ROBINSON CRUSOK.  go7

grieved the hardest heart in the world ; nor was it possible
for the Englishmen to satisfy them that they were not to be
immediately murdered, till they fetched the old man, Friday’s
father, who immediately let them know that the five men, who
were to fetch them out one by ons, had chosen them for their
wives.

When they had done, and the fright the women were in was
a little over, the men went to work, and the Spaniards came
and helped 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 ones nearer, but both on the north shore
of the island, so that they continued separated as before ; and
thus my island was.peopled in three places, and, as I might say,
three towns were begun to be built.

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 sucha disposition 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, nor any one else,
had three clever, diligent, careful, and ingenious wives ; not
that the first two were bad wives as to their temper and humor,
for all the five were most willing, quiet, 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 honor of a diligent
application on one hand, and to the disgrace of a slothful, neg-
ligent, idle temper on the other, that when I came to the place,
and viewed the several improvements, plantings, and manage-
ment of the several little colonies, the two men had so far out-
gone the three, that there was no comparison. They had, in-
deed, both of them as much ground laid out for corn as they
wanted, and the reason was, because, according to my tule,
nature dictated that it was to no purpose to sow more corn
than they wanted ; but the difference of the cultivation, of the
planting, of the fences, and, indeed, of everything else, was
easy to be seen at first view.

‘The two men had innumerable young trees planted about
their huts, so that when you came to the place, nothing was to
be seen but a wood ; and though they had twice had their plan:
tation demolished, once by their own countrymen, and once by