[Footnote 1: The _lecythis quatela_, of the family of the
_lecythidees_, created by Professor Richard, and whose singular fruits
bear, in Peru as well as in Chili, the denomination of _monkey's
goblets_.]
Charmed with her gentleness, her docility, the affection she seemed to
bear him, Selkirk grew more and more attached to her. Winter, that is,
the rainy season which usually lasts in these regions during the
months of June and July, was approaching; he suffered in anticipation,
from the idea that during this time his gentle companion would not be
able to retain her habitual shelter, beneath the foliage of the trees;
he conceived the project of giving up to her his grotto, and
constructing for himself a new habitation, spacious and commodious. It
is thus that our most generous resolutions, whatever we may design to
do, encountering in their way personal interest, often turn to the
increase of our own private welfare.
At a little distance from the grotto, but farther inland, on the banks
of the stream called the _Linnet_, there was a thicket of verdure
shaded by five myrtles of from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and
whose stems presented a diameter more than sufficient to insure the
solidity of the edifice. Four of these myrtles formed an irregular
square; the fifth arose in the midst, or nearly so; but our architect
is not very particular.
Pages:
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86