‘And the barbarians showed us no common kindness, for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.'
There the people of the island welcomed them with extraordinary kindness, coming out into the appalling weather and kindling a fire for them to gather round as an antidote to the rain and the cold. Many from the boat would be suffering from hypothermia. The fire was literally a lifesaver.
There can be no doubt that God had landed the passengers in the right place. On other beaches they might have found people waiting to kill them as they landed so as to collect their possessions, or people so eager to gather the wood coming in from the vessel that they had not time to care for the desperate. But here all was kindness. Even the hearts of the people had been prepared.