not understand them.  I saw several sugar-canes, but wild; and, for want of cultivation, imperfect.  I contented myself with these discoveries for this time; and came back, musing with myself what course I might take to know the virtue and goodness of any of the fruits or plants which I should discover; but could bring it to no conclusion; for, in short, I had made so little observation while I was in the Brazils, that I knew little of the plants in the field; at least, very little that might serve me to any purpose now in my distress.

The next day, the 16th, I went up the same way again; and after going something farther than I had gone the day before, I found the brook and the savannahs begin to cease, and the country become more woody than before.  In this part I found different fruits; and particularly I found melons upon the ground, in great abundance, and grapes upon the trees:  the vines, indeed, had spread over the trees, and the clusters of grapes were now just in their prime, very ripe and rich.  This was a surprising discovery, and I was exceedingly glad of them, but I was warned by my experience to eat sparingly of them; remembering that when I was ashore in Barbary, the eating of grapes killed several of our Englishmen, who were slaves there, by throwing them into fluxes and fevers.  I found, however, an excellent use for these grapes; and that was, to cure or dry them in the sun, and keep them as dried grapes or raisins are kept; which I thought would be (as indeed they were) as wholesome and as agreeable to eat, when no grapes were to be had.

I spent all that evening there, and went not back to my habitation; which, by the way, was the first night, as I might say, I had lain from home.  At night, I took my first contrivance, and got up into a tree, where I slept well; and the next morning proceeded on my discovery, travelling near four miles, as I might judge by the length of the valley; keeping still due north, with a ridge of hills on the south and north sides of me.  At the end of this march I came to an opening, where the country seemed to descend to the west; and a little spring of fresh water, which issued out of the side of the hill by me, ran the other way, that is, due east; and the country appeared so fresh, so green, so flourishing, every thing being in a constant verdure, or flourish of spring, that it looked like a planted garden.  I descended a little on the side of that delicious vale, surveying it with a secret kind of pleasure (though mixed with other afflicting thoughts,) to think that this was all my own; that I was king and lord of all this country indefeasibly, and had a right of possession; and, if I could convey it, I might have it in inheritance as completely as any lord of a manor in England.  I saw here abundance of cocoa trees, and orange, lemon, and citron trees, but all wild, and very few bearing any fruit; at least not then.  However, the green limes that I gathered were not only pleasant to eat,