this ebook was one of project gutenberg's early files produced at a time when proofing methods and tools were not well developed. there is an improved edition of this title which may be viewed as ebook (#23046) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23046 ******************************************************************* ******************************************************************* this ebook was one of project gutenberg's early files produced at a time when proofing methods and tools were not well developed. there is an improved edition of this title which may be viewed as ebook (#23046) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23046 ******************************************************************* ******************************************************************* this ebook was one of project gutenberg's early files produced at a time when proofing methods and tools were not well developed. there is an improved edition of this title which may be viewed as ebook (#1540) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1540 ******************************************************************* ******************************************************************* this ebook was one of project gutenberg's early files produced at a time when proofing methods and tools were not well developed. there is an improved edition of this title which may be viewed as ebook (#1540) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1540 ******************************************************************* generously made available by internet archive (https://archive.org) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original lovely illustrations. see 47518-h.htm or 47518-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/47518/47518-h/47518-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/47518/47518-h.zip) images of the original pages are available through internet archive. see https://archive.org/details/shakespearescome00shak transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). _the tempest_ [illustration] [illustration: prospero: '_here in this island we arrived_' (page 20).] shakespeare's comedy of the tempest with illustrations by edmund dulac [illustration] hodder & stoughton new york and london the text is printed by permission from the oxford edition illustrations prospero. here in this island we arrived (page 20), _frontispiece_ prospero. _page_ i have done nothing but in care of thee (page 11), 8 prospero. what seest thou else in the dark backward and abysm of time? (page 13), 16 prospero. and by my prescience i find my zenith doth depend upon a most auspicious star (page 21), 26 caliban. wouldst give me water with berries in't (page 31), 36 antonio. here lies your brother, no better than the earth he lies upon (page 61), 52 stephano. come, swear to that: kiss the book (page 72), 64 ariel. you are three men of sin (page 99), 80 iris. i met her deity cutting the clouds towards paphos (page 110), 94 iris. you nymphs, call'd naiads, of the windring brooks, leave your crisp channels (page 112), 108 prospero. we are such stuff as dreams are made on (page 114), 112 ariel. all prisoners, sir, in the line-grove which weather-fends your cell (page 123), 120 prospero. you demi-puppets that by moonshine do the green sour ringlets make (page 125), 124 prospero. graves at my command have waked their sleepers (page 126), 130 boatswain. and were brought moping hither (page 137), 136 prospero. calm seas, auspicious gales, and sail so expeditious (page 142), 140 dramatis personæ alonso, king of naples. sebastian, his brother. prospero, the right duke of milan. antonio, his brother, the usurping duke of milan. ferdinand, son to the king of naples. gonzalo, an honest old counsellor. adrian, } francisco, } lords. caliban, a savage and deformed slave. trinculo, a jester. stephano, a drunken butler. master of a ship. boatswain. mariners. miranda, daughter to prospero. ariel, an airy spirit. iris, } ceres, } juno, } nymphs, } reapers, } presented by spirits. other spirits attending on prospero. scene--_a ship at sea: an island._ [illustration: act i] scene i _on a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard._ _enter a_ ship-master _and a_ boatswain. mast. boatswain! boats. here, master: what cheer? mast. good, speak to the mariners: fall to't, yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir. [_exit._ _enter_ mariners. boats. heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare! take in the topsail. tend to the master's whistle. blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough! _enter_ alonso, sebastian, antonio, ferdinand, gonzalo, _and others_. alon. good boatswain, have care. where's the master? play the men. boats. i pray now, keep below. ant. where is the master, boatswain? boats. do you not hear him? you mar our labour: keep your cabins: you do assist the storm. gon. nay, good, be patient. boats. when the sea is. hence! what cares these roarers for the name of king? to cabin: silence! trouble us not. gon. good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard. boats. none that i more love than myself. you are a counsellor; if you can command these elements to silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more; use your authority: if you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap. cheerly, good hearts! out of our way, i say. [_exit._ gon. i have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows. stand fast, good fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage. if he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable. [_exeunt._ _re-enter_ boatswain. boats. down with the topmast! yare! lower, lower! bring her to try with main-course. [_a cry within._] a plague upon this howling! they are louder than the weather or our office. _re-enter_ sebastian, antonio, _and_ gonzalo. yet again! what do you here? shall we give o'er and drown? have you a mind to sink? seb. a plague o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, uncharitable dog! boats. work you then. ant. hang, cur! hang, you insolent noisemaker! we are less afraid to be drowned than thou art. gon. i'll warrant him for drowning; though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell. boats. lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her two courses; off to sea again; lay her off. [illustration: prospero: '_i have done nothing but in care of thee_' (page 11).] _enter_ mariners _wet_. mar. all lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost! boats. what, must our mouths be cold? gon. the king and prince at prayers! let's assist them, for our case is as theirs. seb. i'm out of patience. ant. we are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards: this wide-chapp'd rascal--would thou mightst lie drowning the washing of ten tides! gon. he'll be hang'd yet, though every drop of water swear against it and gape at widest to glut him. [_a confused noise within_:--'mercy on us!'--'we split, we split!'--'farewell my wife and children!'--'farewell, brother!'