鲁宾孙飘流记 英文版 Robinson Crusoe
丹尼尔.笛福 Daniel Defoe
CHAPTER III - WRECKED ON A DESERT ISLAND Page 1
AFTER this stop, we made on to the southward continually for ten ortwelve days, living very sparingly on our provisions, which beganto abate very much, and going no oftener to the shore than we wereobliged to for fresh water. My design in this was to make theriver Gambia or Senegal, that is to say anywhere about the Cape deVerde, where I was in hopes to meet with some European ship; and ifI did not, I knew not what course I had to take, but to seek forthe islands, or perish there among the negroes. I knew that allthe ships from Europe, which sailed either to the coast of Guineaor to Brazil, or to the East Indies, made this cape, or thoseislands; and, in a word, I put the whole of my fortune upon thissingle point, either that I must meet with some ship or mustperish.
When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer, as I havesaid, I began to see that the land was inhabited; and in two orthree places, as we sailed by, we saw people stand upon the shoreto look at us; we could also perceive they were quite black andnaked. I was once inclined to have gone on shore to them; but Xurywas my better counsellor, and said to me, "No go, no go." However,I hauled in nearer the shore that I might talk to them, and I foundthey ran along the shore by me a good way. I observed they had noweapons in their hand, except one, who had a long slender stick,which Xury said was a lance, and that they could throw them a greatway with good aim; so I kept at a distance, but talked with them bysigns as well as I could; and particularly made signs for somethingto eat: they beckoned to me to stop my boat, and they would fetchme some meat. Upon this I lowered the top of my sail and lay by,and two of them ran up into the country, and in less than half-an-hour came back, and brought with them two pieces of dried flesh andsome corn, such as is the produce of their country; but we neitherknew what the one or the other was; however, we were willing toaccept it, but how to come at it was our next dispute, for I wouldnot venture on shore to them, and they were as much afraid of us;but they took a safe way for us all, for they brought it to theshore and laid it down, and went and stood a great way off till wefetched it on board, and then came close to us again.
We made signs of thanks to them, for we had nothing to make themamends; but an opportunity offered that very instant to oblige themwonderfully; for while we were lying by the shore came two mightycreatures, one pursuing the other (as we took it) with great furyfrom the mountains towards the sea; whether it was the malepursuing the female, or whether they were in sport or in rage, wecould not tell, any more than we could tell whether it was usual orstrange, but I believe it was the latter; because, in the firstplace, those ravenous creatures seldom appear but in the night;and, in the second place, we found the people terribly frighted,especially the women. The man that had the lance or dart did notfly from them, but the rest did; however, as the two creatures randirectly into the water, they did not offer to fall upon any of thenegroes, but plunged themselves into the sea, and swam about, as ifthey had come for their diversion; at last one of them began tocome nearer our boat than at first I expected; but I lay ready forhim, for I had loaded my gun with all possible expedition, and badeXury load both the others. As soon as he came fairly within myreach, I fired, and shot him directly in the head; immediately hesank down into the water, but rose instantly, and plunged up anddown, as if he were struggling for life, and so indeed he was; heimmediately made to the shore; but between the wound, which was hismortal hurt, and the strangling of the water, he died just beforehe reached the shore.
It is impossible to express the astonishment of these poorcreatures at the noise and fire of my gun: some of them were evenready to die for fear, and fell down as dead with the very terror;but when they saw the creature dead, and sunk in the water, andthat I made signs to them to come to the shore, they took heart andcame, and began to search for the creature. I found him by hisblood staining the water; and by the help of a rope, which I slunground him, and gave the negroes to haul, they dragged him on shore,and found that it was a most curious leopard, spotted, and fine toan admirable degree; and the negroes held up their hands withadmiration, to think what it was I had killed him with.
