 
 Mother of God, is not what is he not ?" 
 
 " Did you never," he asked, looking at me kindly* 
 " begin a sentence, and then wished you had not to 
 Enish it ?" 
 
 " Sometimes," I said, waxing somewhat impatient 
 (for we Welshmen are apt to get a little hot in our 
 tempers when we are crossed,) " but that is not the 
 question just now. Pray tell me, Sir; he is not 
 what?" 
 
 " Well, then," says he, speaking slow, in a thought- 
 ful way, " it may be the defect of his bringing up, 
 and the false tradition of his fathers ; or there may 
 be excuses found for him, some of which I can see, 
 and others I cannot see ; he may be better in practice 
 than his opinions would lead to : prepared to receive 
 the truth whenever 't is really put before him : all 
 those are favourable points in his case." 
 
 " Well, well ; granted : but he is not what, if you 
 please, sir ?" 
 
 " He cannot," says the priest, " in any true sense, 
 be called a Christian ; that is, a disciple of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 He spoke it as if it gave him real pain to say the 
 word ; which now (looking back on this) I am sure it 
 did. But at the moment, I only considered the 
 words themselves ; and felt staggered, almost like 
 one who has received a sudden blow. Don Manuel 
 saw this ; and only added, as tenderly as a woman, 
 like ; 
 
 " Listen, now j let us see what our Indian friends
 
 308 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 have to say about it. They have no early prejudices 
 to overcome ; having never heard of Christianity but 
 through a Cath< .lie priest ; observe how these trutha 
 affect a simple mind, that lately was like a blank 
 sheet of paper on the first ideas of the Christian faith : 
 then weigh and balance, for yourself, what you have 
 been taught against their convictions ; and see if two 
 and two do not make four." 
 
 So he took my hand with more than his wonted 
 kindness : for we sat next one another at the fire, 
 the other men and the Indians making up the circle, 
 though they had understood scarce a word. Then, 
 turning again to John Pounder, he went on. 
 
 CHAPTER LIT. 
 
 ANOTHER LEAF OUT OF THE CATECHISM. 
 
 BUT first, it seemed to strike him, the rest might 
 be tired of speaking on such grave things for that 
 time. " So I put it to the vote," says he, cheerfully. 
 " Would you like, friends, to strike into some other" 
 discourse, or shall I now continue ? We have about 
 a quarter of an hour, I suppose, before 'tis time for 
 night prayers, and then to rest, after a hard day's 
 work." 
 
 " Sir," says Dick Prodgers, " I being the oldest 
 here, leastways of us white men, and so, 't is likely, 
 nigher to my dying hour, would prefer, if agree- 
 iible ? to hear sotne more about all this : for I reraenv
 
 ffiR CATHOLIC CfcU80S. 309 
 
 ber," says the old tar, in a way that brought the 
 very tears into Don Manuel's eyes, " being told, not 
 long ago, the things we shall soon find ourselves in 
 the midst of, being eternal, are of greatest moment." 
 
 So said the other men, more or less ; I mean, each 
 in his way ; and Ned Hilton, being half asleep, gave 
 a little sort of grunt, to vote with the rest. 
 
 " Well," Don Manuel continued : " then I will go 
 on a while ; and to-morrow we will go to something 
 else I have in my mind." 
 
 " Now, my dear children," says he to the three In- 
 dians, " do you know your names ? We are going 
 to make you Christians, and give you Christian 
 ones, in place of what you have been called by. Toefa- 
 oloo" (this was the old man,) what does your name 
 signify in Toonati-nooka ?" 
 
 I must explain, in what I here put down, Don 
 Manuel had by this become so good a scholar in 
 their language, he understood most things they 
 said, and spoke it passably well, as indeed he deserv- 
 ed to do ; having taken all occasions to converse 
 with these poor creatures, for their good. 
 
 Toefa-oloo. u Tadoone " (it means, in their langu- 
 age, father, for by this name the priest had signified 
 to us all he had rather be called ; so that we dropped 
 the Don pretty much from that onward) " Tado- 
 one," says he, " Toefa-oloo all same as big Monkey." 
 
 At this, the men set up a laugh, and the Indians 
 joined in it ; though I would be bound, 't was out of 
 compliment to us only. 
 
 Don M. (smiling.) " Well, we will find a better 
 name for you, my dear. What did I tell you you
 
 810 TH ADVINTURES OF OWEN EYANS, 
 
 would be, when the holy water of life was poured 
 over you ?" 
 
 Toefa-oloo. " Den I be Mark, Tadoone." 
 
 Don M. " Yes, that will be your name, I know. 
 And why shall I give you that name ?" 
 
 Toefa-oloo. " Cause of one great much holy man ; 
 he make black strokes so, so (making with his hand 
 as though he were writing,) in great holy book." 
 
 Don M. " And what was the book about ?" 
 
 Toefa-oloo. " He put down in book much what 
 great, great, great holy God He say, He do, He 
 hooroo-hooroo " (Mark could not express suffer in En- 
 glish, so he used here the word in his language.) 
 
 Don M. " What did He hooroo-hooroo <"' 
 
 loefa. "Much great, much great : bad bad mans 
 take, bind, beat, den (the rest he expressed in Too- 
 nati-nookish, not finding words for it in English, 
 which made me sorry the others of us did not under- 
 stand him, for they had taken no pains to learn any 
 but the commonest Indian words ;) bad, bad men," 
 he went on, " took Him to a mountain, laid two 
 trees on the ground, one across the other, laid Him 
 on the trees, beat great nails, longer than shark's 
 teeth, quite through His tender hands and feet, into 
 the trees; then set up the biggest tree, and the 
 smaller to it, and Him on, till He died from pain." 
 
 Don M. (still in English.) " Yes, that was what 
 He suffered, indeed, and much more. But why was 
 it He suffered ? Who was He, all the time?" 
 
 Toefa (bowing his head). " Great, great, great 
 much holy God." 
 
 Don M. " And what is His name ?"
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU80K. 811 
 
 Toefa. (bowing again, with the sign of the cross 
 on his forehead and breast.) " Otooma-Tehe, Jesus 
 Christus." 
 
 I must explain here that Otooma-Tehe was the 
 word Toefa had coined (for he had to coin it) to ex- 
 press the Christian idea of God, in distinction from 
 their word for an idol, which was henatanoo. Now, 
 Otooma-Tehe is made up of the three words, Oteo 
 [one,] Tooma [lord or chief,] and Ethe [spirit ;] and 
 the poor Indian was not a little fond of his new 
 word : as I could discover by his singing it to himself 
 in a low voice while he was at work, as though he 
 delighted to have found one true God in place of the 
 multitude of his false ones. But to return. 
 
 Don M. " Tell me now, could not Otooma-Tehe 
 do all things that He would ?" 
 
 Toefa. " O yes, O yes ! all, Tadoone." 
 
 Don M. " What, more than Paowanga ? more 
 than Havaeoeekee ?" 
 
 The poor old man looked up into the father's face, 
 surprised, to discover what he meant by asking this. 
 But seeing the priest smile, he laughed outright, 
 clapping his hands ; then he spat twice into the fire, 
 to express his contempt for his former idols : each 
 time he did so, he said, " Udan, Paowanga he no 
 good ! Udan, Havaeoeekee he no good." 
 
 On this, the other two Indians began to spit like- 
 wise into the fire ; crying at the top of their voices, 
 " Eaha-noue, he he he no good ; Eaba-noue, he he he 
 no good !" till the cave rang again. 
 
 Our thoughtless Hilton, being waked by this out 
 of his sleep, and learning what was going on, burst
 
 312 THE ADVENTURES 01 OWEN EVANS, 
 
 into an uproarious laugh, and was joined in it by the 
 rest : so, what with their merriment, and whatwith 
 the poor Indians making their act of detesting their 
 idols [which they did again and again,] there was 
 noise enough. When it had ceased a little, though 
 every now and then one would burst forth again, so 
 greatly did this proceeding take the men's fancies, 
 Don Manuel [the father, I had better say] went on 
 quietly. 
 
 The Father. " True, my dear : our good Lord and 
 God is Almighty ; He can do everything He wills to 
 do. Then, why did He let those bad men take, and 
 put Him to pain and death ?" 
 
 Toefa. " Tadoone, He give His own life up to 
 dat." 
 
 The Father. And why ?" 
 
 Toefa. " O, oh I give His self to make Toefa-oloo 
 be happy, happy and Rer-mimebolamba happy, and 
 Poula-faihe happy and Eaha-noue in Toonati-nooka 
 happy, all happy, all much happy, for long time, long, 
 O, long !" 
 
 The Father. " And White Sas happy too ?" 
 
 Old Mark (so we mostly called him) seemed puzzled 
 to know what to answer ; looking upon us, after all, 
 as superior creatures ; and, I believe, something as 
 we look on the angels, beings that have never been 
 redeemed, because they have never fallen. On the 
 other hand, he was quite sure, if the brown man was 
 to be made happy, the white man was (somehow) to 
 be happier. So he was there, I may say, in a cleft 
 stick, and knew not which side to take : but sat, 
 ehaking his head, looking first at one then at another 
 of us.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CB080R. 313 
 
 " Well, old mess-mate," cried Harry Gill, at last, 
 u do you not wish us to be happy too V" 
 
 " O, oh !" he answered : " me 'spose white Sas much 
 happy, much ; me 'spose, white Sas happy one place, 
 brown mans happy one place ;" he meant, each would 
 be happy, but separate. " Brown here," says he, 
 stretching out his left hand, "White here," and 
 stretched out his right. 
 
 " No, my dear brother," cries the priest, and leaned 
 forward to embrace him ; " there is one heaven, as 
 there is one OtoomcirTehe : and may we all be happy 
 there together !" 
 
 Then the other Indians, too, began repeating, Qora, 
 oora.' nodding their heads again and again. 
 
 At this moment, I whispered to him, he had not 
 made the Indian prove to me, none but a Catholic 
 could be a true disciple. 
 
 "Aye, indeed," says he, thinking; then turned to 
 Toefa-oloo again. 
 
 Don M. "But tell. me this; when did our Lord 
 Jesus Christus speak to moonaee-etoeea (all man- 
 kind ?") 
 
 Toefa. " Otooma-Tehe first dead, dead ; then 
 
 Don M. " Stay awhile; how could He die, if He 
 is God, and Almighty ?" 
 
 Toefa. " Tadoone, you me tell, Otooma-Tehe He 
 no die, no die : but etoee (that is their word for man,} 
 yes he much die; Otooma-Tehe He make His own 
 self be etooe, so He, etooe, all one : so He die." 
 
 Don M. " True ; God became man, that He might 
 die for us all; and He is both God and man in One 
 Person. But how did Otooma-Tehe become man ?"
 
 TOT ADVBNTURRS OF OWBN KVAN8, 
 
 Toefa. "O, Oh! Otooma-Tehe He make, He 
 choose, one much, much holy young maiden (he ex- 
 pressed this partly in his own language,) He make her 
 l/>ve all what Otooma-Tehe He love ; He place groat 
 much strong matan-geeva (shield) over :" (I now see 
 though I did not understand him at the time, he 
 meant to repeat something the father had taught him 
 of the Blessed Virgin being preserved from all sin, 
 and ' the fiery darts of the most wicked one :') " den 
 He come, He make His own self be her child." 
 
 Don M. " And what is this maiden's name ?" 
 
 Toefa (bowing again). " Maria Deotokos."* 
 
 Don M. " Quite right ; and that means Mary, the 
 Mother of God. Why do we call her that ?" 
 
 Old Mark did not seem to see what Tadoone could 
 mean by the question : and looked up again in his 
 face, surprised. 
 
 " You see," said the priest to me m Spanish, " the 
 question in itself is such a simple one, he thinks there 
 must be something more in my asking it than he 
 sees ; and so he does not answer." 
 
 " Please to make him answer, though, sir," said I 
 to him again, in the same language. 
 
 Don M. (in English.) " Well, Toefa, who is Ma- 
 na the mother of?" 
 
 Toefa. " Maria she O much mother Otooma-Tehe, 
 oora, oora, Tadoone." 
 
 " There you have it, friend," says the priest again 
 to me in his Spanish ; " what want you more ? Mary 
 
 * Properly Iheotokos, the title solemnly given to the 
 Blessed Virgin at the Council of Ephesus, A. D. 431, against 
 Nestorius, who asserted the existence of two distinct persona 
 in our Lord. ED.
 
 fHfc CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 3l5 
 
 is the mother of our Lord. He is but One Person, 
 God and man : all that takes place in His human na- 
 ture, being one of His two natures, takes place in the 
 Person of God ; she bears Him in her pure bosom, 
 therefore she bears her God : quern genuit, adoravit : 
 she is His mother, and so she is most truly the mother 
 of God. Not to believe this would be disbelieving 
 that He is truly both God and man ; but that is the 
 essence of the Christian faith : hence, to deny Mary 
 to be Mother of God, is to deny the Christian faith.'' 
 
 He saw me look unsatisfied still. " Well," says 
 he, gaily, "I will put it to him more closely for a 
 moment; and then, no more. John Pounder and 
 Samuel, go light the candles in the chapel ; we will 
 come in a minute. Now, Toefa, listen. (He here 
 began to speak Indian again.) What is it that you 
 used to put over your face (you told me) when you 
 went into battle, to make yourself look terrible to 
 your enemies ?" 
 
 Toefa. " A mask of red birds' feathei-s, father." 
 
 Don M. " It hid your face, and you were behind 
 it?" 
 
 Toefa. " Yes, indeed." 
 
 Don M. " But 'twas not yourself, all the while ?" 
 
 Toefa (laughing). " Oh, no, no." 
 
 Don M. " Attend, now. Was it in that way that 
 God became man ? Did He merely conceal Himself 
 behind the nature or appearance of man ?" 
 
 Toefa. " No, my father; you have taught me, He 
 became really, truly man for us." 
 
 Don M. " As truly man as you and I ?"
 
 16 TH ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANd, 
 
 Toefa. " Yes, praise and thanks : but all holy, 
 pure." 
 
 Don M. " Was He less God than before, for do 
 ing so ?" 
 
 Toefa. " Perfect God, perfect man, in one Per- 
 son." 
 
 Don M. " Then, whom did the Blessed Mary 
 bear?" 
 
 Toefa. "Ah, father! are you punishing me for 
 some fault ? Why, God, to be sure." 
 
 Don M. " That will do. Blow the horn, and 
 wake up the sleepers. We are going to prayers." 
 
 So we went to our prayers : and afterwards we 
 heard (for the first time) the Indians singing in their 
 part of the cave, by way of practice, a morning hymn 
 which Tadoone had composed for them ; for they 
 were to sing it, it seems, the first thing next morn- 
 ing, which was a festival day. It went to one of 
 their wild Indian airs, and had a strange kind of 
 pleasing solemn sound about it which took the men 
 greatly ; so that we soon caught it, and made it part 
 of our morning devotions. Thus it ran : 
 
 Goole majeela a bo tahapai, 
 
 Kowya reea teegaro chee ; 
 Taharo elan eroo mata hai, 
 
 Mate ka waia tohooda take. 
 Shaingala tiri laine moaffa, 
 
 Jesus aune ta ha lenehoo ; 
 Teema Tadoon' Eteheti nar' affa, 
 
 Faida Maria pakulle ta moo. 
 
 The meaning of it is, in English : 
 
 On the tops of our cocoa palms when first a light shinet, 
 Let us arise to adore Him that sustained us (in life) ;
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 317 
 
 Most pure, most merciful, pleased with obedient children, 
 Who on the two trees (i. ., the Cross) showed us His great 
 
 love. 
 He, the Redeemer, speaking (pleading, appealing), claims out 
 
 hearts ; 
 
 His thrice holy name is Jesus, born and dying : 
 Let us love Him, with the Father and Holy Spirit, 
 Next to them also Mary our Mother. 
 
 CHAPTER LHI. 
 
 SPRING-TIDE LABOURS. 
 
 THUS employed, we got through the rainy season . 
 indeed, the return of fair weather surprised us, so 
 much had we to do inside the cave, and so well used 
 did we become to close confinement, with cheerful 
 labor. At length we issued from our retreat on a 
 fresh spring morning, as Noe and his family might 
 have stepped out of their ark on to the green earth, 
 bathed in the waters of the flood : we smelled the 
 flowers and the trees, and plucked the fresh shoots 
 and blossoms in our abundance, with the birds sing- 
 ing round on every side; and nature seemed to burst 
 forth at once with the vigour of a tropical spring. 
 " And if nature can give such a new sense of life 
 and joy," says Tadoone, "by the mere return of 
 spring to the land of our exile, strewing such flowers 
 on our pilgrimage path, what will it be to rang-e the 
 Paradise of God with the Saints, where the pure,
 
 318 THI ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANg, 
 
 bright atmosphere is charity, when sorrow and sin 
 shall have fled for ever ?" 
 
 Among the first things we had to do, was to look 
 to our farm ; for the violent rains had damaged the 
 fences, so that if we had not sent out the Indians 
 from time to time to repair some gaps in them, our 
 tame peccaries would doubtless have escaped to the 
 woods. We now made our ring-fence stronger by 
 driving in stakes here and there of a kind of supple 
 osier, which quickly took root, and shot out a strong, 
 tough branch or tendril on all sides : so that, in the 
 four years and a quarter we spent in that exile, by 
 lacing and weaving them in and in, every spring as 
 they shot forth again, we formed a hedge that, for 
 strength and thickness, would have puzzled a whole 
 herd of peccaries to break through. 
 
 Next, we added to the plantation I spoke of before, 
 to conceal the approach to our cave ; we added to the 
 number of winding passages, and the decoys, or 
 wrong turns, that led each to its pitfall, or else to a 
 blind alley so narrow that the enemy, did he get in, 
 would scarce have room to turn in it ; but, pushing 
 on deeper, would find himself trapped much in the 
 way they take to snare wild elephants in India. We 
 contrived these with some skill, for we had even too 
 great a stock of time, and we laid down a rule for 
 ourselves to work a certain while every day, which 
 was four hours in the cool weather (more or less, for 
 we tied not ourselves exactly to it), and in the heats 
 from two to two and a half, early and late. Such, 1 
 say, was our engineering craft in the contrivance of 
 this maze, that we made the pitfalls be just in a point
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 319 
 
 that was overlooked from a thicket right above the 
 mouth of our cave : so that one or several of us, con- 
 cealed in the thicket, could have poured our arrows 
 upon the enemy in his perplexity, and remain unseen 
 all the while. 
 
 Later on, too, in our exile (for 1 may as well finish 
 about this, once for all), that is, in the third rainy 
 season we spent on the island, having then, as I shall 
 presently relate, more hands sent to us, whom we 
 never invited nor expected, we made our cave still 
 bigger : for then we hewed out two more sleeping 
 places, besides cutting shelves and cupboards in sev- 
 eral of the passages, up and down. At length, the 
 whim seized us, we would make us another entrance 
 to our cave altogether, to serve us for an approach 
 from the western side, or (as the rabbit makes two 
 holes to its burrow) give us an escape in case of our 
 citadel being stormed by the grand staircase. We 
 made a survey how the ground lay above, treading 
 up and down the table-land over the cave, or from 
 that to westward, to see where the rock dipped nigh- 
 est the level of the cave, so as to have the least 
 trouble in cutting the passage. At last we found the 
 spot where (by our closest reckoning) we had best 
 begin : so then, dividing ourselves into gangs, as be- 
 fore (but now with more than double the number in 
 each gang, as the reader will see in its place), we 
 worked steadily every day for the best part of two 
 weeks, I am sure, and got down a prodigious way 
 into the rock : further than we thought we should 
 have to go at all, till we began to fear we were out 
 in our reckoning of the depth, or had cut at a wrong
 
 320 TUB ADTENTTRES OT OWEN CVAN8, 
 
 angle for the slope. All at once we broke indeed 
 into our cave ; but, whereas we hoped to light on a 
 passage we had (before this time) partly worked be- 
 yond the kitchen, we found, instead, we had broken 
 through the roof of our chapel, by its western corner, 
 furthest from the altar : and we knew at once where 
 we had got to, by hearing the plaster fall inward on 
 the floor. Well, the thing being done, there was no 
 help for it ; we made us another ladder of trees, with 
 rounds of wood bound tight with flax and supple- 
 jack, to reach up from the chapel floor to our new 
 passage, and so used it from time to time ; but not so 
 much as we first thought of doing, and chiefly to 
 bring down heavy weights that we could not sling 
 up by the other door. 
 
 To go back now from this to our first rainy season : 
 of all our manufactures, some fishing nets (we judged) 
 would be most useful, as indeed afterwards they 
 proved to be. We set about them so soon as we had 
 mined outselves fairly into the rock, working at 
 them at odd times in the day, and by our fire-light 
 every evening. Here, too, the Indians surpassed us 
 in their ingenious twisting of the fibres to make the 
 nets' meshes; so that by degrees we left the work in 
 their hands, and particularly in old Mark's, who was 
 less able for the hard work of hewing the rock. He 
 told us they were well used in Toonati-nooka to 
 make a sort of draw-net, or seine ; with these they 
 took large quantities offish in the gulfs and inlets of 
 their island, but mostly in the spring-tide of the year. 
 Sometimes they would venture out into the deep sea, 
 but then always went in armed canoes, to defend
 
 321 
 
 themselves from the fishers of Hai-vavaoo, who were 
 for ever coming out against them in strong parties, 
 to dispute the fishery, and would now and then run 
 in like so many pirates, into the bays of Toonati, 
 and, after a fierce struggle, carry off nets and fish 
 together. 
 
 It seemed that these fisheries were the cause, or 
 pretence, of that war that was almost forever waged 
 between the savages of the two islands : though 
 Toefa-oloo told us several treaties of peace had been 
 made (within his own memory) between them, in the 
 most solemn way they knew how. Namely, they 
 assemble (said he) the chiefs of both sides, and the 
 priests of that side on whose shore the treaty is to be 
 made : or they take the priests out in a canoe, if 'tis 
 made at sea. Then invoking Paowanga, who is 
 reckoned to be the god of war among them (but the 
 men of Hai-vavaoo have another idol named Komo- 
 arrao, corresponding to him in character, whom they 
 invoke on their part), they cut the throat of an ani- 
 mal, mostly of a goat, and each party drinks a por- 
 tion of the blood, with various other ceremonies. 
 Such a treaty they profess to hold very sacred, at 
 least, till interest or enmity concur to break it again.
 
 122 THB ADVBNTURRS OF OWEN EVAN8. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 SEA AND LAND. 
 
 Bur to return to our own nets : we made them 
 carefully, of twisted cocoa-nut fibres and our sup- 
 ple-jack, dried by the fire and beaten out like hemp, 
 with thread also spun from the cotton-plants, of 
 which we found a plantation self-sown, as I have 
 related ; and of these we found others later, scat- 
 tered here and there in the swampy parts of the 
 island, towards the centre of it, or from that to s. 
 w. The Indians told us, in their country they 
 made the nets stronger and more supple with hairs 
 from their enemies' heads, whom they slew in battle, 
 or took prisoners ; for they never spared those whom 
 they took, but offered them all in sacrifice to Pao- 
 wanga, first shaving off their hair, or pulling it away 
 with the scalp, then dashing out their brains with a 
 club. The poor fellows hereupon offered to part with 
 the very hair of their heads to make our fish-nets ; 
 for they wear it long, never suffering knife or razor 
 to touch it after they come of age, but twisting it up 
 on the crown of the head with a bone pin. However, 
 we would not suffer them so to despoil themselves ; 
 only, hearing them speak of these pins, we asked 
 what bones they were made of; and tvhen Tadoone 
 heard they were the arm-bones of their enemies, he 
 made them untwist these trophies from their heads, 
 and buried them with his own hand in the wood near 
 our cave, speaking much to Mark and the others
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 323 
 
 About that savage custom of theirs, and how repug- 
 nant it was to the feeling we should have for the liv- 
 ing and the dead. 
 
 I could see they parteu with their ornaments with 
 a bad grace, and only because Tadoone asked it : for 
 it seems in their country 'tis reckoned a thing dis- 
 graceful for any one who has been in war to be seen 
 without an arm-bone twisted into his hair, as being 
 a sign that he was a coward, and slew no enemies in 
 battle. I made up the loss to them, as well as I 
 could, by dividing a kerchief of gaudy colours I 
 wore I'ound my neck, half to one, and half to the 
 other : for as to young Samuel, he had never been in 
 battle, so had no right to a bone. But Mark and 
 Pounder were much delighted with their new head 
 dress, and wore it till the sun and rain so bleached 
 the colours you could scarce distinguish them. 
 
 Before the rainy season was over, we had made ue 
 three good fish-nets, of a fairish size : and when the 
 spring had set in, we were visited, about Shark's 
 Cove and the neighbouring shores, by such shoals 
 of fish, some of them old acquaintances [as herrings 
 and mackerel], others of a strange kind, inhabitants 
 of these seas, as put us beyond all fear of falling 
 short of Fridays' fare. We were forced to devise 
 methods of smoking and curing on the beach the 
 numbers we drew to shore with our Ion or net, or 
 
 O 7 
 
 seine, and another which we threw in the manner of 
 a cast-net. In this we succeeded passably well, af- 
 ter some experiments and failures : our Indians prov- 
 ing useful here, too, by pointing out one or two kinds
 
 $24 THE AbVBNtURES OF OWEfc 
 
 of fish that were poisonous, or, at the best, unwhole- 
 some. 
 
 At one time, we thought of making a weir, or pre- 
 serve for our fish, as we had made a farm-yard for 
 our four-footed stock on land ; we mi^ht have done 
 
 I O 
 
 it well enough, by driving stakes across a part of our 
 inlet, in Shark's Cove, at low-water, keeping them 
 high enough above high- water mark to hinder the fish 
 floating back with the tide; and weaving bamboos or 
 cordage in and out, to form a wattle under water, free 
 enough for the tide to ebb through, but not the fish. 
 We gave up that idea, however, partly because, in the 
 fresh water conduit, and other works then engaging 
 us, we had (as the saying is) " other fish to fry" ; but 
 mostly because the abundance of these shoals was 
 such as supplied us for a long time together, The 
 smaller fry were followed into the cove by large fish 
 that came to prey on them; as bonitos, manchorans, 
 albicores, dog-fish, and a kind of dolphin, besides 
 some of our old enemies, the sharks, such of them as 
 were able to thread their way through the inlet in 
 the reef. We managed to spear several, or shoot 
 them with arrows [all but the sharks, whose hide is 
 too strong for such spears as we had, and we would 
 not waste powder on them]: then, waiting till the 
 tide ebbed, or throwing round them a coil of our 
 native rope, we got them ashore for their oil and 
 bones, as well as meat. 
 
 Others we pierced with arrows, but especially with 
 spears, having a biggish piece of bark or light wood 
 attached to them by a strong twine, to act as a buoy, 
 and prevent the fish getting away : by all these arts
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 825 
 
 we captured no less than nine or ten large fish that 
 were tolerable eating, and might have had as many 
 dozens for the taking, only we grew lazy from their 
 very abundance ; besides that we had no means to 
 salt down such a quantity, and did not care to keep 
 tnem dried and tough, as they would have been. 
 
 But I have left out one employment in which Don 
 Manuel especially engaged, and kept to himself; 
 't was not much in the way of labour, but more by 
 its importance to us. I mean, the sowing of our two 
 or three chance grains of wheat in a little nook of 
 earth lying open to the south, which Tadoone care- 
 fully dug, and manured with some of the refuse of 
 our fish, together with leaves and burnt sea weed. 
 To speak exactly, there were but three grains in all ; 
 one that stuck in my knife, as I have said, and two 
 more I found later in my pocket. He claimed these 
 as his portion of our goods ; promising us in return, 
 if all went well, he would give us a good quartern 
 loaf in a couple of years' time, besides supplying 
 himself with what he needed fer the altar, if altar he 
 ever came by. We could not but smile at the prom- 
 ise of a loaf two years to come ; but freely yielded 
 up the grains to him : what he did with them was 
 this : 
 
 Having prepared the ground with care, then making 
 a little hole in the soil with a stick, he dropped one 
 of the grains into it : then again, perhaps six inches 
 from this, a second hole, and dropped another grain ; 
 and the third, at a like distance. This, he explained 
 to us, he had read in some old Latin book of agri- 
 culture, was the surest way of having an abundant
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF OWKM EVAN8, 
 
 corn-crop ; as well, because the grains, thus planted 
 apart, are not in each other's way for drawing 
 moisture and fatness from the soil, as because this 
 careful mode of putting them into the ground saves 
 the waste of grain that takes place in throwing them 
 broad-cast into furrows. 
 
 True enough, the experiment prospered in his 
 hands : for the blade shot up, tall and strong, bearing 
 such ears as I have seldom seen in wheat, before or 
 since. Then he chose out of these the largest grains, 
 and such as were most likely-looking, for his next 
 year's crop, and sowed them in the same manner, 
 some inches apart from one another ; by which means, 
 his second harvest came up stronger, with a larger 
 yield than the first, even. After that, indeed, as I 
 shall show at another stroke of my pen, a wonderful 
 turn of events made him a less regular farmer than 
 before, and changed the whole current of our life in 
 banishment 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 PREPARING FOR A CHANGE. 
 
 HAVING no mind to trouble the reader with why 
 and wherefore I determined finally to embrace the 
 Catholic faith, I will say little more than this (to 
 vindicate myself and the friend that became the in- 
 strument to me of so great a good,) I did nothing in 
 baste, nor rashly. For to make so vital a change
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRC80*. 827 
 
 without due reflection, said Don Manuel a change to 
 be made once for all, and involving an eternity, 
 i^ould be wrong and perilous to the last degree ; and, 
 he added, 't were an insult to the majesty of truth 
 not to give it calm and deep reflection. No man, 
 said he, as gifted with the faculty of reason, would 
 undertake a much less concern without pondering it 
 as well in its motives as consequences; or would have 
 himself to thank for failure and disappointment. 
 
 1 resolved, then to try every step, and keep the 
 lead-line going, as the master of a vessel is bound to 
 do in an unknown sea : nor can I no w be grateful 
 enough for this, inasmuch as it made my way secure, 
 and hath delivered me from all doubtfulness ever 
 since. 
 
 The priest (undying thanks to him for it) put the 
 matter before me in so plain a light as, while it ap- 
 pealed to my reason, demanded my faith beside. 
 For he bade me remark, the very notion of religion 
 was a message from God to man, revealing His na- 
 ture and will ; that it must be received (when made 
 plain), not discussed, as being that whereof we are 
 to be disciples, not judges nor critics. This revela- 
 tion, he said, because 't is the message of the Infinite 
 Being to us poor narrow souls, must contain myste- 
 rious truths, whose depths we cannot fathom, though 
 we are enabled to accept them by faith. That 't is 
 enough for us, and ample, if we are assured (by any 
 authority on earth that can show itself to be His ap- 
 pointment and creation), such and such articles of 
 teaching are His message; then our duty is, cordially 
 U> believe them : to fail in which, is failing in th
 
 828 TUB ADVENTUKKS 07 OWKN KVANs, 
 
 first duty of the creature, and so brings the erring 
 oul into a state of perdition. 
 
 God, he said, is essentially the God of truth as 
 well as of holiness ; wherefore, He demands from us 
 belief in His truth, and all of it, no less than obedi- 
 ence to every part of His holy law. That, if we 
 must distinguish between these two (though they 
 were, indeed, as man and wife, whom God hath 
 united), there was a precedence and prior claim to be 
 noted ; that faith came before obedience, as its motive, 
 for "without faith it is impossible to please God"; 
 though obedience must follow faith, as its result, be- 
 cause " faith without works is dead." 
 
 Then he went to show that Almighty God, who 
 was pleased at first to proclaim the truth of His gospel 
 by many miracles, wrought by Himself and His 
 apostles, was pleased, before He visibly left the earth, 
 to set up in it a great standing sign or miracle, which 
 He made perpetual, and promised should be so : and 
 that sign was to be ever fresh and ever at hand, 
 while most other miracles were shown but from time 
 to time ; and 't was to be in every quarter of the 
 world at once, while others were local and limited ; 
 and 't was not only to stand ever for proof of the 
 gospel, but to instruct and console them that believed 
 already ; to cleanse and restore them if they unhap- 
 pily sinned ; to strengthen and feed them while they 
 were in grace ; to keep them in union with God, and 
 be the means of conducting them to heaven. 
 
 And this great sign, says he, is " the Church of the 
 living God, the pillar and ground of the truth : " "a 
 tity set on a hill," visible to such as do not wilfully
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 329 
 
 close their eyes against it ; " a straight way," whereon 
 the simplest, if only they follow it trustfully, cannot 
 go wrong, nor stumble. He proceeded to say, that 
 the true Church is known from all others that pretend 
 to her title, by four great marks, that are recited as 
 such even by many who do not belong to her, when 
 they say thoir creed ; that she is One, Holy, Catholic- 
 Apostolic : that a plain observation of facts assigns 
 these four marks to the Church in union with the See 
 of St. Peter, and to her alone : that all this was matter 
 of promise at the first, when our Lord said : " Thou 
 art Peter, and on this rock (Peter) I will build my 
 Church" ; and has been fulfilled in the History of 
 seventeen hundred years, and will be, to the end of 
 time. 
 
 This being so plain, says he, every man is inexcus- 
 able, who having the truth sufficiently set before him, 
 does not embrace it : to behave thus is a grave offence 
 against God, who reveals His truth, commanding it 
 to be received and will be punished with an eternal 
 doom : but they who accept it, obtain therewith 
 abundant graces to their souls, through sacraments, 
 the channels made by Himself, enabling them to obey 
 the rest of the Divine will ; whereby they can merit 
 an increase of it from degree to degree, till they gain 
 e\ erlasting glory. 
 
 This is a sketch of our conversations together. 
 
 What chiefly surprised me in them all, was the 
 stress (he priest laid on my making the utmost use 
 of my reason in this inquiry, until I received the gift 
 of faith. For I supposed he would have required me 
 to surrender my reason, and believe all I might b^
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN ITAHS 
 
 told, whether unreasonable or no: having a heap of 
 things put down ray throat, and bidden to swallow 
 them without inquiry. Whereas, here was a priest, 
 and (as I found by degrees) a monk, too, bidding me 
 inquire, reason, and test what he said, until grace 
 was given me to believe. On my telling him my 
 surprise to find this, he only smiled, and asked me, 
 was it possible that faith and reason could be op- 
 posed ? I answered, it seemed so, inasmuch as a vast 
 iiiimber of men, who professed to go by reason, were 
 thereby led away from faith. To which he said 
 again, they neither know what was meant by sound 
 reason, nor by true faith. For, says he, as both 
 come from God, who is " not the God of dissension," 
 one of His gifts can never go against another. 
 
 " How is it, then, sir," I urged, " so many things 
 are taught in your Church, as miracles, transubstan- 
 tiation, and the rest, which contradict the evidence 
 of our senses ?" " Contradict, my dear friend ?" says 
 he, looking pleasantly at me ; " there can be no con- 
 tradiction between two things, when one simply goes 
 beyond the other." " Why, sir," said I again, " do 
 you tell me there is no contradiction in saying that 
 bread and wine are so much more than bread and 
 wine as the Catholic Church bids her members be- 
 lieve ?" " Certainly," answers he very gravely, " it 
 would be a contradiction to say anything is what it 
 is not, or more than it is. But tell me : can the senses 
 iudge of anything that lies beyond themselves ? Or 
 can one sense judge of what is only subject to another 
 sense ? Did you ever hear a colour or see a*smell ?" 
 
 I could not but smile at his questions , which, when
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 831 
 
 be saw : " Well," pursued he, " as to that great mys- 
 tery you have touched on, your senses can be no 
 judges of the change of substance into substance, be- 
 cause they can only report as to the outward appear- 
 ances, which remain as they were before. You might 
 just as well expect the sentinel who stands outside 
 the king's palace to know what transactions are going 
 on in the audience-chamber or cabinet, where the king 
 himself is within, removed from sight. But observe ; 
 as the eye is created to tell the soul many things 
 great and glorious which the ear cannot perceive, so 
 faith is given to tell the soul glorious mysteries which 
 * eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it en- 
 tered into the heart of man.' " So he went on. 
 
 CHAPTER LVL 
 
 OTHER REASONS. 
 
 Bur two chief reasons determined me beside : one, 
 the consistent Christian example of this my good 
 friend, whose conduct I had hourly opportunities to 
 mark, nor ever found a thing in it that did not tally 
 with his own teaching. So that it became impossible 
 for me to think so true a disciple and good liver, one 
 so cheerfully holy, humble, prayerful, self-denying, 
 charitable, and the rest, practising virtue from day 
 to day, could be much in the wrong. The second 
 reason was, I felt my soul to need such confession of 
 Bins as I knew to be practised in his Church.
 
 832 THB AI>TRNTURES OF OWEN TCTAV8, 
 
 Removed as we were from the world, spending 
 much time alone, 'twould not have been in mortal 
 man to prevent his thoughts turning inward on him- 
 self and backward on his life. Our consciences be- 
 came first awakened, then tender : so that we recalled 
 our past sins, which we had utterly forgotten, and 
 gone on as unheeding as if we were guiltless of them ; 
 1 say, recalling these, they appeared to us quite in 
 another light than before, as heinous oflences against 
 the Divine law, though perchance not crimes in the 
 eyes of our fellow-men. Strange, indeed, how old 
 sins of many years past would start out before me, 
 from some hidden rock in my memory; so that at 
 last, numbering how oft I had sinned against my own 
 conscience, dark as it was, and how little I had culti- 
 vated grace by prayer, to preserve me from my evil 
 self, I began to see my life had been almost one con- 
 tinued sin. 
 
 Nor could I find comfort in this distress of mind 
 from general promises of pardon made to man on his 
 true repentance : feeling somewhat to be needed be- 
 side, to apply those generals to my particular case. 
 I would fain hear a voice say to me, myself, " Neither 
 do I condemn thee : go, and sin no more." " Thy 
 sins are forgiven thee ; depart in peace." Propound- 
 ing this difficulty to my friend, he then showed me 
 the God of Mercy had vouchsafed to meet this my 
 need, founding a succession of priests for the express 
 end (among others) of assuring his pardon to the pen- 
 itent. 
 
 " But 'tis impossible," says he, " without an evi 
 t|ent miracle, the priest should be able to pronounce
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 333 
 
 pardon where he knows not the offence, nor the dis- 
 positions of the offender. Nor can he apply the 
 remedies best suited to each several case, nor give ad- 
 vice to serve the soul of his penitent, unless the state 
 of that soul, its deeds, habits, failings, weak points, 
 temptations, and so forth, be submitted to him. The 
 priest who hears a man's confession is a judge com- 
 missioned to that office by the Supreme Judge of all : 
 now, when any one is brought before a judge, there 
 is evidence produced and sifted narrowly, and the 
 cause determined on it, lest the guilty escape, or the 
 innocent be cast. Again, the priest is a physician for 
 the soul ; and what physician in his right senses ever 
 prescribed for his patient without first hearing from 
 him the symptoms of his disorder ?" 
 
 So he went on, with much more of the same kind, 
 which, if I could recall precisely, 'twould be useful to 
 set it down. But at the time, what it did for me 
 was, it persuaded me (after much reflection) to close 
 with such a merciful offer. Whence it came to pass, 
 about three weeks after he and I had talked this over, 
 I then first received from him a conditional baptism, 
 on a supposition of my never having been baptized 
 before : " for baptism with you," says he, " is given 
 (I fear) with so little of the care that befits a sacra- 
 ment needful to salvation, as to make it more than 
 doubtful whether 'tis given at all." Then, this be- 
 ing secured, I made to our charitable and patient Ta- 
 doone a full, exact confession of my life, so far as I 
 could recall anything that looked like a sin. And it 
 is not for me to set down on paper the peace that 
 took possession of my heart when I knew myself re-
 
 834 THR ADVBNTURRS OF OWEN KVANK, 
 
 conciled to God, whom my sins had offended. Nor 
 can I describe how truly I purposed to serve Him for 
 the remainder of my days. 
 
