Chapter VI.
It was Charles's great object to obtain entrance into the box, but by no means to break it in pieces; he had found it a difficult matter to construct a table, on which to place his necessaries, and he was aware that he had no means of replacing his seat. By calculating the strength required for making a sufficient aperture, he had the satisfaction of making a large hole in the lid without shattering it, and he then dragged it back again, eager to examine the contents, and earnestly hoping that he should find it contain the clothes of a very small gentleman, who had been drowned, with the rest of the passengers, when their ship was wrecked.
To the great mortification of poor Charles, the uppermost thing in the box was a number of ostrich feathers, carefully enclosed in silk handkerchiefs.—"What a very foolish person," cried he, "must the owner of this box have been, to pack up such paltry things as feathers! Why, all this end of the island is full of feathers, and, in my opinion, much more beautiful ones than these; and I have never picked up any of them. Well! let us see a little farther." He next drew out a piece of muslin, as thin as a cobweb, sprigged with gold: the poor boy shook his head: a piece of silver muslin followed, then a case of trinkets, and after that, a beautiful gown of China crape.—"What a great deal of trouble I have taken for nothing!" cried Charles, looking towards his parrot, as if asking for sympathy.
"Don't despair, my dear boy," replied Poll, winking his eyes, and shaking his head very significantly. Something soft to the touch now encouraged the seeker, and he drew forth a large camel's hair shawl, on which he gazed with great delight, knowing that it was both the lightest and warmest of all substances; and that he could fold it about his body, in such a manner as to afford him great relief from the severest weather. Next came some linen garments, which, although not of the form he desired, were yet very welcome; as were also some silk stockings and kid shoes.—"I wish," said Charles, "they had been worsted stockings and stout shoes; but these will be better than nothing, for I can twist grass ropes all over them: and here is another shawl—a great beauty, worked with a gold border, and altogether thick and strong; of this I will make a sail, when I put my boat in order—it will be just the thing for it." The next thing was a ladies' dressing-box, in which, to his great joy, were needles and thread, with a penknife, scissors, inkstandish, writing-paper, and pens. This was a treasure indeed. There was also a purse, with money in it; and some rings, but as they were quite useless, they scarcely drew his eye; but at the bottom were some valuable furs, intended, probably, for muffs or trimmings; of these Charles determined to make himself some sort of a cap, having no other covering for his head than a kind of turban, formed for him by his papa, out of the captain's pillow-case, as he had been without his hat at the time of the wreck. The first use which he made of his prize was to take the largest skin, and make it, as well as he could, into a bag, into which he put the parchments and jewels of poor Captain Gordon, and sewed them carefully up, determining, since the weather was so cold, to wear them, at present, about his person.—"I am but a young guardian," said he, "for the widow and the fatherless; but I will be a careful one. Many and many a time, do I fear that my poor father and Sambo were stolen from this island, by pirates, or some kind of bad people; and if by the poor boy's confession, or my papa's entreaties, they should return here to take me, and what else they might find, by this means I might save the property, and send it some time to the true owner." When any idea of his papa's imprisonment or suffering, got possession of Charles's mind, it gave him such deep sorrow, that he was compelled to drive it from him, either by setting out on some little expedition, or reading in his Bible. He now thought, the best thing he could do was to write, and became impatient to try. Unfortunately he had no table, and if he turned up the box to make it one, he had no seat; and with all his care to keep the hut dry, it was still damp on the ground; he was therefore obliged to renounce this amusement, for the present, and employ himself in restoring the contents of the box to their old place, as well as he was able; but this was no easy matter.
Whilst he was doing this, he recollected that he had never explored the locker of the boat, in which it was possible there might be something useful, and which he might enter by the same key which had opened the box; and as he must now endeavour to shoot a bird, of which there were great numbers on the island, he might as well go on the morrow.—Yet surely his first care ought to be given to the dates, which were too probably all spoiling, and which the parrot greatly needed.
In the multiplicity of his business, on this eventful night, he almost forgot his desolate situation; but the cold wind which blew through his little den, and the insufficient food he had taken, compelled him to remember it; and he crept to bed, to forget his wants and his cares in sleep; but not till he had devoutly thanked God for the blessings which remained to him.
