character of a plain, blunt
London shopkeeper. He described with such apparent accuracy the
observations of a man who had lived in the scene of that terrible
calamity, giving curious incidents, anecdotes, statistics, after so
methodical a manner, that it was long before any doubts were cast on
the authenticity of the journal. It was a work of imagination, but so
matter-of-fact, that it is difficult to believe the author had any
imagination, and that he had not actually witnessed every occurrence he
so calmly related. It is the same with the "Memoirs of a Cavalier." The
civil wars are described by a young officer who took part in them, who
gives a detailed account of his own opinions, his wardrobe, his horse,
his lodgings. Lord Chatham quoted these memoirs as the true account of
an eye-witness. From writing the life of a well known individual, Defoe
had advanced to writing the life of a fictitious person placed amidst
historical scenes. His next step was to write the life of a fictitious
person amidst fictitious scenes.[157]

The "Journal of the Plague Year" had been issued to satisfy a popular
interest excited by the appearance of the plague in France and the
consequent fear of it in England. A similar public demand occasioned
the composition of "Robinson Crusoe." A sailor named Alexander Selkirk
had been "marooned" on the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez, and
after living there alone for more than four years, had been taken off
by the same captain who had abandoned him. The interest taken in
England in the narrative of this event revealed to Defoe's acute mind a
great literary opportunity. But if he was indebted to the adventure of
Selkirk for the fundamental idea of his novel, he was not the less
original. Never has a greater individuality been given to a fictitious
character, or a more vivid impression of life and reality to the
circumstances surrounding him. The combination of ingenuity and
simplicity which distinguishes the work, has, for a century and a half,
had a peculiar fascination for children, and has awakened the wonder
and admiration of men. There are three works of English fiction of
imperishable interest, all of which have attained in a high degree the
quality of reality, and have charmed alike all classes and ages. In the
allegory of "The Pilgrim's Progress," the sense of reality was produced
by the intense realization of the subject by the author, unassisted by
any literary device. In "Gulliver's