 But what is good for one is good for another, in 
 what concerns all : so the men, partly taking exam- 
 ple by me, seeing 'twas not so strange a thing to be- 
 come a Catholic, after all ; partly by the simple 
 goodness of our poor Indians, whom Tadoone had 
 made Catholics already ; and partly also by the rea 
 eons he showed them for it, determined one and all 
 to do likewise. Not that all did it together, but in 
 the following order: 
 
 First (strange enough it seemed to me) came Rich- 
 ard Prodgers, and was made into a good Catholic, 
 and a happy one, in less than a week after myself. 
 Then Ned Hilton ; and after him, Gill, whose parents, 
 it seems, inherited the farm they occupied in Kent 
 from the days of the Commonwealth, and traced up 
 their ancestors to some of Cromwell's followers, 
 whom he had enriched with that freehold : so that 
 Harry, careless sailor as he was, derived a smack of 
 the Puritan, leastwise, in the respect of prejudice, 
 that made him hard to convince of the Catholic doc- 
 trine. However, he came in at last, though 'twas a 
 good month or so after Ned, and Ned was some short 
 time after me. But Don Manuel was not the man to 
 hurry any one, and never showed more patience than 
 when he reasoned with Gill, and won him by slow 
 degrees. 
 
 It may seem strange that Tom Harvey, who was 
 the best conditioned of them all at first, was the very 
 last to enter the Church : but such was the fact, let
 
 Tfit CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 
 
 any one explain it as he may I once asked Tadoone 
 whether 'twas a secret pride that still kept Tom from 
 submitting : but he would not hear of such a reason 
 which (he said) had too little charity about it ; that 
 God's ways are not our ways, nor His times ours ; 
 that Harvey's turn would come yet : and so it did. 
 
 CHAPTER LVH. 
 
 SPIRITUAL MASS. 
 
 I SAID, a while ago, our chapel served us for an- 
 other end besides daily prayers and weekly sermons. 
 Having said that much, 'twould be leaving my 
 reader in the dark not to explain it ; at least, if I 
 should get any readers at all : though that is the very 
 thing I am growing doubtful of. For a friend of 
 mine, a bookseller in Paternoster Row, on my carry- 
 ing these papers to him, when I had written out about 
 a third of my rough notes, discouraged me all he 
 could from going on : telling me the public would 
 never be caught with such chaff, nor take up with a 
 dull matter of fact like this ; and I stood a better 
 chance with some cut-throat tale, full of murder and 
 gunpowder, hair-breadth 'scapes, or the burning of 
 one or two people alive. But I told him then, what 
 I now put down, I was as little fitted to be a ro- 
 mancer as a stage-player, or any other kind of moun- 
 tebank : and if folks who read books were not content 
 with what befel a plain man and his companions, in
 
 336 fHB ADVBNTURRS OF OWEN BVAX3, 
 
 an out of the way place and a strange exile of more 
 than four years, they might e'en let it be, and no 
 harm was done, except the printer's bills to be charged 
 on my executors. 
 
 Indeed, I might (no doubt) have touched up my 
 story, or dashed in some strong colours, like scene- 
 painters, who will daub for effect at a distance : but 
 where, then, would have been the sober truth of my 
 narrative ? Or [had I the wit to do it, which hap- 
 pily I lack] I might have given a freer rein to my 
 thoughts, in some such pieces as an acquaintance of 
 mine was bringing out in London before I quitted 
 England, who, after wasting his talents on such tri- 
 fles, went over to Lisbon in shattered health, and has 
 gone further even than Lisbon to give in an account 
 of all his writings. But I, that can admire genius at 
 a distance, would not change places in the next 
 world, no, nor in this, with him who ever wrote one 
 deliberate word that might lead a fellow mortal to a 
 sin. be it of thought only. 
 
 Here I am straying again from my own paddock 
 through the first gap in the hedge : so I come back 
 from my friend, the bookseller in Paternoster Row, 
 to our chapel in Assumption Isle. I have all along 
 forgotten to say we called the place of our exile so, 
 from the great festival that had just passed when we 
 discovered it: and long after we had our joke against 
 old Prodgers, who had put aside any Christian name 
 for it, preferring to call it No Man's Land. 
 
 Well, 'twas Spiritual Mass we used our little 
 chapel for, every morning, as a thing of course. And 
 Don Manuel explained what we were going to do,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRCSOE. 337 
 
 the first time he proposed it, much after this fash- 
 ion: 
 
 "You remember, dear friends and children of 
 mine," says he, " how you thought me mad, or next 
 door to it, for being so affected when we found a 
 grain of wheat : and I told you, at the time, 'twas 
 because the sight of that little grain seemed to bring 
 me one step nearer to my great desire, the celebra- 
 ting of holy Mass. That desire we cannot realize in 
 act, from want of other things absolutely needed for 
 it ; but we may still cherish it as a desire, and turn 
 that desire into devotion. You know, even in man's 
 dealings with his fellow-man, the will is often ac- 
 cepted for the deed. Many is the time we testify 
 that we would do this or that act of kindness or ser- 
 vice if we could : and our neighbour holds himself 
 equally obliged to us, as if we had done it. Much 
 more does the Searcher of Hearts look into the hid- 
 den desires of our souls, and accepts or rejects us by 
 what He sees there. Even as to baptism, a sacra- 
 ment absolutely necessary for any one to be saved, 
 the earnest desire of it is accepted, where the sacra- 
 ment is impossible. So, as I cannot have the com- 
 fort of celebrating Mass, we will do all we can in the 
 way of desire, and may hope for many blessings in 
 answer." 
 
 He went on to speak of sone revelation granted to 
 a Saint [I cannot recall the name], that her spiritual 
 communions were to her sacramental communions as 
 silver to gold ; and exhorted us to assist at our 
 spiritual Mass with such fervour as to supply [to OUT 
 best] for the want of the divine reality.
 
 338 THE ADVKNTURBS OF OWBN EVANg, 
 
 " Holy Mass," says he, " is celebrated by the priestj 
 and attended by the faithful, for several ends, as : 
 
 " To adore Almighty God for what He is in Him- 
 self all His own infinite perfections, joining with the 
 blessed angels round His Throne, who are ever cry- 
 ing aloud to Him, ' Holy, Holy, Holy !' And, if we 
 consider that He is the One infinite and supreme, 
 'twill appear our first duty to accompany the adora- 
 ble Sacrifice of Himself, which He hath ordained, by 
 such an act of devout homage. 
 
 " To give Him praise and thanks for all His bless- 
 ings to us, for body and soul, which are numberless ; 
 also, for His benefits to others, especially those who 
 will not praise or thank him for themselves. Also, 
 under this head of praise, to adore Him for the graces 
 He has bestowed on His saints, from the creation to 
 the present hour; arid to congratulate the blessed 
 Saints themselves on all they have received. 
 
 " To commemorate the sufferings and death of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, whereof Mass is so lively a repre- 
 sentative, as well as a continuance and daily applica- 
 tion of the same Sacrifice. 
 
 " To avert His anger from ourselves and all other 
 sinners, by a humble acknowledgment of our of- 
 fences, and deep unworthiness. 
 
 " To beseech Him to pour upon ourselves, and all 
 for whom we are bound to pray, all the blessings 
 needful for us : this large intention including both 
 supplication and intercession ; as to ourselves, it in- 
 cluded all we could need, for body and soul, for time 
 and eternity : as to others, it embraced Catholics on 
 earth and in purgatory, as woll as heretics, sinners,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 339 
 
 sufferers, the heathen, in a word, all God's rational 
 creatures who were not in heaven nor in hell: prayer 
 for the first being needless, and for the latter of no 
 avail." 
 
 Methinks I have now given as large an account as 
 need be (and perhaps too lengthy) of that spell of 
 twenty months, or thereabout, of our life on the 
 island, while we lived by ourselves, without the in- 
 crease to our society which I am just going to record. 
 Our farmyard throve, and our crops flourished passa- 
 bly well during this time; but afterwards, the great 
 heat of our second summer, that was like a fierce oven, 
 burnt up some of our young plantains and bananas, 
 so that they withered and came to naught. 'Twas, 
 indeed, through our unskilfulness in the choice of a 
 place for them, the spot being too exposed to the sun 
 for tender plants; but we remembered this the fol- 
 lowing season, choosing a small savannah, partly 
 shaded by the same ridge of sandy cliff that rose up 
 into the bluff, or headland, where we dug our cave; 
 and partly by a grove of cocoa-palms on the other 
 side. This lay a quarter of a mile from the sun-burnt 
 spot where we failed before, and was washed by the 
 stream that came from Eiverhead, so that we could 
 water our new nursery -ground by hand. 
 
 As for our peccaries, too, a kind of murrain seized 
 on them, so that we lost half our stock within ten 
 days, and the rest were saved chiefly by the care of 
 Ned Hilton, whose father, it seems, was a small 
 farmer in the county of Huntingdon, where Ned had 
 become learned in pigs. But Don Manuel's wheat
 
 340 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 crop seemed to have some particular blessing show 
 ered on it from the first ; or else from his choosing a 
 spot sheltered and moistened by a little ledge of rock 
 from the great heats, it throve better than our essays 
 in farming. I am ready to think, 'twas both of those 
 causes together: for on one hand, he was a kind of 
 man that undertook nothing, but first he looked far 
 onward, and weighed all he was to do ; on the other, 
 I am sure he sowed this crop in tears of deep desire, 
 and trusted to reap it in spiritual joy. 
 
 With regard to our souls, that he had been the 
 means of saving, 'tis not for me to turn trumpeter to 
 our little company : only I will say, if our regular 
 habit of confessing may be taken as an index, we 
 scarce ever missed going to Tadoone once in the 
 week ; generally on Fridays, to honor the Sacred Pas- 
 sion we had formerly so neglected to think on, and 
 done so much to dishonour. The effect of this, too, 
 was clearly seen in the men's temper and disposi- 
 tions ; as for myself, I say little, only that I ought to 
 have advanced more in goodness, as my sense of what 
 is meant was perhaps clearer. But amongst us now, 
 such outbreaks of passion as the men had given way 
 to on our first landing, came to be a something un. 
 heard of; and, just as the last and most unlikely in a 
 race will sometimes get ahead of the rest, so the 
 greatest change seemed to be wrought in old Dick 
 Prodgers. He had been 'fining down by degrees, 
 after our first week on the island ; but when he had 
 made his confession, and been baptized under condi- 
 tion, he did indeed put on the new man, and surprised 
 us by his meekness and quiet spirit of prayer. I
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRU808. 
 
 S41 
 
 may say much the same of the rest, some more, some 
 less. 
 
 But all this made us desire greatly to be able to 
 assist at Mass, and more particularly, to receive the 
 Holy Communion, in the nature and effects of which 
 Don Manuel instructed us. He bade us pray that 
 our " hunger and thirst after justice" might be in- 
 creased yet more, and then satisfied; and he ex- 
 horted us to make our spiritual communions with 
 such fervour as might in some degree supply for our 
 great deprivation in not being able to receive the 
 Most Holy. We learned from him to unite our in- 
 tentions with those of every priest offering Mass, and 
 all the faithful attending it, on whatsoever spot of 
 earth assembled. 
 
 Thus time slipped by, leaving us content in spite 
 of our cruel banishment, and in many ways we might 
 be called happy ; lords of all we saw round us, our 
 dominions only bounded by the ocean, at peace 
 among ourselves, and little fearing enemies from 
 without, though prepared to receive them. All this, 
 1 say, till a strange thing befell us on the seventeenth 
 of April, the year of Redemption 1741.
 
 842 THI ADVBNTl'RKS OF OWEN EVAN*, 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 THE SPANISH ARMADA. 
 
 WE were startled, of a sudden, on the day I have 
 just named, by the firing of a gun far out at sea ; the 
 sound seemed to come to us from s.s.w., or there- 
 away : but so dull and faint we hardly thought it a 
 gun, till we heard the second ; and listening with 
 eager ears, taken aback by the surprise, within a few 
 minutes there came a third report. Then we knew 
 it for a vessel firing guns of distress ; but what help 
 to bring her we saw not, only we thought to inform 
 her crew there were some at hand, though not able, 
 yet willing to help them. So we clambered to the 
 top of our rock, and thence to Look-out Point, in 
 great agitation of spirits ; we had, by this, well-nigh 
 resigned ourselves to live and die on the island, and 
 so sudden a prospect of some European ship brought 
 a conflict of emotions to us, part of hope, part of ap- 
 prehension. For we knew not if we were to en- 
 counter friends or foes; nor of what nation she might 
 prove, nor of what disposition toward us. One thing 
 we determined on ; to reconnoitre with great pru- 
 dence before we made any sign in return for their 
 guns. 
 
 My perspective glass served us well here ; by 
 which I made out the hull of a large vessel, some 
 three leagues away in the wind's eye ; she seemed to 
 carry little sail, which surprised us, till the tide, or 
 current, favoured her helm, and brought her hi
 
 THE CATHOLIC ORUB01. 343 
 
 nearer; for 'twas plain she saw our island, and was 
 making for it. But when she neared (which was 
 very slowly), we saw clearly enough what made her 
 so short of sail : for her main-mast was gone b/ the 
 board; also her foremast had but a mean kind of 
 jury topmast rigged, and the mizen (for she was a 
 three-master, though seemingly not a first-rate) was 
 reduced to a stump, and carried a mere rag of a sail. 
 Also, by her hull being so low down in the water, as 
 well as the slowness of her sailing (though she was 
 well in the current, which, I have said, set in towards 
 the island from south by south-west) ; from all these 
 signs we plainly made out she was water-logged to 
 that degree she could scarce hope to reach land at 
 last. 
 
 This was confirmed when we saw her boats low- 
 *red, and the crew stowing themselves into them : 
 they had three, a long boat, a pinnace, and shallop, 
 but 'twas some time before they put off from the ship : 
 for what cause we could not at first discover, but 
 judged they were landing provisions, or perhaps 
 merchandise, for they lowered into the boats what 
 seemed (at that distance) to be eight or nine large 
 bales, or packages, and laid them lengthways. But 
 as they drew nearer, we made out these to be sick 
 men in their hammocks, lying in the bottom of the 
 boats, and so much in the way of the oarsmen as ad- 
 ded to their difficulties very much. 
 
 Indeed, the whole look of this crew, when we could 
 distinguish their features, was as if a hospital had 
 shipped itself on board of a ship ; for a more meagre, 
 tarved-looking set I never set eyes on : and they had
 
 344 THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 scarce strength left among them to pull in the boats 
 towards land. So that 'twas chiefly through favour 
 of the current (which ran swifter when it came to 
 near Cape Look-out, and turned with an eddy, or in- 
 draught, into Shark Cove), chiefly by this they man- 
 aged to make any way at all ; for they had no more 
 to do, but by their oars and helm to keep the boats' 
 heads fair with the stream, and catch what little wind 
 was abaft. 
 
 This stream, though, took a swift turn when it 
 came within a quarter of a mile of the point (our 
 cape, I mean ;) and shot up to N.N.E., so bearing them 
 towards the cove : when they found this, fearing (I 
 believe) they might be carried off land again, not 
 liking to trust the stream, or else wearied with row- 
 ing, they made all efforts to shoot out of the ripple 
 of the current into smooth water, under lee of the 
 shore, and so land hi another little cove, that was 
 almost land-locked, N.E. of Cape Look-out. Though 
 the stream carried them some way beyond that point, 
 they got out of the strength of it ; and doubling back, 
 rowed in, but feebly enough, till they lay on their 
 oars within arrow-shot of the shore, debating how 
 they were to proceed. 
 
 Now was our time : for we did not mean them to 
 come nearer without holding them to parley ; the 
 more so, as we now saw they had arras with them. 
 So, retreating from our ambush, we came back to 
 our castle with all speed, then went down by our 
 grand stair-case (as we called the rope) and made 
 our way straight towards the cove. Then, still am- 
 bushed in the trees, we sent Don Manuel forward as
 
 ML* CATHOLIC CfcOSOM. 345 
 
 our spokesman, or ambassador, with full powers to 
 treat with them. We crept as near as we could, 
 witkout showing ourselves, to witness what passed, 
 and support him on the instant, in case of need : for 
 we had brought all our weapons with us, and mus- 
 tered all our troops. 
 
 The priest went forward, till he came down near 
 to the water's edge ; then stood still, and waved his 
 hand, as about to speak. But it would have touched 
 any heart to witness the joy of the poor famished 
 creatures when they saw the form of a civilized man 
 approach near to them. Some of the crew stood 
 up hi the boats, waving their hats ; some clapped 
 their hands ; others fell on their knees, raising their 
 clasped hands to heaven ; all cried out, some one 
 thing, some another, with such confused sounds of 
 prayer, and surprise, and joyfulness, we could not at 
 first make out what language 't was they spoke in. 
 But Don Manuel, having a quicker ear for his native 
 tongue, knew it from the first for Spanish. 
 
 One would have thought this was like to give him 
 great satisfaction ; but he told us afterwards, the 
 doubt came at once into his mind, they might be a 
 crew of buccaneers,* and their ship a pirate vessel, 
 
 This seems a strange inaccuracy, considering that the 
 buccaneers, strictly so-called, were scarcely heard of after 
 the taking of Carthagena, some forty years before this date. 
 Moreover, as that remarkable society of pirates was chiefly 
 composed of French and English adventures, whose opera- 
 tions were directed against the Spanish colonies, they would 
 scarcely have spoken Spanish on a sudden emotion, in pre- 
 ference to their native tongue. Perhaps the word buccaneer 
 is here used for a pirate in general ; or it may be a mistake 
 of Owen's for privaieer. ED.
 
 346 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 fitted out for sujh, or run away with in a mutiny. 
 'Tis true, their action of rendering thanks to God 
 seem 3d to stamp them us honest men; though indeed, 
 I Iiav3 heard that the very buccaneers, wi!h a kind 
 of impious piety strange to think on, would invoke 
 tin divine protection on their marauding exped lions, 
 and render solemn thanks on every success. 
 
 Being still doubtful of these new acquaintances, 
 Don Manuel calls out to them in his own language, 
 bidding them come in no nearer, but tell him truly 
 what nation they were of, and whether honest men. 
 On which they all cried, as with one voice, Espanoles, 
 Espanoles! aud asked him, was he indeed a Catholic 
 priest ? He, on his part, assented ; then they protested 
 vehemently, they were good Catholics too, and sub- 
 jects of his most Catholic majesty (so, it seems, the 
 king of S t )ain is always entitled;) and that 'twas but 
 three short days since they committed to the deep 
 their chaplain and confessor, who died on board of 
 famine, or fever, or both, like the rest of the crew, 
 except only themselves. 
 
 On this, he asked them, would they solemnly swear, 
 as good Catholics, to submit themselves to the 
 authorities on the island ? Would they engage to 
 lay aside their arms, or deliver them into safe keep- 
 ing, during their stay ? And, if they were compelled 
 to stay indeed (as the condition of the ship rendered 
 likely), would they enter into such fair conditions as 
 should be laid down for them by those who had 
 possession of the place ? To all this, with one voice, 
 the poor fellows professed they were ready to swear 
 on the spot. Then Don Manuel opened his breviary
 
 THK CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 34? 
 
 and held it up before them, pointing, as he explained to 
 them, to the words of the holy gospel in it, and bade 
 them swear to every tittle of what he had said. 
 
 They rose up, or all that were able to stand, un- 
 covered their heads, and with much gravity and rev- 
 erent demeanour, stretched forth their hands towards 
 the book he held up to them. Even the sick men in 
 hammocks, when they heard what was going forward, 
 did what they could to raise their hands with the 
 rest. Having all sworn to observe these articles, Don 
 Manuel then pledged his word as a priest, on behalf 
 of himself and his friends, who, he told them, had 
 possession of the place, they should meet all fair and 
 honourable usage, and be received on their parole of 
 good conduct, as well as have their sick tended with 
 care. " But first," says he, " for a pledge you mean 
 as you say, deliver up to me the flints out of your 
 muskets." On which, they set to work without a 
 question, and hammered out all the flints from their 
 pieces, and also from the pistols, of which each man 
 had two or three. They wrapped these in a parcel 
 of sail cloth, and held them up to him, in token they 
 were now unarmed ; for indeed, all they had left to 
 them were a few boat-hooks, and two or three hatch- 
 ets, with their cutlasses, and these too they delivered 
 up on landing.
 
 348 THE ADVENTUKKS OF OWKN BVANB. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 HARBOUR AND HOSPITAL. 
 
 HAVING thus drawn (as the old fable says) the 
 lion's teeth and claws, Don Manuel went on : "I will 
 now show you, friends," says he, " we had the power 
 to enforce submission, had we chosen to use it ;" and 
 with that he looks back to us in the wood, and waves 
 his hand. Out we marched at the signal (for we had 
 agreed on it), with our guns shouldered, our bows, 
 and quivers filled with arrows, at our backs ; or 
 those that had no guns, with bows and long javelins: 
 ranging ourselves in a half moon along the strand 
 of the cove, four of us on either side of our ambassa- 
 dor. What with our wild, shaggy looks, dressed as 
 we were, or disguised, rather, in our untanned hog- 
 skins and palm-leaf helmets or hats, with formidable 
 broad swords and wooden clubs set with sharks' 
 teeth, untrimmed hair and beards, thus fully armed, 
 and attended by our Indians, as wild as ourselves ; 
 notwithstanding the fewness of our number, these 
 poor fellows in the boats, reduced to the last stage 
 of weakness, were struck with amazement on so sud- 
 den a spectacle. But Don Manuel assured them once 
 more, by words and signs, telling them the bargain 
 was struck ; if they would be true to their part, so 
 would we to ours ; and to this he pledged again his 
 word as a priest. 
 
 It being thus arranged, we made them motions of 
 friendship ; and I, who was the only one, except our
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 349 
 
 priest, that spoke their language (or anything to sig- 
 nify), called out to them, we would truly befriend 
 them in their need, if only their conduct justified it; 
 and bade them pull in-shore. This they did at once ; 
 and when the boat grounded, the poor fellows made 
 shift to get out of her, but feebly and slow ; and 
 'twas with still more pains they got the sick on 
 shore. Harry Gill and I stood to our arms; and 
 Pounder, with Samuel, kept their bows ready : as to 
 the rest, they went cheerfully to help at the landing, 
 piling their arms under cover of our guns. 
 
 The first thing we insisted on was, that all the 
 crews' weapons, whether muskets, pistols, cutlasses, 
 hatchets, and even to the boat-hooks, should be 
 handed to us out of the boats; which was done ac- 
 cordingly, before a man of them put his foot on dry 
 ground. For, though we would not mistrust them, 
 nor judge them hardly, we did not forget, either, the 
 better part of valour is discretion : and, let them be 
 as weak as they might singly, yet they so greatly 
 outnumbered us, as might tempt them, at some fa- 
 vourable moment, to overpower us also. Being now 
 quite unarmed, against a set of men armed to the 
 very teeth (for we put the flints into their guns and 
 pistols again, and stuck their hatchets and cutlasses 
 into our belts, as hostages for their conduct), it would 
 have been stark madness in them to move a finger 
 against us. Indeed, I was surprised from the first 
 to see the unshaken trust these poor men showed in 
 our honesty ; till a second thought told me they took 
 our character on the word of the priest, who (they 
 knew) would not deceive them. On our part, we
 
 350 THE ADVENTURKS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 were slower to be convinced of theirs, and stood 
 jealously on our guard, till all suspicion of them wore 
 off by degrees. 
 
 But the next thing to do was to land the sick men 
 that lay in the boats ; who were nine in all, and some 
 of them so far gone as to be already more dead than 
 alive. One, indeed, seemed so spent we thought he 
 would yield up the ghost before we could heave him 
 ashore : and Don Manuel, who had waded into the 
 water to visit them (not waiting for the boats to be 
 thrust nigher the beach), finding this poor man in 
 such extremity, called to Samuel to run for a shad- 
 dock, to refresh him withal. I could see, from his 
 sitting on the boat's thwart close by the hammock 
 where the poor fellow lay, and putting his ear close 
 to him, he had begun to hear the dying man's con- 
 fession. Soon the young Indian came running back 
 with a fresh fruit or two, a bag of our bread, and a 
 crock of water. He plunged into the sea to get at 
 the boat, and between them they tried to make the 
 Spaniard swallow a bit,' though never so small ; but 
 'twas all too late. What with scurvy and famine, 
 and pining every way, he was now too far gone on 
 his last journey, and could hardly swallow some 
 drops of the water only. In short, after a few faint 
 whispers with the priest, he died under his hands, 
 blessing the divine mercies with his last breath (so 
 we learnt afterwards from the others that lay round) 
 for sending to him thus the comforts of his religion 
 in his dying hour, beyond all human hope. 
 
 So. leaving the dead man for awhile, to wait on 
 the extreme needs of the living, we handed the ham
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 351 
 
 mocks out carefully, one by one, and laid these suf- 
 fering creatures in a row, eight of them, under the 
 shade of some cocoa-palms, about a stone's cast from 
 the beach. Indeed, several of the number seemed as 
 near death's door as the one that was gone already ; 
 the priest and I attended them as best we might, 
 each in our way ; though my choicest remedies were 
 only cocoa-nut milk, with sliced shaddock and yams, 
 yet we brought them round enough for Don Manuel 
 to wish to be left alone with them for their confes- 
 sions; and, to be short, the second of them died 
 within two hours after his landing, and the third that 
 same night. As for the rest, those other two of the 
 five worst, recovered ; one wholly, and lived to be 
 a strong, serviceable member of our little govern- 
 ment ; the other lived for some time after, and then 
 went off in a dropsy. The tour who were not so far 
 spent with weakness at the first, got round quicker, 
 one after the other, when they began to taste our 
 fresh meat and vegetables ; but by nothing more than 
 by the cocoa-nut milk, of which we gave them two 
 or three draughts daily. 
 
 To return to their first landing : we found, besides 
 these nine in the hammocks, there were thirty-two 
 able-bodied seamen, for we counted them as they sat, 
 for very weakness, on the shore. To call them able- 
 bodied, must be understood by comparison ; they 
 were just able, indeed, to lay their hand on an oar ; 
 but I doubt whether their whole force united could 
 have given a turn to the capstan, or pulled in a ca- 
 ble ; and 'tis not to be doubted, had their voyage 
 lasted a few days longer, or had they met rough
 
 352 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 weather on nearing our island, not one of them would 
 have landed alive. They were reduced to that ex- 
 tremity, two or three swooned outright, and lay for 
 dead : I remarked many of them weep like very chil- 
 dren, whether in thankfulness for escaping with their 
 lives, or from feeling a degree of weakness that is so 
 strange a thing to any man reduced to it on a sud- 
 den from the vigour of health ; while others dropped 
 on their knees, and begged us, per Pamor di Dios, to 
 give them some food. 
 
 Indeed, we should have thought of this ere now ; 
 but we were distracted by all we had to attend to : 
 what with mounting guard over the living, tending 
 the sick and dying, helping the weakest to land, 
 keeping the boats in-shore, etc. But by this, I had 
 gone through the wards of my hospital, and done 
 what I could for the patients ; so, leaving Don Man- 
 uel still engaged in his proper work for their benefit, 
 I came forward to the crew, my rifle on my shoulder, 
 and the rest of us behind me, fully armed. 
 
 " My friends and gentlemen," said I, in my best 
 Spanish, which, indeed, would not carry me very far 
 in the dialogue, " you shall have food, without doubt, 
 for you are our guests, and we bid you welcome. 
 But," I went on, " we must understand one another 
 from the first : we keep your arms safe for you, till 
 we are better acquainted ; and you make no attempt 
 to move from the place we mark out for you to stay 
 in. Otherwise, gentlemen," for I had learned that 
 much of courtesy from our Spanish friend, "other- 
 wise" and I tapped my rifle with my forefinger, tc 
 make them fully know my resolution.
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 353 
 
 Comprehend they did, without doubt ; and made 
 signs of assent to all this. But one among them, 
 who seemed in authority (we found, a little later, he 
 was fourth lieutenant, and the only officer who had 
 lived through the starvation, and taken command on 
 the death of the others), came a little before the rest, 
 and answered in the purest Spanish : " Your gentle- 
 ness,"* says he, " may rest assured, we will be faith- 
 ful to the word we have already sworn to our coun- 
 tryman, the priest yonder. We are men of honour," 
 laying his hand on his breast, " and subjects of his 
 most Catholic majesty : you are our benefactors ; we 
 are bound to you in honour and gratitude, both at 
 once. "Pis true, Senores Ingleses, our countries are 
 novr at war with one another; but we trust you will 
 not prosecute that war in such remote regions as 
 these. 'Tis a quarrel that is none of ours, and surely 
 we may well let it lie. You have taken us at disad- 
 vantage, in the weak state we are in : but, as on our 
 part we have pledged to you our sacred word, we 
 trust to find men of honour and caballeros in return. 
 We have delivered up to you our arms, and claim 
 your hospitality, and the safety of our lives, liberty, 
 with the vessel and cargo, or whatever we can save 
 from her." 
 
 This was the substance of his speech ; but he de- 
 livered it with such a straightforward, manly kind of 
 
 * Owen seems to be translating literally the Spanish ex- 
 pression of courtesy, Usted, which is said to be a contrac- 
 tion of the words Vuestra Merdd ; your mercifulness, or your 
 gentleness, in the same sense in which we use the word 
 toman, and the Greeks, risixijr. ED.
 
 854 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 grace as took us extremely, and secured my confi 
 dence in him from that time onward. Parts of it, 
 'tis true, I did not well understand ; above all, where 
 he spoke of our two countries being then at war with 
 each other. When we were last in port, 'tis true, 
 what with our ships pushing their contraband trade 
 in Campeachy Bay, and other parts of the Mexican 
 coast ; with the reprisals, also, of the Spanish guarda- 
 costas, there were abundant causes of rupture be- 
 tween the governments of Spain and England. Yet, 
 it appeared, we had put to sea a little before the news 
 could reach us that Admiral Yernon had sailed with 
 a fleet against the Spanish West Indies, and that 
 open war had been declared. But this, together 
 with events following, as the bombarding of Cartha- 
 gena, the taking of Porto Bello, and the expedition 
 of Commodore Anson (in which, it seemed, our 
 friends were nearly interested), we learned from the 
 lieutenant more at leisure. 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 A TREATY MADE AND KATIFIED. 
 
 BY this, Don Manuel had joined us, and took a 
 chief part in the conference with his Spanisli country- 
 men. To be brief, we drew up certain articles for 
 both sides to abide by : indeed, the dictating of terms 
 was clearly on our side, by force of arms. And they 
 were as follows : 
 
 1. Neither party was to regard the other in the
 
 OAittolio dRUso*. 855 
 
 light of enemies; but both to act as though war had 
 not been proclaimed between our respective nations. 
 
 2. A line was to be drawn, to portion off for t l ie 
 Spaniards a part of the island, enough to dwell in for 
 and present, with permission to cut down wood to 
 make themselves habitations, and for firing. 
 
 3. Water, if not readily found within their allot- 
 ment, to be supplied by us, and brought to the spot, 
 free of charge. 
 
 4. We engaged to supply them also in fish and 
 flesh, together with bread, vegetable, and fruit, at a 
 moderate charge in money, tools, or other useful ar- 
 ticles, if they could rescue any such from the wreck : 
 otherwise on credit, under note of hand from the 
 lieutenant to the governor or commander of some of 
 the Spanish colonies. 
 
 5. Two persons named on their side, three on ours, 
 and they alone, to have the privilege of passing the 
 boundary line. 
 
 6. Any other but these two of theirs, caught on 
 our side of the line, to suffer the penalties of such as 
 transgress martial law, at our pleasure. 
 
 7. The wreck itself to remain Spanish property : 
 we engaging to help to our utmost to bring it in- 
 shore, or land such valuables from it as could be 
 saved. In doing which things alone, the boundary 
 line of separation did not hold good, and might be 
 broken. 
 
 8. In consideration of these good services, and in 
 the event (which seemed unlikely enough) of their 
 getting her off, or being rescued by some of their 
 countrymen, we should be allowed a reasonable
 
 356 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 choice of any of the vessel's goods for our own 
 use. 
 
 9. Should the wreck be refitted, or any Spanish 
 vessel, or other vessel friendly to Spain, touch at the 
 island, we were to have a free passage to any port 
 she might afterwards touch at, at our choice. 
 
 10. Likewise, should any British vessel, or one 
 from our colonies, touch at the place, the Spaniards 
 to be allowed a passage on board of her, at a fair 
 average rate of passage-money, to any port that lay 
 on their voyage, or which they might be driven into. 
 
 11. In the meantime, their fire-arms, weapons, and 
 powder, whether now landed, or still in the wreck, 
 to remain in our safe keeping till we decided other- 
 wise ; their supplies of food being secured to them, 
 as above. 
 
 12. All fair and friendly treatment to be assured 
 to either party at the hands of any force on the op- 
 posite side, should they heave in sight. 
 
 These articles being once concluded, and solemnly 
 ratified on both sides by oath, we proceeded at once 
 to supply the poor famished men with food ; though 
 for the present we did not eat with them (according 
 to articles 2, 5, and 6 of our agreement), we took care 
 they should want for nothing we could furnish. 
 Therefore we sent the Indians in all haste to our 
 storehouse, to fetch what might be at hand, such as 
 smoked peccary and codfish, with the cakes of yam 
 and bread-fruits, made into a pulp, then strained and 
 baked, such as we had learned by this tune to make 
 mto palatable and wholesome loaves enough. But
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 357 
 
 anything, no matter how coarse and ordinary, was a 
 dainty at that moment to men who had been for 
 weeks and months on short commons, as these our 
 guests had been: and latterly almost without food at 
 all. Our care was less to supply them with victuals 
 enough (of which there was no lack), but to hinder 
 their making too free use of it. On my representing 
 this to the lieutenant, and the danger of sickness, 
 aye, and death itself, to men who should indulge to 
 their hearts' content after so long a fast, he entered 
 at once into my views. Accordingly, we established 
 a strict discipline among the crew in the order of 
 getting their messes, and the quantity served to 
 them. 
 
 The sick came first ; for, where the disease was lit- 
 tle else but scurvy and famine, or the exhaustion af- 
 ter fever, then Dr. Diet (as Tom Harvey said) was 
 the best doctor to call in. Accordingly, we divided 
 the food into small portions, giving them more of 
 bread than flesh-meat, and this moistened with water 
 into a panada, or bread-sop. It seemed a cruel thing, 
 to be sure, to deny so many famishing wretches as 
 now came crowding towards us: but 'twas done out 
 of sheer kindness, to prevent the ill effects of giving 
 them too much at once. As they observed the con- 
 ditions laid down, and would not, even pressed with 
 hunger as they were, overstep the boundary line we 
 had by this time drawn between us, we passed down 
 on our side of the line, and fed them in order. We 
 kept our three Indians running at their full speed up 
 to our castle and hack to us, bringing more meat 
 and bread, till we had given the hungry Spaniards
 
 858 THE ADVENTURES 0* OWEN IVANS, 
 
 as much as I judged well for the time. But, as we 
 promised them another meal soon, though many 
 longing eyes from their meagre faces were cast at 
 the remaining food, they were fain to submit ; and 
 first with a thanksgiving to God, then to us, retired 
 a little from the boundary. Some lay down for very 
 weariness, more of them sat silent ; some talking to- 
 gether in broken sentences, some with us across the 
 line ; and a few retired with themselves to converse 
 with God, and going upon their knees, continued 
 their thanksgiving more at large. I am now sure, 
 from what I knew of them on better acquaintance, 
 there would have been more outward acts of devo- 
 tion among them, but for the weariness that op- 
 pressed their famished bodies and weighed down 
 their souls. 
 
 The lieutenant (or captain, as we must call him 
 for death, that took others from over his head, pro- 
 moted him to command all that remained of a large 
 crew, and the wreck of a large vessel,) this officer, 
 I say, seemed most attentive to do all that lay in 
 his power for the comfort of his men. He neglected 
 his own needs, or took a morsel only now and again, 
 till he had given what help he could in ranging them 
 to receive their portions of food, and aiding the sick ; 
 who to be sure, were more easily fed in due order, 
 being unable to stir from their hammocks. 
 
 When the lieutenant had seen to this, and swal- 
 lowed a few hasty morsels (so much as we judged 
 safe to allow him, which he ate ravenously, like his 
 men,) his next care was to try and save the ship, 
 which we expected to go down every moment, so
 
 fHB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 859 
 
 water-logged was she. The tide had shifted her in 
 nearer, and saved her from being carried off by the 
 current I spoke of ; in which case she had beyond a 
 dcubt been lost to us, and carried away to the east 
 of our island, into the open sea, or else wrecked on the 
 reefs, and broken up. Our only hope for her was, 
 she might drift into shoal water ; this she seemed 
 likely to do, as we all stood w r atching her from the 
 cove where these Spaniards had landed at the first. 
 But it seems, the leak had gaind too fast on her for 
 this : being now deserted by her crew, who had 
 made still some feeble efforts at the pumps, all the 
 while remained on board. 
 
 'Twas by a Providence the tide was now at its 
 rise, not at ebb ; though the weather was so calm, 
 with just a light breeze stirring, yet there was a sort 
 of spring-tide on, and the water higher than common ; 
 for, had it been neap-tide, we had either lost her 
 altogether, or at the least, all would have been spoiled 
 in the water, as you shall hear. For, as we debated 
 with the lieutenant, whether we had now strength to 
 man the boats, to board her, and contrive to pass a 
 hawser round the foremast and so haul her somewhat 
 in-shore, we found to our great concern she was be- 
 ginning to settle down and sink on her larboard 
 quarter. 
 
 Now there was no help for it, but to wait on, and 
 see the end ; for 't would be madness, indeed, to ven- 
 ture on board a sinking ship. But the lieutenant was 
 in extreme grief at the sight, being in charge of the 
 vessel; having also (as we afterwards learned) a 
 considerable interest in some of her stores. He gave
 
 THS ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 utterance to this by passionate exclamations, walking 
 up and down the beach, and throwing his hands 
 abroad ; till we reasoned with him, begging him to 
 be calm, and take the dispositions of Providence like 
 a man and a Christian. This, indeed, he did, after a 
 while ; but at first, passion had its way with him. 
 
 CHAPTER LXL 
 
 THE LIEUTENANT'S STOBT. 
 
 WE rejoiced to see, after that one great heel she 
 gave to larboard, she settled down no lower for the 
 time ; however, when nearly another half honr was 
 gone by, her larboard bows dipped too, nigh upon a 
 level with the quarter, and eo she remained fast, 
 never stirring after at all. We thought it might 
 have happened thus, owing to the position of the 
 leak ; next day, however, showed us our mistake here. 
 But now, we began to entertain great hopes of re- 
 covering at least a good part of the cargo, if not 
 getting off the ship herself, when we had lightened 
 her : besides this, we hoped to be able to do some- 
 what towards stopping the leak, and to make her 
 sea-worthy again. In short, wild schemes came into 
 our heads fast at the sight of this vessel lying so close 
 to us ; we began to reason (in whispers among our- 
 eelves) as one good turn deserved another, and we 
 had done the crew this great service, to give them 
 hospitality in their famished condition, and save their
 
 TH CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 361 
 
 very lives, 't was the least they could do in turn, to 
 refit the ship with us, and take us on board on equal 
 terms, and land us where we might choose. 
 
 Don Manuel not being with us (ior he was busied 
 with his sick men,) we kept this to ourselves for the 
 time. But of all persons, he that desponded most 
 was the poor lieutenant ; for knowing the condition 
 of his ship, he assured us-, her timbers were so strained, 
 and the entire hull so rotten, he verily believed she 
 never would float again. 
 
