The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
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by_the Swiss peasants in_the canton of Vaud, where my dear wife had resided some_time in her youth . she thanked all her dear children, and felt so easy and comfortable in her new conveyance, that we arrived at family bridge without her feeling the least fatigue . here we stopped .

" would you like to cross here, my dear ? " said I; " and as_we_are very near, look in at your convenient tent house, where you_will_have no staircase to ascend . and we_should like to_know, too, if_you approve of_our management of your garden,"

" as_you please," said she; " in_fact, I_am so comfortable in my carriage, that if_it were necessary, I_could make_the tour of_the island . i_should like to_see my house again; but it_will_be so very hot at_this season, that we_must not stay long ."

" but you_must dine there, my dear mother," said Fritz; " it_is too late to return to dinner at falcon's nest; consider, too, the fatigue it would occasion you ."

" i_would_be very_glad, indeed, my dear," said she; " but what_are we to dine on ? we_have prepared no provision, and I_fear we_shall all be hungry ."

" what matter," said jack, " provided you dine with_us ? you_must take your chance . i_will go and get some oysters, that we_may not die with hunger;" and off he galloped on_his buffalo .Fritz followed him, on some pretence, on Lightfoot .Mamma wished she had brought a vessel to carry some water from_the river, for she knew we_could get none at tent house . Francis reminded her we_could milk the cow, and she was satisfied, and enjoyed her journey much . at last we arrived before_the colonnade . my wife was dumb with wonder for some moments .

" where am I, and what do I_see ? " said she, when she_could speak .

" you_see the Franciade_, mamma," said her little boy; " this beautiful colonnade was my invention, to protect you from_the heat; stay, read what_is written above: Francis to_his dear mother . may this colonnade, which_is called the Franciade, be to her a temple of happiness . now mamma, lean on me, and come and_see my brothers' gifts-- much better than mine;" and he led her to jack's pavilion, who was standing by_the fountain . he held a shell in_his hand, which he filled with water, and drank, saying, " to_the health of_the queen of_the island; may she have no more accidents, and live as long as her children ! long live queen Elizabeth, and may she come every day to Jackia_, to drink her son jack's health ."

I supported my wife, and was almost as_much affected as herself . she wept and trembled with joy and surprise . jack and Ernest then joined their hands, and carried her to_the other pavilion, where Fritz was waiting to receive her, and_the same scene of tenderness ensued ." accept this pavilion, dear mother," said he; " and may Fritzia ever make you_think on Fritz ."

the delighted mother embraced them all, and observing Ernest's name was not commemorated by any trophy, thanked him again for her beautiful bonnet . she then drank some_of_the delicious water of_the fountain, and returned to seat herself at_the repast, which_was another surprise for her . we all made an excellent dinner; and at_the dessert, I handed my canary wine round in shells; and then Ernest rose and sung us very prettily, to a familiar air, some little verses he had composed:--

on_this festive happy day, let_us pour our grateful lay; since heaven has hush'd our mother's pain, and given her to her sons again . then from_this quiet, lovely home never, never, may we roam . all we love around us smile: joyful is our desert isle .

when o'er our mother's couch we bent, fervent prayers to heaven we sent, and god has spared that mother dear, to bless her happy children here . then from_this quiet, lovely home, never, never, may we roam; all we love around us smile, joyful is our desert isle .

we all joined in_the chorus, and none of us thought of_the ship, of Europe, or of anything that was passing in_the_world . the island was our universe, and tent house was a palace we_would_not have exchanged for any the world contained . this_was one of_those happy days that god grants us sometimes on earth, to_give us an idea of_the bliss of heaven; and most fervently did we thank him, at_the end of_our repast, for all his mercies and blessings to_us .

after dinner, i_told my wife she_must not think of returning to falcon's nest, with all its risks of storms and_the winding staircase, and she_could_not better recompense her sons for their labours than by living among them . she was of_the same opinion, and was very_glad to_be so near her kitchen and her stores, and to_be_able to walk alone with_the assistance of a stick in_the colonnade, which she_could do already; but she made me promise to leave falcon's nest as it_was . it would_be a pretty place to walk to, and besides, this castle in_the air was her own invention . we agreed that_this very evening she should take possession of her own pretty room, with_the good felt carpet, on_which she_could walk without fear; and_that the next_day, i_should go with my elder sons and_the animals to bring the cart, such utensils as_we needed, and above all, the poultry . our dogs always followed their masters, as_well as_the monkey and jackal, and_they were so domesticated, we had no trouble with_them .

I then prevailed on my wife to_go into her room and rest for an hour, after which we were to visit the garden . she complied, and after her repose found her four sons ready to carry her in her litter as in a sedan- chair . they took care to bring her straight to_the grotto, where i_was waiting for her . this_was a new surprise for_the good mother . she_could_not sufficiently express her astonishment and delight, when jack and Francis, taking their flageolets, accompanied their brothers, who sung the following verse, which Ernest had added to_his former attempt .

dear mother, let this gift be mine, accept the grotto Ernestine . may all your hours be doubly blest within this tranquil place of rest . then from_this quiet, lovely home never, never may we roam; all we love around us smile . joyful is our desert isle !

what cause had we to rejoice in_our children ! we_could_not but shed tears to witness their affection and perfect happiness .

below the vase of flowers, on_the block of salt, Ernest had written:--

Ernest, assisted by his brother Fritz, has prepared this grotto, as a retreat for_his beloved mother, when she visits her garden .

