years he has come at his appointed time, without the variation of a millionth part of a second. Adam could not tell how this might be!

I know the morning; I am acquainted with it, and I love it, fresh and sweet as it is, a daily new creation, breaking forth, and calling all that have life and breath and being to new adoration, new enjoyments, and new gratitude.

FRIDAY'S FROLIC WITH A BEAR.

DANIEL DEFOE.

As the bear is a heavy, clumsy creature, and does not gallop as the wolf does, who is swift and light, so he has two particular qualities, which generally are the rule of his actions: first, as to men, who are not his proper prey, if you do not meddle with him, he will not meddle with you: but then you must take care to be very civil to him and give him the road, for he is a very nice genṭleman; he will not go a step out of his way for a prince; nay, if you are really afraid, your best way is to look another way, and keep going on; for sometimes, if you stop and stand still, and look steadfastly at him, he takes it for an affront; but, if you throw or toss anything at him, and it hits him, though it were but a bit of stick as big as your finger, he thinks himself abused, and sets all other business aside to pursue his revenge, and will have satisfaction in point of honour. This is his first quality: the next is, if he be once affronted, he will never leave you night nor day, till he has his revenge, but follows, at a good round rate, till he overtakes you.

My man Friday had delivered our guide, and, when

we came up to him, on a sudden, we espied the bear come out of the wood, and a vast, monstrous one it was, the biggest by far that ever I saw. We were all a little surprised when we saw him; but, when Friday saw him, it was easy to see joy and courage in the fellow's countenance: 0, 0, O! says Friday, three times, pointing to him; O master! you give me te leave, me shakee te hand with him; me makee you good laugh.

I was surprised to see the fellow so well pleased: You fool, says I, he will eat you up. Eatee me up! eatee me up! says Friday, twice over again; me eatee him up; me makee you good laugh: you all stay here, me show you good laugh. So down he sits, and gets off his boots in a moment, and puts on a pair of pumps, gives my other servant his horse, and with his gun away he flew, swift like the wind.

The bear was walking slowly on, and offered to meddle with nobody, till Friday coming pretty near, calls to him, as if the bear could understand him, Hark ye, hark ye, says Friday, me speakee with you. We followed at a distance; for now we were entered a great forest, where the country was plain and pretty open, though it had many trees in it scattered here and there. Friday, who had, as we say, the heels of the bear, came up with him quickly, and takes up a great stone and throws it at him, and hit him just on the head, but did him no more harm than if he had thrown it against a wall; but it answered Friday's end, for the rogue was so void of fear that he did it purely to make the bear follow him, and show us some laugh as he called it.

As soon as the bear felt the blow, and saw him, he turns about, and comes after him, taking long strides, and shuffling on at a strange rate, such as would have put a horse to a middling gallop; away runs Friday,

and takes his course as if he run towards us for help; so we all resolved to fire at once upon the bear, and deliver my man; though I was angry at him heartily for bringing the bear back upon us, when he was going about his own business another way; and especially I was angry that he had turned the bear upon us, and then run away; and I called out, You dog, is this your making us laugh? Come away, and take your horse, shoot the creature.

that we may

He heard me, and cried out, No shoot, no shoot; stand still, and you get much laugh; and as the nimble creature ran two feet for the bear's one, he turned on a sudden, on one side of us, and, seeing a great oak tree fit for his purpose, he beckoned to us to follow; and doubling his pace, he gets nimbly up the tree, laying his gun down upon the ground, at about five or six yards from the bottom of the tree. The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a distance: the first thing he did, he stopped at the gun, smelt to it, but let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though so monstrous heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my man, and could not for my life see any thing to laugh at yet, till, seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode near to him.

When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small end of a large branch, and the bear got about half way to him. As soon as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was weaker, — Ha ! says he to us, now you see me teachee the bear dance: so he falls a-jumping and shaking the bough, at which the bear began to totter, but stood still, and began to look behind him, to see how he should get back; then, indeed, we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not done with him by a great deal; when, seeing him

stand still, he calls out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English, What, you come no further? pray you come further: so he left jumping and shaking the tree; and the bear, just as if he understood what he said, did come a little further; then he fell ajumping again, and the bear stopped again.

We thought now was a good time to knock him on the head, and called to Friday to stand still, and we would shoot the bear: but he cried out earnestly, O pray! O pray! no shoot, me shoot by-and-then; he would have said by-and-by. However, Friday danced so much, and the bear stood so ticklish, that we had laughing enough, but still could not imagine what the fellow would do: for first we thought he depended upon shaking the bear off; and we found the bear was too cunning for that too; for he would not go out far enough to be thrown down, but clings fast with his great broad claws and feet, so that we could not imagine what would be the end of it, and what the jest would be at last.

But Friday puts us out of doubt quickly: for, seeing the bear cling fast to the bough, and that he would not come any further, Well, well, says Friday, you no come further, me go; you no come to me, me come to you: and, upon this, he goes out to the smaller end of the bough, where it would bend with his weight, and gently lets himself down by it, till he came near enough to jump down on his feet, and away he runs to his gun, takes it up, and stands still. Well, said I to him, Friday, what will you do now? Why don't you shoot him?

No shoot, says Friday, no yet; me no shoot now, me no kill; me stay, give you one more laugh; and, indeed, so he did: for when the bear saw his enemy gone, he comes back from the bough where he stood, but did it

mighty cautiously, looking behind him every step, and coming backward till he got into the body of the tree; then, with the same hinder-end foremost, he came down the tree, grasping it with his claws, and moving one foot at a time, very leisurely. At this juncture, and just before he could set his hind-foot on the ground, Friday stepped up close to him, clapped the muzzle of his piece into his ear, and shot him dead. Then the rogue turned about, to see if we did not laugh; and when he saw we were pleased, by our looks, he falls a laughing himself very loud. So we kill bear in my country, says Friday. So you kill them? says I: why, you have no guns.— No, says he, no gun, but shoot great much long arrow.

CRUSOE'S FIGHT WITH WOLVES.

DANIEL DEFOE.

THE ground was still covered with snow, though not so deep and dangerous as on the mountains; and the ravenous creatures were come down into the forest and plain country to seek for food, and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages, where they killed a great many sheep and horses, and some people too. We had one dangerous place to pass, of which our guide told us, if there were more wolves in the country we should find them there; and this was a small plain, surrounded with woods on every side, and a long narrow defile, or lane, which we were to pass to get through the wood, and then we should come to the village where we were to lodge. It was within half an hour of sunset when we entered the first wood, and a little after sunset when we came into the plain.

We met with nothing in the first wood, except that,