Page:Unparalleled sufferings and surprising adventures of Philip Quarle.pdf/11

 find a sort of high grass that grows but here and there, round some particular sort of trees, which he never took notice of before. Heaven be praised! said he, I have found wherewithal to keep my poor body from the ground, whilst I am, by Providence, doomed to remain here: so passes on, intending at his return to cut down a sufficient quantity of it to make mats, that might serve him instead of bed and bed-clothes.

Having looked himself almost blind, without seeing the least prospect of what he desired, he concludes upon going to cut the grass, which he stood in such want of, and spread it to dry, whilst the weather was yet warm. That piece of work kept him employed the remainder of the day, and the best part of the succeeding, having nothing but a pocket knife to cut withal. That work being done, wanting a tool to spread and turn his grass, he takes a branch of the next tree, which having stript off all the small ones about it, all but part of that at the top, being forky, made a tolerable fork: thus being equipped for hay-making, he went on with his work, and as he was at it, he saw, at some distance, several monkeys as busy as himself, scratching something out of the ground, which they did eat upon the spot, and carried the rest to their home.

His hopes that these roots might be for his use, those creatures being naturally dainty, eating nothing but what men may, made him hasten to the place he saw them scratching at, that by the herb they bear (which they tore off) he might find out the root.

Having, by the leaves which he picked off the ground, found some of the same, he digs them up, and carried them to his barrack, where he