Selkirk, cruised for some time along the Spanish coast, but without making any prizes. A disagreement sprang up between Selkirk and his commander, and the former resolved at all hazards to quit the ship. Being compelled by want of provisions to return to Juan Fernandez, Stradling recovered two of his crew who had been accidentally left there on the occasion of his earlier visit. They described their island life in such glowing terms that Selkirk felt more than ever determined to abandon the Cinque Ports. Accordingly, as soon as her refit was completed, he was landed, with all his effects, and he leaped on shore in a temporary transport of joy and freedom. He shook hands with his comrades, and bade them farewell in a hearty manner; but no sooner, says his biographer, did the sound of their oars, as they left the beach, fall on his ears, than the horror of a life-long solitude-for such it might be rushed upon his mind. His heart sank within him, and all his resolution failed. Rushing into the water, he implored his departing companions to take him with them. Stradling laughed at his entreaties, and declared that his situation was the most befitting for an individual so discontented and rebellious.

Over the details of his four years' residence it is unnecessary to linger. I have put before the reader Steele's animated summary; Selkirk's fuller narrative, as given in Captain Woodes Rogers' Cruising Voyage Round the World (London, 1712), has frequently been repeated. It is needful here only to describe the circumstances of his

rescue.

In 1708, an expedition against the French and Spanish traders in the South Seas was fitted out by several Bristol merchants. It consisted of The Duke, thirty guns, commanded by Captain Woodes Rogers, and The Duchess, twenty-five, commanded by Captain Courtney. Dampier accompanied the expedition as pilot. The two ships sailed from Bristol on the 1st of August,

doubled Cape Horn in December, and on the 31st of January 1709 came in sight of Juan Fernandez.

'Slowly,' says Mr Howell, 'the vessels rose into view, and Selkirk could scarcely believe the sight real; for often had he been deceived before. They gradually approached the island, and he at length ascertained them to be English. Great was the tumult of passions that rose in his mind; but the love of home overpowered them all. It was late in the afternoon when they first came in sight; and lest they should sail again without knowing that there was a person on the island, he prepared a quantity of wood to burn as soon as it was dark. He kept his eye fixed upon them until night-fall, and then kindled his fire, and kept it up until morning dawned. His hopes and fears having banished all desire for sleep, he employed himself in killing several goats, and in preparing an entertainment for his expected guests, knowing how acceptable it would be to them after their long run, with nothing but salt provisions to live upon.'

About noon next day, Woodes Rogers sent a boat on shore. Imagine the delight with which the solitary watched its arrival, and the eagerness with which he welcomed his countrymen. He embraced each of them warmly; but at first his excess of joy deprived him of the faculty of speech. At the time, he was wearing his last shirt; his feet and legs were bare; his body and thighs partly covered with the skins of wild animals. His beard was massive, and a rough goat-skin cap covered his unkempt locks. The first transports of happiness over, his tongue was loosed; he overwhelmed his visitors with questions, and readily replied to all which they addressed to him. Curiosity on both sides having been satisfied, the boat returned to The Duke, taking Selkirk with them, who, being recommended to Captain Woodes Rogers by Dampier as an excellent seaman, was immediately engaged as mate. For ten days the two captains remained

off shore, refitting their vessels and collecting supplies of water, fuel, and fresh meat. On the 12th Selkirk took leave of the island which had been his lonely home for upwards of four years, and of the lonely, self-reliant life which was to suggest to a man of genius one of the finest and most popular romances in the English language.

Selkirk served under Captain Woodes Rogers during the whole of the expedition, which was distinguished by many stirring incidents of battle and adventure, but does not come within the province of the present writer. He landed at Erith, on the Thames, October 14, 1711, after an absence of eight years, one month, and three days. In the following spring he repaired to Largo. Of his later life there is little to be told. He married twice; entered the Royal Navy, and rose to the rank of a lieutenant; and died sometime in 1723.

END OF VOL. I.

INDEX TO VOL. I.