--'we split, we split, we split!'] ant. let's all sink with the king. seb. let's take leave of him. [_exeunt_ antonio _and_ sebastian. gon. now would i give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground, ling, heath, broom, furze, any thing. the wills above be done! but i would fain die a dry death. [_exeunt._ scene ii _the island. before_ prospero's _cell_. _enter_ prospero _and_ miranda. mir. if by your art, my dearest father, you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. the sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch, but that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek, dashes the fire out. o, i have suffered with those that i saw suffer: a brave vessel, who had no doubt some noble creature in her, dash'd all to pieces. o, the cry did knock against my very heart. poor souls, they perish'd. had i been any god of power, i would have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere it should the good ship so have swallow'd, and the fraughting souls within her. pros. be collected: no more amazement: tell your piteous heart there's no harm done. mir. o, woe the day! pros. no harm. i have done nothing but in care of thee, of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, who art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing of whence i am, nor that i am more better than prospero, master of a full poor cell, and thy no greater father. mir. more to know did never meddle with my thoughts. pros. 'tis time i should inform thee farther. lend thy hand, and pluck my magic garment from me. so: [_lays down his mantle._ lie there, my art. wipe thou thine eyes; have comfort. the direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch'd the very virtue of compassion in thee, i have with such provision in mine art so safely ordered that there is no soul- no, not so much perdition as an hair betid to any creature in the vessel which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink. sit down; for thou must now know farther. mir. you have often begun to tell me what i am, but stopp'd and left me to a bootless inquisition, concluding 'stay: not yet.' pros. the hour's now come; the very minute bids thee ope thine ear; obey and be attentive. canst thou remember a time before we came unto this cell? i do not think thou canst, for then thou wast not out three years old. mir. certainly, sir, i can. pros. by what? by any other house or person? of any thing the image tell me that hath kept with thy remembrance. mir. 'tis far off, and rather like a dream than an assurance that my remembrance warrants. had i not four or five women once that tended me? pros. thou hadst, and more, miranda. but how is it that this lives in thy mind? what seest thou else in the dark backward and abysm of time? if thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here, how thou camest here thou mayst. mir. but that i do not. pros. twelve year since, miranda, twelve year since, thy father was the duke of milan and a prince of power. mir. sir, are not you my father? pros. thy mother was a piece of virtue, and she said thou wast my daughter; and thy father was duke of milan; and his only heir a princess, no worse issued. mir. o the heavens! what foul play had we, that we came from thence? or blessed was't we did? pros. both, both, my girl: by foul play, as thou say'st, were we heaved thence, but blessedly holp hither. mir. o, my heart bleeds to think o' the teen that i have turn'd you to, which is from my remembrance! please you, farther. pros. my brother and thy uncle, call'd antonio- i pray thee, mark me--that a brother should be so perfidious!--he whom next thyself of all the world i loved and to him put the manage of my state; as at that time through all the signories it was the first, and prospero the prime duke, being so reputed in dignity, and for the liberal arts without a parallel; those being all my study, the government i cast upon my brother and to my state grew stranger, being transported and rapt in secret studies. thy false uncle- dost thou attend me? mir. sir, most heedfully. pros. being once perfected how to grant suits, how to deny them, who to advance and who to trash for over-topping, new created the creatures that were mine, i say, or changed'em, or else new form'd 'em; having both the key of officer and office, set all hearts i' the state to what tune pleased his ear; that now he was the ivy which had hid my princely trunk, and suck'd my verdure out on't. thou attend'st not. mir. o, good sir, i do. pros. i pray thee, mark me. i, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated to closeness and the bettering of my mind with that which, but by being so retired, o'er-prized all popular rate, in my false brother awaked an evil nature; and my trust, like a good parent, did beget of him a falsehood in its contrary as great as my trust was; which had indeed no limit, a confidence sans bound. he being thus lorded, not only with what my revenue yielded, but what my power might else exact, like one who having unto truth, by telling of it, made such a sinner of his memory to credit his own lie, he did believe he was indeed the duke; out o' the substitution, and executing the outward face of royalty, with all prerogative: hence his ambition growing- dost thou hear? mir. your tale, sir, would cure deafness. pros. to have no screen between this part he play'd and him he play'd it for, he needs will be absolute milan. me, poor man, my library was dukedom large enough: of temporal royalties he thinks me now incapable; confederates- so dry he was for sway--wi' the king of naples to give him annual tribute, do him homage, subject his coronet to his crown and bend the dukedom yet unbow'd--alas, poor milan!- to most ignoble stooping. [illustration: prospero: '_what seest thou else in the dark backward abysm of time?_' (page 13).] mir. o the heavens! pros. mark his condition and the event; then tell me if this might be a brother. mir. i should sin to think but nobly of my grandmother: good wombs have borne bad sons. pros. now the condition. this king of naples, being an enemy to me inveterate, hearkens my brother's suit; which was, that he, in lieu o' the premises of homage and i know not how much tribute, should presently extirpate me and mine out of the dukedom, and confer fair milan with all the honours on my brother: whereon, a treacherous army levied, one midnight fated to the purpose did antonio open the gates of milan; and, i' the dead of darkness, the ministers for the purpose hurried thence me and thy crying self. mir. alack, for pity! i, not remembering how i cried out then, will cry it o'er again: it is a hint that wrings mine eyes to't. pros. hear a little further and then i'll bring thee to the present business which now's upon's; without the which this story were most impertinent. mir. wherefore did they not that hour destroy us? pros. well demanded, wench: my tale provokes that question. dear, they durst not, so dear the love my people bore me, nor set a mark so bloody on the business, but with colours fairer painted their foul ends. in few, they hurried us aboard a bark, bore us some leagues to sea: where they prepared a rotten carcass of a butt, not rigg'd, nor tackle, sail, nor mast; the very rats instinctively have quit it: there they hoist us, to cry to the sea that roar'd to us, to sigh to the winds whose pity, sighing back again, did us but loving wrong. mir. alack, what trouble was i then to you! pros. o, a cherubin thou wast that did preserve me. thou didst smile, infused with a fortitude from heaven, when i have deck'd the sea with drops full salt, under my burthen groan'd; which rais'd in me an undergoing stomach, to bear up against what should ensue. mir. how came we ashore? pros. by providence divine. some food we had and some fresh water that a noble neapolitan, gonzalo, out of his