pleasure) to divide
the tent occasionally into two distinct rooms.

When I had proceeded thus far, there were still wanting seats for this
additional building, as I may call it, and though I could spare some
chests to sit on, I found they would not half do. For a supplement,
then, I took my axe and felled a couple of great trees, one from each
side of the tent, sawed off the tops, and cut each of the trunks in two
about the middle: these huge cylinders I rolled into the tent with a
good deal of toil and difficulty; two of them I thrust into the inner
division, and left two in the outer. I placed them as benches on both
sides, then, with infinite pains, I shaved the upper face of each smooth
and flat, and pared off all the little knots and roughnesses of the
front, so that they were fitted to sit on, and their own weight fixed
them in the place where I intended them to be. At the upper end of the
farther chamber I set three chests lengthwise for seats, or any other
use I might see fit to put them to.

During these operations we were all hard at it, and no hand idle but
Dicky in arms, and Sally, whom he kept in full employ; but Pedro, being
a sturdy lad, could drive a nail, and lift or carry the things I wanted,
and Jemmy and David, though so young, could pick up the chips, hold a
nail or the lamp, or be some way or other useful; for I always preached
to them the necessity of earning their bread before they ate it, and not
think to live on mine and their brother's labour.

The nights being pretty long, after work was over, and Sarah had fed her
brother and laid him in his hammock, we used to sit all down to enjoy
ourselves at a good meal, for we were never regular at that till night;
and then after supper, my wife being absent, one or other of the young
ones would begin with something they had before heard me speak of, by
saying, "Daddy, how did you use to do this or that in England?" Then all
ears were immediately open to catch my answer, which certainly brought
on something else done either there or elsewhere; and by their little
questions and my answers they would sometimes draw me into a story
of three hours long, till, perhaps, two or three of my audience were
falling asleep, and then we all went to bed.

I verily believe my children would, almost any of them, from the
frequent repetition of these stories, have given a sufficient account
of England to have gained a belief from almost any Englishman of their
bein