out just as I had schemed, yet my kettle proved the
most useful piece of furniture I had.

Having now acquainted myself with the circumference of the lake, and
settled a communication with my rill, I began to think of commencing
housekeeper. In order thereunto, I set about removing my goods up to the
grotto. By constant application, in a few days I had gotten all thither
but my two great chests and my water-cask; and how to drag or drive
any of those to it, I was entirely at a loss. My water-cask was of the
utmost importance to me, and I had thoughts sometimes of stopping it
close, and rolling it to the place; but the ascent through the wood to
the grotto was so steep, that, besides the fear of staving it,
which would have been an irreparable loss, I judged it impossible to
accomplish it by my strength; so with a good deal of discontent, I
determined to remit both that and the chests to future consideration.

CHAPTER XII.

An account of the grotto--A room added to it---A view of
that building--The author makes a little cart--Also a wet
dock for his boat--Goes in quest of provision--A description
of divers fruits and plants--He brings home a cart-load of
different sorts--Makes experiments on them--Loads his cart
with others--A great disappointment--Makes good bread--Never
sees the sun--The nature of the light

Having come to a full resolution of fixing my residence at the
grotto, and making that my capital seat, it is proper to give you some
description of it.

This grotto, then, was a full mile from the lake, in the rock which
encompassed the wood. The entrance was scarcely two feet wide, and about
nine feet high, rising from the height of seven feet upward to a point
in the middle. The cavity was about fifteen feet long within, and about
five wide. Being obliged to lie lengthwise in it, full six feet of it
were taken up at the farther end for my lodging only, as nothing could
stand on the side of my bed that would leave me room to come at it. The
remaining nine feet of the cave's length were taken up, first, by my
fireplace, which was the deepest side of the doorway, ranging with my
bed (which I had set close to the rock on one side), and took up near
three feet in length; and my furniture and provisions, of one sort or
other, so filled up the rest, that I had much ado to creep between them
into my bed.

In the chest which I had taken for a seat in the boat, as aforesaid,