The other creature, frighted with the flash of fire and the noiseof the gun, swam on shore, and ran up directly to the mountainsfrom whence they came; nor could I, at that distance, know what itwas. I found quickly the negroes wished to eat the flesh of thiscreature, so I was willing to have them take it as a favour fromme; which, when I made signs to them that they might take him, theywere very thankful for. Immediately they fell to work with him;and though they had no knife, yet, with a sharpened piece of wood,they took off his skin as readily, and much more readily, than wecould have done with a knife. They offered me some of the flesh,which I declined, pointing out that I would give it them; but madesigns for the skin, which they gave me very freely, and brought mea great deal more of their provisions, which, though I did notunderstand, yet I accepted. I then made signs to them for somewater, and held out one of my jars to them, turning it bottomupward, to show that it was empty, and that I wanted to have itfilled. They called immediately to some of their friends, andthere came two women, and brought a great vessel made of earth, andburnt, as I supposed, in the sun, this they set down to me, asbefore, and I sent Xury on shore with my jars, and filled them allthree. The women were as naked as the men.
I was now furnished with roots and corn, such as it was, and water;and leaving my friendly negroes, I made forward for about elevendays more, without offering to go near the shore, till I saw theland run out a great length into the sea, at about the distance offour or five leagues before me; and the sea being very calm, I kepta large offing to make this point. At length, doubling the point,at about two leagues from the land, I saw plainly land on the otherside, to seaward; then I concluded, as it was most certain indeed,that this was the Cape de Verde, and those the islands called, fromthence, Cape de Verde Islands. However, they were at a greatdistance, and I could not well tell what I had best to do; for if Ishould be taken with a fresh of wind, I might neither reach one orother.
In this dilemma, as I was very pensive, I stepped into the cabinand sat down, Xury having the helm; when, on a sudden, the boycried out, "Master, master, a ship with a sail!" and the foolishboy was frighted out of his wits, thinking it must needs be some ofhis master's ships sent to pursue us, but I knew we were far enoughout of their reach. I jumped out of the cabin, and immediatelysaw, not only the ship, but that it was a Portuguese ship; and, asI thought, was bound to the coast of Guinea, for negroes. But,when I observed the course she steered, I was soon convinced theywere bound some other way, and did not design to come any nearer tothe shore; upon which I stretched out to sea as much as I could,resolving to speak with them if possible.
With all the sail I could make, I found I should not be able tocome in their way, but that they would be gone by before I couldmake any signal to them: but after I had crowded to the utmost, andbegan to despair, they, it seems, saw by the help of their glassesthat it was some European boat, which they supposed must belong tosome ship that was lost; so they shortened sail to let me come up.I was encouraged with this, and as I had my patron's ancient onboard, I made a waft of it to them, for a signal of distress, andfired a gun, both which they saw; for they told me they saw thesmoke, though they did not hear the gun. Upon these signals theyvery kindly brought to, and lay by for me; and in about threehours; time I came up with them.
They asked me what I was, in Portuguese, and in Spanish, and inFrench, but I understood none of them; but at last a Scotch sailor,who was on board, called to me: and I answered him, and told him Iwas an Englishman, that I had made my escape out of slavery fromthe Moors, at Sallee; they then bade me come on board, and verykindly took me in, and all my goods.
It was an inexpressible joy to me, which any one will believe, thatI was thus delivered, as I esteemed it, from such a miserable andalmost hopeless condition as I was in; and I immediately offeredall I had to the captain of the ship, as a return for mydeliverance; but he generously told me he would take nothing fromme, but that all I had should be delivered safe to me when I cameto the Brazils. "For," says he, "I have saved your life on noother terms than I would be glad to be saved myself: and it may,one time or other, be my lot to be taken up in the same condition.Besides," said he, "when I carry you to the Brazils, so great a wayfrom your own country, if I should take from you what you have, youwill be starved there, and then I only take away that life I havegiven. No, no," says he: "Seignior Inglese" (Mr. Englishman), "Iwill carry you thither in charity, and those things will help tobuy your subsistence there, and your passage home again."
As he was charitable in this proposal, so he was just in theperformance to a tittle; for he ordered the seamen that none shouldtouch anything that I had: then he took everything into his ownpossession, and gave me back an exact inventory of them, that Imight have them, even to my three earthen jars.
