ne, or both, forbade
it: for, till the last year of my being on this island, I never knew
whether any were saved out of that ship or no; and had only the
affliction, some days after, to see the corpse of a drowned boy come on
shore at the end of the island which was next the shipwreck. He had no
clothes on but a seaman's waistcoat, a pair of open-kneed linen drawers,
and a blue linen shirt; but nothing to direct me so much as to guess
what nation he was of: he had nothing in his pockets but two
pieces-of-eight and a tobacco-pipe;--the last was to me of ten times
more value than the first.

It was now calm, and I had a great mind to venture out in my boat to
this wreck, not doubting but I might find something on board that might
be useful to me: but that did not altogether press me so much as the
possibility that there might be yet some living creature on board, whose
life I might not only save, but might, by saving that life, comfort my
own to the last degree; and this thought clung so to my heart, that I
could not be quiet night or day, but I must venture out in my boat on
board this wreck; and committing the rest to God's providence, I thought
the impression was so strong upon my mind that it could not be resisted,
that it must come from some invisible direction, and that I should be
wanting to myself if I did not go.

Under the power of this impression, I hastened back to my castle,
prepared every thing for my voyage, took a quantity of bread, a great
pot of fresh water, a compass to steer by, a bottle of rum (for I had
still a great deal of that left,) and a basket of raisins: and thus,
loading myself with every thing necessary, I went down to my boat, got
the water out of her, put her afloat, loaded all my cargo in her, and
then went home again for more. My second cargo was a great bag of rice,
the umbrella to set up over my head for a shade, another large pot of
fresh water, and about two dozen of my small loaves, or barley-cakes,
more than before, with a bottle of goat's milk and a cheese: all which,
with great labour and sweat, I carried to my boat; and praying to God to
direct my voyage, I put out; and rowing, or paddling, the canoe along
the shore, came at last to the utmost point of the island on the
north-east side. And now I was to launch out into the ocean, and either
to venture or not to venture. I looked on the rapid currents which ran
constantly on both sides of the island at a distance, and which were