230 ROBINSON CRUSOE.

and faithful steward, whom I had left my money in trust with,
was alive, but had had great misfortunes in the world ; was be:
come a widow the second time, and very low in the world. I
made her very easy as to what she owed me, assuring her I
would give her no trouble ; but, on the contrary, in gratitude
for her former care and faithfulness to me, I relieved her as my
little stock would afford ; which at that time would, indeed,
allow me to do but little for her: but I assured her I would
never forget her former kindness to me ; nor did I forget her
when I had sufficient to help her, as shall be observed in its
proper place. I went down afterwards into Yorkshire ; but my
father was dead, and my mother and all the family extinct, except
that I found two sisters, and two of the children of one of my
brothers ; and as I had been long ago given over for dead,
there had been no provision made for me ; so that, in a word,
I found nothing to relieve or assist me ; and that the little
money I had would not do much for me as to settling in the
world.

I met with one piece of gratitude, indeed, which I did not
expect ; and this was, that the master of the ship, whom I had
so happily delivered, and by the same means savec the ship
and cargo, having given a very handsome account tc the own
ers of the manner how I had saved the lives of the men, and
the ship, they invited me to meet them and some other mer-
chants concerned, and all together made me a very handsome
compliment upon the subject, and a present of almost £200
sterling.

But after making several reflections upon the circumstances
of my life, and how little way this would go towards settling me
in the world, I resolved to go to Lisbon, and see if I might not
come at some information of the state of my plantation in the
Brazils, and of what was become of my partner, who, I had
reason to suppose, had some years past given me over for dead.
With this view, I took shipping for Lisbon, where I arrived in
April following ; my man Friday accompanying me very hon-
estly in all these ramblings, and proving a most faithful ser-
vant upon alloccasions. When I came to Lisbon, I found out
by inquiry and to my particular satisfaction, my old friend, the
captain of the ship, who first took me up at sea off the shore of
Africa. He was now grown old, and had left off going to sea,
having put his son, who was far from a young man, into his
ship, and who still used the Brazil trade. The old man did
not know me; and, indeed, I hardly knew him. But I soor
brought him to my remembrance, and as soon brought myseh
to his remembrance, when I_told him who I was.