was cast ashore on this island.' Crusoe must, therefore, have
reached his island on September 30, 1658, not 1659, as twice
stated by Defoe; and by adding twenty-eight years to 1658 we
get 1686, the date given for Crusoe's departure.

"It is, however, questionable whether this rectification
helps us to interpret the allegory in _Robinson Crusoe_. It
is true that if, in accordance with the 'key' suggested by
Mr. Wright, we add twenty-seven years to the date of the
shipwreck (1658) in order to find the corresponding event in
Defoe's life, we arrive at September, 1685, when Jeffreys was
sentencing many of those who--like Defoe--took part in
Monmouth's rising. But we have no evidence that Defoe
suffered seriously in consequence of the part he took in this
rebellion; and the addition of twenty-seven years to the date
of Crusoe's departure from the island (December, 1686) does
not bring us to any corresponding event in Defoe's own story.
Those who are curious will find the question discussed at
greater length in _The Speaker_ for April 13 and 20, and May
4, 1895."




LAWRENCE STERNE


Dec. 10, 1891. Sterne and Thackeray.

It is told by those who write scraps of Thackeray's biography that a