ART. IX. The Life and furprizing Adventures of Crufoe Richard Davis. In two Volumes. 12mo. Price 6s. Bound, Noble.

OF

F all the innumerable pieces of the novel manufacture which have proceeded from the warehouse of Mr. Noble, this production feems to be of the leaft flimfy texture. The ftile, though in many places, affected, aukward, and incorrect, is not without nerves and spirit; the colouring is warm: there is a wildness and enthusiasm in the painting, though the figures are generally fantaftic; and there is fomething in the ftory which interefts the reader even in spite of his own judg

ment.

Richard Davis, the orphan fon of a poor curate, engages in a voyage to the Greenland fishery: goes afhore with fome of his companions to fhoot wild bears: he and Will. Cutts are bewilder'd in a wood, and lofing the line of direction, instead of returning towards the fea-coaft, penetrate further into the country. Being obliged to fix their habitation in that defolate country, they catch fish, kill bears, and make an icehouse, in which they spend the winter. Next fummer, they become acquainted with a naked man and his wife, who conducts them to another part of the country called Quavava-droffoid, where they are kindly entertained by the inhabitants. After having stayed a confiderable time in this happy republic, the abode of plenty, peace, and innocence, Davis happens to cross a ditch into a floating island, which immediately parts from the continent, and divides him from his dear friend Will. Cutts. He fails the Lord knows whither in this inchanting paradise, which is flocked with a vast profufion of the most exquifite fruits and herbs. Having traversed this delicious island, he finds it adjoining to a barren country, the inhabitants of which, to the number of feven hundred, came to gather the fruit, after having fung a hymn of thanksgiving to Providence for this annual provision. These people, who are but four feet in ftature, receive Mr. Davis very cordially. He lives a whole year with one Flugh, a good-natured man, who tells him, that the floating island arrives once a year upon their coaft,

and

and tarries a certain number of days. Our traveller, thus informed, takes an opportunity to embark again upon it, next year, in hope of being carried round to the land of Quavavadroffoid, where he had left his companion. After strange peregrinations, the island halts in a cold country covered with fnow. Davis, having afcended a hill, enjoys the prospect of a delightful vale, in which he wanders about till night, when in returning to his ifland, he perceives, in a wood, feveral feeming fhrubs about fix feet high, that appear to be in full flower by the variety of colours they difplay, even by moon-light. Endeavouring to pluck a leaf from one of thefe fhrubs, his ears are aftonished with a difmal fhriek, and all the fhrubs vanifh. Richard, falling aficep, is vifited by the spirit of his father, who tells him, he is appointed by Providence to convert those people whom he mistook for fhrubs, and ordains him a priest for that purpose. Next day he finds one of them lying in his way, in the agonies of death, he examines the body, which is covered with beautiful feathers; relieves the creature with fome of his fruit, extracts a thorn from its foot, and perceives it to be a beautiful female. His humanity and tenderness produce fuch ftrong fentiments of gratitude in the breast of this amiable favage, that fhe will not leave him, and they embark together upon the floating ifland. She becomes a Chriftian, and being informed of his vifion, persuades him to return to her country, where he acts as king, priest, and legiflator. He marries his companion, though not till after she had plucked up all her feathers by the roots; for, while fhe continued fledged, he could not help thinking there was fomething of the brute in her compofition; even after she had given repeated proofs of uncommon capacity, and displayed all the virtues of humanity. We cannot help thinking Mr. Richard Davis was a little too fcrupulous on this occafion. Another person would have been apt to look upon her feathers, which were beautifully variegated, as an additional ornament to her body: he would have compared her with the idea we have of celeftial beings, and while he clafped her to his arms, imagined he held a real angel in his embrace.

Our traveller, finding it impracticable to work without materials, has recourfe to a tempeft, which not only throws on

shore

fhote a fea monfter, in whofe maw Davis finds a Dutchman well. ftored with neceffaries; but alfo dafhes upon a rock à fhip loaded with the very tools and cargo which he wanted. Then he builds a town, makes his people happy, and lives among them, until he fees his children married and fettled in this new colony, which he had denominated the land of Afcenfion. At length he and his beloved spouse are taken by pirates and hurried on board of a ship which is commanded by his old friend Will. Cutts. They fail to Corea, from whence they procure a paffage to Bornea, and there embark on board of a coafter for Bengal. One of the paffengers endeavours to debauch Mrs. Davis; a tumult enfues, and our traveller, with his wife and friend, is landed on a defolate coaft, though not without the merchandize belonging to Cutts, amount-. ing to confiderable value. They find a fubterraneous habitatation within a mountain, where they live pretty comfortably, until they are taken on board of a Spanish fhip that happens to be ftranded on the fhore. In this veffel they are conveyed to Cadiz, from whence they fail in an English veffel to London, where Will. Cutts beftows upon his friend two thirds of his fortune, amounting to fomething more than four thousand pounds. Davis fettles in Westminster, and in about three years after his return to his native country, lofes his dear wife, who dies like a pious Christian.