The next day Charles opened out his dates, and had the satisfaction to find, that except the topmost layers, they remained uninjured. He took out a stock for several days, and covered the remainder with more care than before, heaping up the sand over them in the form of a pyramid; by which means he not only saved them from any future rain, but marked the place where they were laid. He had not much fear of the winter, for he knew the climate here must be warmer than in Bombay; and of the frost and snow of England, he had no recollection; and he reflected, with some comfort, that his food would now keep a much longer time than it used to do.
He now went towards the shore, where many aquatic birds were assembled together, apparently preparing for flight: they had come, in great numbers, just before the rain, and seemed now about to return to the neighbouring island. Thinking he ought to lose no time, Charles, who had by this time become very expert, shot two of them, which were large, and very beautiful, somewhat resembling geese, but with much greater beauty of plumage. As he knew that birds of this description have generally a fishy, disagreeable taste, it struck him, that if he could cook them with some of the hot pickle (which he had not yet tasted, as he never liked any thing of that kind), it would render them more palatable, and make them keep longer. Accordingly he took them to the hut, stripped off their skins, with the feathers, and having, with a great deal of trouble, cut them to pieces, he put part of them into the kettle, with a little water and some of the pickle, and stewed them gently for a long time, until all was done, when he put them into a calibash, which he called a tureen. The gourds, which are so called, grow all over India, and are used, in many places, by the natives, as saucepans, for they will bear the action of fire exceedingly well; but on this island they did not grow to a large size. Charles had provided himself with several, that he might never have his hut without a supply of water, which he frequently wanted in the night, and also to put his food into, as in the present instance. He did not find his new cookery half so good as the turtle had been, but it was very welcome to a hungry boy, and very nutritious; the hot spices likewise answered the purpose; and he found that he might now be easy, on the subject of eating for two or three days, as both himself and Poll were provided for.
He therefore wrapt himself up, as well as he could, took his gun on his shoulder, and set out to make his usual circuit of the island. Every where he was struck with the quantity of fallen leaves, and the feathers that were flying about, and he had frequently great difficulty in pursuing his way. He found the sheet still flapping in the air, at the end of the island, to his great satisfaction, as he had feared that it was lost, and he knew that he could not have fastened any other thing so well as his father had done this.
He then went forward, and in due time reached the beach, where he left the boat, which was now riding on the water, but appeared perfectly safe and sound, to his great satisfaction; and as he was naturally a courageous boy, and very fond of the water, his heart throbbed with delight at the idea of setting out in this little vessel, and sailing over the wide sea, which, at this moment, lay like a clear blue mirror before him. Being extremely anxious to secure it, he tightened the ropes, and drew it a little nearer to the shore, when his desire to examine it so far influenced him, that he waded into the water and got into it, and was rewarded for his exertion, by finding a turtle within it, which had probably been washed into it by the late commotion of the elements: having turned the creature on its back, he began his preparation for shooting open the locker of the boat; but soon found, that with the help of a stone, he could open it by taking a little pains, and he was of course glad to save powder.
To his joy and surprise, the locker was quite full of something; and as it was always likely that the poor people who took refuge in the boat, would take with them what supplies they could procure, in the terror and hurry of the moment, Charles felt surprised to think that he had hitherto overlooked such a material probability. "How often," said he, "have I been hungry since this boat was driven on shore, and above all things, distressed for a bit of bread to eat with my coffee, and all the time there was a case of biscuits lying here! here is some beef also, I declare, and a pair of trowsers—they are a great prize: and here is something rolled up in this jacket—it is a little keg, and most probably has brandy in it; and even that may be useful to me. The bitter hot liquor in the captain's bottle did me a great deal of good, when I was so weak and ill, I remember." The next question was, how he could get these things home. The biscuits were in a tin case, and appeared to have been something of a superior quality, probably having belonged to some delicate female, and though they were now far from their first state, were too valuable to be parted with; and these he resolved in the first place to secure, together with the turtle; the latter he tied with the grass bands which he had twisted round his ancles, fast by the claws, and swung it over his neck, and the tin case he took under his right arm, and jumping into the water, he took hold of the rope with the left hand, and so guided himself to the land. He found it very difficult to wade through the sand, when he was so much loaded; and when he got out of the water, his feet and ancles were exceedingly cold, for want of the grass bands, as he had worn them constantly ever since the rain. In consequence of this feeling, he thought he would go across the island by a nearer cut than usual to get to his hut; and as the leaves were fallen, he knew he could see his way; and accordingly he pushed into the most woody part of the plain.