charity, who being then appointed master of this design, did give us, with rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries, which since have steaded much; so, of his gentleness, knowing i loved my books, he furnish'd me from mine own library with volumes that i prize above my dukedom. mir. would i might but ever see that man! pros. now i arise: [_resumes his mantle._ sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow. here in this island we arrived; and here have i, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit than other princesses can, that have more time for vainer hours, and tutors not so careful. mir. heavens thank you for't! and now, i pray you, sir, for still 'tis beating in my mind, your reason for raising this sea-storm? pros. know thus far forth. by accident most strange, bountiful fortune, now my dear lady, hath mine enemies brought to this shore; and by my prescience i find my zenith doth depend upon a most auspicious star, whose influence if now i court not but omit, my fortunes will ever after droop. here cease more questions: thou art inclined to sleep; 'tis a good dulness, and give it way: i know thou canst not choose. [miranda _sleeps_. come away, servant, come. i am ready now. approach, my ariel, come. _enter_ ariel. ari. all hail, great master! grave sir, hail! i come to answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly, to swim, to dive into the fire, to ride on the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task ariel and all his quality. pros. hast thou, spirit, perform'd to point the tempest that i bade thee? ari. to every article. i boarded the king's ship; now on the beak, now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, i flamed amazement: sometime i'ld divide, and burn in many places; on the topmast, the yards and bowsprit, would i flame distinctly, then meet and join. jove's lightnings, the precursors o' the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary and sight-outrunning were not; the fire and cracks of sulphurous roaring the most mighty neptune seem to besiege, and make his bold waves tremble, yea, his dread trident shake. pros. my brave spirit! who was so firm, so constant, that this coil would not infect his reason? ari. not a soul but felt a fever of the mad, and play'd some tricks of desperation. all but mariners plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel, then all afire with me: the king's son, ferdinand, with hair up-staring,--then like reeds, not hair,- was the first man that leap'd; cried, 'hell is empty, and all the devils are here.' pros. why, that's my spirit! but was not this nigh shore? ari. close by, my master. pros. but are they, ariel, safe? ari. not a hair perish'd; on their sustaining garments not a blemish, but fresher than before: and, as thou badest me, in troops i have dispersed them 'bout the isle. the king's son have i landed by himself; whom i left cooling of the air with sighs in an odd angle of the isle, and sitting, his arms in this sad knot. pros. of the king's ship the mariners say how thou hast disposed and all the rest o' the fleet. ari. safely in harbour is the king's ship; in the deep nook, where once thou call'dst me up at midnight to fetch dew from the still-vex'd bermoothes, there she's hid: the mariners all under hatches stow'd; who, with a charm join'd to their suffer'd labour, i have left asleep: and for the rest o' the fleet which i dispersed, they all have met again and are upon the mediterranean flote, bound sadly home for naples, supposing that they saw the king's ship wreck'd, and his great person perish. pros. ariel, thy charge exactly is perform'd: but there's more work. what is the time o' the day? ari. past the mid season. pros. at least two glasses. the time 'twixt six and now must by us both be spent most preciously. ari. is there more toil? since thou dost give me pains, let me remember thee what thou hast promised, which is not yet perform'd me. pros. how now? moody? what is't thou canst demand? ari. my liberty. pros. before the time be out? no more! ari. i prithee, remember i have done thee worthy service; told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served without or grudge or grumblings: thou didst promise to bate me a full year. pros. dost thou forget from what a torment i did free thee? ari. no. pros. thou dost, and think'st it much to tread the ooze of the salt deep, to run upon the sharp wind of the north, to do me business in the veins o' the earth when it is baked with frost. ari. i do not, sir. pros. thou liest, malignant thing! hast thou forgot the foul witch sycorax, who with age and envy was grown into a hoop? hast thou forgot her? ari. no, sir. pros. thou hast. where was she born? speak; tell me. ari. sir, in argier. [illustration: prospero: '_and by my prescience i find my zenith doth depend upon a most auspicious star_' (page 21).] pros. o, was she so? i must once in a month recount what thou hast been, which thou forget'st. this damn'd witch sycorax, for mischiefs manifold and sorceries terrible to enter human hearing, from argier, thou know'st, was banish'd: for one thing she did they would not take her life. is not this true? ari. ay, sir. pros. this blue-ey'd hag was hither brought with child and here was left by the sailors. thou, my slave, as thou report'st thyself, wast then her servant; and, for thou wast a spirit too delicate to act her earthy and abhorr'd commands, refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee, by help of her more potent ministers and in her most unmitigable rage, into a cloven pine; within which rift imprison'd thou didst painfully remain a dozen years; within which space she died and left thee there; where thou didst vent thy groans as fast as mill-wheels strike. then was this island- save for the son that she did litter here, a freckled whelp hag-born--not honour'd with a human shape. ari. yes, caliban her son. pros. dull thing, i say so; he that caliban whom now i keep in service. thou best know'st what torment i did find thee in; thy groans did make wolves howl and penetrate the breasts of ever angry bears: it was a torment to lay upon the damn'd, which sycorax could not again undo: it was mine art, when i arrived and heard thee, that made gape the pine and let thee out. ari. i thank thee, master. pros. if thou more murmur'st, i will rend an oak and peg thee in his knotty entrails till thou hast howl'd away twelve winters. ari. pardon, master; i will be correspondent to command, and do my spriting gently. pros. do so, and after two days i will discharge thee. ari. that's my noble master! what shall i do? say what; what shall i do? pros. go make thyself like a nymph o' the sea: be subject to no sight but thine and mine, invisible to every eyeball else. go take this shape and hither come in 't: go, hence with diligence! [_exit_ ariel. awake, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well; awake! mir. the strangeness of your story put heaviness in me. pros. shake it off. come on; we'll visit caliban my slave, who never yields us kind answer. mir. 