A VISIT TO THE WORLD OUTSIDE. 203 



in some places one may wade two or three miles from 

 the beach. My readers will recall Crusoe's vivid de- 

 scription of this shallow sea ; and more forcibly than 

 ever came to me the truthfulness of his narrative and 

 the accuracy of Defoe's description and fullness of 

 his knowledge when I saw sitting before me this ves- 

 sel upright on the reef ! It was, you will remember, 

 after Crusoe's crew had given the ship up for lost, and 

 were driving before the tempest upon an unknown 

 coast, as quoted in my opening chapter : 



" The Wave that came upon me again buried me 

 at once thirty or forty Foot deep in its own Body, and 

 I could feel myself carri'd vdth a mighty Force and 

 Swiftness towards the Shore, a very great Way ; but I 

 held my Breath, and assisted myself to swim forward 

 with all my Might. 1 was ready to burst with hold- 

 ing my Breath, when, as I felt myself rising up, so, 

 to my immediate Eelief, I found my Head and Hands 

 shooting above the Water. ... I strook forward 

 against the return of the Waves, and felt Ground 

 again with my Feet. I stood still a few Moments to 

 recover Breath, and till the Water went from me, and 

 then took to my Heels, and run, with what Strength I 

 had, farther towards the Shore. But neither would 

 this deliver me from the Fury of the Sea, which came 

 pouring after me again, and twice more I was lifted 

 up by the Waves, and carri'd forward as before, the 

 Shore being very flat." 



Once safe on shore he fell down and gave thanks 

 for his miraculous deliverance, but wondered that there 

 should be no one saved but himself : '' For, as for my 