Charles had soon great reason to believe that the nearest way was nevertheless the farthest, for he had much difficulty (being so loaded) to push his way through the brushwood; and the load at his back rendered him several times in danger of being suffocated, for when the trees caught the turtle, the bandage was suddenly drawn across his throat; he was many times obliged to stop and lay down his tin case, whilst he adjusted his other load; and he could not help observing, that sometimes "riches themselves were very burdensome." His spirits were, however, greatly elevated. The air, for the first time since the rain, was pure and clear, and the sight of the calm open sea, the soundness of the boat, and the acquisitions found in it, had all contributed to give him spirits; and he tried to keep them up by whistling, and contriving where he should stow his new-found property. When he had proceeded about two-thirds of the way, and began to seek his almanack trees near the hut, he again put down his case, and stood to rest himself for a few minutes.
At this time he was surprised to hear a low rustling noise, which did not at all resemble those sounds made by the boundings of the hares, with which he was well acquainted; he thought, however, that it might possibly be some of their young, when in a very feeble state; so he stooped down to look at them. Judge of his surprise, his absolute horror, on seeing what appeared to be a whole nest of small green serpents, issuing on every side from under the tin case! Of all other things, Charles had the utmost aversion from a snake, or any of the serpent tribe; the dreadful tales he had heard in Bombay of the cobra capello had greatly increased this feeling, and he would have preferred meeting a tiger; forcing himself through all impediments, he scampered away as fast as possible towards the sands of the shore, well knowing that the viperous animals he dreaded never expose their delicate skins to the rough stones and gravel; nor did he dare once to take breath or look behind him, till he found his feet wounded by those welcome safeguards.
On arriving at his hut, he was not only wearied, but very uneasy. He had hitherto believed the island to be entirely free from those noxious reptiles, and he was aware that his ignorance had been happiness to him, and that he could never again walk about with the same fearless ease to which he had been accustomed; he had also lost his precious case of biscuits in his fright, and he thought it would be the height of imprudence to return for it; had he come the old road, all this vexation would have been spared him. The reptiles were still a long way from him; it was possible that they might be harmless, and it was very probable that they lived entirely on that spot, as he never had seen any before, even when he went to his church, which was a cluster of trees, through the way to which he had always to encounter the same impediments of brushwood that he had met with this morning.
Having devoutly thanked God for the danger from which he had escaped, his first care was to replace the grass bands with which his ancles had been wrapped, their present nakedness rendering his past danger the more striking. This was easily done, as he had a considerable quantity of long dry grass, or rather hay, within the hut, where he had piled it up, for the purpose of giving general warmth, and to help the quick lighting of his fire. When he had accomplished this, he made two long stout ropes on which to sling the other packages; and having placed his turtle in a secure place, he once more set out for the boat, fearing lest his gun, which was in it, should be injured.
This time he went safely, but he could not bring away the barrel, even by the aid of his ropes; so he determined to take away the contents by degrees, as he should want them, seeing that they were in such a situation, that only extreme necessity could compel him to have recourse to such food. The jacket and trowsers were, on the contrary, most welcome things, especially as they had belonged to a small man; and he had no doubt, but with his newly-acquired implements of needle, thread, and scissors, he should soon render them very comfortable-fitting things.
It was well for Charles that he was so completely tired, that he could not forbear to sleep soundly on this night, otherwise he would probably have spent an uneasy time, thinking of the serpents. The next morning he was so very busy, that in a great measure they went out of his head.
