The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-05-16

geographically, meteorologically and eth
nologically for an island near the ORR
noco: but it would be nonsensicaI II
ascribed to the island of Juan Fernandez
The title page of the book in the orig
ina1 edition is: THE Life and Strange
Surprising Adventures of Robinson CRU
soc. OF York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight
and Twenty Years all Alone in an In
inhabited Island on the Coast OF Amer
lea, Near the Mouth of the Great River
Orinoque; Having Been Cast on Shore
by Shipwreck Wherein All the Men Per
ished but Himself. With an Account How
He Was at Last as Strangely Delivered
by PIRATES. Written by Himself London:
Printed for w. Taylor at the Ship in
Pater-Noster- Row. MDCCXIX."
~ OBINSON CRUSOE was born IN
York IN 1899 of a good family
Il n His fathers name was Kreutz-
naer. His mothers family name was
Robinson. He was named Robinson
Kreutznaer, and his companions did as
the English always do; they changed
the name to something that they thought
more English and called him Robinson
Crusoe
He was not bred to any trade and his
head became full of thoughts of adven-
ture, much to the sorrow of his father,
who was a wise and grave man, content
with the station in which he had been
placed and abhorring undertakings out of
the respectable and common road.
yours is the middle state. or what
might be called the upper station of low
life. said he to his restless son, which
is the best station in the world, the most
suited to human happiness, not exposed
10 the miseries and labors of the mechan-
&c part of mankind and not embarrassed
with the pride, luxury and ambition of
the upper part of mankind. Kings have
frequently lamented the miserable eoa-
sequences of being born to great things
and have wished they had been placed
in the middle of the two extremes, be-
tween the mean and the great
Strange as it may seem, this sensible
disclosure did not in the least reconcile
Robinson Crusoe to the idea of exchang-
ing life of adventure for life of re-
spectacle competence He slipped away
one day without asking either Gods bless
ing or his fathers, and took ship at
Hull
1t was September 1, 1861, when he sailed
away on his first cruise, which did not
last long. The ship got into storm as
soon as it left the Humber, and Robin
son Crusoe became so seasck that he
thought with great seriousness how
wicked he had been. All the good coun-
sells of his parents came into his mind.
The next day he was not so seasick and
as the weather cleared up his mind be-
came more tranquil. A great bowl of
punch that was brewed in the forecastle
hot e..
rernorse effectually.
On the sixth day the ship entered Var
mouth Roads and lay there a week.
Then a great wind came up. Soon it
was blowing a very terrible storm IN
deed. Two ships near by cut away their
masts. Two Others, dismasted. drove out
to sea- Robinson Crusoes ship rode FORE
castle IN. shipped sea after sea and at
last was so close TO foundering that the
captain ordered both masts cut away
labors at the pumps, the ship filed fast
and had to be abandoned. The crew took
Despite this and despite their frantic
TO the boats and scarcely had they been
struggling a quarter of an hour before
the ship sank. Half rowing, half driving.
they managed TO reach shore.
home to settle down into that middle
state which his father had the good
sense to like. But as youth is not
ashamed so much to sin as to repent
and would do a second foolish action
rather than to confess the foolshness
of the first, he went to London and took
passage a vessel bound to the coast 70
Africa for the Guinea trade, as the sailors
called it. He had obtained about e4O
from his relatives, and had reason to sup
pose that his father OF his mother had
contributed the greater part of the sum.
He invested 1t in tradestuffs and brought
home FIVE pounds nine ounces of gold
(which yielded him almost $500 in London
His success elated him and made him
greedy for more. He left 200 pounds With
the widow of a friend for safekeeping and
invested the other 100 pounds in a second
voyage.
Between the Canary Islands and the Az
rican shore a Turkish rover of Sallee gave
chase to them, and as he could outsail
their vessel the English traders decided to
light, although they had only Z guns
against the rovers Is. They raked the
Turk once and beat his boarders off twice,
but in the end they were taken and car
ried into the Moorish port OF Sallee.
Robinson Crusoe's companions were car
ried up country to the Enperors court
He. being young and uirnble, was kept by
the rover as his own slave. This surpris-
ing change OF circumstances led Robinson
Crusoe to think most seriously again OF
his fathers discourse and he felt that the
hand of heaven had overtaken him
He was in this statutory frame OF mind
for two years when an opportunity came
10 him to escape and turned his mind to
adventurous thoughts again. His NASTY
who loved fishing, had caused his ships
carpenter to build a little cabin in an
,Dnshsh longboat that he had captured
iJze.kept this craft well provisioned 50 that
me could start on little cruises at any
time Now and then he used to send Cru
SOC out with two native slaves to catch
fish for him, and from that time forth
the English captive watched for his
chance to ESCAPE.
II came one day when his master. put
moro supplies than usual and also thref
.fuzeee with powder and shot aboard, in
ltapdins TO antextain snrnA dist nisnshAr