In the first place, I was here removed from all the risk of the world. I had neither the danger of the beast, the need of concealment, nor the pride of life. I had nothing to covet, for I had all I was now capable of enjoying. I was lord of the whole manor. If I pleased, I might call myself king or emperor over the whole country which I had possession of. I might have raised ship-loadings of corn, but I had no use for it. I had tortoise or turtle enough, but now and then one was as much as I could put to any use. I had timber enough to have built a fleet of ships, and I had grapes enough to have made wine, or to have cured into raisins, to have loaded that fleet when it had been built.
I had now brought my state of life to be much more comfortable in itself than it was at first, and much easier to my mind, as well as to my body. I often sat down to meat with thankfulness, and admired the hand of providence which had thus spread my table in the wilderness. I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition and less upon the dark side, and to consider what I enjoy’d rather than what I wanted. This gave me sometimes such secret comforts that I cannot express them. All our discontents about what we want appear’d to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.
The beast, too, had come to accept the island as its home and territory. The change was a thing of gentleness, as neither of us fought to hold back the other a whit when either the moon or the dawn came. It had outgrown its moody reticence and once again ran and howl'd and kill'd, some time for sport and other time for food. It did not leave my side of the island, and rare was it that I awoke less than a half hour's walk from either my cave or my country home, as I called it.
I had now been here so long that many things which I brought on shore for my help were either quite gone or very much wasted and near spent.
My ink, as I observ’d, had been gone for some time, all but a very little, which I eek’d out with water till it was so pale it scarce left any appearance of black upon the paper. As long as it lasted, I made use of it to minute down the days of the month on which any remarkable thing happen’d to me.
My cloathes, too, began to decay. As to linen, I had none for a great while except some chequer’d shirts which I found in the chests of the other seamen and which I preserved, because many times I could bear no cloathes on but a shirt. It was a very great help to me I had, among all the men's cloathes of the ship, almost three dozen of shirts. There were also several thick watch-coats of the seamen's which were left, but they were too hot to wear. Tho’ it is true the weather was so hot there was no need of cloathes, yet I could not go quite naked, no, tho’ I had been inclined to it, which I was not. Nor could I abide the thought of it, tho’ I was all alone.
The reason why I could not go quite naked was I could not bear the heat of the sun. The very heat blistered my skin, whereas with a shirt on the air itself made some motion, and whistling under the shirt, was twofold cooler than without it. No more could I ever bring myself to go out in the heat of the sun without a cap or hat. The heat of the sun, beating with such violence as it does in that place, would give me the head-ache by darting so directly upon my head so I could not bear it. Whereas if I put on my hat it would go away.
Upon these views, I began to consider about putting the few rags I had, which I call’d cloathes, into some order. I had worn out all the waistcoats I had, and my business was now to try if I could not make jackets out of the great watch-coats I had by me, and with such other materials as I had. So I set to work a taylering, or rather a botching, for I made most piteous work of it. However, I made shift to make two or three new waistcoats, which I hoped would serve me a great while. As for breeches or drawers, I made but a very sorry shift indeed till afterwards.
I have mentioned I saved the skins of all the creatures I kill’d. The first thing I made of these was a great cap for my head, with the hair on the outside, to shoot off the rain. This I performed so well, after this I made me a suit of cloathes of the skins, that is to say, a waistcoat, and breeches open at the knees, and both loose. They were rather wanting to keep me cool than warm. I must not omit to acknowledge they were wretchedly made, for if I was a bad carpenter I was a worse taylor. However, when I was abroad if it happened to rain, the hair of my waistcoat and cap being uppermost, I was kept very dry.