The sight of all these things was a great joy and comfort to me, and my misery at losing the ship has been somewhat tempered. I can see that Our Lord caused her to go aground with the purpose of establishing us here, for various things have come together so handily that it has been a piece of good fortune rather than a disaster. Certainly, if we had not run aground I should have gone on my way without anchoring…and I should not have left anyone here on this voyage. Even if I had wanted to leave them, I should not have been able to leave them so well found nor with so much equipment and stores and materials to build a fort. Truth to tell, many of the men I am leaving here had asked me, directly or through another, to give them permission to stay.