The Swiss family Robinson
two beams upon the branches, I hastened to fix my planks upon them;
and I made my floor double, that it might have sufficient solidity
if the beams should be warped from their places. I then formed a
wall of staves of wood like a park-paling, all round for safety.
This operation, and a third journey to the seashore to collect the
timber necessary, filled our morning so completely, that not one of
us had thought about dinner. For this once we contented ourselves
with a bit of ham and some milk, which we ate, and returned to finish
our aërial palace, which began to make an imposing appearance. We
unhooked our hammocks from the projecting roots, and by means of
my pulley contrived to hoist them up the tree. The sail-cloth roof
was supported by the thick branches above; and as it was of great
compass, and hung down on every side, the idea occurred to me of
nailing it to the paling on two sides, thus getting not only a roof,
but two walls also; the immense trunk of the tree forming a third
side, while in the fourth was the entrance to our apartment: and
in this I left a large aperture, both as a means of seeing what
passed without, and admitting a current of air to cool us in this
burning temperature. The hammocks were soon hung on the branches,
and everything was ready for our reception that very evening. Well
satisfied with the execution of my plan, I descended with Fritz, who
had assisted me throughout the whole; and as the day was not far
advanced, and I observed we had still some planks remaining, we set
about contriving a large table, to be placed between the roots of the
tree, and surrounded with benches; and this place we said should be
called our dining-parlour.
Exhausted by the fatigues of the day, I threw myself on a bank, and
my wife having seated herself near me, I thanked her for the tender
care she was ever imposing on herself; and then I observed to her,
that the many blessings we enjoyed led the thoughts naturally to the
beneficent Giver of them all; and to-morrow being a Sabbath day, we
would rest from work, in obedience to His command, and otherwise
keep it holy. We now assembled round our table to supper, my wife
holding in her hand an earthen pot, which we had before observed
upon the fire, and the contents of which we were all curious to be
informed of. She took off the cover, and with a fork drew out of
it the flamingo which Fritz had killed. She informed us that she
had preferred dressing it this way to roasting, because Ernest had
assured her that it was an old bird, which would prove hard and
tough, and advised her to improve it by stewing. We rallied our
glutton boy on this foible of his character, and his brothers gave
him the name of the _cook_. We, however, had soon reason to know
that he had conferred upon us an important obligation; for the bird,
which, roasted, we perhaps should not have been able to touch, now
appeared excellent, and was eaten up to the very bones.
The boys now, by my direction, lighted one of the heaps of wood. I
tied long ropes loosely round the necks of our dogs, purposing to
mount to our tent with the ends in my hand, that I might be able to
let them lose upon the enemy at the first barking I should hear.
Every one was eager to retire to rest, and the signal for ascending
the ladder was given. The three eldest boys were up in an instant;
then came their mother’s turn, who proceeded slowly and cautiously,
and arrived in perfect safety. My own ascension was last, and the
most difficult; for I carried little Francis on my back, and the end
of the ladder had been loosened at the bottom, that I might be able
to draw it up in the tent during the night; every step, therefore,
was made with the greatest difficulty, in consequence of its swinging
motion. At last, however, I got to the top, and drew the ladder
after me. It appeared to them that we were in one of the strong
castles of the ancient cavaliers, in which, when the drawbridge is
raised, the inhabitants are secured from every attack of the enemy.
Notwithstanding this apparent safety, I kept our guns in readiness
for whatever event might require their use. We now abandoned
ourselves to repose; our hearts experienced a full tranquillity;
and the fatigue we had all undergone induced so sound a sleep, that
daylight shone full in the front of our habitation before our eyes
had opened.
CHAPTER XII
The Sabbath and the Parable
The next morning we descended the ladder, and breakfasted on warm
milk: we served the animals also with their meal and then we all sat
down on the tender grass; the boys full of impatient curiosity; their
mother absorbed in silent reflection; while I was penetrated with the
most lively desire to impress upon the young minds of my children a
subject I considered of the highest importance for their well-being,
both in this world and in that which is to come.
All now standing up, I repeated aloud the church service,
which I knew by heart, and we sang some verses from the
hundred-and-nineteenth Psalm, which the boys had before learned;
after which we sat down, and I began as follows:--
“My dear children, there was once a Great King, whose kingdom was
called The Country of Light and Reality, because the purest and
softest light of the sun reigned there continually, which caused the
inhabitants to be in a perpetual state of activity. On the farthest
borders of this kingdom, northward, there was another country which
also belonged to the Great King, and the immense extent of which was
unknown to all but himself. From time immemorial, a plan the most
exact of this country had been preserved in the royal archives. The
second kingdom was called The Kingdom of Obscurity, or of Night,
because everything in it was gloomy and inactive.
