OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 313 but shortening my story for the sake of what is to follow, shall observe, that I came to my old habitation, the island, on the 10th of April, 1695. It was with no small difficulty that I found the place: for as I came to it, and went from it before, on the south and east side of the. island, as coming from the Brazils; so now coming in between che ° main and the island, and having no chart for the coast, nor any la.id- mark, I did not know it when I saw it, or know whether I saw it or no. We beat about a great while, and went on shore on several islands in the mouth of the great river Oroonoque, but none for my purpose: only this I learned by my coasting the shore, that I was under one great mistake before, namely, that the continent which I thought I saw from the island I lived in, was really no continent, but a long island, or rather a ridge of islands, reaching from one to the other side of the extended mouth of that great river; and that the savages who came to my island were not properly those which we call Caribbees, but islanders, and other barbarians of the same kind, who inhabited something nearer to our side than the rest. In short, I visited several of.the islands to no purpose; some I found were inhabited, and some were not. On one of them-I found some Spaniards, and thought they had lived there; but, speaking with them, found they had a sloop lay in a small creek hard by, and that they came thither to make salt, and catch some pearl mussels, if they could; but they belonged to the Isle de Trinidad, which lay farther north, in the latitude of ten and eleven degrees. Thus coasting from one island to another, sometimes with the ship, sometimes with the Frenchman’s shallop (which we had found a conve- nient boat, and therefore kept her with their very good will), at length I came fair on the south side of my island, and I presently knew the very countenanée of the place; so I brought the ship safe to an anchor broadside with the little creek, where was my old habitation- As soon as I saw the place, I called for Friday, and asked him if he knew where he was? He looked about a little, and presently clapping his hands, cried, “Oh, yes! Oh, there! Oh, yes! Oh, there!” point- ing to our old habitation, and fell a dancing and capering like o mad fellow, and I had much ado to keep him from jumping into the sea, to swim ashore to the place. . “ Well, Friday,” said I, “do you think we shall find anybody here, or no? and what do you think, shall we see your father?” The fellow stood mute as a stock a good while; but when I named his father, the poor affectionate creature looked dejected, and I could see the tears run down hir face very plentifully. ‘What is the matter, Friday ?”