The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1808) Read online

  THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE

  by DANIEL DE FOE

  London.

  1808

  I had one labour to make me a Canoe,which at last I finished.]

  THE LIFE OF DE FOE

  Daniel De Foe was descended from a respectable family in the county ofNorthampton, and born in London, about the year 1663. His father, JamesFoe, was a butcher, in the parish of St. Giles's, Cripplegate, and aprotestant dissenter. Why the subject of this memoir prefixed the _De_to his family name cannot now be ascertained, nor did he at any periodof his life think it necessary to give his reasons to the public. Thepolitical scribblers of the day, however, thought proper to remedy thislack of information, and accused him of possessing so little of the_amor patriae_, as to make the addition in order that he might not betaken for an Englishman; though this idea could have had no otherfoundation than the circumstance of his having, in consequence of hiszeal for King William, attacked the prejudices of his countrymen in his"True-born Englishman."

  After receiving a good education at an academy at Newington, young DeFoe, before he had attained his twenty-first year, commenced his careeras an author, by writing a pamphlet against a very prevailing sentimentin favour of the Turks who were at that time laying siege to Vienna.This production, being very inferior to those of his maturer years, wasvery little read, and the indignant author, despairing of success withhis pen, had recourse to the sword; or, as he termed it, when boastingof the exploit in his latter years, "displayed his attachment toliberty, and protestantism," by joining the ill-advised insurrectionunder the Duke of Monmouth, in the west. On the failure of thatunfortunate enterprise, he returned again to the metropolis; and it isnot improbable, but that the circumstance of his being a native ofLondon, and his person not much known in that part of the kingdom wherethe rebellion took place, might facilitate his escape, and be the meansof preventing his being brought to trial for his share in thetransaction. With the professions of a writer and a soldier, Mr. De Foe,in the year 1685, joined that of a trader; he was first engaged as ahosier, in Cornhill, and afterwards as a maker of bricks and pantiles,near Tilbury Fort, in Essex; but in consequence of spending those hoursin the hilarity of the tavern which he ought to have employed in thecalculations of the counting-house, his commercial schemes provedunsuccessful; and in 1694 he was obliged to abscond from his creditors,not failing to attribute those misfortunes to the war and the severityof the times, which were doubtless owing to his own misconduct. It ismuch to his credit however, that after having been freed from his debtsby composition, and being in prosperous circumstances from KingWilliam's favour, he voluntarily paid most of his creditors both theprincipal and interest of their claims. This is such an example ofhonesty as it would be unjust to De Foe and to the world to conceal. Theamount of the sums thus paid must have been very considerable, as heafterwards feelingly mentions to Lord Haversham, who had reproached himwith covetousness; "With a numerous family, and no helps but my ownindustry, I have forced my way through a sea of misfortunes, and reducedmy debts, exclusive of composition, from seventeen thousand to less thanfive thousand pounds."

  At the beginning of the year 1700, Mr. De Foe published a satire inverse, which excited very considerable attention, called the "True-bornEnglishman." Its purpose was to furnish a reply to those who werecontinually abusing King William and some of his friends as_foreigners_, by shewing that the present race of Englishmen was a mixedand heterogeneous brood, scarcely any of which could lay claim to nativepurity of blood. The satire was in many parts very severe; and thoughit gave high offence, it claimed a considerable share of the publicattention. The reader will perhaps be gratified by a specimen of thisproduction, wherein he endeavours to account for--

  "What makes this discontented land appear Less happy now in times of peace, than war; Why civil feuds disturb the nation more, Than all our bloody wars had done before: Fools out of favour grudge at knaves in place, And men are always honest in disgrace: The court preferments make men knaves in course, But they, who would be in them, would be worse. 'Tis not at foreigners that we repine, Would foreigners their perquisites resign: The grand contention's plainly to be seen, To get some men put out, and some put in."