In order to do justice to the author of Richard Davis, we will infert a quotation as a fpecimen of his ftile, and choose one of his most picturesque descriptions.

I had not made my way far into thefe bufhes, before I found myself so entangled by them, that I could fcarce ftir backwards or forwards, till after fome ftruggling, I broke loofe again; when spying a little fort of path, I thought, by paffing along that, I might probably avoid the like mishap : fo that I made the speedieft paffage into it that I well could, when I proceeded with far more facility than before; ⚫ but had scarce moved fifty paces in it, before I almost stumbled upon one of the very creatures, that had fo furprized me the foregoing night.

It lay ftretched at its length upon the ground, like a large parcel of rumpled feathers, very long most of them; and VOL. II. Novem. 1756.

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• then

then, indeed, I took it for a bird, though upon a still closer view of it, I could difcover no parts it confifted of, or any thing else but feathers.

So, thinks I, now I have happened upon one of these ereatures dead, there can be no further fear of mischief from it, and I may have leifure enough to examine, what reafon I had for the concern I was under last night, at the fight of one or two of them.

I fet up my gun against a bush, and then undauntedly handled its feathers, which exhibited such lovely colours, as I never before faw, with an infinite variety of mixture and fhade in them; but ftill I could difcover no corporal parts diftinctly, or flesh of any kind, till, after reverting an hand•ful of them against the grain, I perceived a large spot quite bare, and intirely refembling the skin, back-bone, and ribs of an human creature.

This fight, I must confefs, fhocked me a good deal. Surely, faid I, with fome indignity in my mind, this is not ‹ a feather'd man; but then, impatient for the difcovery of it, I felt about for an head, as that muft undoubtedly unriddle the the mystery at once.

I employed both my hands upwards and downwards dupon the body, from end to end; when I could plainly trace out the thigh, leg, and foot, the fole of which was quite bare like my own; but there feemed, to me, 'to be a large tumour, or fwelling, in the hollow of one of them, as big as a pigeon's egg; which, upon my handling it, felt very foft, and to my best apprehension warm

too.

This put me upon rubbing my hand up the leg, against the grain of the feathers; when I perceived, that thefe grew only in ringlets of three or four circles round the leg, and that the reft was bare as mine, and ftill retained fomething of warmth in it.

Surely, thinks I, it is not the nature of thefe creatures to sleep after this manner, fo foundly, that there is no awakening them. I then begun, however, to be more cautious How I difturbed it, for fear of an accident; fo that bringing my gun-nearer to me, if he fhould awake, and flart up, thinks 1,

as

as he is here alone, I can have but little reason to fear him.

• Impatient ftill of being detained from the knowledge of his fpecies, and becoming more and more refolute, I took ' heart to turn him up on the other fide, in order to find his face; when, though no face appeared, I discovered a pair of hands, the fingers of one of which moved several times, but still the body remained motionless.

"I could not now be perfuaded, but that the creature must be only afleep, and ftill kept myself upon my guard against ⚫ a surprize.

During this my inquifition, I efpied a fort of fan of feathers, bending down, where, I thought, I might most pro❝bably find the face, and these I now ventured to lift up; when, ❝ surely, no creature was ever at once so struck with delight • and amazement, as I was, at a prospect of the most highly finifh'd human face that ever the earth exhibited; but, in my apprehenfion, at the near approach of its final period. For I concluded, by the languor of its countenance, that death was then at the door.

I grew almost raving for the invention of means for the recovery; when it immediately darting into my head, that "the tumour, which I had observed in its foot, might have rendered it incapable of stirring for its food, which (remote * as it was from others of its kind) being incapable of procuring it for itself, it might poffibly be starving for want of sustenance. I haftily drew out a melting peach from my pocket, • and fat me down by it: where, laying its head in my lap, I fqueezed fome of the juice of the fruit into its mouth, and rubbed its lips, forehead, and temples, with my warm hand. I then fqueezed in fome more and rubbed again, alternately, till it began to move its eyes and fome of its joints; when, believing it might bear fome ftronger exercise, I thruft my hand under its feathers, to rub its breafts a little; but the 'first touch of these put me out of doubt of its fex; for their roundness and plumpnefs foon convinced me of its being a ⚫ female.

My reader may be fure, fhe fared never the worfe for this increase of my knowledge; for there is that natural propen• fity,.

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