 By this time, night being upon us, we blew a loud 
 concert on our horns, to give notice, 't was time for 
 all to retire to quarters. We furnished our guest* 
 with good store of fuel, whereof they made a cheer- 
 ful fire ; then toeing a line (as they say at sea) we 
 handed them across the boundary a hot mess of 
 stewed pork and potatoes, which the Indians had 
 prepared for them, in more plenty and comfort than 
 their former meal. When they had finished this, 
 (and 't was soon done, with hungry men as they were 
 still, both then and for several days after) we assem- 
 bled all together, each party on their own side, while 
 Don Manuel said night prayers for us : for we said 
 them to-night before our own supper, to let our weary 
 g-iests have their rest without delay. 
 
 'T was a sight to make any one feel, who owned a 
 heart, when these poor men, so lately rescued from 
 death, knelt there by the fire-light, in close neigh- 
 bourhood of their dead and dying comrades, and 
 made their thanksgiving aloud after the good priest. 
 A brief prayer he made, but a hearty one ; then gave 
 them his blessing, and dismissed them to rest. But
 
 362 THE ADV1NTURK3 OF OW1N KTAN8, 
 
 we invited the lieutenant to be our guest at supper; 
 leaving Pounder with his bow and quiver as a sentinel, 
 or picket, half way between the camps. After our 
 meal, we begged for some account of the ship's 
 adventures ; which the Spanish officer gave us, almost 
 word for word as I here set it down. 
 
 " 'Tis no news to you, Senores," began the lieuten- 
 ant, addressing us in Spanish as we sat round our 
 fire, "that the name of our ill-fated vessel is the 
 Hermiona, of Valencia ; for you have seen that name 
 painted on her boats, as you will see it again when 
 you are so good as to help us in boarding the wreck. 
 Then, too, you will see her fifty-four guns, with 
 whatever equipments may remain ; but alas ! of the 
 crew, five hundred strong, besides our complement 
 of soldiers, you may behold all that survive in the 
 few starved wretches whom, under divine Provi- 
 dence," he crossed himself devoutly, "you have 
 saved from destruction." With that, the poor man 
 paused a little, being overcome by his feelings, and 
 not well able to proceed. 
 
 After a while, having received from us all tokens 
 of sympathy, he recovered himself, and went on : 
 
 " We formed part," says he, " of a squadron of six 
 vessels fitted out by his most Catholic majesty to 
 watch the motions and cross the designs of an Eng- 
 lish admiral (Don Georgio Anson by name) who had 
 sailed, on the first breaking out of the war between 
 his country and ours, with a counter-squadron of five 
 men of- war, a sloop, and two victualling ships, to 
 attack our colonies in Manilla and the parts adjacent. 
 Upon the first news of this expedition being afloat,
 
 TUB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 363 
 
 we were ordered to put to sea, which we did in such 
 haste as caused the greater part of our disasters after. 
 For we had not with us, on leaving the Spanish 
 coast, more than four months' provisions at the ut- 
 most, and even that reckoned at short allowance 
 only ; so that our best chance was to get round Cape 
 Horn before the English admiral could arrive thither, 
 and victual our ships at leisure, either at Juan Fer- 
 nandez or some point on the western coast of South 
 America. But first, we made an attempt to procure 
 us some provisions at Buenos Ayres, where we reck- 
 oned on a supply ; and so steered for the Rio de la 
 Plata from the leeward of the Madeiras, leaving our 
 station near that island early in the November of last 
 year.* 
 
 " Twas whilst we were lying off Madeira, to west- 
 ward of the island, in the latter end of the previous 
 month (October), we received intelligence from some 
 trusty friends we had there (but most secretly, with- 
 out knowledge of the Governor) that a squadron of 
 ships had arrived in Madeira Road, that is, to the 
 east, or windward, supposed to be the equipment un- 
 der Commodore Anson, against which we were par- 
 ticularly sent out. But as several weighty reasons 
 made us prefer to encounter him in the South Seas, 
 rather than near home, we determined to leave him a 
 clear passage, instead of standing out to meet him on 
 that side of the island. So, after sending in the pa- 
 tache that waited on us to reconnoitre every day 
 close in-land, and having occupied that station but a 
 short week in all, we made sail, as 1 have said, for 
 * That is, the year 1740 Ep.
 
 364 THI ADVENTURES 07 OWEN EYAN8, 
 
 the Rio de la Plata in the very "beginning of Novem- 
 ber ; and, steering direct, arrived there early in Janu- 
 ary of this year. 
 
 "I now see our great error, as, doubtless, does our 
 gallant admiral, Don Jose Pizarro, if he be still in 
 life (if not, may God receive his soul ; for a brave 
 man he was, and careful of his men) ; our error, I re- 
 peat, in not cruising round the island, to give battle 
 to the commodore where he lay : in which case, we 
 had either (through our superior force, for we num- 
 bered moi'e guns and greater weight of metal) cap- 
 tured or dispersed his squadron ; or, at the least, we 
 had greatly disabled and delayed this expedition 
 against our colonies : besides causing him much loss 
 of provision stores. For we knew he had victualled 
 and watered at the island of Madeira; so he would 
 have been forced to throw overboard vast quantities 
 of what he had just taken, to clear his ships for but 
 the chance of an engagement : and whether victor or 
 no, would have thereby suffered both loss and delay. 
 
 " However, our course was now for Rio, to out- 
 march him in sailing, and get first round the Horn ; 
 to which end, parting company with two ships bound 
 for the West Indies, we staid not till we dropped 
 anchor in the bay of Maldonado, at the mouth of Rio 
 itself. But, before we could receive our stores from 
 Buenos Ayres, another sure but secret intelligence 
 reached us, our enemy was now at Santa Catarina, 
 preparing to put to sea again with the utmost expe- 
 dition. Thus we found ourselves in the hard choice 
 of going without the provisions we so greatly neoded, 
 with imminent risk of falling short indeed, or being
 
 tHK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 365 
 
 beaten in our race across the ocean, to find the Eng- 
 lish squadron in the South Seas before us. 
 
 " We chose the first evil as the least ; yet it turned 
 out to be the greater, as you, Senores, are now wit- 
 nesses. So, having stayed seventeen days only at 
 Maldonado, thus narrowly missing all our provisions, 
 which came down into the bay from Buenos Ayres 
 within a day or two after we sailed, we now got 
 under weigh, and put to sea before the enemy : but 
 so close to him in point of time and nearness of sail- 
 ing, that one of his ships (as we always believed, 
 though from the distance we could only conjecture, 
 for our admiral had given orders to the squadron to 
 Bail wide), mistaking our vessels for her own con- 
 sorts, got within gun-shot of our admiral's ship, the 
 Asia ; and we, who watched the affair from our tops 
 with our perspective glasses, had great hopes she 
 would have been made a prize of. But she discov- 
 ered her error so as to put about, barely in time, and 
 so get clear away. 
 
 " When we set sail from Maldonado," he went on, 
 "'twas the third week of this present year: our 
 voyage, too, was the longest and most perilous the 
 greater part of our crew had yet made ; and we 
 dreaded the very name of Cape Horn, so formidable 
 for the storms to-be encountered in doubling it. Our 
 men now became very discontented : for the weather 
 had been brewing up for a succession of gales, which 
 came on us ; till, with every attempt to keep discipline 
 aboard, signs of mutiny began to show among the 
 crew : and these increased so much, we had to clap 
 half a dozen of the ringleaders ID irons. At length
 
 366 HK ADVENTURES 0* OWBN EVANS, 
 
 we were forced to double the sentries of marines, 
 and keep a score of men under hatches, lest they 
 might spread the mutiny among the rest 
 
 " Matters were kept quiet for a time by an order 
 from the admiral, that our seamen were to have part 
 of their pay advanced to them in specie, that is, a 
 portion was to be assigned to each man, of the 
 various goods for barter and traffic we had brought 
 with us from Spain : that they might dispose of them 
 in the South Seas, and so be hi the way of making 
 their fortunes. For instances were currently report- 
 ed, both at home and in the fleet, of some who had 
 brought back from our colonies a wealth in the pre- 
 cious metals, and even gems of much value, in barter 
 for mere trumpery wares in calicoes, or inferior silks, 
 such as a Valencia tradesman's wife would not wear 
 on a holiday : or even what was less than these, as 
 beads, nails, knives, bits of looking-glass, old iron 
 hoops, glass, or glittering baubles of any kind. The 
 hope of such a gainful traffic buoyed our men up for 
 a while above their present miseries : for we Span- 
 iards have always been seeking an El Dorado; and 
 there was not a common seaman, nor down to the 
 cook's boy, who did not picture to himself his return 
 home, with a triumph like Columbus, a wonder of 
 riches and glory. This, with a strict watchfulness, 
 and some examples made of the most disorderly by 
 our captain, kept down the mutinous spirit that wag 
 still ever rising to a head. 
 
 " The time was near the end of February ; by this, 
 we had run down the coast of South America, and, 
 by our reckoning, were in more than fifty-five de-
 
 frHl CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 367 
 
 grees of south latitude, to give us a fair sweep to 
 double the Cape : which we prepared to do, by stand- 
 ing to windward, in the very last night of that 
 month. But (whether 't was by the uncertain cur- 
 rents, both of wind and sea, that conflict with each 
 other round that great promontory, or by what other 
 cause we never have discovered,) too certain it is, 
 our ship, with two more of the squadron, the 
 Guipuscoa and the Esperanza, lost all sight of the 
 admiral and the rest. We were now greatly at the 
 mercy of the current ; making much lee-way towards 
 the eastward, or by that to south-east, do all we could 
 by luffing up into the wind's eye : at length, after 
 beating about within sight of the Falkland Islands 
 for several days, our ship, together with the Esper- 
 anza was able to pass the straits between Terra del 
 Fuego and Staaten Island on the sixth of March ; but 
 had here the discomfort of losing sight of the Gui- 
 puscoa, which we saw no more, nor know to this day, 
 whether she has gone down, or doubled the Horn." 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 THE SAME CONTTNtTED. 
 
 ** NEXT day," continued the Spaniard, " though I 
 fear to weary you, gentlemen, by prolonging the sad 
 story of our misfortunes, we were encountered by a 
 furious tempest from the north-west, or thereaway; 
 for 't was difficult to account with any precision for
 
 THg AftVRNTCRRS OF OWEN BVANS, 
 
 the wind's quarter, where all was a confused jumble 
 of tempest, head-winds, and conflicting currents. 
 All I know is, we found it vain to contend with the 
 fury of the elements; had we attempted to do any- 
 thing but just put our helm about, and scud before 
 the wind, I verily believe we had ere now all been 
 food for fishes. Neither can I say whether our plight 
 was worse than what befell the rest of squadron, of 
 whom indeed we scarce caught a glimpse now and 
 then, nor any at all, after the second day of this 
 furious tempest. Once or twice, when lifted from 
 the trough of the sea on the back of a rolling moun 
 tain of water, we thought we could just catch sigLi 
 of one of the squadron, running for it close reefed, 
 or partly dismasted (I could not know which,) far 
 out to the south-by-east. This we thought to be the 
 consort that had stayed longest by us, the Esperanza, 
 of fifty guns, with four hundred and fifty men 
 aboard, not counting her portion of an old regiment 
 of foot, many of them broken dowu and invalided, 
 but now carried out to strengthen our garrisons on 
 the coast of Chill Alas ! where are all those brave 
 souls now ? have they found a grave beneath the 
 waters, or are they cast away like ourselves, their 
 unhappy companions ?" And here the poor man 
 stopped again for a little, and wept outright. 
 
 We were urgent with him to take some rest now. 
 and let" the remainder of his sorrowful story stand 
 over till next day : but it seemed a relief to his pent- 
 up feelings to give us the tale of his misfortunes at 
 once ; so, after a little remonstrating, we let him go 
 on.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 369 
 
 " These, one would think, Senores," says he, " were 
 calamities enough ; but greater were in store for us, 
 as your gentleness shall hear. The evening of that 
 same second day, while we were doing our best to 
 guide the ship, but with ill success, and drove almost 
 helplessly before the wind, came a huge roller, indeed 
 a monster of a wave, that threatened to swallow us 
 at a mouthful ; struck us with full force amid-ships ; 
 and, but the Hermiona is a well-timbered sea boat 
 (indeed, she is, alas ! I must rather say was, a charm- 
 ing sailer on a light wind,) it had then and there 
 made an end of us. But it gave us a shrewd wrench, 
 and one we never got over : the good ship staggered 
 and trembled like a living creature under a heavy 
 blow ; and when we righted again (all but three poor 
 fellows that were washed overboard, and went into 
 eternity,) we found to our grief, almost to our despair, 
 the binnacle,* with compass and all, had been 
 washed at once into the sea. We were so ill-provided 
 with the most necessary things for our expedition, 
 owing to the haste of our sailing from Spain, you 
 would scarce believe, Senores, this was the only com- 
 pass we had- on board : nor can I cease to wonder 
 now at our improvidence; but so it was, as we know 
 to our cost. 
 
 " Being thus left forlorn indeed on the open sea, 
 and by the blackness of a continued tempest shut out 
 from observation of the stars to guide us, we let our- 
 selves drive whithersover the elements would take 
 the vessel ; feeling it as likely we might be steering 
 
 * t. ., the box which contains the compass for steering 9 
 hip. Ep.
 
 570 THE ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 
 
 away from some friendly haven as making for it ; 
 and we used the helm from that time, only to steady 
 the ship : commending ourselves fervently to the 
 good Providence of God to take us into harbour by 
 His own secret guidance, whose ' way is in the sea, 
 and His paths in many waters.' To this we were 
 tenderly exhorted by our good chaplain, Don Diego 
 Rodez" 
 
 " Diego Rodez !" exclaimed Don Manuel, not able 
 to contain himself for astonishment and sorrow, " was 
 Diego, then, with you in yonder vessel?" 
 
 " Aye, truly, father," says the lieutenant, surprised ; 
 " he was our chaplain, and sailed with us from Valen- 
 cia, sharing all our hardships ; and continued ever to 
 be the main-stay and comfort of the crew, till he 
 was stricken down with fever : then edified us all by 
 his holy death." 
 
 "Ah, Diego, Diego !" cried the priest, in the first 
 burst of his sorrow : " my early companion and friend ! 
 Ah thou saintly one, whose example I ought to have 
 followed more faithfully ! and thou art gone gone 
 hence before me" : he could say no more ; but sat 
 with his face buried in his hands. 
 
 We were all silent for a while ; till Don Manuel, 
 still covering his face, said, in a broken voice, in Lat- 
 in, and I repeated in English : " May the souls of the 
 faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace !" 
 All answered, Amen ; after which the lieutenant 
 went on to us, in a lower tone. I should rather say 
 to me; for as to the rest, they did not understand 
 much of his Spanish, and one after another soon 
 dropped off to sleep round the fire,
 
 THR CAIUOL1C CRU80B. 371 
 
 " Well, Sir," says he, " we found the same sea that 
 had washed away our binnacle, had also sprung our 
 main-mast to that degree, that not only was it useless 
 to carry sail, but we feared, at every lurch the ship 
 gave, the top-hamper would bring the mast down, 
 and kill some of our men on deck. We were there- 
 fore compelled to cut it away by the board, though 
 't was like signing our death-warrants to do so : and, 
 before we had got half through it, the ship gave 
 another great keel, and saved us all trouble for the 
 rest, throwing the mast sheer over her starboard 
 quarter. We cut ourselves free from the tackle, and 
 sailed on as well as as we could ; but our steerage 
 was now so damaged by the huge waves that had 
 taken us abaft, the ship would scarce answer her 
 helm : and two days after, with the continual rolling, 
 our mizen shared the fate of the main-mast, only 
 that it did not go quite by the board. The Hermiona 
 was now little more than a log on the water ; all we 
 could do was, to keep her head pretty fair with any 
 ocean-stream we might meet, and redouble our 
 prayers. 
 
 " So far for our sailing disasters; but the worst re- 
 mains to be told. Our provisions, already scanty, 
 had fallen so frightfully short, nothing but death by 
 starvation now stared us in the face. It was afflict- 
 ing to the utmost degree to see brave men, who had 
 set forth from their native country full of hope and 
 vigour, now doomed to die on the wide sea, like so 
 many caged birds, or mice, a death so horrible, and 
 by inches. I believe, never did an impatient suf- 
 ferer, groaning under some lingering disease, call
 
 372 THE ADVKNTURBS OP OWEN IVANS, 
 
 more fervently on death to release him, than our poor 
 fellows yearned and prayed for the English squadron 
 to heave in sight, that they might at least die at their 
 guns, for their king and country. But all no avail 1 
 " We had for some time been reduced to half our 
 daily allowance ; then this again was made less, till 
 we came down to nigh a quarter ; then to the quarter 
 itself. We now began to lose our men very fast ; a 
 fever broke out together witli the famine, or follow- 
 ing on it : and we had to throw many overheard ev- 
 ery day. Still, the provisions declined almost in the 
 same desrree ; so that the number of starving mouths 
 
 O s O 
 
 remaining on board made us scarcely to feel the re- 
 lief afforded by those who had ceased to eat. At this 
 period of our sufferings, we took to anything that 
 offered, no matter how distasteful to any one in 
 plenty : the rats in the ship became valuable prizes, 
 and were disposed of by any who was lucky enough 
 to catch one, as his hunger or avarice dictated. I 
 have known a rat to fetch four or five dollars ; and 
 when they had all disappeared, more than double 
 that price would have been given for them. Some 
 of the men stole the ship's lanthorns, cut the horn of 
 them into strips, and kept themselves alive by chew- 
 ing it in secret. Any old piece of untanned leather 
 was most greedily seized ; the soldiers esteemed it an 
 advantage to have their gloves to eat ; and seal-skin 
 shoes were quarrelled and fought for : then later on, 
 tanned or untanned, all came to us alike. 
 
 " At length I tremble to think of it one dreadful 
 alternative began to force itself on our thoughts. No 
 pne spoke of it at first ; then, by degrees, it began to
 
 fHR CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 3iT3 
 
 be whispered about, but 'twas never known who first 
 gave utterance to it that, if this extremity con- 
 tinued, rather than that all should perish, one, or 
 some, must be sacrificed" 
 
 Here lie stopped again, overcome : we shuddered 
 with horror, too, to think what he meant, and that 
 'twas- possible for Christian men, reduced to such 
 straits of hunger, to turn into very cannibals, and 
 devour one another. " And how were you saved 
 from this horrible thing?" asked Don Manuel, at 
 length : " for saved from it you were, I trust in 
 God I 1 ' 
 
 " By him who is gone to his reward," answered the 
 lieutenant, crossing himself again : " our good chap- 
 lain, I mean. When the gunner came to him, lying, 
 as he was, exhausted with famine and sickness, and 
 whispered to him such things were beginning to be 
 breathed among us, he dragged himself up the com- 
 panion-ladder, more dead than alive, and stood sud- 
 denly on deck. We shrank away from him, so death- 
 like he looked ; some of us doubted whether it were 
 not bis gbost : but gathering the last of his strength, 
 he exhorted us so pathetically, for the love of God, 
 and by faith in His providence, to abstain from this 
 hideous resource, that we all went down upon our 
 knees on the deck around him, kissing the hem of his 
 garment, and swore a solemn oath we would hold out 
 three full days longer. It was the last service he 
 rendered to his Lord ; for he swooned, and lay for 
 dead, almost before the words were out of our lips ; 
 in truth, he died that very night. But, though we 
 were reduced to the extremity of tearing up rotten
 
 374 THE ADVKNTIRES OF OWBN BVANS, 
 
 planks from the deck, and gnawing the softer parts 
 of the wood, yet we kept our word with him, though 
 with great difficulty ; and before the three days were 
 quite out, we discovered your island from the fore- 
 top, and fired our guns, which (I doubt not) you 
 heard. You know the rest, Senores : and to you, af- 
 ter God, be the thanks of the perishing given." 
 
 Having thus ended his narrative, the poor man 
 knelt to Don Manuel, to ask his blessing ; then sa- 
 luted us with all the courtesy of his nation, though by 
 this he could scarce speak for weariness, and retired 
 to his side of the boundary, to forget his sorrows in 
 sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIH. 
 
 LAWFUL WBBCKINQ. 
 
 AT daybreak, next morning, the horns summoned 
 us to spring up, and begin an important day for us 
 alL First came morning prayer and spiritual Mass, 
 which we never omitted ; and here I must pass by 
 the astonishment and joy of the poor Spaniards on 
 finding that we were Catholics like themselves. They 
 had taken it for granted that, because we were Eng- 
 lishmen, we must needs also be heretics ; and were 
 slow to believe but that there was some delusion 
 here, and something would turn up afterwards to 
 show we were such as they supposed. But when 
 they were fully convinced of the truth, I could 
 plainly see they not only were well satisfied about
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC OBUS01. 375 
 
 ourselves, but regarded Don Manuel with great rev- 
 erence, as having been the instrument to us of such a 
 favour. 
 
 Our after concern was to snatch a hasty breakfast, 
 which was made as plentiful as time permitted, hav- 
 ing hard work to do after it. Pounder and the lieu- 
 tenant, in the meantime, went down to the cove to 
 look after the wreck : when they came back, each re- 
 ported, in his own fashion, she had not sunk lower, 
 but, on the contrary, seemed to have been pushed by 
 the advance of the tide further up on the reef where- 
 on she had grounded. For this, we made out, was 
 the reason why she keeled so much to larboard, 
 namely, her starboard bow had been showed by the 
 tide upon one of those coral reefs that made up our 
 defences and the peril of our visitors ; so the ship's 
 balance was overset. 
 
 We ran down to the cove, eager to save what 
 could still be got from the wreck : and we found, as 
 the lieutenant said, she had changed her place in- 
 deed, but whether better or worse for our purpose 
 was hard to determine. For the whole of her fore- 
 castle and greater part of her starboard bow appeared 
 now high and dry ; but then, to balance that, her lar- 
 board quarter was deeper in the water, and half the 
 quarter-deck, too, was drowned. So we had little 
 hope of being able to save any of her more valuable 
 cargo ; nor, what was of much more value to us, her 
 store of powder, that lay too deep in the hold ; nor 
 whatever specie she might carry. But that last, the 
 Spaniard assured me, was little enough, and only 
 what would settle the ship's dues for provisions in
 
 376 THE ADVENTURES OF OWMT EVANS, 
 
 port : for they rather hoped to carry back silver to 
 Old Spain than were equipped to carry out any ; and 
 partly were designed to relieve the galleon that 
 sailed every year from Valparaiso, from making her 
 voyage that year ; which, by reason of the war that 
 had broken out, and Commodore Anson's expedition, 
 would have been hazardous in the extreme. 
 
 However, by dint of hard labour, with breaking up 
 a part of the main-deck (though the greater part lay 
 a loot or two under water) with help ot crow-bars, 
 and other instruments we rummaged out on board, 
 we made our way down to the officers' berths ; but 
 found little to repay our labor, except some fine 
 clothes and linen, that were welcome enough to us. 
 There was, indeed, some small store of money, too, 
 and other valuables ; but these were so little to our 
 purpose, we had almost pitched them into the sea, 
 for sheer vexation at finding nothing beside. 'Twas 
 with great difficulty we got at an arm-chest ; when 
 we had found it, there was no getting it up whole, 
 for the weight, and depth of water : for half our 
 work was to dive, or scramble, rather, under the 
 water, with a rope tied round xis, to be hauled up if 
 there was danger of our being smothered. But, not 
 being used to diving, we could not stay under for 
 more than three or four minutes at most ; 'twas blind 
 work, too, after all, to feel about for such heavy 
 things in the dark, and dangerous to venture more 
 than a few steps from the hole in the deck by which 
 we entered. So, after some hours' labour, each re- 
 lieving the other, we got little enough for our pains, 
 though Gill stayed under so long at one time, trying
 
 *fi OATflOLIO OROSOB. 377 
 
 at the arm-chest, to break it open, that when he came 
 up the blood gushed from his nose and ears, and 
 'twas some little time before he got his breath again. 
 
 Our Indians did us the best service here ; for it 
 seems, in Toonati-nooka they are all expert divers, 
 and trained to it from their very infancy, going down 
 several fathoms deep after pearl-oysters and other 
 shell-fish, or coral for their ornaments ; and even the 
 children take to the water almost before they can run 
 alone. Pounder and Samuel were now delighted to 
 render us this good turn : while we relieved them in 
 mounting guard (for we harbored no unkind sus- 
 picious of our new friends, yet would not lay our- 
 selves open to be taken at unawares), they kept 
 plunging in, turn-and-turn-about, and stayed under 
 an amazing time indeed, by comparison. At last, 
 between them, the arm-chest was broken into, and 
 they came up in triumph, bringing now a musket, 
 now a cutlass, or brace of pistols, now some heads of 
 boarding-pikes : in short, during two or three days 
 (for I must go on faster in my account) working at 
 this employment only, we got out no less than twen- 
 ty-nine muskets, with seventeen large pistols, of the 
 kind they call a petronel, or large horse-pistol, besides 
 six of a smaller sort : and even we made conti'ivance 
 to unship and get into the boat a small brass mortar 
 or short carronade, mounted on a swivel, such as 
 would do wholesale execution if it were crammed 
 with bullets, or even with nails, odds and ends of 
 iron, nay, with stones and pebbles from the beach, 
 provided only we found powder to charge it with. 
 
 Of powder, we only found three large horns in the
 
 878 tHR ADYBNTURE8 Ot OWlN FtANS, 
 
 officers' cabins ; one of these was touched by the 
 water, so that a great part was useless and spoiled. 
 However, we brought it all ashore; and later, by 
 drying the damaged part of this powder in the sun, 
 we made it serve passably well, as we di I also the 
 rest of the wetted powder we got up afterward! 
 from the powder-room in casks: only, it woull miss 
 fire by times, and we were never sure of it. But we 
 had learned, by this time, uot to rely on our guns at 
 all; so, husbanding all our powder to garrison our 
 fortress, we laid it up in the dry magazine in our 
 rock, to serve us in any bout we might yet have 
 with savages, or other encounters. 
 
 And I may as well mention here, we began to 
 make bows and arrows for our Spanish friends, too, 
 and taught them how to nse them : we went on with 
 our regular practice from day to day ; at least, after 
 we had got everything from the wreck we could lay 
 hands on. So that we might be reckoned well found 
 in weapons of ulFcncc : having noV powder enough 
 to blow ourselves and our enemies into the air, be- 
 sides such a skill in archery that we thought it no 
 rare feat to pick off a small bird from the top of the 
 highest cocoa-palm in the island. Our Indians made 
 themselves javelins as well as bows out of the bam- 
 boo-canes, and shod and pointed them with sharks' 
 teeth or glimmer : also, they hollowed out other 
 bamboos, smoothing the inside with great care ; then 
 lifted a light arrow into them, and blew it forth with 
 their breath with great force and an amazing good 
 aim to a distance. So that, altogether, we were now 
 a formidable body ol archers, six-and-forty strong j
 
 tHl CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 379 
 
 and with our jcastle and powder-magazine, might 
 have given battle or stood a siege against more than 
 twice our number. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 HUMOURS AND SECRETS. 
 
 Now began a new life on our island, and at first a 
 strange one ; for if our being left here was beyond 
 all expectation, six poor forlorn men, to shift for 
 themselves; I may say, 'twas yet more so to find our 
 colony increased by a second unlooked-for adventure 
 like this. But truth, I have heard said, is stranger 
 than fiction ; and certain it is, should any one take 
 into his head to invent such a tale, on the side of the 
 Spaniards or our own, and put it on paper, he would 
 be set down as a romancer, unworthy of belief. 
 
 When I returned to England, indeed, some years 
 after (for I may as well outrun my story here a lit- 
 tle), the war being then over, the commodore* raised 
 
 * Anson, who returned to England with his only remain- 
 ing ship, the Centurion, after the capture of a rich Spanish 
 galleon, and nearly four years after he had set sail from Spit- 
 head, in command of five ships and a sloop. He came back 
 with the twofold glory of as much naval success as the vexa- 
 tious delays of the government permitted him to reap, ami 
 of being ranked among the circumnavigators of the globe : 
 arriving at Spithead in June, 1744. His great success off 
 Cape Finisterre afterwards crowned his reputation as a brave 
 and skilful commander. He was thereupon created baron 
 Soberton ; and having risen, through every successive rank 
 in the service, to be admiral and commander-in-chief ol hii 
 majesty's fleet, died in 1762. ED
 
 380 THE ADVENfllHRS OTf OWBN EVANS, 
 
 to be a peer, and endowed with great wealth all 
 which he well deserved, not more for bravery and 
 signal services, than for humane and honourable con- 
 duct throughout the war I heard, among other ru- 
 mours which I well knew to be false, that the Her- 
 miona was thought to have foundered at sea, when 
 the Spanish fleet was driven back from Cape Horn 
 by that tempest the lieutenant told us of. 
 
 Nay, this was even believed in Spain, as I learned 
 from a merchant of that nation whom I met at a 
 coffee-house in London, not so very long since. 
 
 His story ran as follows: That, with all the efforts 
 of Pizarro, the Spanish admiral, and the commanders 
 of the several vessels under him, to prosecute the en- 
 terprise that squadron had set forth upon, finding 
 the tempest too much for them, in the disabled con- 
 dition of their ships and crews (the one shattered 
 and dismasted, growing leakier every day ; the other 
 worn out with fever, scurvy, and famine alike, dis- 
 spirited with adverse fortune, not to speak of the 
 exhausting labour of constantly working the ships' 
 pumps in that state of weakness), they had all been 
 force'd to run for it before the wind ; 
 
 That nothing was then left to them but to bear 
 away for the Rio de la Plata, which place the ad- 
 miral, in his own ship (the Asia), happily succeeded 
 in making, but not till near the middle of May in 
 that year ; 
 
 That two other ships of the squadron, first the 
 Esperanza, of fifty guns, with four hundred and fifty 
 men (or what remained of them), then the San Et- 
 tevan, of forty guns, that had taken from Spain a
 
 THK CATHOLIC CHUSOB. 381 
 
 crew of three hundred and fifty, followed the Asia, 
 and made Rio a fe\v days later than the admiral; 
 
 That the Guipuscoa, the largest ship of the squad- 
 ron, a seventy-four, carrying an equal complement of 
 men with the admiral's, that is to say, seven hundred 
 strong, grounded and sank somewhere off the Bra- 
 zils ; but her crew, I mean always the poor remnant 
 that famine had not devoured, nor fever wasted, 
 saved their lives in the boats, and some found their 
 way back to Spain, but others settled in the Spanish 
 plantations ; 
 
 That the Hermiona had, without any doubt, foun- 
 dered at sea, since none of her crew were heard of 
 after. 
 
 As to these items, with other details of the straits 
 the five ships' companies were reduced to for want of 
 provisions, and- the horrors of famine aboard ship (all 
 which agreed very well with the Spanish lieutenant's 
 narrative), I could readily believe each and every one, 
 except the last article. Indeed, as to the rest, with 
 this included, I had read it before then in the account 
 of Lord Anson's voyage, by his chaplain, printed for 
 John and Paul Knapton in Ludgate street. 
 
 If the reader should now ask, why I have kept 
 this fact so close, without giving (for I never have 
 given) the least hint of it, whether to the Spanish or 
 English governments, nor even in conversation with 
 my friends, I would beg in return, that he would 
 please to consider the circumstances under which 
 these men, being at war with my own country, were 
 cast on that island of which I might be reckoned (in 
 some sort) viceroy, or governor : how we were all
 
 382 THE ADVENTURES 01 OWEN EVANS, 
 
 there together, in an out-of-the-way corner of the 
 world ; how men, in circumstances so strange, in the 
 utmost distress, needing each other's aid for very life, 
 almost cease to belong to this or that nation, and 
 merge into the great family of mankind. Let him 
 reflect how barbarous and inhuman a thing it were 
 in me, on touching my native shores, to turn informer 
 on tlie whereabouts of brave men who had been the 
 sport of such disasters ; that, war or no war, they 
 were my brothers in misfortune, fellow-colonists in 
 the island while they stayed there, or colonists on 
 their own account, if they returned ; that, whether on 
 our island, or in Toonati-nooka (if they ever reached 
 that place), they had the same right to liberty : but 
 while I revise these sheets, three years after they 
 were written, and arrive at that word liberty \ I feel 
 with sorrow, these are not the days in which freedom 
 from injustice is the portion of a seaman,* of what- 
 ever merit. 
 
 In fine, I have decided it in my mind, that not 
 they only, but their descendants for two, aye, and 
 for three generations (in case they have settled in 
 
 * This allusion seems to point clearly to the death, in 
 1757, of the unfortunate Admiral Byng, who was shot in that 
 year for an alleged neglect of duty, but apparently to save 
 the credit of an unpopular and incapable ministry. Owen 
 Evans expresses, in his more homely way, very much the 
 sentiment recorded in the Admiral's epitaph, placed by his 
 family over his remains : " To the perpetual disgrace of pub- 
 lic justice, the Honourable John Byng, Vice- Admiral of the 
 Blue, fell a martyr to political persecution on March the 
 14th, in the year 1757, when bravery and loyalty were insuf- 
 ficient securities for the life and honour of a naval officer." 
 
 The reader will observe that, reckoning three years after 
 fifteen from Owen's misfortune in 1739, brings us precisely to 
 1767. ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 383 
 
 tiat country, without going back to Spain), shall 
 remain undisturbed from any quarter, so far as I can 
 provide for it ; unless the restless spirit of discovery 
 and enterprise now awakened among us, shall pro- 
 duce another South Sea Bubble, or another voyage 
 round the globe. My friend, the Honourable John 
 Byron,* is perhaps the most likely man I know of to 
 ferret these my other friends out in their retreat, 
 should he hoist his flag again for those parts where 
 he hath already suffered so great hardship. And the 
 knowledge of there being such active spirits among 
 us, together with other motives it were tedious to 
 trouble the reader with, have determined me to leave 
 these sheets hi trust with a discreet friend of mine, 
 and with his son and grandson after him, their 
 hereditaments and assigns ; never to see the light till 
 one hundred years, or thereabout, shall have come 
 and gone, after 1 have passed out of this life into the 
 world to come ; when, sweet Jesu, have mercy on 
 my soul 1 Amen. 
 
 * Commodore Byron, second son to William, fourth Lord 
 Byron, and grandfather to the unhappily celebrated poet, 
 was born at Newstead in 1723, and went as midshipman in 
 one of Ansou's ships (the Wager) in 1740. This vessel was 
 wrecked on the coast of Patagonia ; whence, after enduring 
 extreme hardships, he reached Chiloe, was made prisoner by 
 the Spaniards, taken to St. Jago, in Chili, and did not return 
 to England for more than five years after his departure, '. ., 
 from 1740 to 1746. Eighteen years after this again he took 
 command of an expedition of discovery to the South Seas, 
 and having gone roand the world, returned in safety two 
 years afterwards. He commanded on the West Indian Sta- 
 tion during the American war, and died in 1768. ED.
 
 384 THE ADVENTURES OF OWIN IVANS, 
 
 CHAPTER LXV. 
 
 THE BEST DISCOVEBY OP ALL. 
 
 GROWING assured of the honest purpose of these 
 newcomers, we went all lengths [by degrees] in 
 trusting them: till at last we repealed some of those 
 strict laws we had made on their arrival, forming 
 thenceforth but one commonwealth, and having in- 
 terests and property in common. " We will have 
 nothing more to do," says Don Manuel, "with those 
 cold words, mine and thine ;" and went on to say, in 
 the first days of Christianity, the multitude of the be- 
 lievers threw all into a common stock, none saying 
 that aught of the things which he possessed was his 
 own. " But what shall be done," I asked, " if any 
 prove, himself a worthless member of the community, 
 and begin to disturb or injure the rest ?" " Let him 
 who discovers it take that man aside," answered the 
 priest, " and reason with him in meekness and char- 
 ity." " Well, but," I went on [he and I were talk- 
 ing alone at this time], " and if he still persist 1" 
 "Then let two or three of the elder and more mod- 
 erate enforce on him what the first has said." " And 
 if he be obstinate after that ?" " Then bring him to 
 me," says he, smiling, " and I will persuade him by 
 those higher motives he possesses in virtue of being 
 a Catholic." " And lastly, Tadoone, if he remain 
 deaf, even to you ?" " Then we will banish him," he 
 answered, in a decided way, " to the further side of
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 385 
 
 the island, till solitude or hunger bring him back to 
 his senses and to us." 
 
 This being understood, we pursued our lives all to- 
 gether : and making no distinction of race, language, 
 or date of coming, we admitted the Spaniards to 
 share our crops, farm, larder, cave, and all the nat- 
 ural advantages or after contrivances of our banish 
 ment. They, for their part, shared with us the stores 
 we got from the wreck day by day ; always with the 
 proviso we would account for the valu<.^ of these, or 
 at least give in an estimate of our use and consump- 
 tion of them, to any authorities of our several coun- 
 tries, should a kind Providence one day take us off 
 this place of exile. 
 
 Having arranged matters thus, as the only thing 
 to be done under the strange circumstances we were 
 thrown in, we made it a part of our daily life to go off 
 to the wreck, and fetch away all we could lay hands 
 on. We were well content to find her settle down 
 no further in the water : indeed, upon the coral reef 
 she had struck on, that was out of the question ; thus 
 we were encouraged to wait for some extraordinary 
 low water, at the neap tide, when, the sea being 
 calm, we might come at some of the stores below our 
 usual diving. Meantime, we got out of her what- 
 ever we could reach, by tearing away parts of the 
 upper deck (to which end we made a sacrifice of 
 three or four more gun barrels), and diving to the 
 orlop deck : though we found that dangerous, by 
 reason of the entanglements of the place itself, and 
 the broken bulkheads and woodwork that floated to 
 and fro.
 
 886 THl ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS 
 
 Indeed, one of our Spaniards, Jose Martinez bj 
 name, had a narrow escape with his life, being 
 jammed in under water by a beam of wood so heavy 
 he could not free himself. Only by the strength and 
 courage of our noble Tom Harvey he was saved at 
 all, being quite senseless when Tom brought him up 
 with infinite difficulty, and himself almost spent. As 
 to poor Jose, we could not bring him round for somt 
 time, with rubbing, clapping the palms of his hands, 
 blowing into his nostrils, and what not : so that I 
 truly believe, had there been a swell on though never 
 BO little, they had been both lost without remedy. 
 But Jose never forgot the gratitude he owed his 
 preserver : so that a close friendship sprung up be- 
 tween these two, and they made a compact together, 
 they would specially serve and befriend one another 
 on all occasions. When this came to Tadoone's ears, 
 he was not well pleased at it ; and sending for them, 
 both they were already under such a compact, not 
 to each other alone, but to all the rest, and need not 
 make it afresh as between particular persons. For 
 being men, says he, and being Christians besides, we 
 are bound to help, aye, and love one another. As 
 men, we owe our fellow-men an obligation of mutual 
 aid and good will : and as Catholic Christians, we are 
 bound up together in the_mystical body of our Lord, 
 and so are " members one of another." I can have 
 nothing (he added to say against a true friendship 
 between two men, that is based on their having a 
 like character and tastes, or being companions in 
 misfortune or success ; so that general charity suffer- 
 eth not thereby. And thus ended his little discourse 
 to Jose and Tom.
 
 THB CATHOLIC ORU80B. 587 
 
 *Twere tedious to give a list of all we got out of 
 the wreck, by dint of hard working ; but every day 
 saw our stores increasing in things very useful to us 
 in our present condition. We carried away all that 
 was portable, and made attempts -at many things 
 that were not : in particular, we became rich in dam- 
 aged powder, and old iron, what with hoops, bars, 
 nails, and clamps; some of them served our needs in 
 the shape we got them in, others we contrived to 
 forge into rude spades, chisels, javelins, arrow-heads, 
 and what not, by heating them in the hottest wood 
 fire we could make, and hammering them into shape 
 between two stones. 'Tis true, we were young in 
 the smith's craft, as in many other trades : but ne- . 
 cessity, they say, is the mother of invention ; and, as 
 we had only ourselves to please, we managed we? I 
 enough. Also, the planks and beams we got from 
 her, that came away by degrees as the irons were 
 loosened, proved handy to us in many ways, chiefly 
 for putting up divisions in our cave, and for firewood. 
 