'tis a villain, sir, i do not love to look on. pros. but, as 'tis, we cannot miss him: he does make our fire, fetch in our wood and serves in offices that profit us. what, ho! slave! caliban thou earth, thou! speak. cal. [_within._] there's wood enough within. pros. come forth, i say! there's other business for thee: come, thou tortoise! when? _re-enter_ ariel _like a water-nymph_. fine apparition! my quaint ariel, hark in thine ear. ari. my lord, it shall be done. [_exit._ pros. thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself upon thy wicked dam, come forth! _enter_ caliban. cal. as wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed with raven's feather from unwholesome fen drop on you both! a south-west blow on ye and blister you all o'er! pros. for this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps, side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins shall, for that vast of night that they may work, all exercise on thee; thou shalt be pinch'd as thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging than bees that made 'em. cal. i must eat my dinner. this island's mine, by sycorax my mother, which thou takest from me. when thou camest first, thou strokedst me and madest much of me, wouldst give me water with berries in't, and teach me how to name the bigger light, and how the less, that burn by day and night: and then i loved thee and show'd thee all the qualities o' the isle, the fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile: cursed be i that did so! all the charms of sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you! for i am all the subjects that you have, which first was mine own king: and here you sty me in this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me the rest o' the island. pros. thou most lying slave, whom stripes may move, not kindness! i have used thee, filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee in mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate the honour of my child. cal. o ho, o ho! would't had been done! thou didst prevent me; i had peopled else this isle with calibans. pros. abhorred slave, which any print of goodness wilt not take, being capable of all ill! i pitied thee, took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour one thing or other: when thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish, i endow'd thy purposes with words that made them known. but thy vile race, though thou didst learn, had that in't which good natures could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou deservedly confined into this rock, who hadst deserved more than a prison. cal. you taught me language; and my profit on't is, i know how to curse. the red plague rid you for learning me your language! pros. hag-seed, hence! fetch us in fuel; and be quick, thou'rt best, to answer other business. shrug'st thou, malice? if thou neglect'st or dost unwillingly what i command, i'll rack thee with old cramps, fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar that beasts shall tremble at thy din. cal. no, pray thee. [_aside._] i must obey: his art is of such power, it would control my dam's god, setebos, and make a vassal of him. pros. so, slave; hence! [_exit_ caliban. _re-enter_ ariel, _invisible, playing and singing_; ferdinand _following_. ariel's _song_. come unto these yellow sands, and then take hands: courtsied when you have and kiss'd the wild waves whist, foot it featly here and there; and, sweet sprites, the burthen bear. hark, hark! burthen [_dispersedly_]. bow-wow. ari. the watch-dogs bark: burthen [_dispersedly_]. bow-wow. ari. hark, hark! i hear the strain of strutting chanticleer cry, cock-a-diddle-dow. fer. where should this music be? i' the air or the earth? it sounds no more: and, sure, it waits upon some god o' the island. sitting on a bank, weeping again the king my father's wreck, this music crept by me upon the waters, allaying both their fury and my passion with its sweet air: thence i have follow'd it, or it hath drawn me rather. but 'tis gone. no, it begins again. ariel _sings_. full fathom five thy father lies; of his bones are coral made; those are pearls that were his eyes: nothing of him that doth fade but doth suffer a sea-change into something rich and strange. sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: burthen. ding-dong. ari. hark! now i hear them,--ding-dong, bell. fer. the ditty does remember my drown'd father. this is no mortal business, nor no sound that the earth owes. i hear it now above me. pros. the fringed curtains of thine eye advance and say what thou seest yond. mir. what is't? a spirit? lord, how it looks about! believe me, sir, it carries a brave form. but 'tis a spirit. pros. no, wench; it eats and sleeps and hath such senses as we have, such. this gallant which thou seest was in the wreck; and, but he's something stain'd with grief that's beauty's canker, thou mightst call him a goodly person: he hath lost his fellows and strays about to find 'em. mir. i might call him a thing divine, for nothing natural i ever saw so noble. [illustration: caliban: '_wouldst give me water with berries in't_' (page 31).] pros. [_aside._] it goes on, i see, as my soul prompts it. spirit, fine spirit! i'll free thee within two days for this. fer. most sure, the goddess on whom these airs attend! vouchsafe my prayer may know if you remain upon this island; and that you will some good instruction give how i may bear me here: my prime request, which i do last pronounce, is, o you wonder! if you be maid or no? mir. no wonder, sir; but certainly a maid. fer. my language! heavens! i am the best of them that speak this speech, were i but where 'tis spoken. pros. how? the best? what wert thou, if the king of naples heard thee? fer. a single thing, as i am now, that wonders to hear thee speak of naples. he does hear me; and that he does i weep: myself am naples, who with mine eyes, never since at ebb, beheld the king my father wreck'd. mir. alack, for mercy! fer. yes, faith, and all his lords; the duke of milan and his brave son being twain. pros. [_aside._] the duke of milan and his more braver daughter could control thee, if now 'twere fit to do't. at the first sight they have changed eyes. delicate ariel, i'll set thee free for this. [_to_ fer.] a word, good sir; i fear you have done yourself some wrong: a word. mir. why speaks my father so ungently? this is the third man that e'er i saw; the first that e'er i sighed for: pity move my father to be inclined my way! fer. o, if a virgin, and your affection not gone forth, i'll make you the queen of naples. pros. soft, sir! one word more. [_aside._] they are both in either's powers; but this swift business i must uneasy make, lest too light winning make the prize light. [_to_ fer.] one word more; i charge thee that thou attend me: thou dost here usurp the name thou owest not; and hast put thyself upon this island as a spy, to win it from me, the lord on't. fer. no, as i am a man. mir. there's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple: if the ill spirit have so fair a house, good things will strive to dwell with't. pros. follow me. speak not you for him; he's a traitor. come; i'll manacle thy neck and feet together: sea-water shalt thou drink; thy food shall be the fresh-brook muscles, wither'd roots and husks wherein the acorn cradled. follow. fer. no; i will resist such entertainment till mine enemy has more power. [_draws, and is charmed from moving._ mir. o dear father, make not too rash a trial of him, for he's gentle and not fearful. pros. what? i say, my foot my tutor? put thy sword up, traitor; who makest a show but darest not strike, thy conscience is so possess'd with guilt: come from thy ward, for i can here disarm thee with this stick and make thy weapon drop. mir. beseech you, father. pros. hence! hang not on my