His first care was to examine the trowsers, in the pocket of which he found, to his great delight, a comb, a knife for cutting bread and cheese, and a purse with a marriage certificate in it, a testimonial of good conduct, to one John Flemming, written by Captain Gordon, and a few shillings. The tears sprang to Charles's eyes, as he recollected that both the writer, and the poor man written for, were now no more; and that of all that noble ship's company, it was but too probable that he alone survived; for surely, if his dear father had lived, before this time he would have been able to have sent or come for him; it seemed now too plain a case, that he had no father, that his relations mourned for him as dead, and would therefore never seek for him; no, his fate was evident; he must die in this solitude, or venture out in the boat and perish at sea, for how little, how very little chance had he for being seen and taken up in this wide ocean! Charles wept long and bitterly at this time, as he had frequently done before, when the thoughts of his dear father's death came into his mind; but he was roused from his present sorrow by a loud screaming of birds at a little distance, amongst which he fancied the voice of his own parrot might be distinguished. On looking, he saw that his cage was empty, and as he had of late either kept within, or gone about the hut at his pleasure, it struck Charles that he had gone abroad too far, and was got again into some kind of danger; and he eagerly flew out to seek him, calling him at the same time as loud as he could.
At a little distance he found, to his sorrow, poor Poll in great distress, as three parrots surrounded him and were violently pecking and ill-treating him, whilst fluttering his wings, and unable to defend himself, he screamed out—"Propria quæ maribus," "Captain Gordon, ahoy!" and when the boldest pounced forward, as if to destroy him, his cry was, "Never despair, my dear boy." Charles often laughed afterwards, when he recollected poor Poll's display of learning at this time; but he was at the moment too angry, and too much frightened, to smile, for it will be readily believed the parrot was of great consequence to his master. Taking up the instrument he called his spear, which we have already mentioned, he flew to the spot, and just as the largest opponent of his bird was again pouncing upon Poll, he gave him a blow, which proved fatal, as he fell down upon his unresisting foe, and Charles took them both together. The rest of the noisy tribe took to flight, and poor Poll soon nestled into his master's bosom, who found his feathers torn, and his neck bleeding, to his great sorrow. On taking up the bird he had killed, he found him remarkably large, and more beautiful than any he had ever seen; and he wished he could have taken him alive, and tamed him. As, however, what was passed could not be recalled, and he recollected that these birds were good eating, he proceeded to dress and roast him, and found that parrot was good food, as well as company. Thinking it probable that his ladies' dressing-box might probably contain lip-salve, or something of the same kind, which might be serviceable to poor Poll's wounds, he searched it carefully, found a bottle of cold cream, and he also saw that in the lid there was a looking-glass. Nobody can conceive how Charles started when he beheld his own face; it almost frightened him. His complexion was tanned, from continual exposure to the elements, till he was almost the colour of Sambo! his hair was grown prodigiously, and as it was always of a curly nature, it stuck out like an old matted wig; and as he had no shirt collar, and his clothes consisted of all colours and shapes, his array was more like that of a gipsy than a gentleman. "It is a lucky thing," said he, "that nobody sees me, but a still better, that I have now got a pair of scissors, a comb, and, above all, half-a-dozen pieces of sweet-smelling soap; I am determined now to make myself very neat and comfortable." Accordingly, Charles cut off a considerable quantity of his profuse locks, and very prudently rubbed his head with a little brandy; and he took great pains in constructing a cap, which would somewhat shade his face, being aware that his eyes would be benefited from it, not less than his complexion. For this purpose, he contrived a cap, both inside and out of a beautiful skin in the crown part; and for the brim, he got those large palm leaves which the native Indians use as umbrellas, which he cut and fastened, so that they shaded both his eyes and shoulders, yet could be, for convenience, turned up in a moment. Finding he became expert by practice, he next contrived to make the sailor's trowsers tie down under his feet, and so altered the buttons, that they could be made to fasten round his waist; finding this additional clothing not only a relief from the cold, but a probable guard from the enemies he most dreaded. The following day was Sunday, and he hoped to get once more to his church, which was one reason why he hastened his work.