 By these instruments too, we so enlarged our cave 
 itself, as made it more like a catacomb, with passages 
 running one into the other at right angles: and, 
 growing bolder now, from our increased numbers, 
 with no sign of savages coming to molest us, we re- 
 solved to make an entranc^ from below as well as 
 above. So, going to work within our entrenchments, 
 we hewed a low arch into the base of our cliff, till 
 we were seven or eight feet in : then cut upwards, and 
 made a sloping passage with steps notched in the 
 rock, aiming (as near as we could guess) at the centre 
 of our cave above. We were not so far out in our
 
 888 THE ADVKXTL'RRS OF OWJEK RVANS, 
 
 reckoning, neither ; for when we had worked for the 
 best part of a week, we found ourselves coming up 
 through the rocky floor of that short passage that 
 led out of our main passage into the kitchen. This, 
 to be sure, was an awkward place enough to find 
 ourselves planted in, with our new staii'-case : but 
 the thing being done, was not to be undone ; and 
 the best remedy we could devise was to cut us out 
 another passage round about, avoiding the hole we 
 had made in the floor : then we blocked the former 
 entrance to the kitchen with some trunks of trees 
 laid lengthways, one over the other; and began to 
 use our new stair-case with much satisfaction. 
 
 To come back to the wreck; among our most 
 valuable discoveries was the finding of the chaplain's 
 vestments and chalice (Don Diego Podez, I mean, 
 that had died on board.) The Spaniards told us 
 they were to be found somewhere ; and true enough 
 we lit on them at last, stowed away in a chest with 
 a few other things, almost worthless, that had be- 
 longed to the poor priest, and seemed to make up 
 the whole of his worldly wealth. As, a very old 
 cassock, a pair of shoes much worn, a shirt or two, 
 none of the best, a crucifix and small case of relics, 
 his breviary, two little books of devout prayers and 
 meditations, a larger volume, which Tadoone said 
 was a treatise on theology, and some Latin papers, 
 with the seal of the bishop of Valencia. These were 
 all much spoiled by the salt water, and the leaves of 
 the books so glued together, we made sure no man 
 would ever read them again. But Don Manuel, to 
 whom (I could well see) these books were a great
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 383 
 
 prize, by patient drying of them in the sun, so far 
 restored them that a good part of their contents 
 became readable again : and he took much delight in 
 making out these parts, giving us little choice bits 
 of spiritual maxims and words of comfort, proper 
 to our condition. 
 
 The priest's vestments had suffered from the sea- 
 water as much, almost, as the books: yet by dint 
 of care they came out pretty well at last. As for 
 the little altar-stone and linens to suit it, they were 
 no ways damaged. With these, and the sacred 
 vessels (with a case of very pure Spanish wine that 
 we found in the captain's cabin,) and a pound or two 
 of virgin wax to make tapers of, we had every pros- 
 pect of having that Holy Sacrifice among us, that 
 we had learned so much to desire, and were so much 
 hoping to profit by. 
 
 In brief, Don Manuel with much joy, applied him- 
 self to the bags (our Indians had woven them of 
 plantain leaves,) wherein he kept his store of wheaten 
 corn, in hopes of such an occasion as this : grinding 
 out now a portion between two flat stones, he kneaded 
 up the paste, and made, with much ado, some thin 
 sheets of unleavened bread, whereof (after baking) 
 he cut out round wafers, half as large again as a rix- 
 dollar. Having made some dozens of these, he laid 
 them up in one of the driest shelves, or cup-boards 
 in our cave : then announced to us, all things were 
 ready to celebrate holy Mass the morning after. 
 
 This was joyful news to us, you may believe : our 
 spiritual mass and communions having prepared us, 
 by a great degree of longing, to welcome this chiefest
 
 390 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BTAN8, 
 
 of blessings whenever it should come indeed. We 
 spent the afternoon in getting ready for the happiest 
 day of our lives, all of us going to make our con- 
 fession : which occupied no long time, inasmuch as 
 we (most of us) did that every week, and lived at 
 peace with our neighbours, except a little breeze (or 
 so) now and again ; and were happily removed out 
 of the way of temptation. 
 
 Next morning came, and with it came the blessing 
 of holy Mass and Communion. I am a bad one to 
 describe such things as these ; so must leave to my 
 reader to suppose for himself what we felt as we knelt 
 round the altar which Tadoone had arranged in a 
 little arbour we had built for our summer chapel, or 
 part woven and part built, lacing the sides in and out 
 with tendrils of osiers and supple-jack. 
 
 One of our Spaniards, Bartolome Ramirez, served 
 the priest's Mass, having been used to do so [he told 
 us] in the Church of the Augustinians at Valencia; 
 and so, all went on orderly and devoutly: nor were 
 we distracted by the newness of it, having had every 
 part, and every ceremony, explained to us by our 
 good Tadoone. But in truth, as I recall that morning 
 to my thoughts, my eyes fill with tears I am not 
 ashamed of: only, I had sooner dropped my pen, 
 and go on my knees to thank God. than write any 
 nioro about it
 
 THB CATHOLIC ORUSOH. 391 
 
 CHAPTER LXVL 
 
 SIGNS OP ANOTHER MOVE. 
 
 ONE thing only seemed now to disturb our tranquil 
 way of life ; that was, the disturbance we noticed in 
 our friend and guide: for, strange to say, he that had 
 upheld us often in wayward desponding moods, and 
 disgust at our lot, now seemed to be unhinged by 
 some troublous thoughts of his own. He said noth- 
 ing to us on the matter ; but kept it to himself, what- 
 soever it might be ; trying to seem as cheerful as had 
 been his wont. Only, I noticed him to be now more 
 retired by himself: not, as before, when he was en- 
 gaged at his devotions only, but at odd times too, 
 unless he could help us by labour, of which he was 
 never shy, or advice on any point we needed. I 
 came on him once and again, seated with his head 
 resting on his hand, gazing out on the sea to that 
 quarter whence the canoe had been driven to us by 
 the hurricane, some two years before. When he 
 observed me, he would rise, and pass it off with a 
 remark on the weather or such common things ; but 
 I could well see, he was thinking on something 
 further oi 
 
 What opinion the others had on all this, I know 
 not ; for I would not share my thoughts with any 
 upon it. They looked at him, 't is true, with some 
 uneasiness ; for he had become a necessary portion 
 of our well-being, and the idea of his being taken 
 from us by death, or in any other way, was such as
 
 392 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS. 
 
 we could not endure : so much had his gentle mannera 
 and example softened down those rude natures to the 
 temper and affections of good Christians. But no 
 one spoke about this change in him, except in whispers 
 one to the other : I, for my part, was at no loss for 
 a shrewd guess what it meant. I had not forgotten 
 the night when his own words showed he was dream- 
 ing about Toonati-nooka, and converting the savages 
 there ; I made no doubt, therefore, 't was on that 
 project his mind was fixed, and that he never would 
 be content nor happy again, till he had contrived to 
 go over, and visit them. 
 
 One afternoon, that I found him again in this mus- 
 ing way, I made free to approach him on the sub- 
 ject: I told him, in a half-jesting tone, methought I 
 could read a little, too, in the book he was studying 
 BO deeply. He looked at me, as somewhat surprised, 
 not seeing what I meant ; for he knew not I had dis- 
 covered his thoughts. Then, presuming on our 
 friendship, I went on in the like strain : I told him I 
 could put the title of the book in one word. He then 
 asked me to give him the word. " Nay, father," 
 said I, " what is the book you have nearest to your 
 heart ?" On this, he pulls out his constant compan- 
 ion, his prayer-book, and shows it to me, with a smile. 
 " You see, friend Owen, there are two words on the 
 title ; read them Breviarium Romanum : so you 
 are mistaken in your guess." " Well," I pursued ; 
 w may I put my question in another way ?" "Any 
 way you wish," says he. " What is the book, then," 
 I asked, " that is nearest to your heart, and furthest 
 from your eyes ? What is it you think on daily,
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 393 
 
 and gaze after, and the name of which is oft on your 
 lips in your prayers ? Describe it to me by the name 
 of a place." " Truly, my dear child," says he, "as 
 you are turned calechist on a sudden, I hope, per- 
 haps, 'tis heaven." " But short of heaven ?" " Why, 
 short of heaven, I desire to find myself safe in purga- 
 tory." "But short of purgatory," I insisted, "and 
 a longer word, if not two?" " Ah," says he, smiling 
 still, but shaking his head now : " yes, you have read 
 my thoughts truly, and my book, I see: 'tis, indeed, 
 Toonnti-nooka !" 
 
 With that, rising, he stretches forth his hand to- 
 wards the sea, that divided him from the object ot 
 his yearning ; and says to me with the tears in his 
 eyes : " See, friend ; below that horizon are multi- 
 tudes of precious souls, bought, equally with you 
 and me, at the price of the same Divine Blood," and 
 he lifted his hat with great reverence. " Ah, how 
 greatly were they beloved by that Heart that ago- 
 nized for us all on the cross : yet, how far are they 
 from Him ! how far from the knowledge of Him, 01 
 power to love Him !" 
 
 He stopped a littl" overcome by what he felt . 
 then laid his hand on my arm, and said : " Remem- 
 ber out of what depth of hideous wicked heathenism 
 our three Indians were rescued : well, even in those 
 dark depths are countless souls now lying there !"he 
 repeated, thrusting his arm again over the sea ; 
 '* there, there !" 
 
 " I see them," he went on, " as clearly as with 
 these bodily eyes ; shedding one another's blood, 
 dancing round monstrous idols, sacrificing their pris-
 
 394 THE ADVENTURES OF OWKN 1TANS, 
 
 oners, perhaps their very children, to demons, drop- 
 ping two, three, ten at a time, dropping into hell j" 
 his voice sunk to a whisper, and he covered his eyes. 
 
 Soon he raised his looks and hands to heaven, and 
 said in a pleading voice, " Regina apostolorum, ora 
 pro illis !" 
 
 His lips moved still in prayer, his hands clasped 
 together, the very sweat standing on his brow from 
 the extremity of his anguish. 
 
 After a while, he returned, as it were, to himself, 
 and looked round. Observing me again, as I stood 
 staring on him, doubtful what to say or do, he ad- 
 dressed me nearly in his usual manner. 
 
 "My dear child," says he, as he calmed down 
 again, " you have never seen this before : that is be- 
 cause I have withdrawn myself, that none should ob- 
 serve it. You know now, what it is that possesses 
 my whole soul. 'Tis my vision by day, and dream 
 by night. A voice is ever sounding in mine ears : it 
 says, * Come over to Toonati-nooka, and help us.'* 
 Do not think," he went on, smiling at me, for I 
 stared upon him all the while, at a loss what to 
 think ; " do not suppose I am beside myself. I never 
 was more in my right wits ; and that you shall see, 
 when we return to the rest. I shall be calmer now, 
 for having told you what is in my heart : hencefor- 
 ward, we can discuss it together, and see what is to 
 be done," 
 
 * See Acts, xei., 9, to which, apparently, the priest refers. 
 He might also have had in his mind " the voices of the 
 Irish," which Saint Patrick heard by some supernatural com- 
 munication, urging him to come and teach them the truth
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 395 
 
 " And you would leave us !" cried I, trai sported 
 beyond myself with grief at the thought : " father ! 
 just when we are learning, through you, to love 
 God ; when you have brought us some steps forward 
 on the good way, you will leave the plants you have 
 planted and watered ! leave the sheep you have 
 brought into the fold !" 
 
 " You may well believe," answered he, struggling 
 with himself, " I should not leave you all without 
 pain ; but there is one great sentence, the constant 
 motto and motive of a great saint, which expresses 
 the rule we should follow in all such matters." 
 
 "And what is that?" asked I, fearing, I hardly 
 knew what. 
 
 " ALL TO THE GREATER GLORY OF GOD," said he. 
 Then he added, with vigor : " Why should we not 
 aH go together? Or, if that would overload the 
 boats, shall we draw lots to see who goes and who 
 stays on the first voyage of discovery ; and they who 
 go, promise to bring back the boats within a reason- 
 able time ?" 
 
 In short, soon after we came again to the rest, the 
 priest proposed to them that a certain number, with 
 himself, should take two of the boats, and set forth 
 on a voyage of discovery to Toonati-nooka. It 
 might, he said, have several advantages ; for savages, 
 living in the state our Indians had described to us, 
 would be likely to welcome civilized white men, with 
 whom they were not at war, nor had any cause of 
 quarrel, and who could teach them the useful arts of 
 life. Should they find the country enriched with 
 veins of silver or gold (as was more than likely),
 
 506 Till ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 tlicn, lie said, they might receive a benefit no less 
 than confer one : only, in that case, he insisted that 
 they must deal fairly with the inhabitants ; not exact 
 more from them than was just, nor attempt, by 
 crooked means, to get the upper hand, like some dis- 
 coverers who have dishonored the Christian name by 
 their treatment of the heathen to whom they went. 
 For himself, he had one object in going; and 'twould 
 be his care to choose among them those who were 
 not likely to thwart it ; he professed, he gave them 
 all credit for upright intentions, but even among the 
 good, some might be bettermost, etc. 
 
 After this address, for which he assembled us all 
 before night prayers that evening, Don Manuel said 
 he would wish none to give an answer till our devo- 
 tions were concluded the following morning, that we 
 might both pray on it, and sleep on it ; inasmuch as 
 " he who goeth slowly, goeth securely." Accord- 
 ingly, the men, whispering together by their watch- 
 fires, came to different conclusions, according to their 
 
 7 7 O 
 
 several temperaments, or experience in chances and 
 hardships. Some were for going, to seek fresh ad- 
 ventures ; others would sooner stay quiet where they 
 found themselves: but these were chiefly the vet- 
 erans, who were so beaten with the storms of life, 
 they had learned to set a value on repose and com- 
 fort. Nor, indeed, could I blame them ; seeing that 
 (to human reckoning) 'twas a wild-goose chase that 
 he was now preparing. The priest had his own 
 motives, we all knew, and went simply to save souls ; 
 as for the rest, what they went for, but a spirit of 
 roving adventure, remained locked in their own
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 39? 
 
 bosoms ; and so, whether 'twere folly or wisdom, I 
 pretend not to judge. 
 
 But the end of it was, next morning, fourteen of 
 the ship's company, with two of our Englishmen, 
 that is, Gill and Hilton, volunteered to go. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIL 
 
 PREPARATIONS THERETO. 
 
 HEREUPON, we spent many days in making pro- 
 vision for their departure. First we gave them the 
 long boat and shallow to carry them : or, I should 
 rather say, we lent these to the expedition ; for in 
 truth they belonged still to the wreck, and so to the 
 Spanish government, according to the articles of our 
 treaty. However, Don Manuel, who I am sure was 
 something more in consideration, or office, than he 
 seemed, told us we need be under no concern on that 
 score ; that should any of our party arrive in Europe, 
 or other Spanish ship touch here, we had but to 
 mention the name by which we knew him, and that 
 he was our fellow-passenger in the Enterprise for part 
 of the passage, and we should find it all right. 
 
 This being arranged, we would only take ten of 
 those who had volunteered, putting four back, though 
 gently, on the score of their weaker health ; w for WT 
 shall have to rough it, friends," said he, " on the 
 open sea, with changes of weather, and even if we 
 arrive, it may be in sorry plight." He added, that
 
 898 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN ETAN8, 
 
 in case of their provisions running short, 'twas a 
 main matter to have as few mouths to feed on the 
 great wide ocean as might be. Above all, he bade 
 us remember, there were three amongst us who Vad 
 best right of all to take their choice, whether they 
 would go or stay, namely, the Indians, to whom the 
 opportunity was now given, to get back to their 
 own native land. So, turning to them, he put the 
 choice before them, one by one, beginning with the 
 old man, Poulafaihe. 
 
 'Twas a touching thing to behold the struggles in 
 these poor Indians, when they heard Tadoone was 
 going to seek the home whence they came. On the 
 one hand, they had become truly attached to us, 
 and were the most faithful, simple creatures I ever 
 knew of; with no thought but to please us, to whom 
 they owed their lives, and the priest, to whom they 
 owed their faith. On the other hand, their ties of 
 blood were strong ; we had never asked them ques- 
 tions about Toonati-nooka without seeing how they 
 clung to the memory of those they had left there, and 
 the hope of seeing them again. 
 
 Pounder, as it appeared, had been left friendless in 
 this world ; his father, elder brother, two uncles, and 
 a cousin, had all been killed in a battle with the 
 warriors of another tribe, and indeed another island 
 or country, who came, he told us, in eight war 
 canoes, about twenty-seven moons (so he reckoned) 
 before he was thrown on our island. These savages 
 made a descent on that part of the coast where John 
 Pounder (who was then Rer-mimbolamba) lived with 
 his family and near neighbours in a small village ;
 
 THK CATHOLIC ORU801. 899 
 
 here, paddling quietly along the coast, m a dark 
 night, they surprised the inhabitants in their sleep. 
 But I must not run from one story into another; 
 only to say that the warriors of the village, taken 
 thus at unawares, made a fruitless resistance, though 
 a desperate one : the greater part of them were killed 
 outright, some few, when they saw all was lost, 
 escaped into the woods, carrying off some of their 
 children, with their wives ; and so, striking up by 
 difficult paths known to themselves, got so far into 
 the country the conquerers dared not follow them. 
 But these were very few out of the number; our 
 friend John being one of them, though with a wound 
 on his neck, of which he showed us the deep scar. 
 
 The greater part of the men were killed (you might 
 Bay) over and over again, being savagely mangled 
 as they lay, and the women and children carried off 
 as slaves. Only Rere-mime's wife (as the poor 
 fellow told us, the tears standing in his eyes) refus- 
 ing to leave her hut, clung so fast round the pole of 
 it, they could not get her away ; so, dragging her by 
 the hair of her head, but to no purpose, at last, they 
 pierced her with their spears. This was John 
 Pounder's history in brief; which explained why he 
 was most willing of the three to stay with us, and 
 finally chose it. 
 
 As for the other two Indians, 'twas both a hap- 
 piness to themselves to go, and a benefit to the 
 expedition, for they would serve as interpreters, not 
 for the language alone, whereof Tadoone also had 
 made himself master, but (still more) for manners 
 and customs, to report what would make him accept-
 
 400 THB ADVRNTrBRS OF OWEN KVANS, 
 
 able in his mission, or migbt arm tbeir countrymen's 
 minds against him. But all three, with the rest, 
 began with equal zeal to help in the preparations : 
 which consisted chiefly in a stock of such dried 
 provisions as we could store the boats with, as well 
 as refitting the boats themselves, to get them into 
 condition with sail, oars and rudder. 
 
 All this took some time ; for though we were now 
 reinforced with hands enough, we had no carpenter : 
 the carpenter on board tb Spanish ship, and carpen- 
 ter's mate, both having died early in their distresses, 
 Had they been saved alive, I truly think we had 
 made an attempt to build a large boat out of the 
 fragments of the wreck, all rotten though she was, 
 and fitted out an expedition of our whole colony ; so 
 greatly did it go against us to part company with 
 any of our comrades. Besides this, we had a natural 
 curiosity to see the country they were going to : of 
 wnich old Mark and the rest gave us great accounts 
 in many ways. However, 'twas no use to talk or 
 wish, for the boats would not hold more than the 
 number told off for them ; at least to be safe for a 
 boat voyage on the open sea. 
 
 For victualling the expedition, 'twas clear no 
 provisions were to be looked for from the wreck, in 
 which was not one crumb of biscuit to be found, nor 
 a single morsel of pork, nor anything else in the way 
 of food. But we got on shore a small mill-stone set 
 with a rude handle ; though clumsily enough, yet it 
 would work : and we made it do service to grind our 
 corn, and bruise a quantity of yams and bread-fruit 
 to a pulp. We mixed this with our wheat-flour, and
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 401 
 
 kneaded it up well, worked it pretty dry, then rolled 
 it out in sheets, cut them into lengths, basked them 
 by a slow fire, and presented the expedition with a 
 store of wholesome, well tasted biscuit, such as 
 many a ship's company would be glad to come by 
 on a voyage. Beside this, we smoked and salted a 
 quantity of our native pork, together with some wild 
 geese and other large sea-birds ; we stowed all this 
 in three barrels, among those the Hermiona had 
 carried her stores in, and got two into the large boat, 
 and one into the small ; also, four tubs of fresh water, 
 well caulked and secured. I gave them my fishing 
 lines, doubling them for the deep-sea fishery; to- 
 gether with the rod, which I j udged might be useful 
 when they landed, though not at sea. On second 
 thoughts, it ended by our giving them one of our 
 best fishing nets besides ; for thus we put them 
 beyond any chance of falling short of provender. 
 
 Next came the ordnance department, to furnish 
 them with weapons of defence : and here, knowing 
 how great advantage the use of gunpowder gives to 
 the civilized man over the strongest savage, we re- 
 solved to be liberal in our grants to them. Indeed, 
 it was only bestowing on them what was already (in 
 one sense) their own. So we rolled down to the 
 boats one barrel of gunpowder, whole and uutouch- 
 ed, besides more than half of another, which the 
 water had got at, and spoiled, as we thought at the 
 time : but spreading it on a sail-cloth to the sun, then 
 rubbing it betwixt our fingers, we found, by several 
 trials in our muskets, the grain was quite dried, and 
 took fire as well as what was untouched by the sea.
 
 402 THB ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 
 
 Then, for 6re-arms, we gave them a musket a-piece, 
 with two or three to spare : two pistols and a cutlass 
 to each man ; nine pikes (what with our own bam- 
 boos, and some that were saved from the ship), and 
 four boarding-axes to serve as wood-hatches as well 
 as weapons. 
 
 Their greatest want now was a compass ; but that 
 we saw no way to supply them with, there being 
 none known of on board, after the accident of the 
 ship's compass being washed away. At last, by 
 great good luck, or a providence rather, we discover- 
 ed a small pocket-compass at the bottom of a case of 
 instruments, such as buring-glasses, and one or two 
 implements of surgery and optics, that had belonged 
 to one Don Garcia Nunez, doctor of medicine and 
 man of science, to whom the Spanish Government 
 had given a passage, for the sake of some observa- 
 tions he was to make on his way to Santiago ; but 
 he took to his berth and died, while the Hermiona 
 was beating through the Straits Le Maire. This 
 whole case of instruments we put on board for them ; 
 all but a scalpel or so, and some lint and bandages, 
 which I kept back to serve our needs. 
 
 In a word, we gave them whatever may turn to 
 use, whether to defend themselves from savages, or 
 
 7 O * 
 
 cultivate their friendship, and astonish them with the 
 civilized inventions of Europe. Each man, too, had 
 A double set of clothing complete, to fence him from 
 the cold ; moreover, as we found means to get at 
 some of the officers' chests, we rigged five or six of 
 them out in uniform laced coats, and all the bravery 
 we could invent, of hats and feathers, shoulder-knots
 
 TH* CAXIIOL1C CRUSO. 403 
 
 and brocade ; knowing such things to impress r ig- 
 norant minds with the importance of the wearenu 
 
 CHAPTER LXVm. 
 DEPABTTTBT:. 
 
 TWAS a disappointment to us, and a certain lost 
 
 to the expedition, that we could not come at some of 
 the bales stowed away in the Hermiond's hold ; for 
 she carried (as the lieutenant had told us) some Span- 
 ish fabrics, and English stuffs besides, for barter with 
 the Indians of Chili, or other parts of the South 
 American coast. Some few of these, 'tis true, we 
 managed to get up, by dint of hard diving; but in 
 general they were so carefully stowed, and so deep 
 in the hold, they were beyond our utmost efforts. 
 What we got were only some inferior stuffs, as we 
 should recken them in Europe ; though, to be sure, 
 they were prizes to us in our need: we looked on 
 ourselves as very self-denying, to yield up the bales 
 to be stowed in the boats for barter with the sav- 
 ages. 
 
 We still, to be sure, had the ship with us, M a 
 mine from which to draw more of that kind of wealth 
 after the expedition was gone. But what was more 
 to the purpose, we set about to provide them am- 
 munition ; though here we had difficulty enough, the 
 magazine and powder-room both lying deep under 
 water (being in the hold itself) as made us all but
 
 404 THE ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 hopeless to secure them any powder. At last, by 
 much toil, taking turn and turn about with the Span- 
 iards in diving (wherein some of them were expert), 
 we secured, as I partly said before, two barrels and 
 five bags of powder, but all spoiled (so we thought) 
 by the sea ; or wetted at least. Bnt by spreading it 
 out in the sun, as thin as we could spread it on a 
 sail-cloth, with turning and sifting it several times 
 during the day, then brushing or grinding it with 
 much caution, in the small hand-mill found on board, 
 we contrived to save more of it than we thought at 
 first.* Only, we were careful to grind it by very 
 little at a time, lest any should take tire in the mill, 
 and blow iis to atoms : but the parcels were so small, 
 though they took fire once or twice, 'twas like a flash 
 in the pan, and they did us no harm. And thus we 
 were able to save at least four-fifths of serviceable 
 powder out of all we got from the wreck. As to what 
 lay deeper in the hold, we gave up all hope of coming 
 at that ; nor in truth did we much need it. 
 
 Everything was now got ready for their departure : 
 and, since 'twas determined on, and the weather fa- 
 vouring, with a fair breeze from w.x.w. (such as we 
 made out by the Indians, and our own observations, 
 would be almost abaft for their voyage), no reason 
 appeared why they should not cast off the rope, and 
 get out to sea. Yet we kept them, and they lingered 
 
 * There is some repetition here, as well as a discrepancy 
 with what was said about gunpowder towards the end of the 
 last chapter But the former may be accounted for by the 
 great importance of this article to Owen and his compan- 
 ions ; the latter by the general carelessness of his writing 
 ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CftUSOE. 405 
 
 a couple of days after this, under one pretence or 
 other; now adding some stores, now stowing them 
 away neater in the boats, freshening the water and 
 vegetables, caulking also the boats themselves 
 (though they were quite sea-worthy) : in short, any- 
 thing to persuade our own minds and theirs, they 
 were not delaying without reason. For in this peace- 
 ful exile of ours, sweetened by religion and our kind, 
 cheerful Tadoone, we had come to have no other 
 thought, and scarce another wish than to lay our 
 bones together in the island when our time should 
 come. 
 
 But Don Manuel's zeal, with all his patience, would 
 bear no delay beyond those two days, nor scarcely 
 that : so on the third morning early, having said the 
 last Mass he ever said (to our knowledge) on As- 
 sumption Isle, and strengthened us all by Holy Com- 
 munion (for part of our two days' preparation had 
 been spent by all our small community going to con- 
 fession for this purpose), we made him a farewell 
 feast by way of breakfast, which had been a dismal 
 meal enough, but that he strove to cheer us. 
 
 " I am not going to preach to you," my dearest 
 children," says he, " for the time is now come to act ; 
 we must fall back on all those lessons of resignation 
 and courage we have striven to practise here together. 
 Have we not proved to ourselves, in many ways, the 
 only blessed thing is to do the will of God, and re- 
 sign ourselves to what He appoints or permits ? Now, 
 there can be no question, that Holy Will is taking 
 as away, and bidding you remain. What will come 
 of it all, is more than I can see ; but ' we walk by
 
 406 TUB ADYKNTIRES OF OWEN BVAN8, 
 
 faith, not by sight.' As we are bidden to pray, each 
 day, for our daily bread, so it is always enough, on 
 our pilgrimage, to see the one next step. This I now 
 see, thanks to His providence, that makes it possible. 
 Did I not fully hope to come back to you within a 
 jhort time, I would not leave you at all : we would 
 ritay, or go together. But go you cannot ; nor would 
 you all be willing. Go I must, for I never cease to 
 hear myself called. What remains, then, but that 
 we should go, and you should stay, as they who are 
 seeking the happiness of doing the will of our great 
 and good Master ?" " I am no prophet," he pre- 
 sently added (smiling through his tears, for he was 
 much overcome), " yet something tells me, though I 
 know not how, you will not be left long without a 
 priest and without a Sacrifice." 
 
 We listened to him, wild-looking and grisly sav- 
 ages as we had grown (in outward appearance), with 
 the tears running down our rough cheeks and beards. 
 Twas of no use to restrain, or attempt to hide them ; 
 we were subdued to the tenderest grief at thus losing 
 our spiritual father, and our brethren besides. When 
 he had finished speaking, Tadoone rose up; we 
 crowded round him, some on our knees, and caught 
 hold on his garments, his hands ; we kissed his very 
 hat and breviary in the passionateness of our grief. 
 He embraced us all with that fatherly tenderness he 
 had ever shown us ; then pointing to the sun, re- 
 minded us 'twas full time to depart. He gave us his 
 solemn blessing with a ^oioe choked by emotion ; and 
 without another word, gently freed himself from tw 
 all, and led the way down to the boats.
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC CKU80B. 407 
 
 Tlie rest of the men tore themselves away from 
 their brethren as best they might, Indian from In- 
 dian, Spaniard from Spaniard, with great evidence of 
 feeling at the separation. As for Hilton and Gill 
 they were moved, too, but in a soberer way, after 
 the manner of our nation, that doth not (it may be) 
 feel the less deeply because 'tis slower to manifest it. 
 In fine, they now jumped into the boats briskly, to 
 get rid of sad thoughts ; then hoisting sails, they be- 
 gan to sing the Litany our good priest had taught 
 us, and steered out into the offing. For though, as 
 belonging to different nations, and those at war with 
 one another, they could not sing any such national 
 sea-song as most sea-faring countries possess of their 
 own (since what was loyal in one part might be con- 
 strued into an offence to the other), yet, being Cath- 
 olics together, they could freely use what belonged 
 to them in common, as members of the great family 
 of the Church, and spoke not of the interests of time, 
 but of eternity. 
 
 We, who remained, kneeled on the shore till they 
 had pulled so far away (the wind also setting off 
 shore) as that all sound of their voices was lost to 
 us ; then we stood up, straining our eyes to catch the 
 latest glimpse of them. One of the last things we 
 saw was, Don Manuel stood up in the stern of the 
 long-boat, and stretched forth his arms towards 
 heaven, to invoke upon us a farewell blessing. At 
 this, we dropped on our knees again, and wept like 
 children, to think he was gone for a time so long and 
 uncertain, leaving us orphans behind him. And so, 
 when the boats looked like mere specks on the sea, and
 
 408 THI ADVENTURES OF OWBN KTAN8, 
 
 then disappeared altogether, for the wind continued 
 fair, and afterwards blew a breeze, we left the shore 
 in much sorrow, and loitered about the rest of that 
 day, not settling down to anything. We ate a cheer- 
 less supper ; then I said night prayers (for I acted 
 from that time as a sort of lay chaplain,) and we 
 went to rest early, to sleep away as much of our 
 grief as we might. 
 
 'T was a strange thing indeed for us to wake next 
 morning and find no Tadoone, no meditation, nor 
 Mass. But, that being our condition for many a 
 long day after, I need not dwell on what we became 
 used to by degrees : only to record, that all things 
 went on with us, orderly enough ; though we felt dull 
 in our spirits, and could not be reconciled to our 
 great loss, Neither did our tempers improve under 
 the change ; and Dick Prodgers, though he never re- 
 turned to be what he was before the Faith was given 
 him, yet now and then showed (as I may say most 
 of us did, some more, some less) how weak a poor 
 creature is man, when he is not supported above 
 himself by sacramental grace. This, indeed, Tadoone 
 had warned us of, beseeching us with tears, to keep 
 ourselves in the good dispositions he left us in. Nor, 
 truly, was it the disposition that failed us, so much 
 as the execution of what we had resolved on ; for the 
 " spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak." 
 
 We came round again soon, after these little out- 
 breaks, which never grew to any real breach of the 
 peace : only they gave us discomfort, making us out 
 of sorts with ourselves, even while we forgave one 
 another. So that, with all our outward security and
 
 tH CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 469 
 
 prosperous condition, we would often range up and 
 down the shore, and like very children, stretched 
 our arms over the sea, and yearn for Tadoone to 
 come back to us again. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX. 
 
 THE ERUPTION. 
 
 Bur these moods were broken in upon, and our 
 life on the island took a new direction (or was cut 
 short, rather,) by something of the most unlooked- 
 for kind, that chanced within ten days after. I say. 
 't was unlooked-for, truly ; for though we might 
 reasonably expect savages, or another ship to touch 
 at our prison-house and take us off again, or pirates, 
 to attack us, we never forecast the strange event I am 
 now to relate. 
 
 The mountain that lay to northward of our cave 
 (though I knew it to have been once on a time burn- 
 ing, indeed we always called it the volcano,) had 
 looked to us as still and motionless as any other part 
 of the place. If ever I thought on the scene oi 
 devastation it had been formerly, 't was much as we 
 think of ancient history, the wars of Ca3sar, or the 
 Danes. I little thought, at least, the same convul- 
 sions were to spring out from it anew in our times ; 
 still less could I prophesy what good that would 
 minister to us. 
 
 All this is putting (as they say) the cart before the
 
 410 tttR AbVBNTORBS 0* OWKfc 
 
 horse ; and, t o begin this part of iny narrative, I 
 must record that, for some days, the air had felt sultry 
 beyond the common, and the water in the spring that 
 supplied our conduit from Riverhead had gro :vi\ less. 
 We knew not why; for 'twas the first ti.ne this 
 happened during our exile; winter and summer, 
 'i was always flowing. Besides, the water th.it now 
 came was not only scant, but troubled, and had a 
 bad sulphurous taste and smell, that made it unpal- 
 atable, and (w5 thought) unwholesome. At last, 
 one day it ceased altogether: we took this fora 
 stoppage in the pipe; but going to the spring to 
 discover the cause, we found it as dry as the very 
 mountain itself. 
 
 This disturbed us much, not onlj for the want of 
 water (though that was a want indeed), but from ap- 
 prehension of what it might portend ; for I had read, 
 and one of the Spaniards confirmed it from his expe- 
 rience of the South American coast, that before such 
 bur.i'.ng mountains as we know of, for example, \ r e- 
 guviusi, and others, break into an eruption, the wells 
 in the district are used to run dry. I suppose, by 
 some alteration in the earth's veins, the water findh 
 its way downward in place of upward ; and, turning 
 to hot vapour, adds to the force of the volcano ; or, 
 by the increased heat of the mountain when 'tis about 
 to discharge its fiery streams, the neighboring springs 
 become sucked and dried up, as water is, if poured 
 into the heated grate of a chimney. 
 
 Anyhow (for I write of it more coolly than I 
 witnessed it at the time) our mountain began mean- 
 while to groan in a way most dreadful to hearken
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRDSOK. 411 
 
 to; rumbling beneath us, much as I have known a 
 heavily loaded wagon to shake the houses on either 
 side of a narrow street. For the very earth shook, 
 as we thought ; notwithstanding we were fain to 
 persuade ourselves 't was our fears suggested it. 
 The air, too turned to an oppressive dryness and 
 heat, that well nigh took away our breathing ; and 
 all was so heavy and so still, the very birds seemed 
 to feel it as we did ; for though at first they flew 
 round and round, screaming and bewildered, yet soon 
 they betook them to the trees, and there perched in 
 silence, as not knowing what was to come. We 
 noticed some animals, too, roaming about quite rest- 
 less, and heard them cry out each after its fashion, 
 as if in distress and fear. 
 
 For ourselves, we stood all together on the open 
 shore, clear of rocks and trees, to give our lives the 
 best chance, if indeed this should prove an earth- 
 quake, as we had foreboded. We knew not what 
 else to do at the moment, to save ourselves ; fearing 
 to -go towards our cave, or storehouse, lest we might 
 be smothered in it by the roof falling in : fearing 
 also to make for the boat, which lay tossing at hei 
 moorings; for by this time the sea had risen, with a 
 strange, irregular tide, as though it were convulsed 
 from beneath : and we expected every moment to see 
 our boat stove on the rocks. And thus we stood, in 
 such an agony of doubt and apprehension, as, I think, 
 oppresses most men, when they can do nothing 
 towards their own deliverance, but must wait and 
 look on at a great danger, and let it take its course, 
 e^en if that be over their mangled bodies.
 
 412 THB ADYENTORKS OF OWRN IVANS, 
 
 I Bay, we stood thus; but I should add that first 
 one, then another, dropped on their knees, and began 
 to pray fervently to heaven for help. At last, there 
 was not one that joined not in this act; though there 
 was, indeed, no unity in the words of our prayer, for 
 some prayed one thing, some another : here one 
 would make an act of hearty contrition, and cry out 
 to heaven for a priest ; there, another would resign 
 himself into the hands of God, to live or die : on this 
 side was a man who vowed what he would do, did 
 he but escape with life : on that side was his comrade, 
 struck dumb, and able to do nothing but quake for 
 very fear. 
 
 But there was unity enough in the intention, for 
 we all prayed with our hearts for deliverance out of 
 this great danger, so sudden and awful. For my 
 part, though I write calmly of it now, looking back 
 on it through years of other adventures I afterwards 
 went through, I bring to mind (as if it were yester- 
 day) the overmastering sense that seized on me of 
 the awfulness of God's judgments when His hand 
 launches the arrows of vengeance, or when He speaks 
 in the thunders of His majesty ; also, the comfort it 
 was then to me, though trembling as a sinner before 
 Him, to reflect, I had used the grace given me to 
 repent, while there was time. For now, while we 
 all seemed on the brink of such a grave, had the 
 great work of salvation been to commence, I had 
 been tempted or driven to dispair. But now I re- 
 called my past confessions : I besought mercy for any 
 hidden things that might be unconfessed, because, 
 after all search, unremembered ; I renewed my con*
 
 THE CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 413 
 
 trition ; I thanked my God for His graces bestowed 
 on me, resigned my life and my soul into His fatherly 
 hands, and then did my best to awaken such thoughts 
 and pour this comfort into the souls of my comrades 
 likewise. 
 
 "While we thus did what we could for ourselves 
 and one another, on a sudden, there came the most 
 fearful trembling and upheaving of the ground be- 
 neath us, that ever (I believe) was experienced by 
 mortal man. It seemed as if the whole island were 
 being wrenched from its base and some power below 
 were going to fling it on one side. All that part of 
 the coast rocked to and fro ; the sea at the same time 
 ran high, and boiled over like a cauldron, washing 
 up so near us, as made it seem an even chance 
 whether we were to be swallowed by eai*th or ocean. 
 
 We reeled and staggered, like so many drunken 
 men, catching hold on each other for support : but 
 this had not lasted as long as I have taken to describe 
 it, when a more violent heave flung us on our faces, 
 with a strange, whirling motion that partly spun us 
 round : so that, old seamen as most of us were, used 
 to short, chopping seas and counter-currents, this 
 made us feel as sea-sick as a landsman in his first 
 gale of wind. 
 
 Before we recovered our legs (which we scarce 
 attempted, as not knowing whither to flee, thinking 
 it best to lie there) we heard the crashing of the 
 rocks about our cave, by which we judged the cave 
 itself to have fallen in : as afterwards we found to 
 be too true. At the same time, some large pieces of 
 rock, that were loosened from the top of our cliff,
 
 414 TUB ADVENTURES 07 OWEN EVANS, 
 
 came rolling towards us and threatened to crush us 
 at every bound. But even this was not so great a 
 danger as the noisome, sulphurous vapour that rose 
 out of a deep cleft in the ground, not many yards 
 from where we lay, confused and giddy ; it volleyed 
 forth upon us, like the smoke from the broadside of 
 a ship when all her guns are discharged at once, but 
 with so insupportable a stench of brimstone as had 
 taken away our very lives, did we remain there a 
 moment longer. I called on my companions, half- 
 stifled as I was, to rise and run for their lives : indeed, 
 our only chance was to rise to our full fceight, and 
 let this heavy, creeping vapour spread out along the 
 ground, while we ran before it. But some of our 
 number were, by this time so stunned and amazed 
 by all these new and awful things coming upon us in 
 a heap, we had much ado to pull them up and put 
 them in motion. Whether the fumes of this vapour 
 had mounted to their brain, stupifying them, or 
 whether fear alone had quelled their animal spirits, 
 some of them begged us to let them lie there, and die 
 in peace. And as for one of the men, named Ruy 
 Perez, he was so far gone in this fatal drowsiness, 1 
 thought we should never have gotten him up, nor 
 yet brought him round.
 
 fHB CATHOLIC CRCS01. 416 
 
 CHAPTER LXX. 
 