As to my boat, it was a very good one; and that he saw, and told mehe would buy it of me for his ship's use; and asked me what I wouldhave for it? I told him he had been so generous to me ineverything that I could not offer to make any price of the boat,but left it entirely to him: upon which he told me he would give mea note of hand to pay me eighty pieces of eight for it at Brazil;and when it came there, if any one offered to give more, he wouldmake it up. He offered me also sixty pieces of eight more for myboy Xury, which I was loth to take; not that I was unwilling to letthe captain have him, but I was very loth to sell the poor boy'sliberty, who had assisted me so faithfully in procuring my own.However, when I let him know my reason, he owned it to be just, andoffered me this medium, that he would give the boy an obligation toset him free in ten years, if he turned Christian: upon this, andXury saying he was willing to go to him, I let the captain havehim.
We had a very good voyage to the Brazils, and I arrived in the Bayde Todos los Santos, or All Saints' Bay, in about twenty-two daysafter. And now I was once more delivered from the most miserableof all conditions of life; and what to do next with myself I was toconsider.
The generous treatment the captain gave me I can never enoughremember: he would take nothing of me for my passage, gave metwenty ducats for the leopard's skin, and forty for the lion'sskin, which I had in my boat, and caused everything I had in theship to be punctually delivered to me; and what I was willing tosell he bought of me, such as the case of bottles, two of my guns,and a piece of the lump of beeswax - for I had made candles of therest: in a word, I made about two hundred and twenty pieces ofeight of all my cargo; and with this stock I went on shore in theBrazils.
I had not been long here before I was recommended to the house of agood honest man like himself, who had an INGENIO, as they call it(that is, a plantation and a sugar-house). I lived with him sometime, and acquainted myself by that means with the manner ofplanting and making of sugar; and seeing how well the planterslived, and how they got rich suddenly, I resolved, if I could get alicence to settle there, I would turn planter among them: resolvingin the meantime to find out some way to get my money, which I hadleft in London, remitted to me. To this purpose, getting a kind ofletter of naturalisation, I purchased as much land that was uncuredas my money would reach, and formed a plan for my plantation andsettlement; such a one as might be suitable to the stock which Iproposed to myself to receive from England.
I had a neighbour, a Portuguese, of Lisbon, but born of Englishparents, whose name was Wells, and in much such circumstances as Iwas. I call him my neighbour, because his plantation lay next tomine, and we went on very sociably together. My stock was but low,as well as his; and we rather planted for food than anything else,for about two years. However, we began to increase, and our landbegan to come into order; so that the third year we planted sometobacco, and made each of us a large piece of ground ready forplanting canes in the year to come. But we both wanted help; andnow I found, more than before, I had done wrong in parting with myboy Xury.
But, alas! for me to do wrong that never did right, was no greatwonder. I hail no remedy but to go on: I had got into anemployment quite remote to my genius, and directly contrary to thelife I delighted in, and for which I forsook my father's house, andbroke through all his good advice. Nay, I was coming into the verymiddle station, or upper degree of low life, which my fatheradvised me to before, and which, if I resolved to go on with, Imight as well have stayed at home, and never have fatigued myselfin the world as I had done; and I used often to say to myself, Icould have done this as well in England, among my friends, as havegone five thousand miles off to do it among strangers and savages,in a wilderness, and at such a distance as never to hear from anypart of the world that had the least knowledge of me.
In this manner I used to look upon my condition with the utmostregret. I had nobody to converse with, but now and then thisneighbour; no work to be done, but by the labour of my hands; and Iused to say, I lived just like a man cast away upon some desolateisland, that had nobody there but himself. But how just has itbeen - and how should all men reflect, that when they compare theirpresent conditions with others that are worse, Heaven may obligethem to make the exchange, and be convinced of their formerfelicity by their experience - I say, how just has it been, thatthe truly solitary life I reflected on, in an island of meredesolation, should be my lot, who had so often unjustly compared itwith the life which I then led, in which, had I continued, I had inall probability been exceeding prosperous and rich.
