N.B. This wall being defcribed before, I purpofely omit what was faid in the Journal; it is fufficient to obferve, that, I was no lefs time than from the 3d of January to the 14th of April, working, finifhing, and perfecting this wall, tho' it was no more than about 24 yards in length, being an half circle, from one place in the rock to another place about eight yards from it, the door of the cave being in the center behind it.

All this time I worked very hard, the rains hindering me many days, nay, fometimes weeks together; but I thought I fhould never be perfectly fecure till this wall was finished; and it is fcarcely credible what inexpreffible labour every thing was done with, efpecially the bringing piles out of the wood, and driving them into the ground, for I made them much bigger than I needed to have done.

When this wall was finifhed, and the outfide doublefenced with a turf-wall raised up close to it, I perfuaded myself, that if any people were to come on fhore there, they would not perceive any thing like an habitation : and it is very well I did fo, as may be observed hereafter, upon a very remarkable occafion.

During this time, I made rounds in the woods for game every day, when the rain permitted me, and made frequent difcoveries in thefe walks of fomething or other to my advantage; particularly, I found a kind of wild pigeons, which build not as wood-pigeons, in a tree, but rather as house-pigeons, in the holes of the rocks; and taking fome young ones, I endeavoured to breed them up tame, and did fo; but when they grew older, they all flew away, which perhaps was at first for want of feeding them, for I had nothing to give them ; however, I frequently found their nefts, and got their young ones, which was very good meat.

And now, in the managing my houfhold affairs, I found myself wanting in many things, which I thought at first it was impoffible for me to make, as indeed as to fome of them it was: For inftance, I could never make a cafk to be hooped; I had a small rundlet or two, as I obferved before, but I could never arrive to the capacity of making one by them, tho' I spent many weeks about

it; I could neither put in the heads, nor join the staves fo true to one another as to make them hold water; fo I gave that alfo over.

In the next place, I was at a great lofs for candles; fo that as foon as it was dark, which was generally by feven o'clock, I was obliged to go to bed. I remembered the lump of bees-wax with which I made candles in my African adventure; but I had none of that now; the only remedy I had was, that when I had killed a goat, I faved the tallow, and with a little dish made of clay, which I baked in the fun, to which I added a wick of fome oakum, I made me a lamp; and this gave me light, tho' not a clear steady light like a candle. In the middle of all my labours it happened, that rummaging my things, I found a little bag, which, as I hinted before, had been filled with corn for the feeding of poultry, not for this voyage, but before, as I fuppofe, when the fhip came from Lifbon; what little remainder of corn had been in the bag was all devoured by the rats, and I faw nothing in the bag but husks and duft; and being willing to have the bag for fome other ufe (I think it was to put powder in, when I divided it for fear of the lightning, or fome fuch ufe) I fhook the hufks of corn out of it on one fide of my fortification, under the rock.

It was a little before the great rains, juft now mentioned, that I threw this ftuff away, taking no notice of any thing, and not fo much as remembering that I had thrown any thing there; when about a month after, or thereabouts, I faw fome few ftalks of fomething green hooting upon the ground, which I fancied might be fome plant I had not feen; but I was furprised, and perfectly aftonished, when after a little longer time, I faw about ten or twelve ears come out, which were perfect green barley, of the fame kind as our European, nay, as our English barley.

It is impoflible to exprefs the aftonishment and confufion of my thoughts on this occafion; I had hitherto acted upon no religious foundation at all; indeed I had very few notions of religion in my head, nor had entertained any fenfe of any thing that had befallen me, otherwife than as a chance, or, as we lightly fay,

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what pleafes God, without fo much as enquiring into the end of Providence in these things, or his order in governing, events in the world. But after I faw barley grow there, in a climate which I knew was not proper for corn, and especially as I knew not how it came there, it ftartled me ftrangely, and I began to fuggeft, that God had miraculously caused this grain to grow without any help of feed fown, and that it was fo directed, purely for my fuftenance in that wild miferable place.

This touched my heart a little, and brought tears out of my eyes, and I began to bless myself, that such a prodigy of nature should happen upon my account; and this was the more ftrange to me, because I saw near it ftill, all along by the fide of the rock, fome other ftrag gling ftalks, which proved to be stalks of rice, and which I knew, because I had feen it grow in Africa, when I was afhore there.