 DEATH IN KOBE SHAPES THA1T ONK. 
 
 WE made the best of our way out of this rolling 
 vapour, till at last we got clear of it, on to a little 
 jutting promontory that made us safe from the lash 
 of the sea; for it boiled with exceeding violence, 
 though there was next to no wind stirring. When 
 we all got safe on to this point, we seemed to have 
 been conducted thither by some purpose of Provi- 
 dence, to make us beholders of the most awful, stu- 
 pendous sight the eye of man could well behold, 
 short of the last Judgment. There came another 
 rumbling from beneath, but not so directly under our 
 feet as the first, with a sound like the falling of one 
 heavy bar of metal on another; and this sound came 
 repeated four or five times. Then, on a sudden, an 
 explosion like the roar of artillery (only far louder, 
 and enough to crack the drums of our ears, as seamen 
 have been deafened in a battle) came from the moun- 
 tain itself, and the whole island seemed to tremble 
 again : even the point of land whereon we were, 
 rocked and heaved, till we thought it would have 
 fallen into the sea, with us upon it. I could not 
 have counted ten after this explosion, when a pillar 
 of smoke rose up direct from a great cleft riven in the 
 side of the mountain, nearer the top than the base, 
 and towered into the air, more like a tall palm-tree* 
 
 * A curious coincidence of expression with the younger 
 Pliny'e account of the eruption of Vesuvius which over- 
 whelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii, A.D. 79. " On the 23rd
 
 416 THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 than anything I can liken it to beside. It was fol- 
 lowed by a shower of red-hot stones that went up 
 like so many rockets, the smaller ones in great num- 
 bers, shooting into the pillar of smoke, then falling 
 far into the sea, as well as nearer ; the larger went a 
 little way in the air, then fell, and rolled down the 
 mountain, chiefly towards where we stood. 
 
 Ours was now a post of no little danger ; and, 
 besides the stones falling all round, there rained 
 3 own upon us such a fine sand, or ashes, out of the 
 cloud (that was, indeed, composed of it) as nearly 
 took away our breath again, together with the suffo- 
 cating heat of the air itself. But what was our grief, 
 when the greater number of the stones fell (though 
 they were shot out afterwards, too, from time to 
 time), to see one of the poor Spaniards, Gutierre 
 Vasquez by name, stricken down at our side, by a 
 stone that took him on the head, so that he never 
 spoke after ; and another, Melchor Baeza, an oldish 
 
 of August," he says, writing to Tacitus, " about one in the 
 afternoon, my mother desired him" (the elder Pliny, who 
 was commanding the fleet at Misenum, in the bay of Naples) 
 " to observe a cloud which appeared of a very unusual size 
 and shape. He immediately arose, and went out upon an 
 eminence, from which he might more distinctly view this 
 very uncommon appearance. At that distance, it was not 
 discernible from what mountain this cloud issued ; but it was 
 afterwards found to ascend from Mount Vesuvius. I cannot 
 give you a more exact description of its figure, than by re- 
 sembling it to that of a pine-tree ; for it shot up a great bight 
 in the form of a trunk, which extended itself at the top into 
 a sort of branches; occasioned, I imagine, either by a sudden 
 gust of air that impelled it, the force of which decrease 1 as it 
 advanced upwards: or the cloud itself being pressed back 
 again by its own weight, expanded in this manner. It ap- 
 peared sometimes bright, and sometimes dark and spotted, 
 as it was more or less impregnated with earth and cinders." 
 Plin. Epiit., lib. vi. 16
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 41 1 
 
 marine, hit so sharply with a stone that rebounded 
 from the rock he stood on, as toppled him into the 
 deep sea beneath our feet, and strangled him in the 
 water, though the force of the blow alone was enough 
 to despatch him. 
 
 At another time, we should have mourned at 
 leisure for these untimely deaths among our com- 
 rades ; but at that very hour, the same fate seemed 
 hanging momently over our own heads; and 'twas 
 strange how much a matter of course the death oi 
 others appeared to us, when we might any instant 
 expect our own. By this, we were wrapped round 
 in the dark, sulphurous cloud, so thick and intoler- 
 able with the smell and taste of brimstone, we had 
 all been smothered on the spot, had we not crammed 
 our hats or neckerchiefs into our faces to escape its 
 deadly choke. All at once, out of the darkness there 
 flashed a brilliant light : then, the mountain all the 
 while thundering and groaning like a live creature 
 in direful pain, a sheet of liquid rock, or lava, ap- ' 
 peared mounting over the brim of the crater, like 
 glue or pitch boiling over ; and began to descend in 
 a broad fiery stream to where we stood. In its 
 course, it swallowed up or surmounted every obstacle ; 
 it swelled over the rocks, and poured down them 
 again; set the groves and bushes that lay on our 
 path in a blaze ; and, what with the roar of the con- 
 flagration, the crackling and hissing of this flood of 
 fire, the groans and thunders of the mountain beyond, 
 and the howl of the wind and sea, that had now 
 both risen high, I could almost think the Last Day 
 itself had truly come.
 
 418 THE AD VENTURES OF OWEN F.VANB, 
 
 We stood rooted to the spot, without power to fly, 
 as if we were spell-bound by the terror of this awful 
 scene : till (too late) we found we were quite encom- 
 passed, part by the fire, that ran swiftly among the 
 dry trees and underwood, part by the advance oi 
 this molten flood of lava, that came on at such a 
 pace as an active man could walk, and spread itself 
 out broader as it reached the level space between 
 mountain and sea. It were madness now to attempt 
 to flee either way ; for northward of our rock was 
 the red-hot lava, much like a sea of iron running 
 out of a furnace, bearing on its surface biggish stones 
 and pieces of rock, well nigh as red-hot as itself : and 
 if we turned our eyes to south, we were met by the 
 sight of a thick belt of wood, all a-blaze, whereinto 
 had we rushed, we had been so many suicides leap- 
 ing on their funeral pile. 
 
 Which way could we now turn to escape so fright- 
 ful a death ? Two choices were before us : the rock, 
 or the sea. Should we stay through the frying heat, 
 or swim for it ? As I proposed the question to my 
 remaining comrades (poor Melchor and Gutierre be- 
 ing gone already), on looking down into the water 
 beneath our feet, we found a ready answer to the 
 question, that filled us with, horror, and drove us all 
 but to despair. For though the sea (as I have said) 
 was now risen, and began to boil up from below, we 
 could plainly discover the fins of two or three large 
 sharks (the reef being more open hereabout, easier to 
 steer through) plying up and down. 
 
 These monsters were drawn hither (no doubt) by 
 the blaze, and seemed to enjoy the warmth of the
 
 TH CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 419 
 
 oa : but they kept eyeing us all the while, too, as if 
 they saw a double advantage in keeping so near ; and 
 we could not doubt they had already made half a 
 supper on our companion, Baeza. 'Twas plain, 
 from that moment, our only chance was to keep on 
 the rock, and endure the suffocating heat as best we 
 might. This now waxed so intense, as I doubt if 
 any iron-forger was ever called on to face a much 
 greater ; and to us, who were unused to anything of 
 the kind, it seemed out of the question to stand it 
 out longer, but we must brave the .sharks, and cast 
 us down, from sheer necessity of cooling our over- 
 scorched selves, into the sea. I forgot to say, by 
 this time 'twas night ; and, had we been at a safe 
 distance, nothing could have been now grander than 
 to witness this great spectacle ; for the light from 
 the mountain shot far up into the darkness over- 
 head ; the wreaths of red smoke curling along the 
 sky to leeward, with large stones ever and again 
 shot out, like hot shells out of a battery of bombs : 
 and fresh lava, at a white heat (so it seemed to us) 
 pouring out still from the lip of that rent in the 
 mountain, and all the trees on the island, so far as 
 the eye could reach, in one great blaze. It is not 
 for my pen to describe it : nor do I see how any one 
 can imagine it that hath not seen the like. How- 
 ever, at that time, though the majesty and terror of 
 the sight struck into our hearts, we were taken up 
 only by the thought, how we could live through 
 such a furnace as was round us. 
 
 At length, two of our number, Domingo Gonzalei 
 and Fadrique Correa by name, poor fellows ! both
 
 426 THE ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 having been used to the Barbadoes trade, and to see 
 how the negroes there will encounter the sharks that 
 infest their coast, with only a knife, to plunge in'o 
 the tish when he turns on his side to seize them j 
 they determined on making a like trial of their skill. 
 Do what we would to persuade them of the madness 
 of their adventure, they were not to be turned from 
 it. No man, they said, could die more than once ; 
 and for their part, they had rather run the chance of 
 being strangled in the water, or drowned outright, 
 than wait to be smothered by the intolerable heat 
 and noisome vapours where we were. Then I bade 
 them remember, no man had a right to throw away 
 his life, which was not his own property to dispose 
 of, but a mere loan or talent, lent him for an ap- 
 pointed time ; and this, I saw, had some effect on 
 them, as Catholics, who had a clear view of an here- 
 after: till they answered me again, they believed it 
 to be the best chance for them after all : that if they 
 could run the blockade, and clear these tish, or 
 encounter them with advantage (for they had their 
 seamen's clasp-knives strung round their necks,) 
 then were they in better case than we who stayed 
 on the rock : and more to the same purpose. 
 
 Seeing them not to be deterred from this mad 
 scheme, it only remained to pray for their safety, in 
 which I bade the rest unite with me ; and the two 
 poor men joined in it themselves with great fervour. 
 Then, making over their brows and hearts the sign 
 of the cross, and commending themselves to God, 
 calling also on the Blessed Virgin and St. lago of 
 Compostella, they drew their knives, and plunged
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 421 
 
 feet foremost into the sea, crossing their feet, to 
 cleave the water better, and rise again upright. But 
 alas ! we saw too clearly, the moment after, what 
 was the sad fate they had courted. For no sooner 
 did we hear the splash of their fall, than we also saw 
 these monstrous sharks plunge after them, and they 
 never rose to the surface again : no, not so much a? 
 a limb, nor a shred of their garments, but all became 
 the instant prey of those voracious bloodhounds. 
 
 The sea, too, was boiling so wildly, I question ii 
 some under-current would not have carried the poor 
 fellows away, or rolled them over and so drowned 
 them, had no sharks been on the look out for them 
 at all. 
 
 This dreadful end of our rash comrades filled us 
 with horror; and would have done so the more, but 
 for our own fate before our eyes, which seemed to 
 come nigher at every step, in the shape of fire. For 
 all this while, the mountain continued to groan and 
 bellow like some enraged wild beast, and poured out 
 lava fresh and fresh, so that now it ran down the 
 sides swifter than before. Only, we were comforted 
 to see, this time it took a course more to the due 
 south ; if I may call that comfort which threatened 
 to destroy all our plantations which might have 
 escaped hitherto, as well as block up the entrance to 
 our cave itself. But the peril in which we were so 
 swallowed up all other thoughts, we had no leisure 
 now to care for our possessions, except only our dear 
 lives. A moment after, there came another shock of 
 earthquake, under our very feet, so that the point of 
 cliff whereon we stood, rocked and heaved beneath
 
 422 THB ADVKNTDRBS OF OWBN IVANS, 
 
 us, to and fro. I thought we should have been all 
 thrown into the sea together; for several of us lost 
 our footing, and we had to pluck one man back from 
 falling straight over the edge. 
 
 But see how the mercy of God ordereth events 
 powerfully and sweetly ; how all things work to- 
 gether for good in the ways of His providence ! For 
 this new danger, which did us no harm beyond the 
 fright of it, was the means of delivering us from the 
 fiery flood that advanced upon us with open jaws, to 
 BW allow us. When our rock ceased to tremble, 
 looking forth again, as well we might, through the 
 heavy sulphur-smoke, we saw the earthquake had 
 made a great opening, or dyke, between us and the 
 stream of lava ; and in a few minutes more, we heard 
 it pouring heavily over the brink, down to the gulph 
 in the earth below. At the same time the breeze, 
 freshening, blew away partly this cloud of hot 
 vapour that wrapped us round, and gave us a clear 
 glimpse out to sea. 
 
 Never may I forget (like an unthankful wretch, as 
 I should be) what I felt when Prodgers, after shad- 
 ing his eyes with his hand, cried out, " Sail ho ! to 
 windward ;" and all of us, eagerly turning our eyes 
 thereaway, saw the red light of the volcano reflected 
 ou the sails of a ship !
 
 THE OATUOLIO OKD80B. 423 
 
 CHAPTER LXXL 
 
 OUB DELIVERANCE. 
 
 SHE was steering right in for the island, and soon 
 hove-to, seeming fearful of venturing in nearer. We 
 doubted not but they who commanded her were 
 using their perspectives to view the eruption of our 
 mountain. The hope of our near deliverance now 
 animating us, we all rose of our full height, and 
 waving our arms abroad, joined in one shout, as long 
 and loud as we could make it. We learned from 
 them afterwards, that being to windward they did not 
 hear our shouting at all: but saw ourselves, which 
 was more to the purpose ; for our forms were clearly 
 traced to them against the light of the fire. They 
 lowered their long-boat at once, and the crew pulled 
 cheerily towards us : their steerage being marked 
 out for them by the glow from the mountain and the 
 burning woods; though they, and we who waited 
 for them with the utmost impatience, narrowly 
 escaped death from the hot stones that volleyed forth 
 at times from the crater. Indeed, one or two on 
 both sides were hit, though not seriously, at least 
 not to kill : at length they came up with us, and 
 lying-to under lee of refuge, they threw up a rope 
 to us. 
 
 By help of this we lowered ourselves one by 
 one into the boat ; and in good time truly, for the 
 heat was become so intolerable now, I question if 
 any of us had lived another half hour. We went
 
 ^H THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN BVAN8, 
 
 to work carefully ; for a slip might have handed us 
 over to the tender mercies of our friends the sharks, 
 who were prowling about, up and down, expecting 
 another morsel from among us. 
 
 Our men, twenty-nine in number, got down safely 
 into the boat : I was the last ; for having (from one 
 cause or other) some authority among them, I thought 
 it behoved me to be last, as the captain always is, 
 on leaving a wreck. I did my best to secure the 
 rope round a point of the rock, and weighted it with 
 stones : notwithstanding it loosened as I went down, 
 and I got a shi'ewd tumble on the boat's thwarts, 
 that had like to have broke my neck, and did lay me 
 up for a week after ; though 't was happy I fell into 
 the boat, not among the sharks into the sea. 
 
 We got safe on board ship, though I had to be 
 hauled up the side hi a whip, being not able to stir 
 hand nor foot. She proved to be the Glorieux, of 
 thirty-six guns, commanded by Captain Dumontier, 
 chartered from Brest, cruising in these latitudes with 
 sealed orders, and not friendly to our flag. But, on 
 the relation of our calamitous history, the captain, 
 with the spirit of a brave, generous man, waived all 
 distinction of race or flag, and took us on board in 
 quality of passengers, to be set ashore at any point 
 most convenient to us to make our way homewards. 
 " To-morrow," says this gallant seaman to us, " we 
 will speak, Messieurs, of your future plans : to-night, 
 do me the honour to be my guests." So after a 
 hearty and hospitable supper, which the fatigues and 
 great anxieties of the day made necessary to us, 
 through exhaustion of our animal spirits, we turned
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 425 
 
 into our hammocks with thankful hearts and very 
 short prayers. Meanwhile, the captain put the helm 
 about, and stood off to a safe distance from the island, 
 the wind now setting fresher m-shore. 
 
 We were up again at day-break, to watch the pro- 
 gi ess made in this destruction of our island ; for such, 
 indeed, it proved, and nothing less, at least as regards 
 the K. and s. sides of it. The lava had flowed on, 
 while we slept, as some of the crew told us; for, be- 
 side the watch, nearly all the ship's company had 
 staid out of their hammocks, best part of the night, 
 \vatching th it great spectacle. As for ourselves, we 
 were so clean exhausted with all we had gone 
 through, I verily believe we could have slept through 
 a salvo of artillery, or a general engagement. And 
 truly, the noise from the mountain, at times, was not 
 much less than that. 
 
 But now, in the morning light, 't was a desolate 
 spectacle indeed : for the conflagration of our woods, 
 having well nigh burnt itself out, presented such a 
 view of bare and blackened trunks of trees, or stumps, 
 with rocks split by the violent heat ; our stream, too, 
 either dried up, or forced from its bed down some of 
 thf great rents or cracks in the ground, sending out 
 its hot vapours, together with the sulphur, as it boil- 
 ed below : altogether (I say) the prospect was in 
 miniature what I suppose the great globe itself will 
 be when " the heavens shall pass away with a great 
 noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 
 and the earth and the works on it shall be burnt up." 
 
 And here we saw an end to all our labours for 
 four years past, at a stroke: not that we considered
 
 426 THB ADVENTURES Of OWKN KVANS, 
 
 that so much at the time, but were occupied wholly 
 by the great deliverance granted to us, against hope, 
 both from the fiery mountain, and the banishment 
 iiself we had spent on our island. On this part of 
 our adventure the French captain, when he heard 
 our story from me (in my bad Spanish, for he spoke 
 Spanish himself passable well,) wished us heartily 
 joy of our liberation ; only, he said, he must perforce 
 carry us partly on his own course, which was to 
 Tobago : but promised, again, he would set us ashore, 
 under a flag of truce, at any English plantation in 
 the West Indian islands, which the chance of war 
 made him able to touch at. But first he asked us, 
 from our knowledge of the island, the likeliest place 
 to find fresh water for his ship : on our telling him of 
 that stream to westward where we had first so un- 
 happily landed, he then wore the ship round, and 
 gave the island a wide berth, for fear of the reefs we 
 told him of: then, sending a man to the mast-head 
 to help our piloting, the sea being very clear, it could 
 plainly be seen from that height how the reefs ran 
 under water. Thus in four tacks, and no more, we 
 came in the afternoon off the mouth of that self-same 
 channel into which the traitor Hopkins had sent the 
 long boat with us poor victims of his treachery. 
 When I remarked this to the captain (for we easily 
 made out the opening in the rocks, by help of our 
 perspective glasses,) he made to us his compliments 
 again, on the mercies that had shielded us then from 
 a violent death, and preserved us ever since. This 
 was said too, more in particular, by the chaplain he 
 had on board ; being a French priest and a seinina-
 
 THR CATHOLIC CRUSOK. 427 
 
 rist, of whom I might have much to say, but that 
 these up and down memoirs have spun out too long 
 a yarn already. In fine, the priest was a good man, 
 and a kind one ; though, to be sure, we never felt 
 towards him as to our father that brought us into the 
 fold, 't was a comfort to find ourselves again within 
 reach of the ministries of the Church ; and we began 
 to experience, from this very change of hands, the 
 Catholic is always at home when he can have the 
 privileges of that universal family he belongs to. 
 
 It seerns, this Captain Dumontier was known as a 
 good Christian man, as he was also a first-rate sea- 
 man ; and having some influence with the government 
 of his country, had petitioned for a chaplain to sail 
 with him on his voyage, when some of his craft were 
 likelier to petition against anything so irksome to a 
 wilful sinner as the presence of a priest : by which 
 it came to pass, we had the blessing of Mass on board 
 when the weather was fair ; nay (the priest being a 
 good sailor, even in rough weather,) having a bit of 
 a sea on did not binder his being lashed to a bulk- 
 head hi the captain's cabin by a rope that was long 
 enough to let him both kneel and stand at a small 
 altar there : so (like some of the early martyrs) he 
 celebrated the Holy Sacrifice in bonds. Nor can I 
 forget the first time I attended at Mass on board the 
 Gtorieuz, how that prophecy, or hope, of our dear 
 Don Manuel came into my mind, we should not be 
 long without a priest' and without a Sacrifice. 
 
 I had well-nigh forgot that when we doubled the 
 point that shut in Shark's Cove at the south, and 
 came within sight of the Spanish wreck, we found
 
 428 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN IVANS, 
 
 that by some upheaving of the reef from below, the 
 wreck had been thrown almost high and dry, and 
 almost her own length (so we judged) nigher to land. 
 Though this delayed us not on the watering expedi- 
 tion (two of the ship's boats being sent forward with 
 the water-casks,) yet the captain judged it worth while 
 to board her, and overhaul her stores. We could 
 now indeed, get down below the orlop-deck without 
 hindrance, and so into the hold (with some little 
 pumping of the bilge-water;) but we found little 
 that was worth the carrying away. 'Tis true, she 
 had more stuffs and other merchandize on board than 
 was usual for a ship of war, as the Spanish lieutenant 
 had explained, together with the reason why. But 
 then, having been hastily packed, the bales of this 
 merchandize of stuffs [as silks, cottons, and other 
 wares] had loosened, so that the water had got at 
 and spoiled a great part : and, though we got them 
 out of the hold indeed, we found them so rotten as 
 that they came in shreds when we handled them 
 never so lightly. The same account may be given 
 of the iron-ware and knick-knacks on board for bar- 
 ter with the Americans ; .for they were eaten with 
 rust to that degree, we flung the greater part of tLem 
 into the sea again. However, we saved some that 
 had lain deeper, or been packed more tightly ; and 
 we got out five or six bales in fairly good condition. 
 These the captain took on board, as payment for the 
 good turn he was doing us ; for though the bravo 
 man himself would gladly have done that, and more, 
 without fee or reward [being the kind of frank, open- 
 hearted creature who I had been foolishly taught
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 429 
 
 Could not be found in that nation, and more like a 
 British tar than a Mounscer, as Harvey said,] yet he 
 had others to consider beside himself: and in brief, 
 we begged him to do it. 
 
 But, to make a long story short, as 'tis time 
 (though, while years creep on, that make men more 
 talkative, I could turn scribbler, to the weariness of 
 my readers) the captain, who was not the man to 
 burn daylight, sent his boats in at once, and Poun- 
 der with them, to show the way : then, having com- 
 pleted his watering from what remained of that 
 former abundant stream (for the greater part had 
 been dried up by the volcano, too, or found &ome 
 other channel amid the earthquake), and shipping on 
 board what cocoa-nuts and other fruits. were at hand, 
 without long search, he stood off on his former course, 
 
 O * * 
 
 making for the Caribbean Islands ; so that at sunset, 
 
 O * * 
 
 on the llth day of November, 1743, we took our last 
 look of Assumption Isle from the main yards of the 
 Gl&rieux; first, we gave three cheers- that we were 
 well away, then we said a thanksgiving with the 
 good chaplain, for our merciful deliverance from 
 such a hopeless exile. 
 
 But truly, whether we improved our condition by 
 thus going back into a world of danger, is more than 
 I can pronounce on a review of our strange advent- 
 ures ; or whether, in the light of eternity, it had not 
 proved best for us to live and die in that secure re- 
 tirement. However, since matters were so ordered, 
 that our priest was taken from us first, and (with 
 him) our best consolation, we had no fancy, any of 
 us, to stay there lonely and deserted : had not
 
 4oO TH8 ADVBNTURBS OP OWEN EVAN*, 
 
 ehip, the harbinger of a kind Providence, touched at 
 this place, we had found no other resource than look- 
 ing out and praying for Don Manuel's return. 
 
 As to him, whether he ever did return, and the 
 men with him, must now (I suppose) -remain hid from 
 us till the day when all things shall be made known. 
 Sure I am, if ever he came back, it was for our sakes 
 alone : wherefore, I rather hope that success in his 
 mission detained him; though I will believe no 
 success, not even the conversion of all Toonati-nooki, 
 could make him false to his promise, or careless of 
 us, his children in the faith. He would have come, 
 or leastways sent, to see after and fetch us off. And 
 sometimes in my dreams, even now, after so many 
 years, I seem to see a war-canoe of Toonati-nooki, 
 but manned by Christians whom Tadoone has made 
 so, steering in for Shark's Cove, and the crew rowing 
 up and down the island in search of us. And there 
 is Tadoone himself, now grown gray-headed with 
 labour and care, but with his kind smile and quiet 
 ways, leading them to our cave (or the ruins of it) 
 and Riverhead, and all the parts of the island where 
 they would be likeliest to find us, and sorrowing to 
 gee no trace of us^anywhere. But that is a dream 
 only ; and I will end by another word on what did 
 indeed befall us after.
 
 THt CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII. 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED TO US ALL AFTER. 
 
 To begin with old Dick Prodgers : his sea-going 
 days being now well-nigh over, and he stiffening 
 with age, having learned also to love quiet, and (as 
 he said) to make up his soul, he no sooner landed at 
 Tobago than he declined further adventures, and got 
 employed in several offices about the port, from 
 which he picked a comfortable living enough ; and I 
 have little doubt he lived and died there, as good a 
 Catholic as he had been on our island. Nor did his 
 religion stand in his way in a colony like that, 
 wherein men of all nations were to be found, as it 
 would have done nearer home ; and that I found to 
 my cost. So, beyond being now and then called a 
 turn-coat by some ignorant fellow, who knew not 
 which side his own coat was turned, nor if he wore 
 any habit of religion on him at all, I well believe 
 Dick Prodgers slipped through the rest of his life 
 easily, and hath found, I trust, a better one beyond. 
 
 Tom Harvey, the only other of our original English 
 crew that we carried away with us, staid not long in 
 these parts, but making his way back to England, was 
 taken by a press-gang for his Majesty's service, as 
 empowered by the Seaman's Bill to authorize im- 
 pressment, which passed the very year after we were 
 left on the island. So Tom was carried on board 
 the Pembroke, of sixty guns, where h served for 
 some time, with an excellent character. At length,
 
 432 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEJf EVANg, 
 
 the ship being one of the fleet under Admiral Bosca- 
 wen, in his expedition 10 the East Indies, was (rather 
 better than five years back from the day I now 
 write,* and nearly twice that space of time after the 
 day when Hopkins marooned us on the desolate 
 island) overtaken by a dreadful tempest at Calderoon 
 point, in the road of Fort St. David's : when, out of 
 nigh three hundred and fifty brave men she had on 
 board, only twelve persons were saved from the 
 wreck. I grieve to record it, that poor Tom was 
 not among those fortunate few ; as I found too surely, 
 seeing the list with my own eyes at the Admiralty, 
 some time after that terrible disaster, when I myself 
 had returned to England. 
 
 As to the Spaniards, most of them landed at To- 
 bago, and thence, I believe, found their way to other 
 ports of the Spanish West India plantations : but 
 five remained in the ship then, and after I left her. 
 entering themselves on the ship's books for regulai 
 service. Indeed, during our exile, they may be said 
 to have belonged to no nation ; and when our little 
 republic was broken up, 'tis natural they should take 
 so fair an offer as this good captain gave them. The 
 five were named Pedro Dolea, Christoval Ramirez, 
 Rodrigo Melandez, Fadrique Santaens, and Estevan 
 Guaxardo. I heard after, in a roundabout way, but 
 without certainty, that Estevan and Rodrigo (unless 
 it was some chance namesakes of theirs,) when the 
 Glorieuz was paid off at Brest, volunteered into the 
 
 * The Pembroke foundered, as Owen here states, on the 
 13th of April, 1749; so that his casual notice of the vessel 
 may be taken as another proof of his having written hia ad> 
 features in 1754. ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 433 
 
 Elizabeth, a French ship of sixty-six guns, bound for 
 the Scottish coast, to convoy thither the prince whom 
 Borne folks called the Pretender, and others the 
 Chevalier. But, being encountered by the Lion man 
 of war, the ship was handled so severely as to be 
 forced back into Brest, with considerable loss : and 
 among the killed and wounded were our two poor 
 comrades ; that is, Estevan killed, and Rodrigo 
 wounded severely. After that, I never heard news 
 of him more. 
 
 To go from grave to gayer, Rer-miraebolambo had 
 the most laughable escape from bondage you ever 
 knew. For, on our touching at Guadaloupe (whither 
 we went from Tobago with a flowing sheet and a 
 spanking breeze), when the French officers boarded 
 us, to overhaul our papers, and give us a clean bill 
 of health from the yellow fever, that was raging in 
 some of the adjacent islands, what should they do, 
 but seize on our poor John Pounder for a runaway 
 negro slave ! Do all I could to claim him for a Brit- 
 ish subject, they would not hear of it, and bade me 
 remember (with insolence enough) the freedom that 
 had been guaranteed to Tom Harvey and myself by 
 the French captain, ought to suffice us. Plainly 
 intimating, that (had they got their way) the parole 
 which this good captain had given us, that oiir 
 liberty should not be molested, had gone for little 
 or nothing. 
 
 However, as to Pounder, in the teeth of all our 
 remonstrating, and that of the captain beside, who 
 threatened them with I know not what, on his return 
 to France, the end was, our poor Indian was marched
 
 434 THI ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS. 
 
 fib between two files of soldiers to the residence of 
 the governor, who was for claiming him at once as a 
 slave. This was a man consequential to a degree, 
 yet so ignorant as not to see the differences of skin 
 and feature that mark off the African black from the 
 Indian of Toonati-nooka, which are clear enough to 
 a close observer. And this ray candid reader will 
 allow, if he looks on the portrait of poor Pounder 
 that was taken of him two years after, or more, in 
 Nova Scotia ; which I have left in my will to be 
 copied and prefixed to these adventures of mine: 
 nay, even more so than I think are there portrayed. 
 But 'twas of no purpose to insist on this to the gov- 
 ernor ; and things were going hard with Rer-mime, 
 till at last I bethought me of an experiment in the 
 way of language to decide the question. So, calling 
 in a negro who had purchased his freedom, and then 
 lived hi the island as a sort of overseer, or slave- 
 driver, to one of the planters, I asked the captain to 
 prevail on the governor to have this man put on his 
 oath to tell " the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
 but the truth." And that much, with some ado, the 
 governor consented to at last. 
 
 This old negro was one, most of whose life had 
 been spent hi slavery ; he was brought away from 
 his native coast, near Sierra Leone, when he was not 
 yet sixteen years of age : but he had kept the perfect 
 use of his mother-tongue, by conversing with his 
 fellow-slaves, together with a smattering of bad 
 French he had learned on the island. When he was 
 had into court, I confronted him with Pounder ; then, 
 in the presence of some of the chief men of the island,
 
 THE CATHOLIC CKUSOI. 435 
 
 for learning and understanding (who chanced to be 
 in town for a kind of assizes then being held, and 
 were drawn to the court house by the novelty of thii 
 proceeding, no less than by the other causes going 
 forward there), I asked him on a sudden to repeat 
 to me the Ten Commandments hi his native tongue : 
 begging the audience to give close attention. Thifl 
 he did, glibly enough ; for I must say, the negroei 
 of those French islands are well taught in their re- 
 ligion, when the priests are not thwarted hi their 
 efforts by some selfish, grasping planter, more intent 
 on scraping money together than on the welfare of 
 his slaves. While the old man was speaking, I took 
 down on a paper some sentences he uttered; then, 
 asking the court to take notice that Pounder was 
 ignorant of the French tongue, and knew not what 
 the other had been required to repeat, I bade the 
 Indian repeat the Commandments in the language of 
 Toonati. This he did at once, and without a fault, 
 thanks to Don Manuel's careful teaching : and their 
 two languages were hereby shown to be so unlike 
 each other, that the court went no further, but 
 quashed proceedings, and decreed the Indian to be 
 given back to us out of hand. Several members of 
 it even expressed themselves to me hi a way I will 
 not repeat, on what they were pleased to term my 
 ingenuity in manifesting the truth before them all. 
 They insisted, moreover, on giving us an entertain- 
 ment before we tripped our anchor ; at which senti- 
 ments were uttered, full of good feeling toward us. 
 Tom Harvey made them a speech, of which they 
 understood not a word ; as he, for his part, could
 
 436 THE ADVKNTUR8 OF OWN IVANS. 
 
 make out none of their lingo : and I followed in his 
 wake, with not much better success. Our good- will, 
 though, was accepted instead of language ; so that 
 at parting they declared, we were such good fel- 
 lows, 'twas a thousand pities we were not born 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 From this point I met with some other advent- 
 ures ; none of them (I think) worth troubling the 
 reader with, nor any that surpassed the common run 
 of sea-faring haps and mishaps. I was shipwrecked, 
 'tis true, some eighteen months after, in the Racehorse 
 packet, that went to pieces on the rocks in the Bay 
 of Fundy ; when all hands, except eighteen seamen 
 and three passengers, were lost. Pounder had the 
 good fortune to be saved with me and the rest in the 
 long boat, and we made our way, after some hard- 
 ships, to Halifax. Here I set up in my profession, 
 and had some practice for five or six years, with 
 Pounder as half companion, half servant ; and a 
 faithful fellow and good Christian he proved. After 
 that, my sight, that had been threatening me, so far 
 failed as to disqualify me for practice ; so, gathering 
 together what little I had contrived to save, I bade 
 farewell to my profession and to foreign parts ; but 
 not before I had married in Halifax a French wife, 
 of about my own age and station, whose family 
 came from Montmagny, nigh to Quebec : a good 
 Catholic she was and is, and keeps me up to my re- 
 ligion. 
 
 After various chances in London, where being a 
 Catholic stood in my way at every turn, and kept 
 me low in the world, at length, through the kind
 
 THR OATHOUC CRU80*. 437 
 
 I 
 
 ness of Captain Byron, who was above such narrow 
 prejudice, though he had no taste for my religion, I 
 was appointed deputy harbour-master in the place 
 from which I now write : viz., Great Yarmouth, in 
 Norfolk, under a worthy man, Mr. Thomas William- 
 son, well known to the elder brethren of the Trinity 
 House, and who carries an honourable wound On- 
 deed, 'tis the loss of three fingers, besides a severe 
 splinter scar) from the action off Cape Finisterre. 
 
 And here I bring to a close this record of some 
 )ears out of a life, that had nothing in it so remark- 
 able as a course of providences exerted for one most 
 unworthy, who can but make feeble efforts to be not 
 wholly ungrateful. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 If it should appear strange that the irregular, and, in some 
 respects, confused account now presented to the reader 
 should not have been written till eleven years had elapsed 
 Irom Evans' leaving the island, a parallel case (at least) may 
 be furnished by Commodore Byron, referred to at p. 252, 
 whose account of his early sufferings on the coast of Chili in 
 1740 were " written by himself, and now first published," in 
 1768. In bis preface he says: "As the greatest pain I feel 
 in committing the following sheets to the press arises from 
 an apprehension that many of my readers will accuse me of 
 egotism, I will not incur that charge in my preface by detain- 
 ing them with the reasons which have induced me, at this 
 time, to yield to the desire of my friends. It is equally indif- 
 ferent Uj the public to be told how it happened, that nothing 
 should have got the better of my indolence and reluctance to 
 comply with the same requests, for the space of twenty years." 
 
 ED.
 
 THB AHVENTUKfcS OF OWEN KYANI, 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 VERSION OF A LATIN MS. 
 
 PICKED UP AT SEA BY H. M. S. RAMILLIES, 
 
 COMMANDER GEORGE DUTTON, 
 
 MAT 14TH, 1773, IN W. LONG. 43 P ; S. LAX. 24 5'. 
 PRECEDED BY 
 
 CAPTAIN DOTTON'S REPORT TO THE ADMIRALTI 
 
 H. M. S. RamiUes, off Spithead, 
 June 8th, 1773. 
 
 TO 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OP SANDWICH 
 FIRST LORD OP HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY'S AD- 
 MIRALTY, K G., P.O., AC., &C. 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 I have the honour of forwarding to your Lord- 
 hip, together with the Ramilles 1 log, the accom- 
 panying manuscript, picked up (as your Lordship 
 will observe by the entry in the log itself,) the 14th 
 of last month, on our homeward voyage. It is cu- 
 rious, from the materials that compose it ; being 
 written on the leaves of the palmetto, or some over 
 broad-leaved tree ; and from the manner in which we 
 found it secured. It was attached to an unpainted 
 buoy of light wood, rudely shaped by a hatchet or
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 439 
 
 some other iron instrument; but the whole thing 
 was so covered (at least the under part) with barna- 
 cles and other shell-fish, and so eaten with sea-worms 
 throughout, that ic had evidently been a consider- 
 able time in the water. I should say, from the 
 condition of old ships, that not a vessel in his Ma- 
 jesty's service (and I have been in some dangerous 
 ones) would be allowed afloat after so long an im- 
 mersion, without careening. 
 
 This buoy was furnished with a kind of outrig- 
 gers, made of rude boards of the same sort of wood, 
 ingeniously attached to it by cords of twisted, or 
 rather plaited, cocoa-fibres, much decayed by the 
 water ; though they appeared to have been steeped 
 in oil to prevent it. On the top was a small flag 
 staff, still carrying, pinned into it by wooden pegs, 
 a shred of some woollen stuff, almost gone, which we 
 judged to have been once a seaman's jacket, fastened 
 there in order to make the buoy more visible at sea. 
 
 Observing the buoy, I slackened sail, and sent a 
 boat to bring it on board. When we hoisted it on 
 deck, we found lashed to it a case or covering of 
 laths, neatly spliced, somewhat in the form of a small 
 keg, bound tightly with the same kind of fibre, and 
 payed* all over with a coating of Indian gum, which 
 lay on it, in some places, three-quarters of an inch 
 thick. So careful had the writer, or his friends, 
 been to preserve the MS. from injury. Notwith- 
 standing, in one place the gum, or Indian rubber, 
 
 * A seaman's expression, meaning to daub or anoint the 
 surface of any body, in order to preserve it from the injuries 
 uf water and weather, etc. ED.
 
 440 THB ADVBNTURBS OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 had slightly given, perhaps from the case getting 
 foul of the buoy in some shifting of the currents, 
 flo.-iting exposed, and cracking in the sun. From 
 this, as your Lordship will perceive, the writing on 
 a few of the outerf leaves is damaged past recovery. 
 I forward it, however, in the condition in which we 
 found it on opening the case. The case itself, to- 
 gether with the buoy and its appurtenances, I intend 
 to have the honour of presenting to the Admiralty 
 Museum, or to the collection belonging to the Royal 
 Society, or that of Sir Hans Sloane, at your Lord- 
 ship's discretion ; as a specimen of work I take to be 
 that of savages, assisted by some one more acquainted 
 with the arts of civilization. 
 
 As to the contents of the leaves, having. forgotten 
 whatever little acquaintance I once had with the 
 language they are written in, and our chaplain un- 
 
 f Captain Button does not explain how the earlier instead 
 of the latter portion of the MS. came to receive injury from 
 the water, which got at the outer leaves. It must be remem- 
 bered, however, that the palm-leaves on which it was writ- 
 ten were not folded together like so many sheets of paper in 
 a packet, where the commencement of the MS. would be Uie 
 portion best defended from external injury. They would 
 be, on the contrary, laid together without folding, in the 
 order in which they were written; and probably bound 
 with other leaves, or cocoa-nut fibre, so as to form a solid 
 mass. In this case, it would depend on the accident of the 
 Indian gum cracking on one side or the other of the outer 
 covering of laths, whether the portion of the MS. rendered 
 intellegible would be the commencement or the end. The 
 collection of Sir Hans Sloane is well known to have formed 
 the nucleus of the present British Museum ; and perhaps the 
 courtesy of the attendants in that great public institution, or 
 in the other collections of which Captain Button speaks, 
 may enable the curious reader, if not to discover the original 
 MS., at. least to elucidate the subject by a comparison with 
 other writings of a similar nature. ED.
 
