352 ROBINSON CRUSOE.

The clergyman smiled upon me when I reported what
answer they gave, but said nothing a good while ; but at last,
shaking his head, “‘We that are Christ’s servants,” says he,
“can go no farther than to exhort and instruct: and when
men comply, submit to the reproof, and promise what we ask,
*tis all we can do; we are bound to accept their good words ;
but believe me, sir,” said he, “ whatever you may have known
of the life of that man you call Will Atkins, I believe he is the
only sincere convert among them: I will not despair of the
rest; but that man is apparently struck with the sense of his
past life, and I doubt not, when he comes to talk of religion to
his wife, he will talk himself effectually into it: for attempting
to teach others is sometimes the best way of teaching ourselves.
I know a man who, having nothing but a summary notion of
religion himself, and being wicked and profligate to the last
degree in his life, made a thorough reformation in himself by
laboring to convert a Jew. If that poor Atkins begins but
once to talk seriously of Jesus Christ to his wife, my life for it
he talks himself into a thorough convert, makes himself a pen- .
itent, and who knows what may follow !”

Upon this discourse, however, and their promising, as
above, to endeavor to persuade their wives to embrace Chris-
tiauity, he married the other two couple ; but Will Atkins and
his wife were not yet come in. After this, my clergyman, wait-
ing awhile, was curious to know where Atkins was gone ; and
turning to me, said, “I entreat you, sir, let us walk out of your
labyrinth here, and look ; I dare say we shall find this poor
man somewhere or other talking seriously to his wife, and
teaching her already something of religion.” I began to be of
the same mind ; so we went out together, and I carried him a
way which none knew but myself, and where the trees were so
very thick that it was not easy to see. through the thicket of
leaves, and so far harder to see in than to see out ; when com-
ing to ‘the edge cf the wood, I saw Atkins and his tawny wife
sitting under the shade of a bush, very eager in discourse: I
stopped short till my clergyman came up to me, and then,
having showed him where they were, we stood and looked very
steadily at them a good while. We observed him very earnest
with her, pointing up to the sun, and to every quarter of the
heavens, and then down to the earth, then out to the sea, then to
himself, then to her, to the woods, to the trees. “ Now,” says
the clergyman, “you see my words are made good ; the man
preaches to her: mark him now; he is telling her that our God
had made him and her, and the heavens, the earth, the sea, the