ALL ABOUT CRUSOE'S "MAN FRIDAY." 155 



for years in the preparation of the story, in digesting 

 the material for it ; but there are many evidences of 

 haste in its final construction. 



Crusoe, then, though he may have been most 

 forcibly suggested by Selkirk, is in reality the sub- 

 stance of many Selkirks — the quintessence of all the 

 shipwrecked mariners of note, from the time of 

 Columbus to the year 1700. This subtle magician, 

 this cunning alchemist, Defoe, subjected many exiles 

 to the fires of his imagination, ere he found Crusoe 

 and Friday in his crucible ! 



Carib celt, or " thunderbolt." 