 TltK CATHOLIC CRUSOR. 441 
 
 fortunately having been set ashore at Falmouth, be- 
 si ilos that they are written close, in a foreign hand, 
 and the ink (of whatever sort originally) now ex- 
 tremely faded by time, I think it best to forward 
 them to your Lordship without further comment. 
 When they were picked up, we were at least twenty 
 leagues from any land laid down on the ship's charts ; 
 whatever colony or mission of discovery they refer 
 to, was perhaps ten times the distance from us at 
 that moment ; and must have prospered or decayed 
 beyond need or possibility of help, when the papers 
 were committed to chance of winds and waves. All 
 this considered, I stood on my course, without any 
 vain atteupt to trace the fate of the writer. 
 
 As soon as some remaining duties may permit, I 
 shall come from Portsmouth with the next two days, 
 and present myself to your Lordship and the Board 
 of Admiralty : awaiting which honoui 
 I am, my Lord, 
 
 Y"our Lordship's most faithful, 
 obedient servant, 
 
 GEORGE DUTTOX, 
 
 Commander. 
 
 P. S. Mr. Symes, your Lordship's cousin, desiree 
 me to add his respectful duty. I shall have pleasure 
 to report well of his conduct in detail, together with 
 that of my other officers : but I cannot forbear par- 
 ticular mention of Lieutenant Pilkington, of whose 
 deserts and claims on your Lordship's favour for 
 promotion, I shall take occasion to speak more at 
 large. G. D.
 
 442 THK ADVKNTUREH OF O\VKN KVAN&, 
 
 DON MANUEL'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 [HERB followeth the tjrue rel[ati]on of [mo, Man- 
 uel . . *] ex-pr[ovincial, concerning the st[ate of 
 thirjteeii com[panions, with my]self, on an unk[nown 
 island, be]ing, so \\tll a[s we e]an gn[ess some] where 
 to the so[uth of *] 
 
 T bcs]eech you, bro[ther, w]hoso[everyoube,who 
 by] llie Divi[ne permission may] find these writ- 
 [ings, to trans]mit the [same, or] a cop[y of them, 
 so soon as it shall be po]ssible for [you, to my m]ost 
 Ke[verend Lord and Fajther in God, Don Ped[ro 
 
 *, bis]hop of Bare[olona, or to m]y 
 
 Very R[cverend and beljoved Fa[ther, the prov]in- 
 cia[l for tlie t]ime b[eiag, of the O]rder [of ....;* 
 or] at the l[east, to] del[iver them to the] B[ish]op 
 or G[c verrior of any] city in old [Spain, or in the 
 Spanish col]oui[cs, \v]hereat [ye shall touch : and 
 may the] merc[iful Lord there] fore rew[ard you.] 
 
 These are to mak[e known to the glor]y of God, 
 and to ob[tain help for the strengthening of this 
 mi[ssion, that we] have been one ye[ar and . . . . ] 
 months in [this heathen and sa]vage place, [without 
 pros]pect of being vi[sited or re[lieved b]y any Eu 
 ro[pean shi[p. Hi]ther we ca[me, imp]elled by [the 
 desire of] announcing to the In]dians the sav[ing 
 truths of eter]nal life: and [came by a ser]ies of 
 won[derful prov]idences, mark[ed with the ha]nd of 
 God; ha[ving been first des]erted on one i[sland, 
 (sufficiently dis[tant from] this) hy [ ]
 
 THS CATHOLIC CRCSOB. 443 
 
 thade the instruments in His] hand who bri[ngs 
 good from] evi[l in His own ti]me and way, [first, 
 of sa]ving a peri[shing crew] on that pl[ace, sub- 
 j]ects of his Ca[tholic maj]esty ; and now far[ther 
 (which] is the great[er wor]k) of brin[ging the 
 gos]pel to a po[pulous hea]then land. 
 
 We we[re receijved at fir[st with s]orae mist[rust, 
 bec]ause of o[ur landing] with ar[ms in our] hand[s ; 
 yet to] have gone thi[ther defenc]eless [would have 
 be]en thro[wing need]lessly our [lives away. The] 
 inhabitants cro]wded dow[n upon the] shore, fil[led 
 with wo]nder, rat[her than an]imated b[y emn]ity 
 or fear. They [had never be]fore seen the wh[ite 
 faces of] the children of Eu[rope. But, as] we had 
 taken with us [two of their o]wn nation (thrown [by 
 Provi]denc on the is[land when]ce we came, and by 
 gr[ace conv]erted and baptized) our com[municition 
 wi]th them was so[on established. For the mo- 
 ment, w[e arranged] a barter with th[em for] food, 
 by means [of some tr]ifles we had brought with [us; 
 mere n]ails and bits of glass, [or scraps] of iron, 
 which [to them] were worth hogs, goats, ve[getablee, 
 fr]uits, fresh wa[ter in g]ourds, and any oth[er pro]- 
 duction of their country. 
 
 Two [swift mess]engers started up into the [in- 
 terior] to announce our arri[val to their] king, or 
 cacique,* who lives in [a village] half a day's jour- 
 ney up [the coun]try : in the meantime they [as- 
 signed] to us for a temper [ary abo]de a narrow 
 
 Don Manuel is probably incorrect in giving to the Kintj 
 of Toonati-nooka a name which he must have borrowed 
 from his knowledge of the native chiefs of Chili, Peru, and 
 other Spanish settlements of South America. ED.
 
 444 fHB ADVENTURES 0* OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 strip [of land] on the shore, almost sur[rouade]d by 
 water. Though [they erjected a strong and high 
 pa[lisade of] pointed stakes across the neck [of this 
 la]nd to prevent our [passing be]yond it, and also 
 made [us pro]mise that we would not use [our bo]ats 
 (of which we had two) [to pass] to any other point 
 of their country ; yet, on [the oth]er hand, they 
 showed great fri[end]liness ; and crowds were 
 constantly] coming and going with in[satia- 
 bl]e curiosity to look [at us, and] speak with us 
 through the bars of the palisade. It was chiefly 
 [\vith our] two Indians and myself that they [con 
 versed ;] for I had gained (through these two) a 
 sufli[cient knowledge of their language to speak [it 
 with ea]se. They had numberless questions to [ask 
 aboujt our nation, king, laws, cus[toms, reli]gion, 
 wars, dress, barter, productions, down [to the mo]st 
 minute details of our lives : and they [would scar]ce- 
 ly allow us time to sleep, nor me, unwor[thy prie]st, 
 leisure to read my breviary, so eager were they, [day 
 and] night, to listen to everything we coul[d tell] them. 
 I was glad to be able thus to comm[ence m]y mis- 
 sion among them ; and announced to them, with 
 cau[tion and] not ex professo, some of the first tru[ths 
 of rejligion, the unity of God, the punishments of sin, 
 etc. [But the wo]rk became so fatiguing (the 
 crowds increasing contin[ually, as] the report of our 
 arrival flew abroad), I was truly gl[ad when a] cry 
 arose, from those who were furthest [from the p]ali- 
 pades, " Tooma, tooma /" which is th[eir word] tor 
 king, or principal lord ; by which I concluded the 
 kin]g himself had come down to see us.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 445 
 
 He came, surrou[nded by his g]uards, who could 
 scarcely keep off the crowds, even [by bea]ting them 
 severely with the staves of their s[pears. All those] 
 who could approach him performed the usual c[ere- 
 mony in to]ken of submission, which is, licking the 
 king's feet. He [bade the t]wo Indians and myself 
 come forth to [him, to the] other side of the palisade. 
 This we were not prepared for, be[ing quite u]ncer- 
 tain of his relation towards us: at first I designed to 
 [make the ki]ug and his chief men [for he was sur- 
 rounded by many who[m it was] easy to remark as 
 persons in authority,) take an [oath, in the so]lemn 
 manner of their country, that our persons should [be 
 sa]fe among them. On second thoughts, [however, 
 I] remembered that such an oath was likely "to [con- 
 sist in] some idolatrous rite, and the invocation of 
 [one of th]e many demons worshipped among them; 
 and I re[solved rather] to trust myself in the merci- 
 ful hands of God than counten[ance such] an act. 
 
 I answered, however, [with an] air of authority, 
 that we were messengers [from, a gr]eat king, who 
 had sent us hither on a negoci[atiou of the] utmost 
 importance to Toonati-nooka ; that my King had 
 [done me the ho]nour to admit me near His person, 
 and had laid on me an o[ffice that usu]ally kept ine 
 employed about His throne; that Ve came as ain- 
 b[assadors, not] as supplicants, and for the benefit 
 of himself [and his pe]ople, not for any necessity or 
 advantage [of our own]. I went on to say, though 
 we were few in number, comp[ared to] those who 
 surround us, yet the weapons in [our han]ds (for 
 each of our men carried two muskets, and had three
 
 446 THl ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 
 
 or fofur pistojls in his belt) were of so tremendous a 
 kind as made us capable of slay[ing num]bers, if we 
 were so disposed, though we came on an embassy of 
 peace. Therefore, if] we were to treat, it must be 
 on equal terms : that I, as ambassador, would pre- 
 sent my [self before] the king, if his guards (all but 
 two only,) would lay aside their spears for the pre- 
 sent, and the rest of his [subject]s keep to a distance 
 of three spears' lengths around us: also, if two 
 hostages of their chief [men, u]narmed, would pas* 
 inside the palisade, for every one of us who went be- 
 yond it. 
 
 These terms, together with the to[ne I ass]umed, 
 astonished the king ; and he called his chiefs around 
 him to deliberate on what I said. After [a while, 
 he] sent to us one of the oldest among them, a sensi- 
 ble man, who told me these were new and unheard- 
 of things for a stranger to pro [pose ; that] our 
 coming was unlocked for, and our appearance un- 
 usual : in a word, that the king desired some proof 
 of the power we brought with us, such [as should 
 njot harm his people, whilst they convinced himself 
 and his chiefs. 
 
 Upon this, I turned to one of my companions, who 
 was reckoned as the best marks[man amo]ng us with 
 his gun ; and, pointing so a sea-eagle wheeling above 
 us at no great height, 1 bade him to take steady aim, 
 
 and shoot in the name of God and Sa[int * 
 
 May our] good Lord forgive me if I was guilty o4 
 any presumption in this ; but I trusted, not only to 
 my faith and poor prayer, [but to the manjs known 
 
 * Probably Saint James, the patron saint of Spain. ED.
 
 THE CATHOUC CRUSOE. 447 
 
 skill with his weapon. Also, I was sure that, did he 
 hit or did he miss, the effect on the savages would 
 only differ in degree, and that [the drea]dful noise 
 and sudden surprise of the explosion would not fail 
 to impress them with reverence for us, and dread of 
 our weapons. 
 
 As I supposed, so it turned out. No sooner had 
 the sai[lor discharged his piece, than such a yell 
 arose from the multitude, as if an earthquake or 
 other terrific thing happened. The greater part of 
 them [fell to the] earth, hiding their faces ; some ran 
 like scared creatures into the woods : other called on 
 their gods to save them. But what was their aston- 
 ishment when the ea[gle, transjtixed with the ball, 
 fluttered down, bleeding and dying, and fell in the 
 midst of the assembly. From that time we had no 
 need to assert our equality with them ; for they ac- 
 knowledged us [at once as su]perior beings. So 
 great was their dread of us now, it was not easy to 
 find, among all their bravest warriors, six who would 
 come within the palisade as hostages. We on our 
 [part, made all si]gns of friendship ; and told them, 
 this dreadful thunder and lightning (so they called 
 our weapons) was only used against our enemies ; 
 that we had it so completely under our con[trol, it 
 would on]ly explode when we pleased : and we sol- 
 emnly assured them, by the great King who sent us, 
 if they attempted not to harm us, it should never 
 explode against] them. 
 
 On this, they took heart again, and six chiefs (who 
 were afterwards rewarded by the king with a string 
 of shells a-piece for this ect of daring) came in among
 
 448 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BYAR8, 
 
 our men, while our two In[dians and m]yself were 
 received outside by the king, his guards having laid 
 aside their arms as I had required. 
 
 His first demand was, to see one of these wonder- 
 ful weapons nearer ; but that [it shonld no]t make 
 the noise, nor shoot forth the fire again. I called 
 back to the man who fired, to pass his musket to me 
 through the palisade ; and holding it, I [addressed 
 the] king, telling him he should judge by what I was 
 now about to do, whether I had spoken truly that 
 these weapons would fire or not, as we willed. I 
 made him him remark, I \v[as going to do] what the 
 man had done before : pledging my truth as an am- 
 bassador, it should make no more noise than the king 
 himself would by snapping his fingers. There w[as 
 to be] no fire, I said, but one spark only : and if it 
 thundered forth as before, or anything like it, he 
 might disbelieve my message, and send [us away] as 
 impostors. 
 
 The king and all the assembly were half afraid of 
 the thing being done over again ; but I solemnly as- 
 sured them, I would rest the whole credit of my mis- 
 sion [on the res]ult ; then, amidst a breathless silence 
 in the vast concourse, I pointed the gun upward, as 
 though I took aim at some other bird, and so pulled 
 the trigger. When the king [heard the sn]ap, and 
 saw the spark from the flint, and nothing further- 
 more, he threw his arms into the air, and shouted out 
 that we were, since we had absolute control over 
 these dreadful creatures, ra[ther gods th]an men. 
 Then, in spite of our agreement, his chiefs pressed 
 round us, and, do what I would to prevent it, they
 
 tHR OAtHOLlO CfttJSOt. 449 
 
 all licked my feet, after the custom of the country. 
 [I seized] the opportunity to proclaim the true God, 
 asking the king to judge if we, who were but the 
 poor servants of Him in whose name we came, could 
 do such mighty wonders, what must be His [own 
 power a]nd majesty ! And thus we already dis- 
 posed both him and his nation to receive the faith. 
 
 Then he asked me, on what terms was he to treat 
 with this great King ? What did He require? I 
 an[swered, my] King required nothing but what was 
 \o make the king of Toonati-nooka and his subjects 
 happy : that for this very purpose had I been sent ; 
 that my K[ing, being more] powerful than all 
 others, and more abounding in possession of wealth 
 and happiness, needed nothing as being necessary to 
 Him ; being as good and merciful as He was rich 
 [and power]ful. His delight was to make all other 
 kings and their subjects happy : and again, that be- 
 ing as wise as He was powerful, rich, and happy in 
 Himself, He sent His ambassadors in[to every] quar- 
 ter of the earth, to proclaim the laws and ordinances 
 by which alone men could be happy while they 
 lived, and happy after they were dead. Lastly, I 
 repeated, it was for this and no other object that 1 
 was come and had brought hither my companions. 
 
 [I told him] I sought not the gold or wealth of 
 his kingdom; that my King willed that he should 
 still occupy his throne and be obeyed by his sub- 
 jects ; that the best security for his person and king- 
 dom. w[ould be, to] submit himself, and cause 
 them to submit, to my King's wise and benevolent 
 s, which teach men to be obedient to lawful an"
 
 460 T&B ADVBNTORKS OF OWEN KVAN8, 
 
 thority, and not do only what they must needs, but 
 what is right, because it is right. Other tilings of 
 the like kind I added : and though he see[med in- 
 c]apable of understanding what I said about right 
 and justice, yet, seeing him listen attentively, I re- 
 solved not to lose the occasion. 
 
 The king pondered grea[tly on w]hat I said, and 
 Bat silent for some space ; then, calling to him the 
 grave, venerable chiefs who were his counsellors, he 
 deliberated with them : and they declared it was 
 good, though new. This the[y repjeated several 
 times, as though surprised at its being new and un- 
 heard-of, yet approving it as good. And I heard 
 them repeating this often to themselves, to one an- 
 other, and to the king: new[, but go]od; new, but 
 good. 
 
 Then the king went on to ask me many questions 
 about the laws and ordinances I had come to pro- 
 claim ; and whether any of them would be against 
 the laws established in his kingdom by those who 
 had been before him. This question, as] being dif- 
 ficult to answer, I evaded for the time : for the Gos- 
 pel of our Lord Jesus Christ must needs be in oppo- 
 sition to the idolatrous and wicked customs of the 
 heathen; as said the apostle: " What fellowship hath 
 light with darkness ? And what [concord hjath 
 Christ with Belial ? Or what part hath the faithful 
 with the unbeliever?" Therefore I answered him, 
 that as yet I was not acquainted with the customs 
 of his kingdom, and could not speak as to particu- 
 lars ; bat sure I was, the laws of a king so wise, so 
 just, so benevolent [as mine] needs be the best and
 
 TitR CATHOLIC CRDSOE. 451 
 
 happiest possible ; and that, did it chance any of those 
 in Toonuti-nooka differed from them, it would be 
 to his happiness to conform to my king's law with 
 out delay. 
 
 He (seemed to think all this was reasonable as did 
 his counsellors too : they sat silent again, pondering 
 on all I had advanced ; now one, n[ow anojther, nod- 
 ding with his head, and saying it was good. At 
 length the King rose up, and taking off his head- 
 dress of feathers, placed it on me, as a -mark ol 
 special favour and inviolable hospitality. He also 
 chewed one half of a betel-nut, and invited me to 
 chew the other. Then he bade me to a feast, which 
 had been preparing u[nder a grjove of trees, while 
 we were in conference. He promised at the same 
 time, to send abundance of provisions to our men,, 
 which he amply fulfilled : and allowed me to send 
 back the younger of my two Indians to the inclos- 
 ure, to serve as interpreter, and carry messages to 
 and fro. 
 
 Our feast was as ceremonious as a state banquet 
 ever was ; indeed, many ceremonies were especially 
 ojbserved in my honour, and I was glad to find, 
 they were not accompanied by any superstitious ob- 
 servances, which I could not have joined in. But 
 before it concluded, there came in a number of slave 
 dancers, to dance before the king and his guests, 
 whose performance was- heathenish to a degree, and 
 wounding to Christian eyes. On this, I told the 
 king, my Master forbade His ser[vants to] be pre- 
 aent at such exhibitions ; and begged him to let the 
 dancers retire. He answered, laughing : " O, hon-
 
 452 THl ADVENTURES OF OWBN EVAN'S, 
 
 Durable ambassador ! what matters it for the time, 
 inasmuch as your king sees you not ?" 
 
 To which I replied by asking him respectfully, 
 would he consider any of his subjects faithful, who 
 only obeyed his laws while his eye was upon them ? 
 He considered awhile, then said, wi[th a fro] \vning 
 countenance : " No, indeed ; if I knew of any one 
 transgressing my laws at a distance, I would send to 
 him this my servant." On which, he beckoned the 
 public executioner (who always attends him,) a tall, 
 athletic man of ferocious aspect, with a large sword, 
 made of a wood almost as hard as iron, and quite as 
 heavy, " This is the messenger," says he, " I send to 
 all my subjects who forget their duty. Tell me, O 
 slave," he [continujed, addressing tne executioner, 
 " how many notches hast thou on thy sword ?" " O 
 king," answered he, " they are six, fifty, and two 
 hundred," (so they always reckon backwards in this 
 country.) " Good!" cries the king, laughing; then 
 turned to me and explained, the custom was for the 
 executioner to make a notch on his weapon for every 
 malefactor's head he cut off. " And thy father be- 
 fore thee," continued the king ; " how [many njotches 
 did he make in his time ?" " O king !" answered the 
 executioner, " my father had two swords, given him 
 by the king your father ; and they were so full of 
 notches, there was not room to make one notch 
 more." 
 
 " You see, now, O ambassador," says the king to 
 me, " we know how to punish those who transgress 
 our laws." " And my Master, O King," answered 
 I, " has not one ambassador only, nor [one ex]ec
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 453 
 
 tioner, nor one army, but more ihan I can count, all 
 ranged round His throne. The swords of His 
 executioners are of fire, and pestilence, famine, and 
 death. One of them, once sent out by my King, 
 slew seventy thousand men in three days : another 
 went forth alone against the King's enemies, and in 
 one night slew five thousand, and eighty thousand, 
 and an hundred thousand*"* 
 
 On this, the king's nephew, who had [just com]e 
 in from a hunting party, and had heard nothing of 
 what had passed before, burst out laughing, and 
 showed signs of incredulity as to what I asserted. 
 But the king reproved him with an angry counte- 
 nance, and related to him at large the firing of the 
 gun ; asking if such w r ere the dreadful creatures 
 carried by an embassy of peace, what might not be 
 expected of the war implemtnts and executioners' 
 swords of so great a King? 
 
 4/ But I do not understand, O ambassador," con- 
 tinued he, " bow your King secures your obedience 
 to His laws when you are out of His sight ? My 
 subjects" (he went on whispering in my ear) "observe 
 my laws carefully, because they know I have spies 
 in every part of my kingdom who would report 
 them on their disobedience. But if I sent them on 
 a distant embassy, like yours, I believe they would 
 think little of disobeying every law my forefathers 
 enacted." 
 
 * The reference here is evidently to the three days' pesti- 
 lence recorded in II. Kings, xxiv. 18, and to the destruction 
 of the host of Sennacherib, IV. Kings, xix. 35. It would ap- 
 pear to be the idiom in Toonti-nooka, as among the ancient 
 Greeks, in stating a high number, to proceed frojn the 
 numerals to the greater. ED.
 
 454 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 To which I answe/ed, though my King was indeed 
 out of my sight, yet I was not out of His ; that His 
 eyes pierced into every place ; that He had servants 
 and [messe ]ngers innumerable, who could fly with 
 the speed of light to give Him notice of all that 
 passed over the whole earth ; yet that He needed 
 them not, though He was pleased frequently to em- 
 ploy their services, which they rendered most will- 
 ingly, with a great love of their King: finally, that 
 (by some of His courtiers) He kept a great book, in 
 which were written down all the actions of every 
 one of His subjects, even to the meanest and poorest 
 person, even the smallest action, or the least whisper 
 of a word ; and according to these entries in the book, 
 the King rewarded or punished His subjects without 
 fail, sooner or later, as His wisdom decreed. 
 
 On this he pondered a little at the first; then 
 laughed, and said, it must needs be a large book, in- 
 deed, and a great deal of trouble to keep it : and 
 asked how many scribes were employed on this, and 
 what kind of writing they used. To this I returned 
 an evasive answer, not wishing to give him more to 
 think of at that time ; and turning the discourse, I 
 said to the king, though he had been pleased to com- 
 ply with my request, and send away his dancers, yet 
 my King did by no means forbid any amusement 
 that was harmless ; and if he would condescend to 
 witness a war dance of my countrymen (so I called 
 their exercising with their weapons,) he would see 
 how regularly they could perform it. 
 
 The king seemed highly delighted with this pro- 
 posal ; only he made me promise, these javelin* of
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 455 
 
 lightning (so he called our gang) should not be shot 
 forth again without his express permission. I did 
 this ; and moreover, on my sacred character as am- 
 bassador to the Great King, the men were to return 
 to their palisade when the dance was over, at least 
 for that night, until the king had determined how he 
 would receive us into the country. 
 
 This being concluded, I called out to the men in 
 Spanish, that eight of them (five of whom had been 
 marines in our wrecked ship, and the other three 
 veteran invalided troops of the line) should march 
 out in order, shouldering their arms, and should give 
 a great example of discipline. Accordingly they 
 came forth with fixed bayonets, marching in step, 
 and filing in front of the king, suddenly wheeled 
 round, and presented themselves in a line before him, 
 grounding their arms, which made a great clash on 
 the ground. But this startled both him and his 
 chiefs, who expected nothing less than that all the 
 muskets would explode together. He rose up in 
 consternation, throwing a thick shield of bull's hide 
 before him, and crouching down behind it : several 
 of his chiefs betrayed their fear by running behind 
 the trees, and of the multitude, a great number fell 
 on their faces again and set up loud cries. On this, 
 I came before him again smiling, and with outstretched 
 hands asked him whether he had forgotten that I had 
 pledged my word, the javelins should not explode ? 
 This brought him and the chiefs to themselves again ; 
 come of them seemed rather ashamed of the fear they 
 had shown ; and the king told me he wished the war 
 dance to proceed.
 
 456 THE ADYBNTUR8 Of OWN KVANS, 
 
 On which, strictly charging the men not so much 
 as to level their guns in any direction where specta- 
 tors were assembled (who, indeed, surrounded us on 
 all sides,) I bade them go through some of their 
 common exercises. They did so with great precision, 
 under the command of one of the veterans, who was 
 a sergeant, and had seen much service. The exercise, 
 or war dance, so delighted the king, that before it 
 was half concluded, he leaped from the ground where 
 he was seated, laughed, shouted, clapped his hands ; 
 then, calling for his spear and shield, r.ushed with a 
 wild yell into the midst, with violent gesticulations ; 
 brandishing his weapons. He then began to shout a 
 tremendous war-song at the top of his voice. This 
 example so excited his chiefs to warlike fury, that 
 they followed him to the very letter. They seized 
 their spears, and formed a circle round him, joining 
 him in the war-song ; moving round at first more 
 slowly, then quicker and quicker, as the excitement 
 or passion of battle increased : at times they struck 
 their spears into the earth as though they were slay- 
 ing an enemy ; and the song became louder continu- 
 ally, till they seemed to lose all command of 
 themselves, and rushed round and round, their eyes 
 inflamed and countenances distorted with phrensy, 
 shrieking out their battle-cry like so many furies. 
 
 The converted Indians now drew near to me, and 
 said with alarm, that we were in much danger from 
 them ; that when this excitement seized them, they 
 became unable to distinguish friends from foes ; and, 
 moreover, when the king thus joined in a war dance 
 with his chiefs, it seldom ended without their striking
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 457 
 
 their lances through several of the spectators. On 
 this news, I drew our men together in line, bidding 
 them present their bayonets in self-defence towards 
 these furious savages, in case they showed any further 
 ign of hostillities: then with my two Indians, I 
 commenced, at the full pitch of our united voices, a 
 simple hymn which I had composed for them in their 
 native language. At the first strains, I could perceive 
 the fury of those war-dancers somewhat abate ; and 
 we had not sung half a dozen times, before tlwjy 
 subsided into something of their former tranquility. 
 We continued steadily looking on them with unmov- 
 ed countenances; before the hymn ended, they stood 
 listening, having cast aside their weapons, fixed with 
 curiosity, and a kind of rude reverence, or fear 
 
 We finished our hymn as we walked back quietly 
 to the place where the king had now re-seated him- 
 self; and by this, all danger and disturbance had 
 ceased. He expressed his approval, nodding his head 
 several times ; then asked us, what was the 
 meaning of what we had sung. Was it a war song, 
 or a lament over those who had fallen, or a song to 
 one of the gods of our country, or the history of 
 some famous warrior? To this, I answered, it was 
 one of our modes of addressing my King. Were 
 those words, then, asked he, addressed to the King 
 who sent you ? I signified, yes. But pursued the 
 kins:, we never sing any song of so solemn a nature, 
 unless to lament over the dead, or to address our 
 gods. " Stand forth, Ta-kaeeuga," continued he, 
 turning to his chief bard, or priest, " and sing UB 
 my ancestor's song to Havaoeekee,"
 
 458 TUB ADVSNTUR8 Of OWN IVANS, 
 
 On tliis, I could scarcely restrain my converted 
 Indians from giving expression to their disgust at 
 hearing the name of the idol they had once wor- 
 shipped. I, for my part, was equally determined 
 the idolatrous hymn should not be sung in our 
 presence ; therefore, turning to the king with a reso- 
 lute countenance, I told him, my King was much more 
 powerful than Havoeekee, or any of the gods of the 
 island : that to sing a hymn in his praise, while we 
 were by, would be reckoned an insult to my King, 
 of which I felt sure the king of Toonati-nooka would 
 not be guilty, were it only out of hospitality, but 
 which my King could punish on the spot, if it were 
 persisted in : and a good deal more to the same pur- 
 pose. He listened with the greatest wonder and 
 atonishment, as did also his chiefs. When 1 had 
 done speaking, he conferred some time with them, 
 then beckoned me again to come to him alone, where 
 he was seated. Here he caused a mat of honour to 
 be spread for me beside his own : a distinction to 
 which none of his chiefs pretended, and generally 
 reserved for his nephew alone, who was to succeed 
 him in the kingdom. Then, taking my hand, and 
 looking me very seriously in the face : " Tell me, O 
 ambassador of the great King !" says he ; "is your 
 King truly, truly, greater than Havaoeekee; greater 
 than Puowanga; greater than all the rest we wor- 
 ship ?" 
 
 '' O king !" answered I, " it is true indeed ; as true 
 as that you have honoured me, His ambassador and 
 servant, and placed me by your side. Let us only 
 rest to-night after our weary voyage ; to-morrow, if
 
 THE CATHOLIC CBU8OK. 459 
 
 you have courage, I will show you a proof of the 
 power of my King." 
 
 He laughed at the idea of his not having courage, 
 or not so much courage as I, who was a man of 
 peace ; till, his eye resting again on our muskets, he 
 checked himself, remembering the fears he had felt 
 at them before. 
 
 By this time, the evening began to close in; but 
 as there was light enough still for a farewell shot, I 
 thought it best to wind up all I had said, by repeat- 
 ing this evidence of our powers. I therefore re- 
 minded him, we had faithfully kept to our promise 
 of not exploding the fire-javelins hitherto; but asked 
 him, would he now desire to see how much stronger 
 they were than any lance or bow in his country ? I 
 promised that, to prove this, they should only explode 
 once, as before. 
 
 He hesitated awhile at this proposal ; then con- 
 sulted again with his chiefs, amongst whom also 
 there was a difference of opinion. Some appeared 
 to think, once was quite enough for such an experi- 
 ment ; but others had arrived on the spot since our 
 conference began, and were eager to witness what 
 they had heard so much talk of; till the rest, I 
 suppose, were ashamed to show how great was their 
 dread. At length, the king gave a sort of unwilling 
 consent : on which, I asked for the strongest shield 
 among his warriors to be brought before me. It 
 was of hard wood, clumsily fashioned into a rude 
 board of some thickness, which was strengthened 
 with a double covering of uutanned goat's hide. 
 This was indeed the king's own second shield, borne
 
 460 THE ADVENTURES 0V OWEN EVANS, 
 
 after him in battle by his shield-bearer, in case of the 
 first being pierced or broken. I caused the shield to 
 be placed upright, supported by two spears, at, about 
 half uiusket shot from where we sat. Then, calling 
 aloud, I said, " O warriors of Toonati-nooka ! strong 
 are your arms ; swift and sharp are your spears ! Do 
 your worst on yonder shield; then stand aside, to see 
 what che servants of my King can do !" 
 
 At the king's command, three of the strongest 
 chiefs now stepped out ; and, after choosing their 
 sharpest-pointed javelins, one after another hurled 
 them against the shield. It was considered much 
 above the average, in the way of darting, that their 
 weapons should, at that distance, pierce through the 
 two goat's hides, and remained quivering in the 
 wood of the shield. When they had each delivered 
 their spears, with the utmost force, the king turned 
 to me with an air of trinmph, asking me what more 
 I could do. I answered him, " O king ! this is indeed 
 well done ; and I believe the arm of the strongest 
 man could hardly do more. But my King has al- 
 lowed us to possess weapons that put the weak on a 
 level with the strong. To prove this, I will call on 
 one of our warriors who was nearly dying a short 
 time since, and has not yet recovered his strength :" 
 and here I beckoned to one of the veteran invalids, 
 whose pale, sickly looks confirmed what I had said 
 of him. He was a very steady shot, however; and 
 I committed the proof to him with confidence. 
 
 When he stood forth, the musket in his hands, 
 there was the greatest consternation among those 
 who had heard the last gun fired, and the greatest
 
 ffiK CATHOLIC CRU80K. 
 
 461 
 
 curiosity among those who had not. I think, by 
 this time all the population of that part of the coun- 
 try must have been assembled on the spot. There 
 could not have been less than fifteen thousand men 
 immediately about us; and the surrounding hills 
 were covered with women and children. It was a 
 sea of dark faces and eager eyes, all fixed upon our 
 marksman. Indeed, when I considered the impor- 
 tance of the stake on which I had now set every- 
 thing, I almost wished I had not risked it. I betook 
 myself inwardly to prayer, that all might go well. 
 
 We made the king understand, a lane or avenue 
 mnst be cleared behind the shield, to avoid all 
 danger to his people : to which he showed himself 
 very indifferent, in comparison with his curiosity. 
 So dense was the crowd, it was with difficulty, and 
 not without many blows, this was effected. When 
 all was ready, I again commended the matter to 
 God, and bade the soldier fire. 
 
 The report of his gun produced even greater effects 
 than the former. There rose a shriek from the mul- 
 titude, and from the hill, such as I never heard b- 
 fore, nor ever wish to hear again. The whole assem- 
 bly fell upon their faces, thinking they were wounded 
 by the flash ; and only by degrees, first one and then 
 another rose again, feeling their heads and arms to 
 *ee whether they were whole. Then the chiefs ran 
 to the shield ; and were astonished to find the two 
 bullets (for the piece was double-loaded) had gone 
 through hides, wood, and all, and lay on the ground 
 beyond. These they brought to the king, togethef 
 with the shield itself.
 
 462 fHR ADVENTURES OF OWBN BVAN8, 
 
 But when he had seen with his own eyes the pass- 
 age cut by tbe bullet, and examined the ball itself, 
 he was the more confirmed in his belief, that it was 
 the veritable, thunder we carried in our guns. For 
 it seems that meteor-stones had been known to fall 
 in Toonati-nooka, in the midst of great thunder- 
 storms: and he was fully persuaded, the bullets 
 (which were beaten out of shape in their passage 
 through the shield) were some such stones, only under 
 our command, to launch or keep back as we pleased. 
 This circumstance crowned our reputation ; the king 
 ordered a robe of honour (a red and yellow cloak oi 
 birch-bark and bird's feathers) to be brought, and 
 thrown over my shoulders : also, he rewarded the 
 marksman with a string of berries which he took 
 from bis neck, and two hogs ; which were sent to the 
 palisade. 
 
 We were now surrounded by the chiefs, who said 
 a great many things in our honour. But I bade them 
 only pay honour to the King who had sent me ; that 
 we were but His servants, and all the power we pos- 
 sessed came from Him ; that He had commanded me 
 to show other wonders beside these, and to tell all 
 the people of Toonati-nooka some very good news, 
 which we reserved till the following day : but that 
 now we craved leave to retire. 
 
 They crowded so closely round us, showing such 
 anxiety to ask a multitude of questions, that we had 
 great difficulty in making our way back to the boats. 
 Our men, however, needed rest ; therefore, after 
 taking our leave of the king (who would scarcely let 
 us go,) we were making our way back, when the
 
 CATHOLIC CRFSOU. 
 
 463 
 
 chief bard, whose office was, to chronicle the valiant 
 deeds of the king and his warriors, stepped before 
 me and chanted, to a kind of rude lute with five 
 strings, the following verses : 
 
 " Great is the King who sent His ambassador, 
 Bearing in canes the thunder and lightning ! 
 Strong are the warriors of Toonati-nooka, 
 Stronger the pale men beyond the salt water.'' 
 
 This song was taken up by the multitude and the 
 chiefs ; nay, the king himself did not think it be- 
 neath his dignity to join in it : and it swelled into a 
 deafening shout, as they formed a procession to ac- 
 company us to the palisade. Indeed, every one was 
 now anxious we should come from this separation, 
 and be with them : but I foresaw, it would be quieter 
 and more secure for us to stay there, at least for the 
 time. So they accompanied us to our quarters ; then, 
 with many greetings, we dismissed the six chiefs who 
 had been kept as hostages : they were wild to know all 
 that had taken place. The multitude remained a 
 great part of the night oxitside the palisade, lighting 
 up large fires, and chanting the same song, and others 
 which they made hi our praise : so that it was difficult 
 to get any rest for the noise. 
 
 At day break the next morning, the king sent (in 
 respectful terms) to beg we would come to him. As 
 I was engaged in reciting my breviary, I sent back 
 word, that I was then employed in the service of my 
 King, but would come to him as soon as possible. 
 Meanwhile, the crowd collected in such numbers 
 utside, and kept np such a continual talking with 
 our two Indians, as greatly disturbed me, and them 
 also. At length, seeing no other help for it, I called
 
 464 fHB ADTBNTURRS OF OWEN 
 
 them, with the other men, to morning prayers, telling 
 the savages we were going to speak to our King, 
 and they must remain silent. So indeed, they did, 
 with the utmost respect, not once interrupting us. 
 When this was finished, I opened my breviary again, 
 and bade the Indians precede me, singing one of the 
 hyms I had composed for them in their own language. 
 So we all walked out very slowly, while I managed 
 to recite my office. The multitude crowded round 
 us, leaving us just room to walk ; and they supposed 
 this was some solemn procession we were engaged in. 
 Nor did they offer to disturb us ; but now and then 
 they would break out, singing the verse* their bard 
 had made the night before : some who were nearest, 
 and could catch the words that our two Indians sang, 
 joined in them as well as they could : whence it came 
 to pass, that they pronounced the sweet names of 
 Jesus and Mary before they knew the meaning of 
 the words. 
 
 We found the king surrounded by his priests, pre- 
 paring to offer a sacrifice to the idol of the place, 
 Paowanga. He greeted me joyfully, with respect, 
 and threw another string of berries round my neck, 
 inviting me to take part with him in the. ceremony. 
 But I answered, I was then engaged in communicat- 
 ing with my King, who was much greater than 
 Paowanga, as I had told him last night. On this, 
 the priest became very angry ; and, pointing to where 
 the idol stood, asked me was my King more powerful 
 than this great lord of Toonati-nooka ? I looked, 
 and saw at a little distance, a monstrous and hideous 
 idol, rudely carvod out of the stump of a large tree.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 465 
 
 This idol was of a terrible countenance, having an 
 enormous mouth armed with shark's teeth : into 
 which, it seems, the poor deluded people used to put 
 their offerings, such as hogs, goats, etc. (for the idol's 
 mouth would easily contain one of those animals,) 
 together with yams, potatoes, bread-frnit, or whatever 
 offering they brought. Sometimes, I believe, they 
 did the same with human sacrifices. They supposed 
 that Paowanga devoured all these things ; but the 
 priests, who had their dwelling in a sort of college 
 behind a palisade close to the image, had contrived a 
 trap-door in the back of his head, and came to take 
 out by night what the poor worshippers had put in 
 by day; and so lived very comfortably, in great 
 indolence. 
 
 Part of this I had learned through our Indians ; 
 but the particular fraud of the trap-door was discov- 
 ered after what I am going to relate. For the pres- 
 ent I answered the priests (who had already, as I 
 could see, become our enemies,) that, if the king 
 permitted, when I had done speaking to my King, 
 we would see which was greatest, my King, or Pao- 
 wanga. Then I walked quietly on, reading my book, 
 my two Indians with me, still singing their hymns. 
 As to the people, they seemed divided, whether they 
 should follow us, or attend the sacrifice : but by far 
 the greater part came with us, and I believe Pao- 
 wanga never had so thin an attendance ; for this was 
 a solemn sacrifice, which took place " twice every 
 moon," as they expressed it. 
 
 I went some little distance, out of sight : but could 
 aot get beyond the sound of their heathenish shouV
 
 466 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 ings round the idol, nor the noise of the great instru- 
 ments like drums, they beat in his honour, and which 
 I afterwards found to be made of the skins of their 
 enemies slain or taken in battle. 
 
 I knelt dow r n, and prayed for some time with all 
 fervour I could command, that our good Lord would 
 inspire me with wisdom and courage for jvhat was 
 to follow. I also asked the two Indians, in a whisper 
 whether they were prepared to share the danger I 
 resolved to incur for the glory of God, to open the 
 eyes of those idolaters at one bold stroke. 
 