—"I know," said he, "it can make no difference whether I go to church, or stay at home, seeing I have no sermon to hear, nor any Christian people to meet; yet I do like to get up into my tree, and consider that I am employed in looking up to God for help and protection, at the same moment when my dear mother and sister are looking up to him for me—that I am reading what they are reading—and thinking as they think; besides, I like to look over the wide sea, when it is calm, and think, by and by, I shall get across it; and when I am able to see the island of Amsterdam, I always fancy myself a step nearer to the world." With these reasons Charles so far reassured himself, that, with his spear in his hand, he once more set out for his place of worship; and climbing into his usual branch, read, prayed, and sung for about an hour. As he descended, he cast many anxious looks around, but he saw nothing of the serpents, and he could perceive, at no very great distance, his own tin canister; and he therefore concluded, on the following day he would make an effort to recover it, by climbing from tree to tree, till he arrived over the spot where it was, and then pushing it from place to place with his spear. On second thoughts, as it seemed likely for rain, he thought it best to do it now; for as he had been reading that the disciples plucked corn on the Sabbath day, to appease their hunger, he thought it was lawful for him to secure that bread which he had lately received as an especial gift of Providence. He soon accomplished the task of reaching the spot, for he had become almost as nimble as a squirrel, (several of which pretty animals he found in these large trees;) but when he stooped down his spear, to move the canister, he found that it went every way but the right, and there was so much brushwood about the place, it was impossible to move it more than a quarter of a yard at a time; he, however, got it into a good position for removing, by a new plan, which, on the following day, he thus effected.
Having got three nice long sticks, of the willow kind, he tied them very well in the bow form, to three others, and then took two strong slips, to which he tied them at equal distances, making a thing something like a coal-shovel, to which he suspended a cord; with this, and his spear, he again went as before into the trees, and let down his willow net, with much care, close to the tin case, hoping that he should be able to catch it, and hook it up, he having secured one end, so that, if he managed to get it in at one side, it should not slip out at the other. Often did he now wish, that, like Robinson Crusoe, he had possessed a sagacious animal, that could have given him a little assistance; but as, after above two hours' trial, he found it would not go in without a little lift, at length he let himself down by the boughs, till he could reach it with one hand, and slip it into the trap. He then got up again into the tree, and drawing the cord very steadily, had the satisfaction of finding himself in possession of that which was to him a richer prize than all the diamonds of Golconda.
It was, however, a most difficult thing for him to travel back again from bough to bough, and tree to tree, with this cumbersome package, and his spear also; nevertheless, by being careful and patient, he at length effected it: when he got near home, he placed the tin case in the sand, and threw many calabashes of water over it, and wiped it very clean with one of the silk handkerchiefs he had found in the box, before he carried it into his hut; for he thought that many of the serpents had gone over it, and, perhaps, had left a poisonous slime upon it.
"Well now," said he, "I have got something steady on which I can lean to write. I will empty the biscuits into my leaves and calabashes, and fetch loads of sand in the tin case, till I have raised up a kind of table, on the top of which I can lay the lid steady, and then I can write nicely, with the little silver pen, or the nice pencil, that is in the work-box; and if it should be slippery, I can lay the sailor's jacket over it." With these words, Charles took up the jacket, to see if it would answer the purpose; he then looked for the pockets, and, to his equal surprise and delight, found, in one of them, a book, and a roll of old songs; and in the other a tobacco-box. The book was a volume of Cook's voyages; and we may readily suppose it appeared at the present moment, of more value to the poor boy, than all he had met with before; it was like meeting a friend in a strange land—the pleasures of sympathy and companionship seemed to visit his cell. Lighting his lamp, and closing his door, he began to read, with all the avidity natural to a young and curious mind; and probably continued to do so for great part of the night; for the subjects were of a nature particularly to interest one, who, young as he was, had experienced so much of the dangers and distresses to which seamen are subject. At length he recollected himself, and exclaimed—"What a treat this book is to me! but I must not allow it to spend any more of my oil, especially now I have got food before-hand, and can read it by daylight. Let me thank God that I am not eaten, as poor Captain Cook was, by a parcel of cannibal wretches. I see there is nothing so bad in my situation, as it might have been. I had rather be as I am, than make a feast for a Carib, or become a slave to an Algerine. If I keep clear of the snakes, I shall do very well yet; at least I will continue to hope so."
