526 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

 

which they were much surprised. Captains Dover and Fry invited him to come on
hoard; but he declined their invitation, until they satisfied him that Dampier had no
command in this expedition; after which he gave a reluctant consent.

So great was his aversion to Dampier, as 2 commander, after the experience he had
had of him, that he would rather have remained upon his island its solitary possessor,
now that he was reconciled to his fate, than have encountered the hardships and vex-
ations he had before endured under that navigator. This feeling must have arisen,
not from any quarrel or personal dislike to Dampier, but from a knowledge of his for-
mer misconduct in his adventures, arising from his want of constancy in carrying
through any object which he professed to have in view.

When he came on board the Duke, Dampier gave him an excellent character, telling
Captain Rogers that Selkirk had been the best man on board the Cinque Ports. Upon
this recommendation, he was immediately engaged to be mate on board the Duke. In
the afternoon, the ships were cleared, the sails unbent and taken on ‘shore to be
mended, and to make tents for the sick men.  Selkirk’s strength and vigour were of -

’ great service to them. He caught two goats in the afternoon. They sent along with

him their swiftest runners and a bull-dog; but these he soon left far behind, and tired
out. He himself, to the astonishment of the whole crew, brought the two goats upon
his back to the tents.

The two captains remained at the island until the twelfth of the month, busily refit-
ting their ships, and getting on board what stores they could obtain. During these
ten days, Alexander was their huntsman, and procured them fresh meat. At length, °
all being ready, they set sail, when a new series of difficulties of another kind an-
noyed Selkirk, similar to those he had felt at his arrival upon the island. The salt
‘food he could not relish for a long time, having so long discontinued the use of it; for
which reason he lived upon biscuit and water. Spirits he did not like, from the same _
cause; and, besides, he was afraid of falling into intemperance, for his religious
impressions were as yet strong. From the confirmed habit of living alone, he was
~ reserved and taciturn. This frame of mind, and a sedate expression of counteriance,.

continued longer than could have been expected. Even for some time after his return
to England, these qualities were remarkable, and drew the notice of those to whose
company he was introduced. Shoes gave him great inconvenience when he first came
on board. He had been so long without them, that they made his feet swell, and

crippled his movements; but this wore off by degrees, and he became once more
reconciled to their use. In other respects, he gradually resumed his old habits as a
seaman, but without the vices which sometimes attach to the profession. He rigidly
abstained from profane oaths, and was much respected by both captains, as well on
account of his singular adventure, as of his skill and good conduct; for, having had
‘his books with him, he had improved himself much in navigation during his solitude.
The articles he took on shore from the Cinque Ports were the following:—His chest,
containing his clothes and # quantity of linen, now all spent; his musket, which he
brougat home with him; a pound of powder, and balls in proportion; a hatchet and
some tools; a knife; a pewter kettle; his flip car, which he conveyed to Scotland, (at
present in the possession of John Selcraig, his great-grand-nephew); a few pounds of
tobacco; the Holy Bible; some devotiorial pieces, and one or two books on naviga-
tion, with his mathematical instruments.

After avery successful cruise, they reached London on the 14th of October, 1711,
“Selkirk, having been just eight years, one month, and three days absent, from the
time he embarked at Kinsale on his voyage round the world in the Cinque Ports. “Of:

this ‘long: period, he had spent four years and nearly four months upon his island,
where he was the most desolate of.men, and altogether wretched, until the influence
‘of religion. poured the balm of peace and consolation into his weary soul.

ae adventures in a very abridged state, were given in the accounts of this voyage,