but said they didn't wish to leave their island and begin life over again on the other side of the world. The visit of the ship, however, was a splendid thing for the colony, for the captain gave them a number of things which they could not otherwise have procured. Amongst these were two guns, powder, and shot, a quantity of old iron, a case of books, writing-paper, pens and ink; and last, but most important of all, two pigs, two goats, two sheep, and some fowls. Captain Adam was one of the twelve who went away in the Leo. He brought letters to England to the relations of those who were left on the island. When I saw him he was thinking of going back to it himself to end his life there; he says he has never felt quite at home since he left it; he thinks that if he took out with him machinery and tools, and a few skilled artisans, the island might soon become one of the richest and most flourishing settlements in the world.
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II.]
THE SHIPWRECKED SAILORS.
51