I was in some degree settled in my measures for carrying on theplantation before my kind friend, the captain of the ship that tookme up at sea, went back - for the ship remained there, in providinghis lading and preparing for his voyage, nearly three months - whentelling him what little stock I had left behind me in London, hegave me this friendly and sincere advice:- "Seignior Inglese," sayshe (for so he always called me), "if you will give me letters, anda procuration in form to me, with orders to the person who has yourmoney in London to send your effects to Lisbon, to such persons asI shall direct, and in such goods as are proper for this country, Iwill bring you the produce of them, God willing, at my return; but,since human affairs are all subject to changes and disasters, Iwould have you give orders but for one hundred pounds sterling,which, you say, is half your stock, and let the hazard be run forthe first; so that, if it come safe, you may order the rest thesame way, and, if it miscarry, you may have the other half to haverecourse to for your supply."
This was so wholesome advice, and looked so friendly, that I couldnot but be convinced it was the best course I could take; so Iaccordingly prepared letters to the gentlewoman with whom I hadleft my money, and a procuration to the Portuguese captain, as hedesired.
I wrote the English captain's widow a full account of all myadventures - my slavery, escape, and how I had met with thePortuguese captain at sea, the humanity of his behaviour, and whatcondition I was now in, with all other necessary directions for mysupply; and when this honest captain came to Lisbon, he foundmeans, by some of the English merchants there, to send over, notthe order only, but a full account of my story to a merchant inLondon, who represented it effectually to her; whereupon she notonly delivered the money, but out of her own pocket sent thePortugal captain a very handsome present for his humanity andcharity to me.
thoseislands; and, in a word, I put the whole of my fortune upon thissingle point, either .
The merchant in London, vesting this hundred pounds in Englishgoods, such as the captain had written for, sent them directly tohim at Lisbon, and he brought them all safe to me to the Brazils;among which, without my direction (for I was too young in mybusiness to think of them), he had taken care to have all sorts oftools, ironwork, and utensils necessary for my plantation, andwhich were of great use to me.
When this cargo arrived I thought my fortune made, for I wassurprised with the joy of it; and my stood steward, the captain,had laid out the five pounds, which my friend had sent him for apresent for himself, to purchase and bring me over a servant, underbond for six years' service, and would not accept of anyconsideration, except a little tobacco, which I would have himaccept, being of my own produce.
Neither was this all; for my goods being all English manufacture,such as cloths, stuffs, baize, and things particularly valuable anddesirable in the country, I found means to sell them to a verygreat advantage; so that I might say I had more than four times thevalue of my first cargo, and was now infinitely beyond my poorneighbour - I mean in the advancement of my plantation; for thefirst thing I did, I bought me a negro slave, and an Europeanservant also - I mean another besides that which the captainbrought me from Lisbon.
But as abused prosperity is oftentimes made the very means of ourgreatest adversity, so it was with me. I went on the next yearwith great success in my plantation: I raised fifty great rolls oftobacco on my own ground, more than I had disposed of fornecessaries among my neighbours; and these fifty rolls, being eachof above a hundredweight, were well cured, and laid by against thereturn of the fleet from Lisbon: and now increasing in business andwealth, my head began to be full of projects and undertakingsbeyond my reach; such as are, indeed, often the ruin of the bestheads in business. Had I continued in the station I was now in, Ihad room for all the happy things to have yet befallen me for whichmy father so earnestly recommended a quiet, retired life, and ofwhich he had so sensibly described the middle station of life to befull of; but other things attended me, and I was still to be thewilful agent of all my own miseries; and particularly, to increasemy fault, and double the reflections upon myself, which in myfuture sorrows I should have leisure to make, all thesemiscarriages were procured by my apparent obstinate adhering to myfoolish inclination of wandering abroad, and pursuing thatinclination, in contradiction to the clearest views of doing myselfgood in a fair and plain pursuit of those prospects, and thosemeasures of life, which nature and Providence concurred to presentme with, and to make my duty.