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(the old man) during his life, and 50 moidores afterwards to his son for his life, which I had promised them; and which the plantation was to make good as a rent-charge.

And thus I have given the first part of a life of fortune and adventure—a life of Providence's checker-work, and of a variety which the world will seldom be able to show the like of; beginning foolishly, but closing much more happily than any part of it ever gave me leave so much as to hope for.

Any one would think, that in this state of complicated good fortune, I was past running any more hazards, and so indeed I had been, if other circumstances had concurred; but I was inured to a wandering life, had no family, nor many relations; nor, however rich, had I contracted much acquaintance; and though I had sold my estate in the Brazils, yet I could not keep that country out of my head, and had a great mind to be upon the wing again; especially I could not resist the strong inclination I had to see my island, and to know if the poor Spaniards were in being there. My true friend, the widow, earnestly dissuaded me from it, and so far prevailed with me, that, for almost seven years, she prevented my running abroad; during which time I took my two nephews, the children of one of my brothers, into my care: the eldest, having something of his own, I bred up as a gentleman, and gave him a settlement of some addition to his estate, after my decease. The other I put out to a captain of a ship; and after five years, finding him a sensible, bold, enterprising young fellow, I put him into a good ship, and sent him to sea; and this young fellow afterwards drew me in, as old as I was, to farther adventures myself.

In the mean time, I in part settled myself here; for, first of all, I married, and that not either to my disadvantage or dissatisfaction, and had three children, two sons and one daughter; but my wife dying, and my nephew coming home with good success from a voyage to Spain, my inclination to go abroad, and his importunity, prevailed, and engaged me to go in his ship as a private trader to the East Indies: this was in the year 1694.

In this voyage I visited my new colony in the island, saw my successors the Spaniards, had the whole story of their lives, and of the villains I left there; how at first they insulted the poor Spaniards; how they afterwards agreed, disagreed, united, separated; and how at last the Spaniards were obliged to use violence with them; how they were subjected to the Spanards; how honestly the Spaniards used them; a history, if it were entered into, as full of variety and wonderful accidents as my own part; particularly also as to their battles with the Caribbeans, who landed several times upon the island, and as to the improvement they made upon the island itself; and how five of them made an attempt upon the main land, and brought away eleven men and five women prisoners; by which, at my coming, I found about twenty young children on the island.

Here I staid about twenty days; left them supplies of all necessary things, and particularly of arms, powder, shot, clothes, tools, and two workmen, which I brought from England with me; viz. a carpenter and a smith.

Besides this, I shared the lands into parts with them, reserved to myself the property of the whole, but gave them such parts respectively, as they agreed on; and, having settled all things with them, and engaged them not to leave the place, I left them there.

From thence I touched at the Brazils, from whence I sent a bark, which I bought there, with more people, to the island; and in it, besides other supplies, I sent seven women, being such as I found proper for service, or for wives to such as would take them. As to the Englishmen, I promised them to send them some women from England, with a good cargo of necessaries, if they would apply themselves to planting; which I afterwards could not perform: the fellows proved very honest and diligent, after they were mastered, and had their properties set apart for them. I sent them also from the Brazils five cows, three of them being big with calf, some sheep, and some hogs, which, when I came again, were considerably increased.

But all these things, with an account how three hundred Caribbees came and invaded them, and ruined their plantations, and how they fought with that whole number twice, and were at first defeated and one of them killed; but at last a storm destroying their enemies' canoes, they famished or destroyed almost all the rest, and renewed and recovered the possession of their plantation, and still lived upon the island;-all these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own, for ten years more, I shall give a further account of in another volume.

END OP VOL. 1.

OF

ROBINSON CRUSOE,

OF YORK, MARINER.

WITH

AN ACCOUNT OF HIS TRAVELS ROUND THREE PARTS OF THE GLOBE.

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