San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-11-13
Foxy Grandpa's
Stories
The Man Who Wrote
Robinson Crusoe."


Foxy Grandpa" said Bobby, lay.
ing down his book, ''that is the bes,
book / ever read"
You agree with millions of boys
and girls, Bobby" I said. "'Robinsor
Crusoe' has given pleasure to boys and
| girls all over the world"
I'D like to know something about
the man who wrote it, Foxy Grandpa
He must have been a fine man." said
the boy earnestly.
I'll tell you about him, Bobby
I said.
Once upon a time in the parish OF
st. Giles in Cripplegate. London, there
lived butcher. And this butcher had
little son who used to run about the
shop and hide behind the great sides
of beef and listen to his father talk ia
the customers rs he cut off beefsteaks
and chopped up meat for stew.
This butchers name was Defoe and
| the little boys name was Daniel"
Daniel Dcfoe !" exclaimed Bobby
THE man who wrote Robinson Cru
soc ~
THE very same" said I. "Now. the
Defoe family thought it would be a
| fine thing If their son, Daniel, would
be a minister. So when he was four.
teen they sent him to Newington &c
study for the ministry.
There the young Daniel studied
very hard. He learned Latin, Greek
French, Spanish and Italian.
But after all this study DAME
Defoe decided that he did not feel that
he would make very good minister
| en- What do t-n,, tbiut- he J;JSv
go to sea-" asked Bobby.
Nothing so romantic" | laughed
Daniel Defoe became hosier. Imag-
inc. he chose life of selling stockings
But all the while he was selling
stockings he was thinking of serious
things and trying to think of a way to
help his fellow men. For there were
many trials for the poor people in
England in those days.
"Then there were no newspapers, 50
what did Defoe do but write what he
thought would help his fellows in the
form of n protest against the govern
ment, and his writings were sold in the
form of pamphlets on the streets Of
London.
But unfortunately, in one of these
pamphlets Daniel Defoe said some
things against the state which were
considered a libel.
"For this he suffered and was put
in the pillory-with his head through
hole in plank and his hands
through other holes-for the people
of the street to jeer at. But they
didn't. The crowd gathered around
him and put wreaths of flowers around
his neck and cheered so loudly for thu
man whom they so greatly admired
that the police had to break up the
mob.
But poor Defoe was put in prison
Instead of sitting there in the dun
geon, however,, and thinking how
badly off he was, he started n weekly
newspaper and wrote and wrote anc
still expressed his views.
"Then in later years Daniel Defot
wrote the great story which you have
lust finished. 1t is considered thu
| first English novel and he is consid
cred the first great story teller.
"Defoe died in 1871 and was buried
| in Bunhill Fields. Years went by ant
his tombstone crumbled and fell t.
pieces. But a London newspaper
| thought it would be nice to put up
new monument on his grave. So tn
paper appealed to the boys and girls
of England for money to build a new
one. The money was quickly raised
and n fine stone now marks his
grave"
81 wish 7 could have given some
thing toward it." said Bobby. smooth
ing the cover of the wonderful book
Robinson Crusoe.'
| Copyright, 1925. International Feature
| Service Incl