“Well, after this, the Englishmen went to work, and being assisted by my good natured Spaniards, in a few hours they, erected every one of them a new hut or tent for their separate lodging, since those they had already were, filled with tools, household stuff, and provision.  They all continued on the north shore of the island, but separate as before; the three wicked ones pitching farther off, and the two honest men nearer our castle; so that the island seemed to be peopled in three places, three towns beginning to be built for that purpose.  And here I cannot but remark, what is very common, that the two honest men had the worst wives, (I mean as to industry, cleanliness, and ingenuity) while the three reprobates enjoyed women of quite contrary qualities.

“But another observation I made was, in favour of the two honest men, to show what disparity there is between a diligent application to business, on the one hand, and a slothful negligent, and idle temper, on the other.  Both of them had the same parcel of ground laid out, and corn to sow, sufficient either in their cultivation or their planting.  The two honest men had a multitude of young trees planted about their habitations, so that when you approached near them, nothing appeared but a wood, very pleasing and delightful.  Every thing they did prospered and flourished:  their grapes, planted in order, seemed as though managed in a vineyard and were infinitely preferable to any of the others.  Nor were they wanting to find out a place of retreat, but dug a cave in the most retired part of a thick wood, to secure their wives and children, with their provision and chiefest goods, surrounded with innumerable stakes, and having a most subtle entrance, in case any mischief should happen either from their fellow countrymen, or the devouring savages.

“As to the reprobates, (though I must own they were much more civilized than before) instead of delightful wood surrounding their dwellings, we found the words of King Solomon too truly verified:  I went by the vineyard of the slothful, and it was all overgrown with thorns.  In many places their crop was obliterated by weeds:  the hedges having several gaps in them, the wild goats had got in, and eaten up the corn, and here and there was a dead bush to stop these gaps for the present, which was no more than shutting the stable door after the steed was stolen away.  But as to their wives, they (as I observed before) were more diligent, and cleanly enough, especially in their victuals, being instructed by one of the honest men, who had been a cook’s mate on board a ship:  & very well it was so, for as he cooked himself, his companion and their families lived as well as the idle husbands, who did nothing but loiter about, fetch turtle’s eggs, catch fish and birds, and do any thing but work, and lived accordingly; while the diligent lived very handsomely and plentifully, in the most comfortable manner.

“And now, Sir, I come to lay before your eyes a scene quite different from any thing that ever happened to us before, and perhaps ever befel you in all the time of your residence on this island.  I shall inform you of its original in the following manner.