ROBINSON CRUSOE, 2it

of the day, I found that they were all gone straggling into the
woods, and, as I thought, laid down to sleep. ‘The three poor
distressed men, too anxious for their condition to get any sleep,
had, however, sat down under the shelter of a great tree, at
about a quarter of a mile from me, and, as I thought, out of
sight of any of the rest. Upon this I resolved to discover my-
self to them, and learn something of their condition ; immedi-
ately I marched as above, my man Friday at a good distance
behind me, as formidable for his arms as I, but not making
quite so staring a spectre-like figure as I did. [I came as near
them undiscovered as I could, and then, before any of them
saw me, I called aloud to them in Spanish, “What are ye,
gentlemen?” They started up at the noise, but were ten times
more confounded when they saw me, and the uncouth figure
that I made. They made no answer at all, but I thought I
perceived them just going to fly from me, when I spoke to
them in English, “Gentlemen,” said I, “do not be sur-
prised at me; perhaps you may have a friend near, when
you did not expect it.” “He must be sent directly from
Heaven then,” said one of them very gravely to me, and
pulling off his hat at the same time to me; “ for our condition
is past the help of man.” “All help is from Heaven, sir,”
said I: “but can you put a stranger in the way to help you?
for you seem to be in some great distress. I saw you when
you landed ; and when you seemed to make application to the
brutes that came with you, I saw one of them lift up his sword
to-kill you.”

The poor man, with tears running down his face, and trem-
bling, looking like one astonished, returned, “ Am I talking to
God, or man? Is it areal man, or an angel?” “Be in no
fear about that, sir,” said I; “if God had sent an angel to
relieve you, he would have come better clothed, and armed
after another manner than you see me; pray lay aside your
fears ; 1 am a man, an Englishman, and disposed to assist you ;
you see I have one servant only ; we have arms and ammuni-
tion; tell us freely, can we serve you? What is your case?”
“Our case, sir,” said he, “is too long to tell ‘you, while our
murderers are so near us ; but, in short, sir, I was commander
of that ship; my men have mutined against me ; they have
been hardly prevailed on not to murder me, and, at last, have
set me on shore in this desolate place, with these two men
with me,—one my mate, the other a passenger,—where we ex-
pected to perish, believing the place to be uninhabited, and
know not yet what to think of it.” ‘Where are these brutes,