Accidents > Life and most surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, mariner, who lived eight and twenty years in an uninhabited island on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great river Oroonoque

ROBINSON CRUSOE. 241
lafl: Blip was deftroyed by fire, as before has been
related.
At this time we talked no further : But another
morning he comes to me, juft as I was going to
viiit the Englifhmens’ colony, and tells me, that as
he knew the profperity of the ifland was my prin¬
cipal defire, he had fomething to communicate, a-
greeable to my defign, by which perhaps he might
put it, more than he yet thought it was, in the
way of the benedhftion of Heaven. How, Sir ? faid
I in a furprife, are we not yet in the way of God’s'
blefiing, after all thefe fignal providences and de¬
liverances, of which you have had fuch an ample
relation ? He replied, I hope, Sir, you are in the
way, and that your good defign will profper: But
frill there are fome among you that are not equally
right in their atftions: And remember, I befeech
you, Sir, that Achan, by his crime, removed God’s
blefiing from the camp of the children of Ifrael ;
that though fix. and thirty were entirely innocent,
yet they became the objects of divine vengeance,
and bore the weight of the punifhment accordingly.
So fenfibly was I touched with this difcourfe, and
fo fatisfied with that ardent piety that inflamed his
foul, that I defired him to accompany me to the
Englifhmens’ plantations, which he was very glad
of, by reafon thefe were the fubjefts of what he
defigned to difcburfe with me about; and while
we walked on together, he began in the following
manner :
Sir, laid he, I muft confefs it is a great unhappinefs
that we difagree in feveral-doctrinal articles of re¬
ligion ; but furely both of us acknosvledge this, that
there is a God, who having given us fome ftatcd
rules for our fervice and obedience, we ought not
willingly and knowingly to ofiend him, either by
negle&ing what he has commanded, or by doing
what he has forbidden us. This truth every Chrif-