I not only thought these the pure productions of Providence for my fupport; but not doubting but that there was more in the place, I went all over that part of the ifland where I had been before, peeping into every corner, and under every rock, to fee for more of it, but I could not find any; at laft it occurred to my thoughts, that I had fhaken the bag of chickens meat out in that place, and the wonder began to cease; and I must confefs, my religious thankfulness to God's providence began to abate, upon difcovering that all this was nothing but what was common; though I ought to have been as thankful for fo ftrange and unforeseen a Providence, as if it had been miraculous; for it was really the work of Providence as to me, that should order or appoint, that ten or twelve grains of corn fhould remain unfpoiled, when the rats had deftroyed all the reft, as if it had been dropped from heaven: as alfo, that I should throw it out into that particular place, where, it being in the fhade of an high rock, sprang up immediately: whereas, if I had thrown it any where else at that time, it had been burnt up and destroyed.

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I carefully faved the ears of this corn, you may fure, in their season, which was about the end of June; and laying up every grain, I refolved to fow them all again, hoping in time to have fome quantity, fufficient

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to fupply me with bread; but it was not till the fourth year that I would allow myself the leaft grain of this corn to eat, and even then but fparingly, as I fhall fay afterwards in its order, for I loft all I fowed the first feason, by not obferving the proper time; for I fowed it just before the dry feafon, fo that it never came up at all, at leaft not as it would have done-of which in its place.

Befides this barley, there were, as above, twenty or thirty ftalks of rice which I preferved with the fame care, and whofe ufe was of the fame kind, or to the fame purpose, viz. to make me bread, or rather food; for I found ways to cook it up without baking, though I did that alfo after fome time. But to return to my journal.

I worked exceffive hard these three or four months, to get my wall done; and the 14th of April I closed it up, contriving to go into it, not by a door, but over a wall by a ladder, that there might be no fign, on the outfide, of my habitation.

April 16. I finished the ladder; fo I went up with it to the top, and then pulled it up after me, and let it down on the infide: This was a complete inclofure to me; for within I had room enough, and nothing could come at me from without, unless it could first mount my wall.

The very next day after this wall was finished, I had almoft had all my labour overthrown at once, and myfelf killed the cafe was thus: As I was bufy in the infide of it, behind my tent, juft in the entrance into my cave, I was terribly frightened with a most dreadful furprising thing indeed: for all on a fudden I found the earth came tumbling down from the roof of my cave, and from the edge of the hill over my head, and two of the pofts I had fet up in the cave cracked in a frightful manner. I was heartily fcared, but thought nothing of what really was the caufe; only thinking that the top of my cave was falling in, as fome of it had done before, and for fear I fhould be buried in it, I ran forwards to my ladder, and not thinking myfelf fafe there neither, I got over my wall for fear of the pieces of the hill, which I expected might roll down upon me. I was no fooner stept down upon the firm ground, but I plain

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ly faw it was a terrible earthquake; for the ground I ftood on fhook three times, at about eight minutes diftance, with three fuch fhocks as would have overturned the ftrongest buildings that could be fuppofed to have ftood upon the earth; and a great piece of the top of the rock, which stood at about half a mile from ine, next the fea, fell down with fuch a terrible noife as I never heard in all my life. I perceived alfo the very fea was put into a violent motion by it; and I believe the fhocks were ftronger under the water than on the island.

I was fo amazed with the thing itself, having never felt the like, or difcourfed with any one that had, that I was like one dead or ftupified; and the motion of the earth made my ftomach fick, like one that is toffed at fea; but the noife of the falling of the rock awaked me, as it were, and roufing me from the ftupified condition I was in, filled me with horror, and I thought of nothing then but the hill falling upon my tent, and all my houf. hold goods, and burying all at once; and this funk my very foul within me a fecond time.

After the third fhock was over, and I felt no more for fome time, I began to take courage; and yet I had not heart enough to get over my wall again, for fear of being buried alive; but ftill fat on the ground, greatly caft down, and difconfolate, not knowing what to do: all this while I had not the leaft ferious religious thought, nothing but the common, Lord, have mercy upon me ; and when it was over that went away too.

While I fat thus, I found the air over-caft, and it grew cloudy, as if it would rain; and in less than half an hour it blew a moft dreadful hurricane of wind.—The fea, all on a fudden, was covered with foam and froth, the shore was covered with the breach of the water, the trees were torn up by the roots, and a terrible storm it was; and this held about three hours, and then began to abate; and then in two hours more it was calm, and began to rain very hard.

All this while I fat upon the ground very much terrified and dejected, when on a fudden it came into my thoughts that these winds and rain being the confequence of the earthquake, the earthquake itself was fpent and over, and I might venture into my cave again; with