OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 847

sible for the Englishmen to satisfy them that they were not to be
immediately murdered, till they fetched the old man, Friday’s father,
who instantly let them know, that the five men who had fetched them
out one by one, had chosen them for their wives.

When they had done this, and the fright the women were in was a
little over, the men went to work, and the Spaniards came and | elped
them; and in a few hours they had built them every one a new hut or
tent for their lodging apart; for those they had already were crowded
with their tools, household stuff, and provisions. The three wicked
ones had pitched farthest off, and the two honest oncs nearer, but both
on the north shore of the island, so that they continued separate as
before: and thus my island was peopled in three places, and, as I
might say, three towns were begun to be planted.

And here it is very well worth observing, that as it often happens in
the world (what the wise ends of God's providence are in such a dispo-
sition of things I cannot say), the two honest fellows had the two worst
wives; and the three reprobates, that were scarce worth hanging, that
were fit for nothing, and neither seemed born to do themselves good, or
any one else, had three clever, diligent, careful, and ingenious wives:
not that the two first were ill wiyes as to their temper or humour; for
all the five were most willing, quict, passive, and subjected creatures,
rather like slaves than wives; but my meaning is, they were not alike
capable, ingenious, or industrious, or alike cleanly and neat.

Another observation I must make, to the honour of a diligent appli-
cation on the one hand, and to the disgrace of a slothful, negligent,
idle temper on the other, that when I came to the place, and viewed
the several improvements, planting, and management of the several
little colonies, the two men had so far outgone the three, that there was
no comparison; they had indeed both of them as much ground laid out
for corn as they wanted, and the reason was, because, according to my
rule, nature dictated that it yas to no purpose to sow more corn than
they wanted; but the difference of the cultivation, of the planting, of
the fences, and indeed every thing else, was casy to be seen at first
view.

The two men had innumerable young trees planted about their huts,
that when you came to the place nothing was to be seen but a wood;
and though they had their plantation twice demolished, once by their
own countrymen, and once by the enemy, as shall be shown in its place;
yet they had restored all again, and every thing was flourishing and -
thriving about them: they had grapes planted in order, and man-
age like a vineyard, though they had themselves never seen any thing
of that kin’; and by the good ordering their vines, their grapes were: