I was glad to see that this wrought a great
change in my sons, whose mode of life had made them rough in their ways
and loud in their speech--faults which we did not think of so long as
there was no one to see or hear them.
When the spring came, the boys went in our boat to the spot where
they had found Jane, which we now knew by the name of "Jane's Isle,"
and brought back some beans, which were new to them. These we found to
be COF-FEE. Jane told us that they were by no means scarce, but that
she had not made use of them, as she knew no way to roast or grind the
beans, which she found in a green state.
"Do you think," said my wife, "that the plant would grow here?"
I then thought for the first time how fond she was of it. There had
been some bags on board the ship, but I had not brought them from the
wreck; and my wife had once said that she would like to see the plant
in our ground. Now that we knew where to get it, she told me that it
was one of the few things that she felt the loss of. When the boys
heard this, they set out on a trip to Jane's Isle, and while there they
went to the spot where she had dwelt for so long, and sought for what
things she had left when she came to live with us.
All these were brought to Rock, House, and I may tell you that Fritz
set great store by them.
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