636 ALONE ON THE ISLAND,

At first he not unnaturally suffered from a severe dejection of spirit, He
never tasted food until compelled by hunger, but sat on a projecting rock,
with his eyes fixed on the wide blue sea, as if in expectation of the return
of his comrades, But by degrees this lothargie melancholy wore off; and
though his days were renderod heavy by the oppressive sense of solitude
which weighed upon him, and his nights disturbed by the startling sounda
of troos and rocks erashine down from the distant heights, he began to gain
a sense of self-reliance, and a spirit of patient endurance, His early training
under religious parents proved, too, of groat advantage, and he recalled the
lessons of God's goodness and watchful providence which he had learned in
his youth, but for many years had neglected or despised, As winter
approached, he felt the necessity of providing himself with some shelter
against the weather, and this still further roused him from his deapondency,
for work is a constant souree of cheerfulness and courage. Ele erected a
couple of huts with the wood of the pimento-tree, and roofed them with a
kind of grass that grows to the height of seven or eight foet upon the plains
and valley slopes, aud produces a straw resembling that of oats, One was
much larger than the othor, and situated near a spacious wood, ‘This he
made his sleepine-room, and init he erected a rough kind of bed, covered
with goats’ skins. Tle also used it asa chapel, er oratory ; and every night
and morning ho sung a psalm, read a portion of Seriptaure, and prayed
devoutly.

His smaller hut was his kitehon, Its “ fittings’ were necessarily rida,
for they were of his own manufacture; but they answered his purpose as
Woll as amore costly equipment. Around his dwelling he kept a flock of
yoats, remarkably tame, which he captured when young, and lamed, so as
to diminish their speed without injuring their health. These formed his
“reserve,” to be drawn upon in case of illness, or any unforeseen accident.
Mor prosont supplies, he caught his goats by sheer speed of foot,

Ho occasionally amusod himself by cutting upon the trees his name, and
the dato when ho was left on the islind ; evidently with the hope, that when
he should have terminated his solitary life, some future navigator might
learn, from these rade memorials, that Alexander Selkirk had lived and died
upon the island. On Lord Anson's visit to Juan Mornandes, however, in
1741, ho was unablo to find one of those names or dates upon any of the
trees,

‘Tho following description of the ishind is from the pen of Lord Anson's
vhaplain, who wrote tho published narrative of that illustrious soaman's
cirenmmavigation of the world :—

“The woods which covered most of the steepost hills were free from all
bushos and underwood, and offred an easy passage through every part of
them ; and the irregularitios of the hills and procipices in the northern part
of the island necessarily traced, by thoir various combinations, a great
number of romantic valloys, most of which had astroam of the cloarost water