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. 259
All this while my departing miftrefs lay by me ; the
laft bit of bread fhe had, fhe gave it to her dear
child, my young mafter. The morning after, I fell
into a violent paflion of crying, and after that into
hunger. I efpied the blood that came from my nofe
in a bafon, which I immediately fwallowed np. At
night I had the ufual variations, as pain in the fto-
mach, fick, lleepy, and ravenous •, and I had no
thought but that I Ihould die before morning. In
the morning came on terrible gripisgs in my bowels.
At this time I heard my young mafter’s lamentations,
by which I underftood his mother was dead : Soon
after the failors cried, A fail, a fail, hallowing as if
they were diftrafted, for joy of that relief, which af¬
terwards we received from your hands.”
Surely never was a more diftinft account of ftar-
ving to death than this. But to return to the dif-
pofition of things among my people, I did not take
any notice to them of the floop that I had framed,
neither would I leave them the two pieces of brafs
cannon, or the two qurater-deck guns that 1 had
on board, left, upon any difguft, they fhould have
feparated, or turned pirates, and fo made the ifland
a den of thieves, inftead of a plantation of fober
pious people : But leaving them in a flourifhing con¬
dition, with a promife to fend them furthef relief
from Brafil, as fheep, hogs, and cows (being obli¬
ged to kill the latter at fea, having no hay to feed
them), I went on board the fhip again, the firft of
May 1695, after having been twenty days among
them : And next morning, giving them a falute of
five guns at parting, we fet fail for the Brafils. The
third day, towards evening, there happening a calm,
and the current being very ftrong, we were drove
to the N. N. E. towards the land. Some hours
after we perceived the fea covered as it were with
fomething very black, not eafdy at firft to be dif-
covered : Upon which our chief mate afeending the
Ihrouds