174 CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 



dressed him, and he always corrected ine, reminding 

 me that he had been christened Thomas Ned, and 

 was known all over the island as " Old Ned." 



He had no objection, he said, to being called 

 '^ Friday," and if I insisted upon it he would adopt 

 that name for life ; but he really hoped I would not, 

 as it was the unlucky day of the week, the only day 

 which he feared ; and even after I had explained 

 who the original Friday was, he raised the question 

 whether it was complimentary to call him after an 

 ex-cannibal and ignorant savage ! 



But I think he was as devoted to me as the Indian 

 was to Crusoe : " He was now gotten over his Fright, 

 and he was very cheerful, and told me, as before, he 

 would dye when I bid dye," etc. So I felt with re- 

 gard to Ned : I knew I could trust him, even to the 

 length of dying for me. 



He could not write his name, but when I asked 

 him how he spelled it, he said he didn't know, 

 but there was "um letter M in it somewhar." I 

 adopted Polly Psittacus's fashion of addressing him 

 as " Mister Ned," which pleased him mightily ; but 

 he never ventured on such familiarity as to call me 

 anything less formal than Massa, because, as he said, 

 I was his master now, the only one he had, and the 

 only person in the world he could look to in his old 

 age. 



I can not say that I relished the idea of sharing 

 my solitude with any other human being ; but when 

 I reflected upon the service he had rendered me, and 

 how my life was in a measure due to his fortunate 



