ing all the reft with Food, and affifting them in any Thing as they could, or as they found Neceffity requir❜d.

But the Wonder of this Story was, how five fuch refractory ill match'd Fellows fhould agree about thefe Women, and that two of them fhould not pitch upon the fame Woman, especially feeing two or three of them were without Comparifon, more agreeable than the other: But they took a good Way enough to prevent quarrelling among themselves; for they fet the five Women by themselves in one of their Huts, and they went all into the other Hut, and drew Lots a mong them, who fhould chufe first.

He that drew to chufe first, went away by himfelf to the Hutt where the poor naked Creatures were, and fetch'd out her he chofe; and it was worth obferving, that he that chose first took her that was reckon'd the homelieft, and the oldeft of the five, which made Mirth enough among the reft; and even the Spaniards laught at it: But the Fellow confider'd better than any of them, that it was Application and Business that they were to expect Affiftance in, as much as any Thing else; and the prov'd the beft Wife of all the Parcel.

When the poor Women faw themselves fet in a Row thus, and fetch'd out one by one, the Terrors of their Condition returned upon them again, and they firmly believed that they were now a going to be devour'd; accordingly, when the English Sailor came in and fetch'd out one of them; the reft set up a most lamentable Cry, and hung about her, and took their Leave of her with fuch Agonies and fuch Affection, as would have griev'd

griev'd the hardest Heart in the World; nor was it poffible for the English Men to fatisfy them, that they were not to be immediately murther'd, 'till they fetch'd the old Man, Friday's Father, who immediately let them know that the five Men, who had fetch'd them out, one by one, had chofen them for their Wives.

When they had done, and the Fright the Women were in was a little over, the Men went to Work, and the Spaniards came and helped them; and in a few Hours they had built them every one a new Hut or Tent for their Lodging apart; for thofe they had already, were crowded with their Tools, Houfhold-Stuff, and Provifion. The 3 wicked ones had pitch'd fartheft off, and the two honeft ones nearer, but both on the North Shore of the Ifland, so that they continu'd feparated as before: And thus my Inland was peopled in three Places; and as I might fay, three Towns were begun to be planted.

And here 'tis very well worth obferving, That as it often happens in the World (what the wife Ends of God's Providence are in fuch a Difpofition of Things, I cannot fay;) the two honeft Fellows had the 2 worst Wives, and the 3 Reprobates, that were scarce worth hanging, that were fit for nothing, and neither feem'd born to do themfelves good, or any one elfe, had three clever, diligent, careful, and ingenious Wives; not that the two first were ill Wives, as to their Temper or Humour; for all the five were moft willing, quiet, paffive, and fubjected Creatures, rather like Slaves than Wives: But my Meaning is, they were not alike capable, ingenious, or induftrious, or alike cleanly and neat.

Another

Another Obfervation I must make, to the Ho❤ nour of a dilligent Application on one Hand, and to the Difgrace of a flothful, negligent, idle Temper, on the other, that when I came to the Place and viewed the feveral Improvements, Plantings and Managment of the feveral little Colonies; the two Men had fo far out-gone the three, that there was no Comparison. They had indeed both of them as much Ground laid out for Corn, as they wanted, and the Reason was, because, according to my Rule, Nature dictated, that it was to no Purpose to fow more Corn than they wanted, but the Difference of the Cultivation, of the Planting, of the Fences, and indeed of every Thing else was eafy to be feen at first View.

The two Men had innumerable young Trees planted about their Huts, that when you came to the Place, nothing was to be feen but a Wood, and tho' they had twice had their Plantation demolifh'd, once by their own Countrymen, and once by the Enemy, as fhall be fhewn in its. Place; yet they had reftor'd all again, and every Thing was thriving and flourishing about them; they had Grapes planted in Order, and manag'd like a Vineyard, tho' they had themselves never feen any Thing of that Kind, and by their good ordering their Vines, their Grapes were as good again, as any of the others. They had alfo found themselves out a Retreat in the thickeft Part of the Woods, where, tho' there was not a natural Cave, as I had found, yet they made one with inceffant Labour of their Hands, and where when the Mischief which follow'd happen'd, they fecur'd their Wives and Children, fo as they could never be found; they having by sticking in

numerable

numerable Stakes and Poles of the Wood, which, as I faid, grew fo eafily, made the Wood unpaffable, except in fome Places, where they climb'd to get over the out-fide Part, and then went on by Ways of their own leaving,

up

As to the three Reprobates, as I juftly call them, tho' they were much civiliz'd by their new Settlement, compar'd to what they were before, and were not fo quarrelfome, having not the fame Opportunity; yet one of the certain Companions of a profligate Mind never left them, and that was their Idleness; it is true, they planted Corn, and made Fences; but Solomon's Words were never better verified than in them, I went by the Vineyard of the Slothful, and it was all over-grown with Thorns; for when the Spaniards came to view their Crop, they could not fee it in fome Places for Weeds; the Hedge had feveral Gaps in it, where the wild Goats had got in, and eaten up the Corn; perhaps, here and there, a dead Bufh was cram'd in, to stop them out for the prefent, but it was only fhutting the Stable-door after the Steed was ftolen; whereas, when they look'd on the Colony of the other two, there was the very Face of Industry and Succefs upon all they did; there was not a Weed to be feen in all their Corn, or a Gap in any of their Hedges; and they on the other Hand verified Solomon's Words in another Place, That the diligent Hand makes rich, for every Thing grew and thriv'd, and they had Plenty within and without; they had more tame Cattle then the other, more Utenfils and Neceflaries within Doors, and yet more Pleafure and Diverfion too.

It is true, the Wives of the three were very handy and cleanly within Doors, and having learn'd the English Ways of Dreffing and Cooking from one of the other English Men, who, as Ï faid, was Cook's-mate on board the Ship; they drefs'd their Husbands Victuals very nicely and well; whereas the other could not be brought to understand it, but then the Husband, who as I fay, had been Cook's-mate, did it himselfs but as for the Husbands of the three Wives, they loytr'd about, fetch'd Turtles Eggs, and caught Fish, and Birds; in a word, any thing but Labour, and they fared accordingly. The Diligent liv'd well and comfortably, and the Slothful liv'd hard and beggarly; and fo I believe, generally fpeaking, it is all over the World.

But I now come to a Scene, different from all that had happen'd before, either to them, or to me; and the Original of the Story was this.

Early one Morning there came on Shore five or fix Canoes of Indians, or Savages, call them which you pleafe; and there is no room to doubt, they came upon the old Errand of feeding upon their Slaves: But that Part was now fo familiar to the Spaniards, and to our Men too; that they did not concern themselves about it, as I did; but having been made fenfible by their Experience, that their only Bufinefs was to lie concealed, and that if they were not seen by any of the Savages, they would go off again quietly when their Bufinefs was done, having as yet, not the leaft Notion of there being any Inhabitants in the Island; I fay, haing been made fenfible of this, they had no