“In the most fertile and agreeable part of his empire of Reality,
this great King had a residence called the Heavenly City, in which
he lived and kept his court, which was the most brilliant that the
imagination can form an idea of. Millions of guards, and servants
high in dignity, remained for ever round him, and a still larger
number held themselves in readiness to receive his commands. All were
happy to be admitted into his presence: their faces shone with the
mildest joy: there was but one heart and one soul among them: the
sentiment of paternal concord so united these beings, that no envy
or jealousy ever rose among them. Among the rest of the inhabitants
of the Heavenly City, there were some less close in their attendance
upon the Great King, but they were all virtuous, all happy, all had
been enriched by the beneficence of the monarch, and, what is of
still higher price, had received constant marks of his paternal care;
for his subjects were all equal in his eyes, and he loved them, and
treated them as if they had been his children.
“The Great King had, besides the two kingdoms I have been describing,
an uninhabited island of considerable extent: it was his wish to
people and cultivate this island, for all within it was a kind of
chaos: he destined it to be for some years the abode of such future
citizens as he intended to receive finally into his residence,
to which only such of his subjects were admitted as had rendered
themselves worthy by their conduct. This island was called Earthly
Abode: he who should have passed some time in it, and by his virtue,
his application to labour, and the cultivation of the land, should
have rendered himself worthy of reward, was afterwards to be received
into the Heavenly City, and made one of its happy inhabitants.
“To effect this end, the Great King caused a fleet to be equipped,
which was to transport the new colonists to this island. These he
chose from the kingdom of Night, and for his first gift bestowed
upon them the enjoyment of light, and the view of the lovely face
of Nature, of which they had been deprived in their gloomy and
unknown abode. It will easily be imagined that they arrived joyful
and happy, at least they became so when they had been for a short
time accustomed to the multitude of new objects which struck their
feeble sight. The island was rich and fertile when cultivated. The
beneficent King provided each individual who was disembarked upon it
with all the things he could want in the time he had fixed for their
stay in it, and all the means for obtaining the certainty of being
admitted as citizens of his magnificent abode, when they should leave
the Earthly Island. All that was required to entitle them to this
benefit was that they should occupy themselves unceasingly in useful
labour, and strictly obey the commands of the Great King, which he
made known to them. He sent to them his only son, who addressed them
from his father in the following terms:--
“‘My dear children, I have called you from the kingdom of Night
and Insensibility, to render you happy by the gifts of life, of
sentiment, and of activity. But your happiness for the most part will
depend upon yourselves. You will be happy if you wish to be so. If
such is your sincere desire, you must never forget that I am your
good King, your tender father; and you must faithfully fulfil my will
in the cultivation of the country I have confided to your care. Each
of you shall receive, on his arriving at the island, the portion of
land which is intended for him; and my further commands respecting
your conduct will be soon communicated to you. I shall send you wise
and learned men, who will explain to you my commands; and that you
may of yourselves seek after the light necessary for your welfare,
and remember my laws at every instant of your lives, it is my will
that each father of a family shall keep an exact copy of them in his
house, and read them daily to all the persons who belong to him.
Further, each first day of the week I require to be devoted to my
service. In each colony, all the people shall assemble together as
brothers in one place, where shall be read and explained to them the
laws contained in my archives. The rest of this day shall be employed
in making serious reflections on the duties and destination of the
colonists, and on the best means to fulfil the same.
“‘He who, in his Earthly Abode, shall most strictly have observed my
will, who shall have best fulfilled the duties of a brother towards
his fellow-inhabitants, who shall have preserved his land in the
best order, and shall show the largest produce from it, shall be
recompensed for his deeds, and shall become an inhabitant of my
magnificent residence in the Heavenly City. But the neglectful and
the idle man, and the wicked man, who shall have spent their time
in interrupting the useful labours of others, shall be condemned to
pass their lives in slavery, or, according to the degree of their
wickedness, shall be condemned to live in subterraneous mines, in the
bowels of the earth.’
“All the colonists were well satisfied with the discourse of the
Great King, and made him the most sacred promises. After a short
time allowed for repose from the fatigue of the voyage, a portion
of land, and the proper instruments for labour, were distributed to
each of the strangers. They received also seeds, and useful plants,
and young trees, for producing them refreshing fruits. Each was then
left at liberty to act as he pleased, and increase the value of
what was confided to his care. But what happened? After some time,
each followed the suggestions of his fancy: one planted his land
with arbours, flowery banks, and sweet-smelling shrubs; all pleasing
to the sight, but which brought forth nothing. Another planted
wild apple-trees, instead of the good fruit, as the Great King had
commanded; contenting himself with giving high-sounding names to the