garments. mir. sir, have pity; i'll be his surety. pros. silence! one word more shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. what! an advocate for an impostor! hush! thou think'st there is no more such shapes as he, having seen but him and caliban: foolish wench! to the most of men this is a caliban, and they to him are angels. mir. my affections are then most humble; i have no ambition to see a goodlier man. pros. come on; obey: thy nerves are in their infancy again and have no vigour in them. fer. so they are; my spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up. my father's loss, the weakness which i feel, the wreck of all my friends, nor this man's threats, to whom i am subdued, are but light to me, might i but through my prison once a day behold this maid: all corners else o' the earth let liberty make use of; space enough have i in such a prison. pros. [_aside._] it works. [_to_ fer.] come on. thou hast done well, fine ariel! [_to_ fer.] follow me. [_to_ ariel.] hark what thou else shalt do me. mir. be of comfort; my father's of a better nature, sir, than he appears by speech: this is unwonted which now came from him. pros. thou shalt be as free as mountain winds: but then exactly do all points of my command. ari. to the syllable. pros. come, follow. speak not for him. [_exeunt._ [illustration: act ii] scene i _another part of the island._ _enter_ alonso, sebastian, antonio, gonzalo, adrian, francisco, _and others_. gon. beseech you, sir, be merry; you have cause, so have we all, of joy; for our escape is much beyond our loss. our hint of woe is common; every day some sailor's wife, the masters of some merchant, and the merchant, have just our theme of woe; but for the miracle, i mean our preservation, few in millions can speak like us: then wisely, good sir, weigh our sorrow with our comfort. alon. prithee, peace. seb. he receives comfort like cold porridge. ant. the visitor will not give him o'er so. seb. look, he's winding up the watch of his wit: by and by it will strike. gon. sir,-seb. one: tell. gon. when every grief is entertain'd that's offer'd, comes to the entertainer-seb. a dollar. gon. dolour comes to him, indeed: you have spoken truer than you purposed. seb. you have taken it wiselier that i meant you should. gon. therefore, my lord,-ant. fie, what a spendthrift is he of his tongue! alon. i prithee, spare. gon. well, i have done: but yet,-seb. he will be talking. ant. which, of he or adrian, for a good wager, first begins to crow? seb. the old cock. ant. the cockerel. seb. done. the wager? ant. a laughter. seb. a match! adr. though this island seem to be desert,-seb. ha, ha, ha! ant. so, you're paid. adr. uninhabitable and almost inaccessible,-seb. yet,-adr. yet,-ant. he could not miss't. adr. it must needs be of subtle, tender and delicate temperance. ant. temperance was a delicate wench. seb. ay, and a subtle: as he most learnedly delivered. adr. the air breathes upon us here most sweetly. seb. as if it had lungs and rotten ones. ant. or as 'twere perfumed by a fen. gon. here is every thing advantageous to life. ant. true: save means to live. seb. of that there's none, or little. gon. how lush and lusty the grass looks! how green! ant. the ground indeed is tawny. seb. with an eye of green in't. ant. he misses not much. seb. no; he doth but mistake the truth totally. gon. but the rarity of it is,--which is indeed almost beyond credit,-seb. as many vouched rarities are. gon. that our garments, being, as they were, drenched in the sea, hold notwithstanding their freshness and glosses, being rather new-dyed than stained with salt water. ant. if but one of his pockets could speak, would it not say he lies? seb. ay, or very falsely pocket up his report. gon. methinks our garments are now as fresh as when we put them on first in afric, at the marriage of the king's fair daughter claribel to the king of tunis. seb. 'twas a sweet marriage, and we prosper well in our return. adr. tunis was never graced before with such a paragon to their queen. gon. not since widow dido's time. ant. widow! a plague o' that! how came that widow in? widow dido! seb. what if he had said 'widower æneas' too? good lord, how you take it! adr. 'widow dido' said you? you make me study of that: she was of carthage, not of tunis. gon. this tunis, sir, was carthage. adr. carthage? gon. i assure you, carthage. ant. his word is more than the miraculous harp. seb. he hath raised the wall and houses too. ant. what impossible matter will he make easy next? seb. i think he will carry this island home in his pocket and give it his son for an apple. ant. and, sowing the kernels of it in the sea, bring forth more islands. gon. ay. ant. why, in good time. gon. sir, we were talking that our garments seem now as fresh as when we were at tunis at the marriage of your daughter, who is now queen. ant. and the rarest that e'er came there. seb. bate, i beseech you, widow dido. ant. o, widow dido! ay, widow dido. gon. is not, sir, my doublet as fresh as the first day i wore it? i mean, in a sort. ant. that sort was well fished for. gon. when i wore it at your daughter's marriage? alon. you cram these words into mine ears against the stomach of my sense. would i had never married my daughter there! for, coming thence, my son is lost and, in my rate, she too, who is so far from italy removed i ne'er again shall see her. o thou mine heir of naples and of milan, what strange fish hath made his meal on thee? fran. sir, he may live: i saw him beat the surges under him, and ride upon their backs; he trod the water, whose enmity he flung aside, and breasted the surge most swoln that met him: his bold head 'bove the contentious waves he kept, and oar'd himself with his good arms in lusty stroke to the shore, that o'er his wave-worn basis bow'd, as stooping to relieve him: i not doubt he came alive to land. alon. no, no, he's gone. seb. sir, you may thank yourself for this great loss, that would not bless our europe with your daughter, but rather lose her to an african; where she at least is banish'd from your eye, who hath cause to wet the grief on't. alon. prithee, peace. seb. you were kneel'd to and importuned otherwise by all of us, and the fair soul herself weigh'd between loathness and obedience, at which end o' the beam should bow. we have lost your son, i fear, for ever: milan and naples have mo widows in them of this business' making than we bring men to comfort them: the fault's your own. alon. so is the dear'st o' the loss. gon. my lord sebastian, the truth you speak doth lack some gentleness and time to speak it in: you rub the sore, when you should bring the plaster. seb. very well. ant. and most chirurgeonly. gon. it is foul weather in us all, good sir, when you are cloudy. seb. foul weather? ant. very foul. gon. had i plantation of this isle, my lord,-ant. he'ld sow't with nettle-seed. [illustration: antonio: '_here lies your brother, no better than the earth he lies upon_' (page 61).] seb. or docks, or mallows gon. and were the king on't, what would i do? seb. 