Crusoe's island . ; we saw the bot-tom as we dashed over the swell, at a depth of severalfathoms. It was alive with fish and various kinds ofmarine animals, of which there are great quantities aboutthese shores. Can you conceive, ye landsmen who dwellin cities, and have never buffeted for weary months thegales of old ocean, the joy of once more touching thegenial earth Avhen it has become almost a dreamy fancyin the memories pfjthe past! Then think, without asmile of disdain, what a thrill of delight ran through myblood as I pressed my feet for the first time upon thefresh sod of Juan Fernande
Crusoe's island . ; we saw the bot-tom as we dashed over the swell, at a depth of severalfathoms. It was alive with fish and various kinds ofmarine animals, of which there are great quantities aboutthese shores. Can you conceive, ye landsmen who dwellin cities, and have never buffeted for weary months thegales of old ocean, the joy of once more touching thegenial earth Avhen it has become almost a dreamy fancyin the memories pfjthe past! Then think, without asmile of disdain, what a thrill of delight ran through myblood as I pressed my feet for the first time upon thefresh sod of Juan Fernandez! Think of it, too, as therealization of hopes which I had never ceased to cherishfrom early boyhood; for this was the abiding place,which I now at last beheld, of a wondrous adventurerwhose history had filled my soul years ago with indefi-nite longings for sea-life, shipwreck, and solitude! Yes,here was verily the land of Robinson Crusoe; here, inone of these secluded glens, stood his rustic castle ; here 1 .a -. CRUSOES CASTLE. he fed his goats and held converse with his faithful pets;here he found consolation in the devotion of a new friend,his true and honest man Friday; beneath the shade ofthese trees he unfolded the mysteries of Divine Provi- CRUSOES ISLAND. 27 dence to the simple savage, and proved to the worldthat there is no position in life which may not be en-dured by a patient spirit and an abiding confidence inthe goodness and mercy of God. Pardon the fondness with which I linger upon theserecollections, reader, was one who had fought forpoor Robinson in my boyish days as the greatest herothat ever breathed the breath of life; who had always,even to mans estate, secretly cherished in my heart thebelief that Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and all thewarriors of antiquity were commonplace persons com-pared with him; that Napoleon Bonaparte, the Dukeof Wellington, Colonel Johnson, Tecumseh, and all thenoted statesmen and warriors of modern times, were nott
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