  It will be immediately perceived that De Foe could have no pretentiousto the character of a _poet_; but he has, notwithstanding, some nervousand well-versified lines, and in choice of subject and moral he is ingeneral excellent. The True-born Englishman concludes thus:

  Could but our ancestors retrieve their fate, And see their offspring thus degenerate; How we contend for birth and names unknown, And build on their past actions, not our own; They'd cancel records, and their tombs deface, And openly disown the vile, degenerate race. For fame of families is all a cheat; 'TIS PERSONAL VIRTUE ONLY MAKES US GREAT.

  For this defence of foreigners De Foe was amply rewarded by KingWilliam, who not only ordered him a pension, but as his opponentsdenominated it, appointed him _pamphlet-writer general to the court_; anoffice for which he was peculiarly well calculated, possessing, with astrong mind and a ready wit, that kind of yielding conscience whichallowed him to support the measures of his benefactors though convincedthey were injurious to his country. De Foe now retired to Newingtonwith his family, and for a short time lived at ease; but the death ofhis royal patron deprived him of a generous protector, and opened ascene of sorrow which probably embittered his future life.

  He had always discovered a great inclination to engage in religiouscontroversy, and the furious contest, civil and ecclesiastical, whichensued on the accession of Queen Anne, gave him an opportunity ofgratifying his favourite passion. He therefore published a tractentitled "The shortest Way with the Dissenters, or Proposals for theEstablishment of the Church," which contained an ironical recommendationof persecution, but written in so serious a strain, that many persons,particularly Dissenters, at first mistook its real intention. The highchurch party however saw, and felt the ridicule, and, by theirinfluence, a prosecution was commenced against him, and a proclamationpublished in the Gazette, offering a reward for his apprehension[1].When De Foe found with how much rigour himself and his pamphlet wereabout to be treated, he at first secreted himself; but his printer andbookseller being taken into custody, he surrendered, being resolved, ashe expresses it, "to throw himself upon the favour of government, ratherthan that others should be ruined for his mistakes." In July, 1703, hewas brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced to be imprisoned, tostand in the pillory, and to pay a fine of two hundred marks. Heunderwent the infamous part of the punishment with great fortitude, andit seems to have been generally thought that he was treated withunreasonable severity. So far was he from being ashamed of his fatehimself, that he wrote a hymn to the pillory, which thus ends, alludingto his accusers:

  Tell them, the men that plac'd him here Are scandals to the times; Are at a loss to find his guilt, And can't commit his crimes.

  Pope, who has thought fit to introduce him in his Dunciad (probably fromno other reason than party difference) characterises him in thefollowing line:

  Earless on high stood unabash'd De Foe.

  [Footnote 1: St. James's, January 10, 1702-3. "Whereas Daniel De Foe,alias De Fooe, is charged with writing a scandalous and seditiouspamphlet, entitled 'The shortest Way with the Dissenters:' he is amiddle-sized spare man, about 40 years old, of a brown complexion, anddark-brown coloured hair, but wears a wig, a hooked nose, a sharp chin,grey eyes, and a large mole near his mouth, was born in London, and formany years was a hose-factor, in Freeman's Yard, in Cornhill, an
d now isowner of the brick and pantile works near Tilbury Fort, in Essex;whoever shall discover the said Daniel De Foe, to one of her Majesty'sPrincipal Secretaries of State, or any of her Majesty's Justices ofPeace, so as he may be apprehended, shall have a reward of 50_l_. whichher Majesty has ordered immediately to be paid upon such discovery."

  _London Gaz_. No. 3679.]

  This is one of those instances of injustice and malignity which sofrequently occur in the Dunciad, and which reflect more dishonour on theauthor than on the parties traduced. De Foe lay friendless anddistressed in Newgate, his family ruined, and himself without hopes ofdeliverance, till Sir Robert Harley, who approved of his principles, andforesaw that during a factious age such a genius could be converted tomany uses, represented his unmerited sufferings to the Queen, and atlength procured his release. The treasurer, Lord Godolphin, also sent aconsiderable sum to his