'scape being drunk for want of wine. gon. i' the commonwealth i would by contraries execute all things: for no kind of traffic would i admit; no name of magistrate: letters should not be known; riches, poverty, and use of service, none; contract, succession, bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none; no use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil; no occupation: all men idle, all; and women too, but innocent and pure; no sovereignty;-seb. yet he would be king on't. ant. the latter end of his commonwealth forgets the beginning. gon. all things in common nature should produce without sweat or endeavour: treason, felony, sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine, would i not have; but nature should bring forth, of its own kind, all foison, all abundance, to feed my innocent people. seb. no marrying 'mong his subjects? ant. none, man; all idle. gon. i would with such perfection govern, sir, to excel the golden age. seb. save his majesty! ant. long live gonzalo! gon. and,--do you mark me, sir? alon. prithee, no more: thou dost talk nothing to me. gon. i do well believe your highness; and did it to minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are of such sensible and nimble lungs that they always use to laugh at nothing. ant. 'twas you we laughed at. gon. who in this kind of merry fooling am nothing to you: so you may continue and laugh at nothing still. ant. what a blow was there given! seb. an it had not fallen flat-long. gon. you are gentlemen of brave mettle; you would lift the moon out of her sphere, if she would continue in it five weeks without changing. _enter_ ariel, _invisible, playing solemn music_. seb. we would so, and then go a bat-fowling. ant. nay, good my lord, be not angry. gon. no, i warrant you; i will not adventure my discretion so weakly. will you laugh me asleep, for i am very heavy? ant. go sleep, and hear us. [_all sleep except_ alonso, sebastian, _and_ antonio. alon. what, all so soon asleep! i wish mine eyes would, with themselves, shut up my thoughts: i find they are inclined to do so. seb. please you, sir, do not omit the heavy offer of it: it seldom visits sorrow; when it doth, it is a comforter. ant. we too, my lord, will guard your person while you take your rest, and watch your safety. alon. thank you. wondrous heavy. [alonso _sleeps. exit_ ariel. seb. what a strange drowsiness possesses them! ant. it is the quality o' the climate. seb. why doth it not then our eyelids sink? i find not myself disposed to sleep. ant. nor i; my spirits are nimble, they fell together all, as by consent; they dropp'd, as by a thunder-stroke. what might, worthy sebastian?--o, what might?--no more:- and yet methinks i see it in thy face, what thou shouldst be: the occasion speaks thee, and my strong imagination sees a crown dropping upon thy head. seb. what, art thou waking? ant. do you not hear me speak? seb. i do; and surely it is a sleepy language and thou speak'st out of thy sleep. what is it thou didst say? this is a strange repose, to be asleep with eyes wide open; standing, speaking, moving, and yet so fast asleep. ant. noble sebastian, thou let'st thy fortune sleep--die, rather; wink'st whiles thou art waking. seb. thou dost snore distinctly; there's meaning in thy snores. ant. i am more serious than my custom: you must be so too, if heed me; which to do trebles thee o'er. seb. well, i am standing water. ant. i'll teach you how to flow. seb. do so: to ebb hereditary sloth instructs me. ant. o, if you but knew how you the purpose cherish whiles thus you mock it! how, in stripping it, you more invest it! ebbing men, indeed, most often do so near the bottom run by their own fear or sloth. seb. prithee, say on: the setting of thine eye and cheek proclaim a matter from thee, and a birth indeed which throes thee much to yield. ant. thus, sir: although this lord of weak remembrance, this, who shall be of as little memory when he is earth'd, hath here almost persuaded- for he's a spirit of persuasion, only professes to persuade--the king his son's alive, 'tis as impossible that he's undrown'd as he that sleeps here swims. seb. i have no hope that he's undrown'd. ant. o, out of that 'no hope' what great hope have you! no hope that way is another way so high a hope that even ambition cannot pierce a wink beyond, but doubt discovery there. will you grant with me that ferdinand is drown'd? seb. he's gone. ant. then, tell me, who's the next heir of naples? seb. claribel. ant. she that is queen of tunis; she that dwells ten leagues beyond man's life; she that from naples can have no note, unless the sun were post- the man i' the moon's too slow--till new-born chins be rough and razorable; she that from whom we all were sea-swallow'd, though some cast again, and by that destiny to perform an act whereof what's past is prologue, what to come in yours and my discharge. seb. what stuff is this! how say you? 'tis true, my brother's daughter's queen of tunis; so is she heir of naples; 'twixt which regions there is some space. ant. a space whose every cubit seems to cry out, 'how shall that claribel measure us back to naples? keep in tunis, and let sebastian wake.' say, this were death that now hath seized them; why, they were no worse than now they are. there be that can rule naples as well as he that sleeps; lords that can prate as amply and unnecessarily as this gonzalo; i myself could make a chough of as deep chat. o, that you bore the mind that i do! what a sleep were this for your advancement! do you understand me? seb. methinks i do. ant. and how does your content tender your own good fortune? seb. i remember you did supplant your brother prospero. ant. true: and look how well my garments sit upon me; much feater than before: my brother's servants were then my fellows: now they are my men. seb. but, for your conscience? ant. ay, sir; where lies that? if 'twere a kibe, 'twould put me to my slipper: but i feel not this deity in my bosom: twenty consciences, that stand 'twixt me and milan, candied be they and melt ere they molest! here lies your brother, no better than the earth he lies upon, if he were that which now he's like, that's dead; whom i, with this obedient steel, three inches of it, can lay to bed for ever; whiles you, doing thus, to the perpetual wink for aye might put this ancient morsel, this sir prudence, who should not upbraid our course. for all the rest, they'll take suggestion as a cat laps milk; they'll tell the clock to any business that we say befits the hour. seb. thy case, dear friend, shall be my precedent; as thou got'st milan, i'll come by naples. draw thy sword: one stroke shall free thee from the tribute which thou payest; and i the king shall love thee. ant. draw together; and when i rear my hand do you the like, to fall it on gonzalo. seb. o, but one word. [_they talk apart._ _re-enter_ ariel, _invisible_. ari. my master through his art foresees the danger that you, his friend, are in; and sends me forth- for else his project dies--to keep them living. [_sings in_ gonzalo's _ear_. while you here do snoring lie, open-eyed conspiracy his time doth take. if of life you keep a care, shake off slumber, and beware: awake, awake! ant. then let us both be sudden. gon. now, good angels preserve the king! [_they wake._ alon. why, how now? ho, awake! why are you drawn? wherefore this ghastly looking? gon. what's the matter? seb. whiles we stood here securing your repose, even now, we heard a hollow burst of bellowing like bulls, or rather lions: did't not wake you? it struck mine ear most terribly. alon. i heard nothing. ant. o, 'twas a din to fright a monster's ear, to make an earthquake! sure, it was the roar of a whole herd of lions. alon. heard you this, gonzalo? gon. upon mine honour, sir, i heard a humming, and that a strange one too, which did awake me: i shaked you, sir, and cried: as mine eyes open'd, i saw their weapons drawn: there was a noise, that's verily. 