Ernest then conducted his mother to one_of_the benches, which he had covered with soft moss, as a seat for her, and there she rested at her ease to hear the history of_the discovery of_the grotto . it_was now my turn to offer my present; the garden, the embankment, the pond, and_the arbour . she walked, supported by my arm, to view her little empire, and her delight was extreme; the pond, which enabled her to water her vegetables, particularly pleased her, as_well as her shady arbour, under which she found all her gardening tools, ornamented with flowers, and augmented by two light watering-pans, constructed by jack and Francis, from two gourds . they had canes for spouts, with_the gourd bottles at_the end, pierced with holes, through which the water came in_the manner of awatering- pan . the embankment was also a great surprise; she proposed to_place plants of pines and melon on_it, and I agreed to_it . truly did she rejoice at_the appearance of_the vegetables, which promised us some excellent European provision, a great comfort to her . after expressing her grateful feelings, she returned to_the grotto, and seating herself in her sedan- chair, returned to tent house, to enjoy the repose she needed, after such a day of excitement . we_did_not, however, lie down before we had together thanked god for_the manifold blessings he had given us, and for_the pleasure of_that day .

" if I had_been in Europe," said my dear wife, " on_the festival of_my recovery, i_should_have received a nosegay, a ribbon, or some trinket; here I_have_had presented a carriage, a colonnade, pavilions, ornamental fountains, a large grotto, a garden, a pond, an arbour, and a straw bonnet ! "

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chapter XLIII .

the next and following days were spent in removing our furniture and property, particularly our poultry, which had multiplied greatly . we also constructed a poultry- yard, at a sufficient distance from_our house to save our sleep from disturbance, and still so near that we_could easily tend them . we_made it as a continuation of_the colonnade, and on_the same plan, but enclosed in_the front by a sort of wire trellis- work, which Fritz and jack made wonderfully well .Fritz, who had a turn for architecture and mechanics, gave_me some good hints, especially one, which we put into execution . this_was to carry the water from_the basin of_the fountain through_the poultry- yard, which enabled us also to_have a little pond for_our ducks . the pigeons had their abode above the hen-roosts, in some pretty baskets, which Ernest and Francis made, similar to_those made by_the savages of_the friendly Isles, of_which they had seen engravings in Cook's Voyages . when all was finished, my wife was delighted to_think that even in_the rainy season she_could attend to her feathered family and collect their eggs .

" what a difference," said she, admiring the elegance of_our buildings,--" what a difference between this tent house and_the original dwelling that suggested the name to_us, and which_was our only shelter four years_ago . what asurprising progress luxury has_made with_us in that_time ! do_you remember, my dear, the barrel which served us for a table, and_the oyster-shells for spoons, the tent where we slept, crowded together on dried leaves, and without undressing, and_the river half a mile off, where we were obliged to_go to drink if_we were thirsty ? compared to what we were then, we_are now great lords_"

"Kings, you mean, mamma," said jack, " for all this island is ours, and it_is quite like a kingdom ."

" and how_many millions of subjects does prince jack reckon in_the kingdom of_his August father ? " said I .

prince jack declared he had_not yet counted the parrots, kangaroos, agoutis, and monkeys . the laughter of_his brothers stopped him .I then agreed with my wife that_our luxuries had increased; but I explained to her that_this was_the result of_our industry . all civilized nations have commenced as we_did; necessity has developed the intellect which god has_given to man alone, and by degrees the arts have progressed, and knowledge has extended more perhaps than is conducive to happiness . what appeared luxury to_us now was still simplicity compared with_the luxury of towns, or even villages, among civilized nations . my wife declared she had everything she wished for, and should_not know what more to ask for, as_we now had only to rest and enjoy our happiness .

I declared against spending our time in rest and indolence, as_the sure means of ending our pleasure; and I well knew my dear wife was, like myself, an enemy to idleness; but she dreaded any more laborious undertakings .

" but, mamma," said Fritz, " you_must let me make a mill under the cascade; it_will_be so useful when our corn grows, and even now for_the maize .I also think of making an oven in_the kitchen, which will_be very useful for_you to bake your bread in ."

" these would indeed be useful labours," said the good mother, smiling; " but can_you accomplish them ? "

" I_hope so," said Fritz, " with_the help of god and_that of_my dear brothers ."

Ernest promised his best aid, in return for_his brother's kind services in forming his grotto, only requesting occasional leisure for_his natural history collections . his mother did_not see the utility of_these collections, but, willing to indulge her kind and attentive Ernest, she offered, till she_could walk well, to assist him in arranging and labelling his plants, which were yet in disorder, and he gratefully consented . in procuring her some paper for_the_purpose, of_which I had brought a large quantity from_the vessel, I brought out an unopened packet, amongst which_was a piece of some fabric, neither paper nor stuff apparently . we examined it together, and at_length remembered it_was a piece of stuff made at Otaheite, which our captain had bought of a native at an island where we had touched on_our voyage .Fritz appearing much interested in examining this cloth, Ernest said gravely, " I_can teach you how to_make it;" and immediately bringing Cook's Voyages_, where a detailed description is given, he proceeded to read it .Fritz was disappointed to_find it could only be made of_the bark of three trees-- of_these our island produced only_one . these trees were the mulberry- tree, the bread fruit, and_the wild fig . we had the last in abundance, but of_the two former we had_not yet discovered a single plant .Fritz was not, however, discouraged ." they ought_to_be here," said he, " since they_are found in all the south- sea Islands . perhaps we_may find them on_the other

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