 They answered me, that they were prepared: for 
 they were, in truth, so deeply imbued with our holy 
 faith, I believe they would have felt no greater joy 
 than to embrace martyrdom on the spot. Seeing 
 the danger was so near, they asked for a little time 
 for their confessions, which allowed me to finish 
 part of my office. After this, I heard them, first the 
 elder, then the younger ; motioning the savages to 
 keep a little distance. They looked on with a re- 
 spectful silence, as on something mysterious, which 
 they understood not. 
 
 When this was concluded, returning as leisurely 
 as we came, we found the heathen sacrifice just over, 
 and all round the king, waiting for us. 
 
 " Now, O king," said I, " if you will permit me 
 to return to my companions, I will fetch a proof that 
 Paowanga is no god at all : and if I fail to prove it," 
 added I, turning to the priests, " I will give you leave 
 to put me straight into his mouth." At this, the 
 king laughed greatly ; but I noticed the idolatrous 
 priests to look at me, full of malice, and whisper to
 
 THK CATUOL1C CKU80B. 467 
 
 one another. " Go," then said the king, " O ambas- 
 sador ! but how Jong will you be away? "Before 
 the sun," said I, "has travelled over the little space 
 between yonder tree tops, I will come again." 
 
 On this, I took one of the two Indians with me ; 
 but the other was kept back by the king, who wished 
 to entertain himself by asking him a thousand ques- 
 tions about us and our ways and customs. When I 
 got to the boats, I asked the gunner's mate of the 
 wrecked vessel (who was one of our party) to make 
 me up quickly a strong packet of powder, containing 
 about three-quarters of a pound, with a slow burning 
 match, a few inches in length. While he was doing 
 this, I selected from a case of philosophical instru- 
 ments which we had saved from the wreck, a strong 
 burning glass, or magnifier ; for I had already formed 
 my plan. When the packet of gunpowder was ready, 
 I went back with it in my hand, and arrived within 
 the time I had promised. 
 
 Presenting myself before the king, I spoke as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " O king!" I said, "when two chiefs contend in 
 battle, or wrestle in a trial of strength, if one i 
 able to lift the ther off his feet, and throw him to 
 tLfc ground, is he not the strongest ?" " Yes, indeed," 
 cried out the king and the chiefs ; and all the multi- 
 tude repeated it after them. " But," I continued," if 
 the chief sends one of his mere servants, with no 
 weapon in his hand ; and the servant is able to throw 
 down that other ; wliat will you say of the strength 
 of the chief who sent him ?" " O, O, O," cried they 
 all, iu great surprise ; and listened for what I
 
 468 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANi, 
 
 say r-oxt. " Now tell me," I went on : " is Paowanga 
 a mighty god ?" " Oh, oaighty, mighty !" cried out 
 all the priests in chorus ; and the king, with some ol 
 his chiefs, said it too ; but, I perceived, not with so 
 much vigour : for they had spoken with me. " But 
 how can you show me," said I, " he is so mighty ?" 
 " Oh," said one of the principal among the priests, 
 pointing to the idol, " see how much he can eat !" 
 In truth, one of the hind legs of a goat was even 
 then sticking out of the huge mouth ; the rest having 
 disappeared into the cavity of the trunk. And, it 
 seems, among these savages, it is reckoned one of the 
 great qualities of a chief to be able to devour enor- 
 mous quantities of food. 
 
 "Well," said I, laughing, " I am going to give him 
 something to eat, too ; and if it does not prove too 
 much for him, I shall think him very strong indeed." 
 
 So saying, I moved towards the idol with my 
 packet of gunpowder. 
 
 Here the priests, suspecting some harm to their 
 favourite, began to urge the king not to allow me to 
 proceed. But he, with his chiefs, overcome by curi- 
 osity, seemed anxious for nothing but to see the end. 
 I promised, on my part, having once put something 
 into Paowanga's mouth for him to eat, I would not 
 approach him again. " I have no wish," said I, " to 
 be near him, since he is an enemy and rival to my 
 King." They scarce knew how to interpret all this; 
 but there was the greatest silence and wonder among 
 chiefs and people alike : except only the priests, who 
 kept murmuring and scowling at me. 
 
 I walked up to the idol, inwardly praying to God
 
 THS CATHOLIC CRDSOB. 46ft 
 
 to direct me ; then mounting the rude blocks, piled 
 up like so many steps, by which worshippers came 
 to make their offering to his mouth, I cried aloud, so 
 that all might hear: " O Paowanga ! it is not to hon- 
 our or praise you, not to do you homage, that I now 
 put this into your mouth : but, on the contrary, to 
 show this king and all his people, that my King who 
 has sent me hither is alone to be honoured or wor- 
 shipped as God." With that, I thrust the gunpowder 
 into the idol's mouth, taking care to expose the slow 
 match to the sun : then swiftly pulling out my burning 
 glass, I brought the sun's rays to bear on the end of 
 the match, which instantly lighted. Then I put the 
 glass again into my pocket, came down the steps, and 
 walked quietly back to the king. 
 
 ALL the people were standing at a respectful dis- 
 tance from the idol, and I was not much afraid of 
 their being hurt by the explosion. Notwithstanding, 
 I begged the king to command then to remove 
 farther off, which he did and they reluctantly obeyed. 
 I motioned with my hand, that no one should stir ; 
 but there was no need to command silence ; all being 
 in anxious expectation of something, they knew not 
 what. Their eyes went continually back and for- 
 ward, first to the idol, then to me; and I ceuld see, 
 they began to feel some contempt for him, for his 
 not having avenged, by some great judgment, the 
 public affront I had^offered him. 
 
 But two 01 three minutes, the match having now 
 burnt to the powder, all on a sudden, there came a 
 more terrific explosion than any thunder-clap thep
 
 had heard in their lives before. The image was rent 
 from the top to the bottom ; his monstrous head cleft 
 n twain, the shark's teeth scattered into the air : and 
 Ihe whole trunk, loosened from the earth, tottered 
 for a moment, then fell forward on its face, down 
 the steps. It is impossible to describe the astonish- 
 ment, the dread, that seized on the whole assembly. 
 They fell down, as before, stopping their eyes and 
 ears ; no one ventured to breathe or look up : until 
 I ran and stood forth in the midst, having taken the 
 king's spear into my hand. " So falls Paowanga," 
 I cried with a loud voice : " he falls by the hand of 
 the meanest servant of the great King ! So soon or 
 late, must fall every enemy of my King and my 
 Lord." With that, I struck the spear deep into the 
 prostrate trunk. 
 
 The people all answered with a shout, again and 
 again repeated, in honour of my King above all other 
 kings, and of my God above all gods. Then they 
 commenced yelling forth frantically the verse they 
 had learned ; and the sound, from so many thousands 
 of throats, was like the roar of a cataract, and was 
 taken up from the hills by the shriller voices of women 
 and children ; 
 
 " Great is the King, who sent His ambassador, 
 Bearing in canes the thunder and lightning :" 
 
 only now they altered the third line, to suit the oc- 
 casion, and sang, 
 
 " 8trocg was our god Paowanga but yestei day : 
 Stronger the pale man beyond the salt water !" 
 
 As to Paowanga's priests, they knew not which 
 wray to turn, and would fain have made their escape ;
 
 TUK CATHOLIC CBDSOK. 47 1 
 
 but the people hemmed and pressed them in. They 
 were afraid for their lives, and began to supplicate 
 for mercy : on all sides they were met by indignation 
 and contempt. All at once, the king was seized with 
 a fury of hatred against his former instructors : he 
 caught up his second spear, and shouting out the 
 battle cry of his nation, hurled it amongst them, and 
 struck down one of the highest in rank, who died 
 instantly from the wound. This was the signal for 
 the chiefs and the people, who rushed upon them, 
 and commenced an instant massacre. I was horror- 
 struck at the sight, and flew after the king, entreat- 
 ing, imploring, in the name of my King, who desired 
 not (I exclaimed) the death of His enemies, but that 
 they should turn to be His friends. 
 
 It was all in vain ; the movement had been too 
 sudden, and my voice was drowned in the uproar of 
 shrieks and yells that rose from the midst of the 
 massacre. I could save the lives only of three, by 
 staying the arms of the chiefs as they were hurling 
 their spears ; and succeeded at last in making my 
 voice heard. But, to my grief, when the tumult 
 subsided, there were no less than nineteen dead 
 bodies lying on the ground. 
 
 Richly as these idolatrous priests had deserved 
 their death, for the impositions they had practised 
 on the people, I was afflicted beyond measure at then 
 tragical end ; having promised myself (it may be, 
 presumptuously) the gratification of presenting to 
 my Lord this whole nation, converted to Him with- 
 out the shedding of one drop of blood. I cast my- 
 iif on my knees beside the mangled corpses endeavor*
 
 472 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 ing to staunch their wounds, or to find so much as a 
 token of life among them. Some, it is true, yet 
 breathed ; but one after another they died under my 
 hands, so sure and forcibly had the spear been hurled. 
 
 It was a fresh cause of astonishment to the king, 
 to see me thus engaged : he could not forbear to ask 
 me the reason of it. " Have I not said, O king !" I 
 replied, " that my King is all goodness and love ? 
 He has no enemies, but those who make themselves 
 so ; and even those, He wins back by His patience 
 and benefits." 
 
 " Then why," answered the king, " did he not try 
 and win back Paowanga ?" 
 
 " I will tell you, O king !" said I, amid tears and 
 sighs, " when my mind is more calm : at present, I 
 grieve for those unhappy souls, who have been sent 
 out of the world, enemies of my King." 
 
 But it was time to follow up the advantage God 
 had given us. Wherefore, placing the few priests 
 who remained alive, together with the families of 
 them all in charge of the elder of my two Indians, I 
 solemnly appealed to my King (raising my hand to 
 heaven) to witness, that they were thenceforward 
 under His own protection, and no man's hand must 
 be raised against them. This I said in the presence 
 of the king and his chiefs, with a resolute countenance ; 
 by which they seemed in a manner over-awed, and 
 at length promised it should be so. I then led him 
 to the idol, on which the multitude were by this time 
 heaping all kind of insults, hacking and hewing it to 
 pieces. I showed the king the trap-dour that was 
 made in the back of Paowanga's neck, by which tho
 
 tHK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 4?3 
 
 offerings placed in his mouth were appropriated to 
 the use of the priests and their families. This roused 
 his indignation again, and that of the people ; foras- 
 much as these ministers of an idolatrous worship were 
 supported, besides, by a liberal contribution made 
 throughout the district every new moon. But I re- 
 minded him of his promise: sooner than a hair of 
 their heads was touched, I demanded from him that 
 the priests and their families should be given to my 
 King, as El is special servants. This he readily grant- 
 ed ; and from that time I was looked on as their 
 special protector ; the people (for my sake) being so 
 afraid of injuring them, they would not even go near 
 them : though it was plain, they still regarded them 
 with much hatred and contempt. 
 
 It needed now but a short time to cleave the idol 
 in pieces, and set him on fire. While this was pre- 
 paring, the king desired to see my breviary, in 
 which he had seen me read from time to time ; and 
 asked me whether it was my oloeeo. This is a word 
 whereby they express a sort of charm, or amulet, in 
 which they believe another of their false gods, named 
 Havaeoeekee, resides.* I had heard of these amulets 
 before, from our Indians ; and this appeared a favour- 
 able occasion of finishing the work we had begun. 
 
 " No, O king !" answered I; " this is no oloeeo; nor 
 does my King permit His servants to keep, or to be- 
 lieve in, any such thing. Oloeeo, and Havaoeekee, 
 who (you say) lives iu it, are wotee, icatee (naught, 
 naught,) even as Paowanga." 
 
 On this, the king and his chiefs all cried out agaia 
 
 * See abore, p. 217.ED.
 
 THR ADVENTURES OF OWJtX 
 
 Perhaps it was destroying their gods a little faster 
 for them than prudence might warrant; yet I seemed 
 to myself only to employ the occasion that now pre- 
 cr.ted. 
 
 "How?" said the king at length, "do you tell us, 
 wonderful man! that Havaeoeekee is no more than 
 Puowanga, whom you have destroyed?" 
 
 " I will leave you to judge, O king!" answered I. 
 'If Paowanga were indeed a god, would he not have 
 avenged on me the insult I offered him ?" 
 
 "True," cried the king, and his chiefs assented; "we 
 expected every minute to see you struck dead for that." 
 
 "And what do you think of Paowanga now?" I 
 asked, smiling. 
 
 TIpou which, the king and all around him made a 
 gesture of the utmost contempt. 
 
 " "Well," I continued, " Havaeoeekee will do me no 
 more harm than the other; and, if you will collect for 
 me all the oloecos you can find, I will burn them in 
 the same fire with Paowanga." 
 
 " O ! O !" cried they, aloud : for it seems they were 
 in greater dread of these charms than of the idol it- 
 self. Nevertheless, as I persisted in it, and assured 
 them, if there were any vengeance, it would fall on 
 me alone, the king gave the word, and six or seven 
 of these amulets called oloeeos were collected from 
 the neighboring huts. Then, seeing that the people 
 had by this time made a mighty heap of fuel, and 
 jilaced it on the prostrate stump, and all the other 
 pieces of the idol they could gather after the explo- 
 ion, I stood in the midst, my hands full of yfoeeos, 
 and cried aloud :
 
 fH CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 4?5 
 
 " O Havaeoeekee ! if indeed thou art a demon in- 
 habiting these things, and not a vain imagination of 
 this deluded people, then thou knowest, O foul spirit, 
 thou hast no power against my King ; of which I 
 now give proof, by burning thy house over thy 
 head !" On which I cast the oloeeos on the top of the 
 pile, and bade the bystanders set fire to it. Then, 
 while it blazed up, fanned by the wind into a mighty 
 conflagration, the two Indians and I took up our 
 hymn again, and sang it slowly, till the multitude 
 caught it from us ; and there arose from that vast as- 
 sembly the words of a Christian hymn of praise to 
 God, in regular cadence, louder than the roaring of 
 the fire. 
 
 When the blaze died down (and the whole thing 
 was over hi a short time, the people fanning the fire 
 continually with mats, fly-fans, or anything they 
 could lay hold on), the multitude rushed over the 
 embers, treading them out and stamping them into 
 dust with their feet ; as though they could not show 
 contempt enough for the idol by which (and his min- 
 isters,) they had been so long deluded. 
 
 To celebrate this great event, the king now pro- 
 claimed a festival to be held by all his subjects ; of 
 whom the numbers that flocked around us were ever 
 increasing. Presents from these poor simple savages 
 were ofiered to us without measure ; so that, had our 
 purpose been to enrich ourselves, we should have 
 been able to do so on the spot. For they laid at my 
 feet many silver ornaments, and even some of gold ; 
 whereby I knew they had in their mountains some
 
 476 tHK ADVINTURK8 Ot OWfcN JCVANS, 
 
 veins, at least, of these precious metals, were thoj 
 but skilled in working them. But I put these pie 
 sents all aside, remembering that the Apostle was 
 able to say to his converts, as a model for all pastors : 
 Argentum et aurum,aut vestem nullius concupivi, sicut 
 ipsi scitis :f and I explained to them, the purpose for 
 which my King had sent me was to do good to them, 
 not to grow rich upon them. I do believe this an- 
 swer surprised them almost as much as the blowing 
 up of Paowanga himself; they had been so used to 
 the extortion and tyranny of their petty chiefs, even 
 up to the king, that anything like disinterested 
 charity came to them as a novelty and a wonder. 1 
 seized the occasion to preach to them something (in 
 a guarded way) of the power and attributes, espec- 
 ially the gratuitous love, of the One True God ; to 
 which they listened with eager ears, especially those 
 of the poorer sort. Truly, the gospel has ever been 
 the emancipator of the oppressed. 
 
 However, I did not feel justified in withholding 
 from the brave seamen who had come to share my 
 perils, any advantage they might derive from the 
 good-will of the Toonati-nookans. I no sooner made 
 this known, than the natives pressed upon them the 
 presents I had refused. But, consulting for their in- 
 terest, and wishing to obtain for them something 
 more permanent than the heap of presents that lay 
 before us, I conferred with them apart to know what 
 were their views regarding their future lot. For 
 myself, I said, I was bound by engagement to re- 
 
 f " I have not coveted any man's silver-gold, or apparel, 
 as you yourselves know." Acts, xx. 33. ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRCBOB. 477 
 
 tuni, after a certain time, to the island whence we 
 had come ; nor could I think (apart from my prom- 
 ise) of remaining absent from my friends there more 
 than eight to ten months, at mofct. I declared, how- 
 ever great this work of converting the heathen might 
 prove (as it promised fair, hitherto), I must not 
 abandon those children of the faith whom our Heav- 
 enly Father had thrown by such a providence within 
 reach of the Sacraments. What I chiefly hoped, I 
 said, was to be able to establish some regular com- 
 munication between that island and Toonati-nooka ; 
 and so either fetch off our friends thence, if they 
 were disposed to come and join us, or send some of 
 our savages thither (after making good Christians of 
 them) to help to plant and settle the place as a colony. 
 That, in that case, having two flocks in different is- 
 lands, I should think time and labour well spent in 
 making passages in the long-boat, from one to the 
 other, to attend to their spiritual needs so long as 
 God might spare me. 
 
 They deliberated not long upon this ; but all with 
 one voice exclaimed, they desired nothing better 
 than to stay on this island, where they had plenty foi 
 their needs, and the good will of the inhabitants; to 
 say nothing of the consolations of their religion, 
 which they possessed so long as I remained with 
 them. To all these reasons I nssented, only bidding 
 them remark, they were now doubly bound to show 
 a good Christian example to the savages among 
 whom they were ; that all eyes w/Duld be on them, 
 from day to day, and every action scanned ; and 1 
 implored them, for the love of all they held sacred,
 
 478 THE ADVBNTUKKS OF OWEN EVAKS, 
 
 Dot (like too many who call themselves Christians) 
 to throw any scandal in the way of the heathen that 
 might hinder their conversion to the faith. This 
 they seriously promised, one and all : and to prove 
 their sincerity, they bound themselves on the spot to 
 approach the sacrament of penance once a fortnight, 
 or in three weeks at the farthest. Indeed, as it turned 
 out, I am thankful to record, the greater part of them 
 exceeded this measure; and not more than two fell 
 off from it, of whose retributive and miserable end 
 (if time permit), I shall have to speak in sorrow : if 
 not in this writing, yet to those who may come 
 hither in my life-time. For it affords a striking ex 
 ample of the just judgment of God on such as sin 
 against light, and with scandal. 
 
 Having their determination made known to me, I 
 came back from where we had spoken together, to 
 the king and his chiefs (who, I found, were called 
 tay>ikee, a word signifying at once a brave warrior and 
 a man of rank), and then the feast proceeded : but, to 
 my great satisfaction, I had not to petition the king 
 this time to send away his dancers. He had given 
 express orders they should not appear, since it dis- 
 pleased the white ambassador (so he called me) : 
 though I learned afterwards, it was an invariable 
 custom for the king to be thus entertained at his 
 banquets. He made me sit next to him, and on his 
 left hand ; which with them is the place of honour, 
 because it gives more facility to the entertainer, 
 whether king or chief, to put morsels of food with 
 his own hand into the mouth of his guest. This was 
 a distinction with which I would gladly have dis-
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOK. 479 
 
 pensed, had it been possible ; since the royal hands 
 might have have been much improved by some ab- 
 lution. His nephew, who usually occupied the left 
 hand, being his heir and succesor in the kingdom, 
 was for this time placed on the right. His discon- 
 tent at what he considered a slight put on him by 
 his uncle, began even then to work in his jealous 
 mind, arid soon caused us troubles which, even as I 
 write, seem likely instruments of the enemy of souls 
 against the reaping-in of the abundant harvest we 
 might else have hoped for. 
 
 The king, both then and afterwards, plied me with 
 numberless questions about my country, my King, 
 the number of his subjects, where He chiefly resided, 
 what was the form of His palice, how far was His 
 capital from Toonati-nooka, how he should send an 
 embassy to return the favour my King had confer- 
 red upon him by sending us hither, and more en- 
 quiries than I can here put down. 
 
 I now found it necessary to answer him, that the 
 great King by whose will I had come, was indeed 
 the King of kings and Lord of lords ; that His dwell, 
 ing was in heaven, and His dominion over heaven, 
 earth, and all things : that under Him only by His 
 permission, other kings reigned, but quite in a dif- 
 ferent way ; some over islands, some over continents : 
 that they were mere men like the king of Toonati 
 himself, and me, but with a lawful authority which 
 their subjects must obey, so long as they commanded 
 nothing against the Great King in heaven. 
 
 Here he interrupted me, asking with great eager- 
 ness, whether I was indeed only a man like himself J
 
 480 THE ADVKNTTRES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 I answered him I was so in truth, and nothing more 
 born like himself, and like himself, soon to die. <c But 
 where," said he, " will you go, O white prince, when 
 you die ?" To this I replied, if I was found faithful 
 to my King when the great book was opened I had 
 told him of before, I should be taken up into the 
 palace of my King, and be with him for ever. " Oh,' 
 said he again, " Oh ! you are faithful, faithful ! you 
 will go to Him, be sure you will go." " Nay," said 
 I, " my King reads all the thoughts of my heart, 
 always, and He sees many faults which no man can 
 see. I cannot be sure of going to Him ; for He hag 
 lent me many things to use for Him, and will reckon 
 with me for them all." 
 
 He asked me, " What things ?" then, pointing to 
 the guns, which were piled up together, with one oi 
 the mariners mounting guard, to prevent the savages 
 from touching them : " Were those dreadful light 
 ning-tubes," he asked, " the things my King had lent 
 me ?" To this I answered, by reminding him, I had 
 said there were kings reigning on earth, men like 
 ourselves ; that one of them, the king of Spain, was 
 my earthly master, and the lightning-tubes belonged 
 to him. " Then," asked he, " which king sent you 
 here to us, the king of Spain, or the great King, 
 above ?" I replied, that being in attendance on the 
 great King, I had received no direct orders from the 
 king of Spain on this subject ; that I was bound to 
 obey the latter in all things lawful and temporal, but 
 the great King at all times, in all things and places. 
 This I tried to make as plain to him as I could ; but 
 it was difficult to put such things in a language ill-
 
 fit* CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 48 1 
 
 fitted to express them : nor did he seem to apprehend 
 my meaning clearly. But one thing, I could see, 
 gave him satisfaction ; for he perceived we had com 
 on no mission from the king of Spain to disturb his 
 temporal authority, nor sought to dethrone him nor 
 lower him in the eyes of subjects. 
 
 The king then returned to his questions, and asked, 
 if the guns belonged to the king of Spain, and we 
 were his subjects, but not sent by him, how did we 
 become possessed of them ? Had we taken them from 
 the king without his leave ? In reply, I gave a brief 
 account of my being first left, with a few others, on 
 the island from which we came ; then of a Spanish 
 wreck that was drifted in thither: all which is too 
 long to detail here, and belongs not to the purpose 
 of my writing. Then he asked again, how long ago 
 had the great King bidden me to come ? I told him, 
 for some time I had been having it made known to 
 me, more and more ; but had not at first been able to 
 leave others to whom my King had sent me. On 
 this he asked, with what voice the great King spoke 
 to His servants to make known His commands ? 1 
 endeavoured to explain something about the revela- 
 tion made by God to His creatures, first through 
 His prophets, then through His Church : distinguish- 
 ing it from the interior inspiration whereby He speaks 
 to our individual hearts. I told him, it was in this 
 latter way that I knew my King's will in this case, 
 being out of reach of those who could tell it me by 
 an exterior voice, and with authority from Himself. 
 
 " Ah then, " said he, " you have priests among you 
 also, as we have ?" I replied, that I myself was %
 
 482 THE ADVftlmjRBS OF OWBN KVANS, 
 
 priest of this great God; but that others, again wore 
 over me, and nearer to my King : and I was bound 
 to* consult them when it was possible, and take my 
 commands from them in all things that concerned 
 my duty. " But, O white prince !" pursued he, 
 bowing towards me, "if even you are an inferior 
 priest, what greater powers have they who are 
 nearer the King ? Have they more lighting-tubes 
 (so he continued to call our guns) at their command 
 than you have ?' I could not forbear smiling at the 
 idea of Church authority being measured by an 
 armament of musketry ; and I answered, that was not 
 the kind of power I meant ; that these lightning- 
 tubes were the property of the kings of earth, and 
 were employed by them in their wars, one against 
 the other, even as he employed javelins and clubs 
 against the King of Havi-vavaoo. 
 
 He then asked, what the superior priests could do, 
 that I could not? This made me enter the distinction 
 of orders in the Church, the powers of the episcopacy, 
 the succession of priests maintained by the Sacrament 
 of Order, the supremacy of one Bishop of bishops 
 in the centre of Christendom, and similar topics. 1 
 scarcely touched, however, on the sacraments at all ; 
 fearing to open at once to him the mystery of the 
 Incarnation, with its stupendous consequences: and 
 I resolved to keep this for a later conference. But 
 it was difficult to evade his questions, so prompt and 
 eager were they. His tsyakees, or chiefs, sat round 
 us, drinking in every word with the most fixed atten- 
 tion: and at times, when any point of discourse 
 pleased them, saying Oora, oora! or else they turned
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 
 
 to one another to express their satisfaction in a low 
 tone. 
 
 LN short, I felt the providence of God had (so far) 
 placed the conversion of these precious souls in my 
 hands, all unworthy as I was of such a favour : and 
 lifted my heart sincerely to Him, to beseech that no 
 sin of mine, nor want of prudence in speech or act, 
 might mar the working out of his great purpose. 
 But for the present, I intimated to the king, with 
 much respect, we had spoken enough. He seemed 
 disappointed ; but I had resolved rather to give him 
 less to think on, than to weary him with too much 
 of these matters. 
 
 After this, turning to another subject, he asked 
 how long we purposed to stay with him ; at the same 
 time saying, he should esteem it a happiness to him- 
 self and his kingdom, to keep us so long as we chose 
 to remain. To which I answered, for my own part, 
 I had come to deliver to him the message of my 
 King, and had no wish but to remain as long 
 as the object of my embassy required; that when I 
 departed, it would only be for a time, to confer with 
 some whom I had left behind on the island I had 
 spoken of; that with the king's leave, I would give 
 them the choice, to remain in that place, or come back 
 with me, and settle in Toonati-nooka. Or, if he 
 preferred, I would carry over with me some of his 
 subjects to colonize that small island, and so ply 
 backwards and forwards, extending his dominione 
 there, while I proclaimed my King's message here. 
 This was the substance of my discourse, to which al)
 
 484 THK ADTKNfuRfcS OF OWEJf EVANS, 
 
 listened eagerly ; and the tayalcees began to whisper 
 to one another, but so rapidly, and in such a low tone, 
 I could not catch their meaning. 
 
 All that I said appeared to please the king, who ai. 
 once offered my followers as much land a-piece as 
 one of their rude ploughs, drawn by two men (for 
 they have neither oxen nor horses in the island) could 
 mark out within the space of an hour. But, aftei 
 thanking him for the offer, I preferred for them, and 
 for myself, a visit to his capital, and a journey 
 through the island: after which, I said, we would 
 determine whether to disperse ourselves through his 
 dominions, or locate our party in one spot, and form 
 a colony of white men. He agreed readily to give 
 us our choice ; and so the affair ended for that time. 
 
 The king soon after signitied his intention of carry- 
 ing us with him to his capital the following day, at 
 day-break. To this I agreed, only stipulating for an 
 hour's delay, that I might offer a solemn sacrifice to 
 my King. He seemed delighted at this proposal, and 
 said, the best of the hogs and goats in that part of 
 the island should be at my service. But I smiled, 
 and told him, my King was not pleased with such 
 offerings as these ; but had prepared a Victim, the 
 only one worthy of being offered to Himself: and 
 had committed this sacred function to my hands. 
 On his inquiring, with great eagerness, what this 
 victim was, I excused myself for the time from fur- 
 ther explanation ; but I said, during my residence 
 with him I should have much to say on this subject ; 
 and even thus, I could scarce free myself from his 
 urgent curiosity on the subject.
 
 THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 485 
 
 I had brought with me all things needful for the 
 celebration of the holy Sacrifice ; and I determined 
 to offer it on the very spot whence we had thrown 
 down Paowanga: making the steps that once led to 
 that hideous idol's devouring mouth, become the steps 
 of a true Christian altar. Accordingly, no sooner 
 did I see the first dawn of light, than I prepared 
 and blessed a quanity of holy water, wherewith I 
 sprinkled the whole place round about ; the steps also 
 themselves, and some blocks of ti m ees the natives 
 brought at my request, which I disposed as a rude 
 altar, and laid on them the small altar-stone I had 
 brought, and some clean linen cloths. 
 
 o / 
 
 The heathens, all this while, stood round us in vast 
 multitudes, and breathless silence, watching every- 
 thing I did. When they saw the devotion with 
 which my companions received the aspersion of holy 
 water, they came pressing round by one impulse, 
 and begged for their share. I imparted it to them 
 willingly, hoping it might be a prelude to their future 
 baptism. But I soon had reason to repent of my 
 rashness : for the crowds who were behind, eager to 
 reoeive the aspersion, pressed so much on the front 
 rank, as to throw them into confusion ; and forcing 
 them in upon me and ray companions, we were all 
 but suffocated by the mere pressure of the crowd. 
 I cried out to them, in their own language, to keep 
 some order; happily my voice reached one or two of 
 the chiefs, who came running to the spot with their 
 spears, and laying about them vigorously with the 
 butt-ends, preserved our lives ; or I truly believe we 
 should have been trodden underfoot by the unreason
 
 486 THE ADVENTURES OF OWIN IVANS, 
 
 ing zeal of those poor savages. This made me feel 
 yet more, how large a field was open to me for 
 missionary labour, if only I could occupy it. Yet, 
 while I was thankful for being sent to so promising 
 a harvest, I could not but deplore finding myself 
 alone, where ten times the number would hardly 
 suffice for the work before me. But His strength is 
 perfected in weakness; nor ever is His hand more 
 visible, than where no human forces appear to account 
 for a great result. 
 
 Putting such thoughts aside except to direct my 
 intention in offering the holy Sacrifice, I now prepared 
 to say the first mass that was said in Toonati-nooka 
 since the world began. I had brought with me all 
 things needful for the celebration ; having received 
 them (I may say) by the ministry of the winds and 
 waves, when the wreck had drifted upon the island 
 whence I came. When all was ready, with a great 
 illumination of candle-nuts on the altar, beside my 
 waxen tapers, I vested, with the usual prayers. I 
 could not repress an abundance of tears at the 
 thought of that sole.mn moment, the sanctification of 
 another spot on God's earth to His true worship and 
 by His sacramental presence. Then, standing on the 
 altar stops, I turned to the many thousands watching 
 me with eager eyes ; and raising my voice, spoke to 
 them much in this way : 
 
 " O men of Toonati-nooka !" I exclaimed, " many 
 new and wonderful things have you seen since we 
 came among you ; and we have given you tokens of 
 the powers we bring with us, for your good, not yonr 
 desl ruction. But what I am to do is far more wonder- .
 
 THB CAfHOLIC CRUSOE. 487 
 
 ful than anything I have hitherto done in this island ! 
 Though you will see nothing, and hear nothing, yet 
 I pledge my truth as an ambassador of the groat 
 King" (here I lifted my hand to heaven,) " that He 
 is Himself about to come down, and be present 
 among you, enthroned on this altar " 
 
 When I had said that, the multitude was thrown 
 into great agitation ; and began to cry out, as with 
 one voice, beseeching me that the great King might 
 not come so near to them : for it seems, they made 
 sure they should be consumed by fire, or struck dead 
 with the thunder, at the awful presence of my King. 
 The king of Toonati-nooka himself, with his chiefs, 
 showed signs of much uneasiness at hearing what was 
 to take place : he sent one of his principal chiefs 
 personally to me, where I stood, beseeching me to 
 intercede with my King, not to come personally 
 among them : that he would send Him any tribute 
 from the island, and acknowledge himself and all the 
 inhabitants as His vassals, if only He would spare 
 them that dread visit. But, in order to quiet their 
 fears, I continued, with a smiling countenance: 
 
 " Do not imagine, O king and people of this island, 
 the great King is coming to you in any way but ex- 
 treme kindness and condescension. No ; He is so 
 filled with good-will to you all, and so greatly wishes 
 to manifest it, and to benefit you, that while He 
 comes because He loves you, He comes concealed, 
 lest He terrify you. You could not, it is true, endure 
 the unveiled majesty of His presence ; for He is ten 
 thousand times brighter and more glorious than this 
 Bun now rising over the mountains. His voice causes
 
 488 THI ADV1NTURKS OF OWBN EVANS, 
 
 the great powers of His court to tremble, while they 
 bow before Him. His frown is unendurable in terror. 
 But now even, as a prince may walk among his sub- 
 jects under disguise, in poor raiment, so the great 
 King is coming down among you ; yet you will not see 
 Him, you will not hear Him. I, His ambassador, prom- 
 ise you this. You will hear nothing even so loud 
 as my voice is at this moment that I address you. 
 He is coming by reason of His love for you, to teach 
 you to be happy in loving Him. I only ask you to 
 believe me, that He will be in the midst of you un- 
 seen. When you hear this little shell sound, (here I 
 showed them a small bell we had made for Mass out 
 of a sea-shell,) then throw yourselves on your knees: 
 pray the great King to make you able to know Him 
 and to love Him, I too, will ask of Him the same 
 favour for you all." 
 
 This discourse struck them with the greatest aston- 
 ishment. Of course, they could not comprehend my 
 meaning, nor so much as guess at it : but they were 
 over-awed, and in suspence, at what was about to 
 take place. Having thus prepared them, I proceeded 
 with holy Mass, my companions kneeling around, 
 and the younger of the two Indians (for this, I 
 thought, would impress them more) serving at the 
 adorable Sacrifice. The most profound silence 
 reigned through the vast multitude, though it was 
 the silence of intense expectation, not the reverence 
 of faith. At length, when young Samuel sounded 
 the little shell, I heard a rush behind me, around me, 
 of thousands falling on their knees at the same 
 moment. It was like the sound of a mighty cata-
 
 n CATHOLIC CHDSOB. 489 
 
 ract; it almost overcame me with emotion, but 
 served to direct my intention more earnestly for the 
 conversion of those poor heathens, for whom I was 
 offering the Spotless Lamb to the Eternal Father, 
 Through the remainder of the holy Sacrifice there 
 was no sound, nor interruption from them : they 
 remained kneeling, and looked on with the same in- 
 tense curiosity, till they saw it was over, and I began 
 to take off my vestments again. Then the king ap- 
 proached me, and bade me to the morning meal: but 
 1 excused myself, till I had spoken a little farther to" 
 my King ; to which he consented, and left me for a 
 while. 
 
 WHEN I joined the king at table shortly after, he 
 plied me with questions as to what I had just been 
 doing. I answered with much reserve; telling him, 
 these things were not yet lawful for me to speak to 
 him about : that he could not know what they meant 
 till the holy water of life had been poured over him. 
 They were (I said) such hidden mysteries as he could 
 not so much as conceive of: but they formed the 
 highest mode of communication with my King, one 
 that He had especially appointed, and by means of 
 which He became most truly present to His subjects. 
 
 I could see that he wondered all the more at my 
 speaking so: but, turning the conversation, I asked 
 him, to what part of his dominions he was now r about 
 to carry us. He answered, that all the island was 
 open to us, to visit or settle in as we chose; but said, 
 he wished first to take us to his capital, and show us 
 to the queen, as well as to his mother and the rest of
 
 490 THE ADVENTURES 01 OWBN EVANB, 
 
 his family : also, that many things had come into his 
 mind in which he was sure I and my companions 
 could improve the condition of his people: a favour 
 be begged me earnestly to grant. I answered, all 
 the servants of my King were bound to assist those 
 who were in want, either by imparting knowledge, 
 or in any other needful way of help. It was true (I 
 said) that in our own country we had a better method 
 of building than was shown in the huts around us ; 
 
 O 9 
 
 also of cultivating the ground, so far as I observed. 
 In this latter respect, however, my King had been 
 very good to him and his subjects ; giving them a 
 favourable climate and fertile soil, that Deeded little 
 care, and produced of itself the fruits and veegtables 
 they needed. I then described to him a winter in 
 Europe; having in the course of my life been both in 
 Netherlands and Poland, I told him, I had seen the 
 ground, the hills, the rivers, and the very roofs of 
 the houses, all muffled in a covering of white, colder 
 than the coldest rivers in Toonati nooka, that lay in 
 some places several feet thick, for weeks, nay, months 
 together. The rivers and lakes, I said, became as 
 hard as a stone and so smooth, that the inhabitants 
 fastened pieces of iron or bone to their feet, by means 
 of which they ran for miles upon the surface of the 
 * T ater, much faster and easier then they could run on 
 the ground, more like to birds flying through the 
 air : and even little children could become skilful in 
 this. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the astonishment with which 
 I was listened to by the whole assembly. They in- 
 terrupted me several times, and shouted with wonder,
 
 TUB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 491 
 
 after their manner ; then imitating the actions of skat- 
 ing and sliding, as I described them, they besought 
 me to give them this power, or obtain it for them. 
 The king urgently asked the same : adding a request 
 that (if it were possible) he and some of his chief 
 warriors might be furnished with eagle's wings, thai 
 they might soar above the men of Hai-vavao in bat- 
 tle, and pounce down on their villages. To all this 
 I replied, that my King gave different gifts and pow- 
 ers to His servants, as it pleased Hirn in His great 
 wisdom : that Toonati-nooka had been placed by Him 
 BO near the sun which He made to warm the earth, 
 that this white covering would never come on the 
 ground, nor- the water harden. But if he could not 
 hope to see that wonderful sight, I assured him, he 
 and his people were preserved from much suffering 
 which the men of those countries had to endure; 
 then I told him, the cold there was sometimes BO 
 great as caused the fingers and toes, nay the very 
 noses of the inhabitants to drop off, and even took 
 away their lives, by casting them into a deep sleep. 
 Then I described the sagacity of the dogs of Mount 
 Saint Bernard, in finding travellers over that mount- 
 ain, who perishing in the snow ; but first (I found) I 
 had to give some description of a dog, to which they 
 have no notion, there being none in the whole island, 
 nor in Hai-vavao. 
 
 To his second request I made answer, that my 
 King (whom I now began to call by the name which 
 came nearest to express the True God, Utumatahee *) 
 
 *The reader will observe, on referring to Owen Evans" 
 narrative, at pp. 314, a slight discrepancy in the names of
 
 492 TUB APVSNTURES Of OWBN BYANi, 
 
 had not granted wings to human creatures ; though 
 He had countless servants and messengers who could 
 fly with the speed of light : that for us, here below, 
 there was hope held out of one day being as swift 
 and glorious as they ; but this great privilege was to 
 be gained by obedience to the King until the moment 
 of our death. " But will you O, white ambassador," 
 asked the king, " one day shine as bright as the sun 
 above us ?" I answered that he himself, with every 
 one of his subjects, if they would acknowledge my 
 King for the true God, and have the water of life 
 poured over them in His name and if they thencefor- 
 ward lived according to His laws, might attain even 
 to such a glory. 
 
 This, again, was something quite new to them : for 
 it seems, their highest notions of future happiness 
 were, to be transported after death to a large island 
 beyond the setting sun, where (that is, the brave, for 
 courage was their chief standard of goodness) would 
 ^>end an existence between hunting immortal buffa- 
 loes and other wild animals, and intervals of a drunken 
 sort of repose. To secure their friends' enjoyment 
 of this heathenish heaven, they had a custom oi 
 burying with them two javelins, as well as their 
 bow and arrows, and a drinking cup of cocoa-nut 
 shell, the best they could procure ; this they imagined, 
 would be filled with some intoxicating beverage, bet- 
 ter than the best palm wine : one draught of which 
 
 their idols, as given here by Don Manuel ; though not more 
 perhaps, than may be accounted for by the difference of the 
 Bame foreign word when pronounced by two persons, especi- 
 ally when their own native languages also differ from eaclj 
 Other. Ep,
 
 *H* OATHOtTO ORflSOi. 403 
 
 would make them forget all the sorrows and pains 
 of this life, and the agony of death itself. 
 