'tis best we stand upon our guard, or that we quit this place: let's draw our weapons. alon. lead off this ground; and let's make further search for my poor son. gon. heavens keep him from these beasts! for he is, sure, i' the island. alon. lead away. ari. prospero my lord shall know what i have done: so, king, go safely on to seek thy son. [_exeunt._ [illustration: stephano: '_come, swear to that: kiss the book_' (page 72).] scene ii _another part of the island._ _enter_ caliban _with a burden of wood. a noise of thunder heard_. cal. all the infections that the sun sucks up from bogs, fens, flats, on prosper fall, and make him by inch-meal a disease! his spirits hear me, and yet i needs must curse. but they'll nor pinch, fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i' the mire, nor lead me, like a firebrand, in the dark out of my way, unless he bid 'em; but for every trifle are they set upon me; sometime like apes that mow and chatter at me and after bite me; then like hedgehogs, which lie tumbling in my barefoot way and mount their pricks at my footfall; sometime am i all wound with adders, who with cloven tongues do hiss me into madness. _enter_ trinculo. lo, now, lo! here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me for bringing wood in slowly. i'll fall flat; perchance he will not mind me. trin. here's neither bush nor shrub, to bear off any weather at all, and another storm brewing; i hear it sing i' the wind; yond same black cloud, yond huge one, looks like a foul bombard that would shed his liquor. if it should thunder as it did before, i know not where to hide my head: yond same cloud cannot choose but fall by pailfuls. what have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? a fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fish-like smell; a kind of, not of the newest, poor-john. a strange fish! were i in england now, as once i was, and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver: there would this monster make a man; any strange beast there makes a man: when they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead indian. legged like a man! and his fins like arms! warm o' my trot! i do now let loose my opinion; hold it no longer: this is no fish, but an islander, that hath lately suffered by a thunderbolt. [_thunder._] alas, the storm is come again! my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabout: misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows. i will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past. _enter_ stephano, _singing: a bottle in his hand_. steph. i shall no more to sea, to sea, here shall i die ashore- this is a very scurvy tune to sing at a man's funeral: well, here's my comfort. [_drinks._ [_sings._] the master, the swabber, the boatswain and i, the gunner and his mate loved mall, meg and marian and margery, but none of us cared for kate; for she had a tongue with a tang, would cry to a sailor, go hang! she loved not the savour of tar nor of pitch: then to sea, boys, and let her go hang! this is a scurvy tune too: but here's my comfort. [_drinks._ cal. do not torment me: oh! steph. what's the matter? have we devils here? do you put tricks upon's with savages and men of ind, ha? i have not 'scaped drowning to be afeard now of your four legs; for it hath been said, as proper a man as ever went on four legs cannot make him give ground; and it shall be said so again while stephano breathes at nostrils. cal. the spirit torments me: oh! steph. this is some monster of the isle with four legs, who hath got, as i take it, an ague. where the devil should he learn our language? i will give him some relief, if it be but for that. if i can recover him and keep him tame and get to naples with him, he's a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat's-leather. cal. do not torment me, prithee; i'll bring my wood home faster. steph. he's in his fit now and does not talk after the wisest. he shall taste of my bottle: if he have never drunk wine afore, it will go near to remove his fit. if i can recover him and keep him tame, i will not take too much for him; he shall pay for him that hath him, and that soundly. cal. thou dost me yet but little hurt; thou wilt anon, i know it by thy trembling: now prosper works upon thee. steph. come on your ways; open your mouth; here is that which will give language to you, cat: open your mouth; this will shake your shaking, i can tell you, and that soundly: you cannot tell who's your friend: open your chaps again. trin. i should know that voice: it should be--but he is drowned; and these are devils: o defend me! steph. four legs and two voices: a most delicate monster! his forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches and to detract. if all the wine in my bottle will recover him, i will help his ague. come. amen! i will pour some in thy other mouth. trin. stephano! steph. doth thy other mouth call me? mercy, mercy! this is a devil, and no monster; i will leave him; i have no long spoon. trin. stephano! if thou beest stephano, touch me and speak to me; for i am trinculo--be not afeard--thy good friend trinculo. steph. if thou beest trinculo, come forth: i'll pull thee by the lesser legs: if any be trinculo's legs, these are they. thou art very trinculo indeed! how camest thou here? trin. i took him to be killed with a thunder-stroke. but art thou not drowned, stephano? i hope now thou art not drowned. is the storm overblown? i hid me under the dead moon-calf's gaberdine for fear of the storm. and art thou living, stephano? o stephano, two neapolitans 'scaped. steph. prithee, do not turn me about; my stomach is not constant. cal. [_aside._] these be fine things, an if they be not sprites. that's a brave god and bears celestial liquor. i will kneel to him. steph. how didst thou 'scape? how camest thou hither? swear by this bottle how thou camest hither. i escaped upon a butt of sack which the sailors heaved o'erboard, by this bottle which i made of the bark of a tree with mine own hands since i was cast ashore. cal. i'll swear upon that bottle to be thy true subject; for the liquor is not earthly. steph. here; swear then how thou escapedst. trin. swum ashore, man, like a duck: i can swim like a duck, i'll be sworn. steph. here, kiss the book. though thou canst swim like a duck, thou art made like a goose. trin. o stephano, hast any more of this? steph. the whole butt, man: my cellar is in a rock by the sea-side where my wine is hid. how now, moon-calf! how does thine ague? cal. hast thou not dropp'd from heaven? steph. out o' the moon, i do assure thee: i was the man i' the moon when time was. cal. i have seen thee in her and i do adore thee: my mistress show'd me thee and thy dog and thy bush. steph. come, swear to that: kiss the book: i will furnish it anon with new contents: swear. trin. by this good light, this is a very shallow monster! i afeard of him! a very weak monster! the man i' the moon! a most poor credulous monster! well drawn, monster, in good sooth! cal. i'll show thee every fertile inch o' th' island; and i will kiss thy foot: i prithee, be my god. trin. by this light, a most perfidious and drunken monster! when's god's asleep, he'll rob his bottle. cal. i'll kiss thy foot; i'll swear myself thy subject. steph. come on then; down, and swear. trin. i shall laugh myself to death at this puppy-headed monster. a most scurvy