Postscript by the Editor
I have presented the public, and in particular the sons of families, with the part I had in my possession of the journal of the Swiss pastor, who, with his family, were shipwrecked on a desert island. It cannot escape the observation of the parents who will read the work, that it exhibits a lively picture of the happiness which does not fail to result from the practice of moral virtues:—thus, in a situation that seemed calculated to produce despair, we see piety, affection, industry, and a generous concern for fellow-sufferings, capable of forming the basis of an unexpected state of serenity and happiness. We also see the advantage of including in the education of boys, such a knowledge of the natural productions of the earth, of the various combinations by which they may be rendered serviceable, and of the use of tools of every kind, as may qualify them to assist others, or preserve themselves under every possible occurrence of adversity or danger. It now remains for me to inform the reader by what means the journal of the Swiss pastor came into my possession.
Three or four years subsequent to the occurrence of the shipwreck of the pastor and his family, an English transport was driven by the violence of a tempest upon the same shore. The name of the vessel was the Adventurer, Captain Johnson: it was on a voyage from New Zealand to the eastern coast of North America, by Otaheita, in the South Seas to fetch a cargo of skins and furs for China, and to proceed from Canton to England. A violent tempest of several days’ duration drove it from its track. The vessel beat about in unknown seas for many days, and was now so injured by the weather, that the best hope of the captain and his company was to get into some port where they might refit. They at length discovered a rocky coast; and as the wind had somewhat abated, they made with all speed for the shore; when within a short distance, they cast their anchor, and put out a boat containing some of the officers, to examine the coast and find a place for landing: they rowed backward and forward for some time without success, from the rocky nature of the soil; at length they turned a promontory, and perceived a bay whose calm waters seemed to invite their approach; this was the “Safety Bay” of the wrecked islanders; the boat put on shore, and the officers with astonishment beheld the traces of the abode of man. A handsome well-conditioned pinnace and a small boat were there at anchor: near the strand, under a rock was a tent, and further on, in the rock, a house-door and windows announced European comforts and workmanship. The officers advanced towards the spot, and were met halfway by a man of middle age, dressed like a European and armed with a gun; the stranger accosted them with friendly tones and gestures; he spoke first German, and then some words in English. Lieutenant Bell, one of the English officers, who spoke the German language, answered. A mutual confidence immediately ensued. We need not add, that the stranger was the Family Robinson, whose wife and children happened at the moment to be at Falcon’s Stream:—he had discovered the English ship in the morning with his glass; and unwilling to alarm his family, he had come, perceiving she bore that way, alone to the coast.
After an interchange of cordial feelings, and a hospitable reception of the officers at the grotto, the Swiss pastor put his journal into the hands of Lieutenant Bell, to be conveyed to Captain Johnson, that he also might become acquainted with the story of the solitary islanders. After an hour’s conversation the newly found friends separated, in the pleasing expectation of meeting again on the following day.—But Heaven had otherwise ordained.
During the night the tempest revived with new terrors. The Adventurer could not be held at anchor, but was obliged to steer for safety to the bosom of the ocean. As there was no favourable change of weather for several days, the vessel was driven so far from the coast of Safety Bay, as to leave no possibility of returning, and Captain Johnson was compelled to renounce the gratification of seeing this extraordinary family, or of proposing to convey them all to Europe.
Captain Johnson brought the journal of the Swiss pastor to England, from whence it was transmitted to a friend in Switzerland, who has deemed its contents an instructive lesson to the world. There was found attached to the journal a rough sketch of the features of the island, which Lieutenant Bell thinks the Swiss pastor informed him was executed by his son Fritz.—The editor subjoins it, supposing it will be considered an object worthy of the interest of his young readers.