 Coming back to the other point on which I thought 
 to improve the temporal condition of the men of 
 Toonati-nooka, I mean their buildings, I explained to 
 the king how we built stone houses in Europe ; that 
 we joined the stones by a cement, or mortar, made 
 of burnt lime and sand, and roofed them with a kind 
 of flat stone, more durable than leaves : how many 
 rooms we made in them, how high we raised them, 
 how strong they were to resist winds and weather, 
 etc. He listened with the utmost interest, and then 
 asked me to tell him truly, how high were our high- 
 est houses. I feared to compromise my character 
 for truth, even when I answered him most truly. But 
 knowing that simplicity is almost always the truest 
 wisdom, I measured with my eye some tall cocoa- 
 palms that grew near the scene of our banquet, then 
 recalled to my mind the tower of the cathedral of 
 Seville ; and I answered the king, we did not reckon 
 a building extraordinary high that was three times 
 the height of those palm-trees. This caused another 
 shout of wonder; till I showed them in miniature 
 our mode of building ; piling up some small stones, 
 while I bade them remark how to make the stones 
 rest one on the other, like a pyramid, or strengthen 
 each other like an arch. But this instruction came 
 to little in the end ; for I learned the island was sub- 
 ject to shocks of earthquake ; though not very fre- 
 quent, nor (in general) so violent as in other volcanic 
 countries, yet enough to make them prefer light huts 
 of reeds or slight timber, of one story high.
 
 494 TUB ADVKNTDRE8 OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 All being now ready for our departure into the in- 
 terior, I bade ray companions draw together in 
 marching order, and keep in strict discipline : for we 
 were surrounded by such crowds as might (with all 
 their dread of our guns) have overwhelmned or 
 trodden us down at any moment. But the king 
 commanded his own body-guard to keep close to us, 
 and fence off the multitude, so that my men suffered 
 little inconvenience. For myself, the king insisted 
 on my being carried in a covered litter or palanquin, 
 next to his own, and with precedence over his own 
 nephew. Urge what I might, he would not be 
 overruled in this ; at length, after several denials, I 
 was forced to yield, though I not only disliked the 
 honour, but foresaw how it would embitter the mind 
 of this savage (whose name was Toonboeca) still 
 more against us. 
 
 Before leaving the boats, I placed one of our men 
 in each, with the young Indian to serve as interpre- 
 ter: not satisfied with this, I begged the king to 
 command his subjects to leave them untouched. He 
 .did this sternly enough ; and besides, he proposed to 
 me to declare the men, the boats, and al 1 the stores 
 they contained, emoe* or holy, and not to be touched 
 by any one for two moons, or pain of deith. But, 
 in spite of the advantage to be secured from this 
 proposal, I could not bring myself to accept it; feel- 
 ing it was probably an observance in some way con- 
 
 * Something, it may be supposed, like the mysterious taboo 
 existing in the islands of Polynesia, which appears to be some 
 religious restriction affecting persons, places, and even things; 
 but the nature of which has never been fully ascertained - - 
 ED.
 
 tHB CATHOLIC CRUSO*. 496 
 
 nected with their idolatry. I therefore preferred to 
 trust to our good God for the safety of the men and 
 l>oats : and I charged them to stand off shore and 
 keep on their guard, never sleeping all at one time, 
 day or night. I promised that, if all turned out 
 well with me, I would come or send for them within 
 four days ; and I left with them five muskets and 
 two brace of pistols among them, strictly charging 
 them not to fire for mere amusement, but at the 
 endeavour in every way to keep the natives friendly, 
 at the same time keeping them at a safe distance. 
 
 I then left them, with by blessing ; and returning 
 to the king and those around him, found everything 
 ready for our departure. The king had only waited 
 forme; and immediately stepped into his palanquin, 
 which was lying on the ground, inviting me, by 
 waving his hand, to do the same with mine. Then 
 Toohaeca, the nephew, likewise entered his palanquin 
 with a scowl of rage at my precedence, which the 
 king still insisted on. These palanquins are made of 
 frame-work of light bamboo, very easy and springy* 
 lined with soft grass or moss ; they are borne on the 
 shoulders of four men a-piece, who in consideration 
 of such service, have many privileges, ancl are ex- 
 empted even, from war, except in case of invasion. 
 They carried us swiftly, at a round trot; and the 
 swinging of the palanquin was so easy, that after 
 excitement and fatigue I had gone through, it lulled 
 me into a deep sleep, so that I lost the opportunity 
 of observing much of the country we passed through, 
 on our way to the capital.
 
 496 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN JCVAN&, 
 
 THIS capital, indeed, when at length we reached 
 it, was a wretched collection of bamboo huts, built 
 without order or plan : each hut was little more than 
 a number of bamboo poles, stuck into the ground in 
 a rude circle, made to meet at the top, and bound 
 loosely together with the tough tendrils of a creep- 
 ing plant,. leaving a vent for the smoke of the cook- 
 ing fire to escape. The huts of the tayakees, or 
 chiefs.it is true, were built with somewhat more care, 
 and were larger than those of the common sort ; but 
 even these were ill-built, comfortless places : and all 
 the skill of the natives -seemed to have been spent 
 on the royal hut, which occupied the north side of a 
 square, or cleared space, measuring about fifty yards* 
 every way. This hut, or series of huts, differed from 
 the rest in having upright posts of larger trees driven 
 into the ground for the walls or supports. These 
 were woven in and out with oziers and young bam- 
 DOOS, laid horizontally, and the interstices stuffed 
 with moss, bark of trees, and long grass from the 
 gavaunhhs or meadow lands. The roof was formed of 
 bamboo poles placed slopingly on the uprights, to 
 shoot off" the wet in the rainy season ; and was 
 thatched with the leaves of the cocoa-palm, and an- 
 other large and tough leaf from some tree which I 
 had never yet seen. 
 
 Around the king's own hut, just under the eaves. 
 I observed a horrid barbarous ornament indeed ; be- 
 ing a row of human heads, some of them dried in 
 the sun, till the skin looked liked tanned leather ; some 
 wasted away, till little more than the skull-bones re- 
 
 * Six hundred palms. ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 497 
 
 mained. Fur other heads were stuck on poles before 
 the entrance, two on either side : besides these, I saw 
 a number of the large human bones grouped in fanci- 
 ful patterns over the doors and by the door-posts. I 
 afterwards learned that the heads under the house- 
 eaves had been those of some of the bravest of the 
 king's enemies, either killed in battle, or reserved 
 (according to their dreadful custom) to be sacrificed 
 and eaten on their return home after a victory ; but 
 the heads on poles were those of noted rebels, who 
 had attempted to usurp the kingdom, once in the 
 reign of the king's father, Matai-tehepa, and still 
 further back, in that of his great-uncle, Eyca-Sou- 
 saeeo. 
 
 By this time, our palanquin had been set down be- 
 fore the entrance ; and the king, observing my eyes 
 fixed on those hideous proofs of their barbarous cus- 
 toms, exclaimed several times, in great delight, " Hai- 
 vavaoo !" to make me know these trophies had come 
 from that hostile island ; at the same time brandishing 
 his spear- Then, seeing from my looks what I thought 
 of the whole scene, he took my hand, in order to 
 divert my attention, and led me into the hut. 
 
 Here we found the queen, surrounded by her 
 attendants, prepared to receive and \\elcome us : for 
 the news of our arrival, and all the wonders we had 
 worked at the sea-coast, had come before us on a 
 thousand tongues. It was all I could do to prevent 
 the queen from falling at my feet, by telling her I 
 was nothing in myself but a poor mortal, like those 
 who surrounded me : that I claimed all honours for 
 my King, none for myself j and that the truest way
 
 498 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 to pay Him the reverence due to Him, was to listen 
 to His message. 
 
 She answered with much humility, that, by all 
 accounts, I had given proofs enough of my embassy 
 from a great. King ; that, in spite of my disclaimers, 
 every one in Toonati-nooka, from the king down- 
 wards, felt prepared to acknowledge us as a race of 
 demi-gods, rather than men ; that, for her part, she 
 was only desirous to learn what was the will of that 
 mighty King from whom I came, to fulfil it in all 
 things not contrary to the customs of her nation and 
 the will of her royal husband : with much more to 
 the same effect. 
 
 All this was delivered with a natural and simple 
 grace, that augured well for her candour and good 
 disposition to receive the truth. The king also 
 showed his approval : then, thinking I must be weary, 
 he led me into a separate hut that had been prepared 
 for me ; and, telling me a feast would be held in an 
 hour's time to celebrate my comiug to his capital, 
 advised me to sleep till then. I inquired after my 
 companions, and what preparations had been made 
 for tlit-in. He assured me they had been well taken 
 care of; that some of the principal people in Ehoto- 
 boe, his capital, had vied with each other for the 
 privilege of entertaining them; and that most of them 
 were lodged in the chiefs' huts : all which I found to 
 be true. However, I felt anxions to warn the men 
 again, and put them on their guard as to their be- 
 haviour with the savages ; so, begging the king foi 
 some escort wlio would show me their lodging, he 
 gave me one ol the chiefs who always attended him,
 
 THB CATHOLIC CIlUSOB. 499 
 
 and a youth who was of the blood-royal (though not 
 in a direct line of succession) to go with me. 
 
 We made the round of the principal huts in the 
 place where I found the men treated with great hon- 
 our and distinction, after the rude fashion of their 
 entertainers. But, as they had made little or no 
 progress in the language of Toonati-nooka, their 
 conversation was carried on chiefly by signs, with a 
 few words of each language, wliich had been picked 
 up by either party, and were now repeated amid 
 shouts of merriment by these new allies. I warned 
 my companions one by one, how necessary it was to 
 remain at peace with the natives, giving no cause of 
 offence, but keeping on the watch, especially with 
 regard to our guns, in which lay our superiority against 
 their overwhelming numbers. But thev assured me, 
 the natives had still so great a dread of these weap- 
 ons, they had shown uneasiness till they had been 
 safely put away : accordingly, they showed me their 
 guns, which every man had put in the corner of the 
 hut, keeping still his pistols in his belt. As the na- 
 tives had never seen any of the pistols fired, they 
 had more curiosity about them than dread ; and even 
 when their use was explained to them, seemed rather 
 amused at them than otherwise. They supposed 
 them to be worn for ornament, and called them by a 
 phrase which may be translated, pigmy thunder- 
 cases. 
 
 This duty performed, I returned to my hut, still 
 accompanied by my two guides, who seemed to think 
 it a part of the obedience they owed to the king to 
 keep close to me. Indeed, they helped me in \rayg
 
 500 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN ETAN8, 
 
 I could have dispensed with; for, on our walk, did 
 we but come to a broken path, a little brook, or any 
 impediment which in their eyes justified the proceed- 
 ing, they fairly lifted me in their arms, and carried 
 me over. 
 
 By this time the feast was prepared; we were 
 summoned to it by three stout trumpeters, who blew 
 such a blast on hollow Boats' horns as rather sounded 
 
 O 
 
 like a charge to battle. The banquet was as abundant as 
 goats' flesh, sea and other birds, and the vegetables of 
 the island, could make it: but I observed that no kind 
 of corn was produced, though the natives make a sort of 
 bread, or thin cake, as a great delicacy, from the roots 
 of a certain tree, grated, dried and baked. I was 
 pleased to think I should be the instrument of giving 
 them so great a blessing as that of wheaten corn, of 
 which I had brought a bag with me. This I ex- 
 plained to the king, who seemed impatient, from my 
 description, to possess so great a treasure; and said, 
 they need no longer make their bread out of a poison- 
 ous root,* but from the white man's wholesome grass, 
 this being the only word in their language by which 
 I could express corn. He asked me various questions 
 about our mode of growing, grinding, and the other 
 arts of the farmer and the baker ; but nothing aston- 
 ished him so much as -the description I gave of ship- 
 biscuit, and the method employed in our dock-yards, 
 of rolling it out and cutting it up. 
 
 * Probably the manioc, from which the cassava bread of the 
 West Indies is baked, after carefully grating the root and 
 pressing it with heavy weights, to extract the poisonous 
 jiuce. Ep.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 
 
 501 
 
 Neither the queen nor her attendants took any 
 part in this banquet, it being against the laws of their 
 forefathers for the women to eat with the men. In- 
 deed, in this, as in all other heathen countries, these 
 poor creatures seemed to be looked on as inferior 
 beings, and were condemned to hoe in the fields, 
 bear heavy burdens, and in a word, to slave through- 
 out the day, almost as if they were captives taken in 
 war ; while their lords and masters took their ease in 
 smoking and conversing, when they were not absent 
 at war or in the chase. The king asked me how all 
 this was arranged with us ; but I answered him with 
 caution, fearing to make him despise our holy religion 
 by telling him anything so strange as that the Gospel 
 had raised to a spiritual equality with men those be- 
 ings whom heathenism oppressed and degraded. 
 
 The feast was scarcely over, when we saw two 
 men running with the utmost swiftness from the 
 direction of the coast whence we had journeyed. No 
 sooner were they perceived, than the whole assembly 
 cried out, something must be amiss ; and my mind 
 instantly misgave me about the boats, and the men 
 I ha'd left in them. Some of the tayakees darted off 
 at full speed to meet these messengers, and learn 
 their tidings : they, however, persisted in coming 
 on to the king, though so much exhausted by run- 
 ning, that when they reached the mat where he was 
 seated, they fell down before him panting, and were 
 unable to utter a word. But by degrees, in broken 
 sentences they made it known, our men had been 
 surprised in the boats by some of the natives, and 
 been deprived of their arms; and that the boats
 
 602 
 
 themselves had been dragged ashore, broken up, and 
 burnt. 
 
 Instantly the king broke into the most terrific rage 
 I ever beheld in mortal man. Forgetting his late 
 contempt for his idols, he called for the vengeance of 
 Paowanga, Havaeoeekee, and the rest, on these violat- 
 ors of our rights ; assured me they should receive 
 the punishment they deserved : then, turning to his 
 executioner, bade him depart at once for the coast 
 village, and bring him the heads of all who had 
 been concerned in this, with those of their wives and 
 children. At the same time he beckoned out two or 
 three chiefs to go and assist to carry out this decree 
 of blood. 
 
 But I threw myself before them, entreating them 
 to pause ; then appealed to the king, that as the of 
 fence was committed against me, so I might judge 
 the case myself, with the prisoners brought safely 
 before me. It was with much difficulty I prevailed 
 in this ; so greatly was his rage excited against the 
 criminals in this lawles deed. He felt, indeed, his 
 authoiity over his subjects, and his honour towards 
 myself, both equally touched by what had been 
 done. 
 
 At length, when I represented that my King was 
 always angered when vengeance took the place of 
 justice in the hands of human kings, and when they 
 made the innocent suffer for the guilty, he gave way, 
 and signified that I should have my will. It was 
 now arranged that the young Indian should go with 
 three chiefs, bearing the king's wand of peace (which,
 
 TH CATHOLIC CBU80*. 503 
 
 truly, was sent by him much less often than the 
 sword of execution,) in token that no blood was to 
 be shed on the spot. They took with them some 
 forty or fifty armed men, and were to arrest all 
 against whom there was probable evidence that they 
 were parties to this outrage ; but none others : they 
 were to bring these to us, bound, without torture or 
 ill-usage. Least of all were they to harm the fami- 
 lies or relations of the accused. All this charge I 
 delivered to my young Indian : whose discreet be- 
 haviour on receiving it, together with the mildness 
 of the injunction, produced a great effect on the 
 bystanders. Their sense of justice (so far as 
 they had it) taught them to compare this line of 
 conduct with the outbursts of ferocious vengeance 
 they had been so long used to. All agreed, there must 
 be something very happy in living under the laws of 
 that great King I served, whose service I desired to 
 teach them. Thus, all tended to good under the 
 Hand of Providence : this very event, disastrous in 
 itself, became a vehicle for the gospel. 
 
 I was now surrounded for hours by eager crowdf, 
 listening to all I had to say about the justice which 
 man owed to his brother man, and the charity which 
 linked each true Christian soul to his fellow Christ- 
 ian. Then I described the unity and perfection of 
 God ; the impossibility of there being more than 
 One ; that idolatry was invented by a bad spirit, the 
 enemy of mankind, to lead men away from God, 
 and make them miserable with himself here, and 
 after death, etc. When I had wound them up to a 
 great pitch by saying this, I started up on a sudden,
 
 504 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN KVANS, 
 
 crying ont : "Down with all idc^.s ! There is no God 
 but One !" The whole multitude caught up the cry : 
 and pulling me by the skirts of my cassock towards a 
 huge idol near the king's palace, besought me to put 
 thunder into his mouth, as I had done to Paowanga. 
 But this time, I resolved it should be their own 
 act and deed. So I reasoned with them, saying, my 
 King would be more pleased with them for using 
 their own hands than mine to destroy His enemies : 
 that I had blown up Paowanga and burnt the oloeeos, 
 while they still believed in them ; but now, they hav- 
 ing confessed my King for the true God, I gladly 
 committed the work to them. Upon which, they 
 assented with much joy, and I gained time to recite 
 my office while the work of destruction went on. 
 So many were the hands employed, and so great the 
 zeal, that before the sun went down, almost all the 
 oloeeos in Ehoto-boe (except a few remaining in the 
 houses of some obstinate old idolaters, whom I had to 
 protect from the public indignation) were consumed 
 in one blazing pile, together with the fragments of 
 the three great idols worshipped in the capital, viz., 
 Tamata-Sollu,* who in their system represents the 
 gun, Chondodueea, or the moon, and our former ac- 
 quaintance, Paowanga, who was indeed, before these 
 two eventful days, the established idol of all Too- 
 nati-nooka. In short, I had to interfere several times 
 to settle disputes among these poor savages, who in 
 
 * Here again, on a comparison with Evan's narrative p. 
 216, -will be found that degree of discrepancy between two 
 Indian words, which would result from their being caught 
 by the ears, and repeated by the lips, of European belong 
 leg to different nations. ED.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRtSOB. 505 
 
 their new-born zeal were anxious to have each his 
 morsel or chip of the idol, to carry to the flames. 
 
 On a review of all this, I could not but wonder at 
 the rapid progress of Truth in the minds of these 
 idolaters, who now first heard it. Yet, knowing the 
 subtlety of the enemy of mankind, and taking ir.to 
 account the inconstancy of most savage dispositions, 
 I prepared myself for any check or reverse that 
 might occur. Seldom has the Gospel been sown, but 
 in the blood of those who carried forth the precious 
 seed. On this reflection, I offered my life anew to 
 my Lord ; beseeching Him that, whether by my la- 
 bour, or suffering, or both, His truth might be sown 
 abundantly in the hearts of those around me; and 
 that in the end " coming I might come with joy, 
 bearing my sheaves." 
 
 But the thing which above all afflicted me, was 
 tha this great task of converting a large island to 
 the faith, was committed to one feeble pair of hands : 
 seeing it might well exercise the zeal of a whole 
 college of priests and catechists. I also ardently 
 longed for the presence and gentle humanizing in- 
 fluence of some consecrated sisters of religion, to speak 
 to the poor heathen women, who were sunk in a 
 state of darkness and degradation equal to that of 
 their savage lords. I could do no better than send 
 up sighs from my inmost heart to heaven, that our 
 merciful Lord would deign to fit me to gather in 
 some handfuls, at least, of this wide harvest. 
 
 The last thing we did that evening was, to build 
 up an altar for my Mass of the morrow ; for I had 
 brought all requisites with me from the sea-coast,
 
 Tit* ADVENTURES OP 
 
 and thus the most precious of our possessions had 
 been saved from the robbery. I no sooner made 
 known my wishes to prepare this altar, than the 
 crowds around all began to supplicate for a phare to 
 the work. They urged, with the simple earnestness 
 of children, that as they had a hand in dest roying 
 the idols, T should allow them to take part in erect- 
 ing an altar to my King. As however, the confusion 
 caused by so mauv would have hindered instead of 
 helping the work, I selected twelve strong men who 
 stoo 1 nearest to me. and eight others by lot ; direct- 
 ing them how to proceed, and to bring large stones 
 to the (Mitre of the space cleared for the royal 
 palace or hut: arranging these stones in a square 
 form, and to a convenient height. 
 
 While T was thus employed, raising my eyes, I 
 beheld the enemies' skulls that decorated the palace- 
 door and eaves, grinning ou me hideously ; and I 
 observer! also the bones and other trophies of war. 
 These, I deter. : lined, should be removed before the 
 sacrilioe of the Spotless Lamb was celebrated in that 
 place. At the same time, knowing that I was now 
 about to lay the axe to the very root (or one great 
 root) of the poison-tree of their heathenism, and was 
 likely to offend their warlike pride, I resolved to 
 proceed with caution. Wherefore, going to the king 
 ( ,vho had bidden his attendants admit me at all times 
 to his hut,) I represented, that among the titles my 
 King most delighted in was, Prince of Peace; that 
 war, indeed, might be undertaken on a just cause, 
 but then must be conducted with as much mercy as 
 the success of it made possible ; that to insult a van-
 
 *H1 CATHOLIC CRU80K. 60? 
 
 quished foe by hanging up his mortal remains wai 
 a thing contrary to the spirit of my King, and tc 
 right reason. This was the way I put it; since to 
 speak to savages of the duty of avoiding barbarous 
 and savage acts, would be a foreign language to them 
 indeed. There was a difference, I acknowledged, 
 between the case of enemies and malefactors ; by 
 which I excused his keeping in some place the heads 
 of those traitors on poles, to warn others against 
 following their evil deeds. But I pleaded, that as I 
 was about to offer a solemn sacrifice to the King of 
 Peace, all such mementos of crime and blood should 
 be removed from this particular spot : otherwise, 
 said I, myself will remove, and complete this holy 
 solemnity in some place apart. 
 
 On this, the king cried out, he desired above all 
 things the same sacrifice he had seen performed in 
 the coast village, Maheine-taho, should be repeated 
 in the court bef< >re his own dwelling ; and though, 
 he acknowledged, I had asked a hard thing, and 
 what was unheard of before, seeing these trophies 
 were reckoned so many proofs of the valor of him- 
 self and his tayakees, yet, sooner than appear to 
 slight my King's will, he would order them to be 
 removed. This was accordingly done, much to the 
 wonder of the multitude, who could not comprehend 
 the reason of it, and for the first time showed some 
 symptoms of murmuring. However, the skulls, 
 poles and all, were taken into the king's hut and set 
 up over the place where he was used to dine, and 
 also to receive audiences and administer justice : at 
 least such justice as was known in Toonati nooka, of
 
 508 
 
 which I was soon to have a specimen. As to the 
 other heads, bones, scalps, and the rest of those 
 barbarous trophies, I persuaded him at length, 
 though with much difficulty, to let them all be bur- 
 ied in one pit beyond the precincts of the court- 
 yard. 
 
 I promised, on my part, if he would consent to 
 this, I would write an inscription over the spot, both 
 in his native language and ray own, setting forth 
 the valor and triumphs of Para-marama and his brave 
 tayakees. This idea pleased them all exceedingly 
 and the king himself became so impatient to have- 
 it done at once, that he seemed to have forgotten 
 what he was so eager about a few moments before, 
 the sacrifice to my King. I was content, however, 
 with directing the pit to be dug under a spreading 
 tree, with a soft white wood, like a plane-tree, into 
 which I cut the inscription next day, according to 
 my promise. Having had the bones deposited in it, 
 I now went on with preparations for holy Mass, 
 which were continued until the sun set, and the sud- 
 den darkness of the tropics came on us. 
 
 NEXT, morning early, we were awakened by con- 
 fused outcries, partly of angry shouts, partly of sup' 
 plication and wailing. These made me know that 
 the chiefs and warriors had returned with their pri- 
 soners from Maheine-taho. Indeed, it appeared, in 
 their zeal to bring them before us, they had hurried 
 them on through the night ; so that the poor wretches 
 were half dead with fatigue as well as terror ; covered 
 with mud, from being dragged through swampy
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRU8O*. 509 
 
 ways ; and bleeding from the cuts and wounds they 
 had received from rocks and the prickly shrubs of the 
 island. On questioning Samuel, the young Indian 
 Christian, he assured me he had done all in his power 
 to prevent this rough treatment being used ; but he 
 found the utmost his wand of peace would do was to 
 preserve their lives : had it not been for that, the 
 natives would have brought back, not the offenders 
 themselves, but their heads only. 
 
 I now requested of the king, as I was to judge 
 the accused, so I might dispose of them before the 
 trial ; which I proposed should take place after the 
 sacrifice I was abont to offer. He readily consented 
 to this ; supposing I meant to keep them without food, 
 blindfolded, and pinioned above the elbow, according 
 to their custom. But he was much surprised when 
 I gave them directions to have them taken into my 
 own hut, and tended by the Christian Indians, who 
 fed them and washed their wounds. All this was 
 above his comprehension ; but I could see by their 
 looks that many among the multitude approved of 
 it, though they dared not say anything. It gave me 
 an opportunity of repeating, that my King loved both 
 justice and mercy ; and I said, it was neither merciful 
 nor just to treat men before their trial as though they 
 had been found guilty. I was on the point of saying, 
 too, that my King had once come down on earth, 
 and when there, had washed the feet of His own fol- 
 lowers ; but I forbore, feeling it was only by degrees 
 that anything so supernatural as the sacred mysteries 
 of the Incarnation could be imparted to these bar- 
 barous minds.
 
 610 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 
 
 " But," said the king, turning to me, " how will 
 you perform the trial, since you have burnt all the 
 oloeeos?" I ought to have said, that among the 
 superstitious uses those objects were put to, they 
 were usually brought forth, with solemn incantations 
 and many ceremonies, and used in some way to 
 decide all accusations and disputes; being first 
 smeared with blood drawn from the arms of both 
 the contending parties. But in offences committed 
 (or supposed to be so) against the king himself, I 
 found he was in the habit of simply sending his 
 executioner to bring him the head of the accused 
 person, without further inquiry by oloeeo or any 
 other. 
 
 For the present, I only smiled at his question, and 
 told Para-marama he should see something of the 
 way in which we adminstered justice in my country. 
 Then, finding from the Indians that the accused had 
 eaten, and were refreshed, I placed a guard at the 
 door of the hut in which they were kept, and fore- 
 bade, on pain of my severe displeasure, that any one 
 should enter. This had its effect ; and I proceeded 
 to vest for Mass. 
 
 This time, I had no need to exhort the multitudes 
 to silence and reverence : for those who had come 
 with us from Maheine-taho (or had run on wildly be- 
 fore us,) had already, as I afterwards found, trans- 
 lated to the people of Ehoto-boe, nearly word for 
 word, the short address I had made before celebrat- 
 ing holy Mass there. The same intense curiosity 
 now prevailed, mingled with awe : and I observed 
 that the queen and her attendants were kneeling
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 611 
 
 rithin the door of the royal hut. I thought it best, 
 jowever, to give the multitude an exhortation, as I 
 nad done at the coast-village : and this time I drew 
 somewhat nearer to the great mystery of the Incarna- 
 tion ; telling them, my good Lord and King was so 
 filled with love for all mankind, that He came from 
 time to time to visit them, and remained on earth 
 iniong them, now in one way, now in another : I en- 
 larged on those words, delicia meat esse cum Jilii* 
 liominum :* I promised that hereafter I would explain 
 to them the great way He had taken to dwell thus 
 among men for thirty-three years. That, I said, 
 was a long, long time ago, before the reio-n of Matai- 
 tehepa, befoi Eyca-sousaao, before the kings their 
 predecessors, for thousands upon thousand* of 
 moons. 
 
 When I mentioned so long a time back, as they 
 were little used to any long reckoning of time, what 
 I said to them struck them with wonder: they broke 
 into murmurs of surprise, saying, " Too-pooe, too-pooef" 
 which means, strange or wonderful. I resumed my 
 discourse, saying, they must not be surprised at this; 
 for I had much greater wonders to tell them as to 
 the length of time (they had no word in their lan- 
 guage, till I afterwards made one, to express eternity] 
 that my King had reigned, and shown His love to 
 His subjects. But, to come back (I said) to His more 
 especial residence among them,) when the tbirty -three 
 years were expired, the period He had determined 
 u> remain, and when He was to go up to His Throne 
 
 * " My delights are to be with the sons of men" 
 Yiii81.Ei>
 
 612 THB ADVENTL'RES OF OWEN SYANS, 
 
 in heaven, He decreed another wonderful method by 
 which He should still be with His subjects below. 
 
 " So," continued I, " the great King is upon earth 
 by one method, and in heaven by another. Besides, 
 His power is so great that He can be in many places 
 on earth at one and the same time : and, in truth, He 
 is so. Furthermore, there are places which He 
 comes thus to visit, from time to time, as He is now 
 coming (for the first time in this particular way) to 
 Ehoto-boe. You cannot understand these things, O 
 men of Toonati-nooka ! but they are true, and most 
 true. Believe me when I tell you ; for this is part of 
 the message of the great King to you, and for your 
 good." Then I added much the same exhortation as 
 at Maheine-taho; beseeching them to make an act of 
 belief in the Presence of the great King, and to adore 
 Him on the altar when they heard the little shell 
 sound. I bade them ask Him, as a great gift, to make 
 them able to believe in His Presence, and do His wilL 
 
 Then I proceeded with holy Mass. As regards the 
 behaviour of the vast multitudes now collected on the 
 spot (and I believe we had there the great majority 
 of the inhabitants of this island), it was a repetition 
 of what had taken place the day before on the coast, 
 only on a larger scale. A more strange and solemn 
 spectacle, I think, was seldom witnessed since the 
 days of the Apostles, than this crowd of simple 
 savages, thirsting for the waters of life, prepared to 
 believe, and only desirous to be instructed. Thus, 
 for the second time within two days, the Adorable 
 Victim offered Himself by my unworthy hands fo* 
 their salvation.
 
 THK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 513 
 
 While I made my act of thanksgiving after Mass, 
 my companions who had been left in the boats, ar 
 rived ; having travelled hither more at leisure than 
 the accused men had been dragged along. The new 
 comers shared in all the honours of the feast that was 
 now prepared for myself and the rest: the king 
 showing no small anxiety to wipe from our remem- 
 brance the insult offered to us at Maheine-taho. 
 
 The banquet over, I proceeded at once to the trial. 
 For this, I told the king that, as I was not come to 
 deprive him of his lawful authority, I requested him 
 to preside over the whole proceeding, and to confirm 
 the judgment I should pronounce. He consented to 
 this : only, as such a ceremony was totally new to 
 him, he stipulated that he should be called on to do 
 no more than sit upon a seat elevated above mine, 
 while I conducted the trial. I was therefore placed 
 on a mat, on the king's left, but raised enough to 
 enable the crowd to see and hear me ; while the king 
 sat on a rude throne of logs, four or five feet higher. 
 When the accused Indians (who were but eleven in 
 all, some of the rest having escaped up the country) 
 were brought before us, I perceived, from their 
 looks of terror, they expected nothing but instant 
 death, or perhaps lingering tortures. 
 
 I therefore spoke to them mildly ; saying the crime 
 they were charged with was, no doubt, a grave one : 
 that all nations held the ambassador from a great 
 king to be a kind of sacred person, and this they 
 knew, from the respect wherewith the envoys be- 
 tween Toonati and Hai-vavaoo were treated on both 
 sides. But I assured them, not only should they
 
 614 THE ADVENTURES OF OWKN KVAN3, 
 
 have a patient bearing, but the evidence brought 
 against them should be carefully sifted, and every 
 doubtful point allowed in their favour. Whatever 
 could be urged as a fair or pardonable motive for 
 their act, should be taken in the best sense, and weigh 
 on their side. In short, I tried my best to state, in 
 this savage place, the principles of equity that 
 guide (or ought to guide) our Christian courts of 
 justice in Europe. It was plain to see all this was 
 new to them ; once or twice, the king and his tayakees 
 showed signs of displeasure and impatience at what 
 they heard. But the poor oppressed people drank 
 in all I said with eager ears ; and as far as they dared 
 in the presence of those who had acted so differently 
 to them, testified their assent and joy. 
 
 After this (having taken care that the witnesses 
 should be kept separate, without opportunity of con- 
 ferring together), I entered upon the trial, by sum- 
 moning them, one after another, to give evidence. 
 The rest, meanwhile, were placed under guard, by 
 my orders, out of ear-shot : and each witness, after 
 saying what he had to say, and being cross-examined 
 by the accused (in which they exhibited great 
 shrewdness and ingenuity) was marched off under 
 custody of one of the king's guards, to a rising ground 
 beyond, where he could not hear what was going on. 
 This I provided, in case they might be summoned 
 back on some point of evidence : but is was the least 
 popular of all my proceeding; both witnesses and 
 guards being so intensely curious to hear everything 
 of this new process, that the utmost vigilance waa 
 needed to prevent their stealing back to the spot. At
 
 TH1 CATHOLIC CRD8OB. 515 
 
 Uat, I put them all in charge cf the old Indian, and 
 gave him six of the men with their muskets to over- 
 awe them, and keep them aloof. 
 
 IT needed no small patience to thread the maze of 
 such counter-evidence, mutual accusations, noise, 
 rage, wailing, entreaties, protestations, denials, as 
 now arose. The accused being eleven in number, 
 and the witnesses, altogether, as many as thirty-six, 
 the process was long and intricate. But I soon 
 found many of these pretended witnesses had seen 
 nothing ; so that their evidence was worthless. They 
 had trumped up a story in concert, which broke 
 down at every turn. This they had done, partly 
 from motives of private revenge towards certain of 
 the accused, partly to curry favour with the king and 
 myself: thinking we should be pleased with the pun- 
 ishment of some, at least, guilty or not, to satisfy us 
 for the outrage committed. 
 
 I thought it well to make an example of these 
 false witnesses ; so, after three cases of such delib- 
 erate lying had been proved, I interrupted the trial 
 to give them a summary punishment. 
 
 First, I explained to the bystanders, and the of- 
 fenders themselves, how heinous a crime they had 
 been guilty of. I told them, though they did not 
 as yet know all the laws of my King, they had a law 
 written in their own hearts, bidding them to act 
 justly and speak the truth. This law, I said, bound 
 at all times, and even in trivial tilings ; how much 
 more, then, when the life of a fellow-creature was at 
 stake? What crime could well be more hateful,
 
 6 16 THB ADVENTURRS OF OWKN EVANf, 
 
 than to swear away another man's life by a false 
 oath ? Proceeding in this way, I then said it was a 
 very lenient sentence I was about to inflict, that each 
 false witness should receive a dozen strokes with a 
 bamboo cane, one half on the souls of his feet, the 
 other half on his shoulders. 
 
 The multitude greatly applauded this sentence, 
 which was executed without delay ; and the cries of 
 the sufferers formed a sort of proclamation, more 
 relished perhaps by the people than by the king and 
 his tayakees, that upright justice was thenceforward 
 to be the rule in Toonati-nooka* 
 
 Having cleared away this mass of false evidence, I 
 found there was proof remaining against five or six, 
 at the most, as being implicated in the attack on the 
 boats ; and though many more appeared to be abet- 
 tors or sympathizers, I kept strictly to such evidence 
 as went against the actual transgressors. These few, 
 moreover, were preved to be among the men of 
 Ehoto-boe who had been most forward to welcome 
 us on our arrival. They had expressed themselves 
 delighted at our coming, and had persuaded some of 
 their kinsmen and others, not so well disposed, to 
 treat us with hospitality. Several witnesses also ap- 
 peared to speak for their general character. On the 
 whole, it became evident that the attack had been 
 made in no hostile spirit, but was dictated by an ir- 
 resistible desire to keep us amongst them, and pre- 
 vent all chance of our sailing from Toonati-nooka 
 again. 
 
 All this was confirmed by evidence of our two 
 white men and the Indian, left in the boats. They
 
 , THB CATHOLIC CBD801. 6l7 
 
 declared, the attacking party, though resolute fot 
 the destruction of the boats, had treated themselves 
 with as much gentleness as they could, under the 
 circumstances. They had, indeed, disarmed our men 
 by force, coming on them suddenly while they were 
 overcome by sleep in the middle of the day. And 
 BO far, our men frankly acknowledged the fault was 
 in great measure their own : for, had they observed 
 my strict charge, and kept one always on the watch, 
 this great disaster, which has perhaps determined our 
 fate for the rest of our days, never had happened. 
 But, beyond securing the boats, to destroy them, the 
 Indians gave cur men, and their own countrymen, all 
 possible good usage : even carrying them ashore on 
 their backs, so that not a thread of their clothes was 
 wetted. They also entreated them, on their knees, 
 not to be offended at what they had done : they as- 
 sured the two Europeans (through the Indian inter- 
 preter) it had been only to sucure the happiness of 
 having the "white lords" reside among them, for 
 the good of themselves, their families, and the whole 
 island and nation. Finally, they had besought 
 them to intercede with the king and myself, to screen 
 them from the punishment which they (reasonably) 
 feared was hanging over their heads. 
 
 All this considered, I felt bound to make every 
 distinction between the degree of fault on the part 
 of the aggressors, and the amount of misfortune we 
 suffered thereby. True, this destruction of the 
 boats has probably made our leaving Toonati-nooka 
 for ever hopeless, by destroying our independence of 
 action. For I scarcely think we shall be able to per-
 
 518 THE AD VENTURES OP OWBN EVANS, , 
 
 suade the king to grant us a war canoe to return to 
 Assumption Isle, whence we came. And, the more 
 valuable and important we become to him, as I trust 
 we may, by the conversion of himself and his sub* 
 jects to faith and civilization, the less likely will he 
 be to consent. Yet, on the other hand, this very ob- 
 stacle may turn to a benefit, if it settles the minds 
 of our men to become colonists in the place ; and for 
 myself, it has solved (in a way I little thought of) a 
 painful doubt that vexed me : being under promise 
 to return to my little flock in Assumption Isle, yet 
 seeing so wide a field of labor for souls opening on 
 me here. 
 
 The end of the trial was, the culprits were let off 
 with a slight punishment ; much lighter than that in- 
 flicted on the false witnesses; and this difference 
 made between the two classes of offenders was an 
 other instruction to the savages on the nature of 
 truth, of justice, and the rights of man. 
 
 I have little more to add, but that since our first 
 landing, the grace of God and the power of the evil 
 one have been contending for the possession of these 
 poor heathens' souls. They listen to me, indeed, 
 with great eagerness, and acknowledge the goodness 
 of my Master's laws. They are most grateful, too, 
 for my interference with the king and his tayakees on 
 their behalf, and for the temporal improvements I 
 have effected, and the arts of life I have taught them. 
 On the other hand, the power of corruption is strong ; 
 they shrink from the holiness of Christian laws ; and 
 I foresee, one great obstacle to its being received
 
 THE CATHOLIC CRC8OK. 619 
 
 will be the absolute necessity of their renouncing 
 some of their heathenish customs, and polygamy. 
 
 The enmity of Toohaeca, the king's nephew, is 
 likely to prove another source of trouble to us, or 
 even danger. I am credibly told, he has vowed 
 vengeance against us ; and, though hated by the 
 generality for his cruel and overbearing disposition, 
 he has a small party of the tayakees with him men 
 of like mind, who have taken him for their leader. 
 They would side with him more openly, were it not 
 for their dread of the king, who favours us in so sig- 
 nal a way. How long that favour may last, or how 
 oon the enemy of souls may succeed in troubling 
 our peace, is known to God alone. Upon His loving 
 providence we repose securely. And, with a prayer 
 that the wild elements may be overruled to waft 
 this my narrative to hands capable of sending us 
 help, I commit it to the waves, on this, the thir- 
 teenth anniversary of my religious profession, and 
 of our residence in Toonati the seventh m~rt-h of the 
 iccond year.
 
 000 656 238 3