monster! i could find in my heart to beat him,-steph. come, kiss. trin. but that the poor monster's in drink: an abominable monster! cal. i'll show thee the best springs; i'll pluck thee berries; i'll fish for thee and get thee wood enough. a plague upon the tyrant that i serve! i'll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee, thou wondrous man. trin. a most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder of a poor drunkard! cal. i prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow; and i with my long nails will dig thee pig-nuts; show thee a jay's nest and instruct thee how to snare the nimble marmoset; i'll bring thee to clustering filberts and sometimes i'll get thee young scamels from the rock. wilt thou go with me? steph. i prithee now, lead the way without any more talking. trinculo, the king and all our company else being drowned, we will inherit here: here; bear my bottle: fellow trinculo, we'll fill him by and by again. cal. [_sings drunkenly_] farewell, master; farewell, farewell! trin. a howling monster; a drunken monster! cal. no more dams i'll make for fish; nor fetch in firing at requiring; nor scrape trencher, nor wash dish: 'ban, 'ban, cacaliban has a new master: get a new man. freedom, hey-day! hey-day, freedom! freedom, hey-day, freedom! steph. o brave monster! lead the way. [_exeunt._ [illustration: act iii] scene i _before_ prospero's _cell_. _enter_ ferdinand, _bearing a log_. fer. there be some sports are painful, and their labour delight in them sets off: some kinds of baseness are nobly undergone and most poor matters point to rich ends. this my mean task would be as heavy to me as odious, but the mistress which i serve quickens what's dead and makes my labours pleasures: o, she is ten times more gentle than her father's crabbed, and he's composed of harshness. i must remove some thousands of these logs and pile them up, upon a sore injunction: my sweet mistress weeps when she sees me work, and says, such baseness had never like executor. i forget: but these sweet thoughts do even refresh my labours, most busy lest, when i do it. _enter_ miranda; _and_ prospero _at a distance unseen_. mir. alas, now, pray you, work not so hard: i would the lightning had burnt up those logs that you are enjoin'd to pile! pray, set it down and rest you: when this burns, 'twill weep for having wearied you. my father is hard at study; pray now, rest yourself; he's safe for these three hours. fer. o most dear mistress, the sun will set before i shall discharge what i must strive to do. mir. if you'll sit down, i'll bear your logs the while: pray, give me that; i'll carry it to the pile. [illustration: ariel: '_you are three men of sin_' (page 99).] fer. no, precious creature; i had rather crack my sinews, break my back, than you should such dishonour undergo, while i sit lazy by. mir. it would become me as well as it does you: and i should do it with much more ease; for my good will is to it, and yours it is against. pros. poor worm, thou art infected! this visitation shows it. mir. you look wearily. fer. no, noble mistress; 'tis fresh morning with me when you are by at night. i do beseech you- chiefly that i might set it in my prayers- what is your name? mir. miranda.--o my father, i have broke your hest to say so! fer. admired miranda! indeed the top of admiration! worth what's dearest to the world! full many a lady i have eyed with best regard, and many a time the harmony of their tongues hath into bondage brought my too diligent ear: for several virtues have i liked several women; never any with so full soul, but some defect in her did quarrel with the noblest grace she owed and put it to the foil: but you, o you, so perfect and so peerless, are created of every creature's best! mir. i do not know one of my sex; no woman's face remember, save, from my glass, mine own; nor have i seen more that i may call men than you, good friend, and my dear father: how features are abroad, i am skilless of; but, by my modesty, the jewel in my dower, i would not wish any companion in the world but you, nor can imagination form a shape, besides yourself, to like of. but i prattle something too wildly and my father's precepts i therein do forget. fer. i am in my condition a prince, miranda; i do think, a king; i would, not so!--and would no more endure this wooden slavery than to suffer the flesh-fly blow my mouth. hear my soul speak: the very instant that i saw you, did my heart fly to your service; there resides, to make me slave to it; and for your sake am i this patient log-man. mir. do you love me? fer. o heaven, o earth, bear witness to this sound and crown what i profess with kind event if i speak true! if hollowly, invert what best is boded me to mischief! i beyond all limit of what else i' the world do love, prize, honour you. mir. i am a fool to weep at what i am glad of. pros. fair encounter of two most rare affections! heavens rain grace on that which breeds between 'em! fer. wherefore weep you? mir. at mine unworthiness that dare not offer what i desire to give, and much less take what i shall die to want. but this is trifling; and all the more it seeks to hide itself, the bigger bulk it shows. hence, bashful cunning! and prompt me, plain and holy innocence! i am your wife, if you will marry me; if not, i'll die your maid: to be your fellow you may deny me; but i'll be your servant, whether you will or no. fer. my mistress, dearest; and i thus humble ever. mir. my husband, then? fer. ay, with a heart as willing as bondage e'er of freedom: here's my hand. mir. and mine, with my heart in't: and now farewell till half an hour hence. fer. a thousand thousand! [_exeunt_ ferdinand _and_ miranda _severally_. pros. so glad of this as they i cannot be, who are surprised withal; but my rejoicing at nothing can be more. i'll to my book, for yet ere supper-time must i perform much business appertaining. [_exit._ scene ii _another part of the island._ _enter_ caliban, stephano, _and_ trinculo. steph. tell not me; when the butt is out, we will drink water; not a drop before: therefore bear up, and board 'em. servant-monster, drink to me. trin. servant-monster! the folly of this island! they say there's but five upon this isle: we are three of them; if th' other two be brained like us, the state totters. steph. drink, servant-monster, when i bid thee: thy eyes are almost set in thy head. trin. where should they be set else? he were a brave monster indeed, if they were set in his tail. steph. my man-monster hath drown'd his tongue in sack: for my part, the sea cannot drown me; i swam, ere i could recover the shore, five and thirty leagues off and on. by this light, thou shalt be my lieutenant, monster, or my standard. trin. your lieutenant, if you list; he's no standard. steph. we'll not run, monsieur monster. trin. nor go neither; but you'll lie like dogs and yet say nothing neither. steph. moon-calf, speak once in thy life, if thou beest a good moon-calf. cal. how does thy honour? let me lick thy shoe. i'll not serve him; he is not valiant. trin. thou liest, most ignorant monster: i am in case to justle a constable. why, thou deboshed fish, thou, was there ever man a coward that hath drunk so much sack as i to-day? wilt thou tell a monstrous lie, being but half a fish and half a monster? cal. lo, how he mocks me! wilt thou let him, my lord? trin. 'lord' quoth he! that a monster should be such a natural! cal. lo, lo, again! bite him to death, i prithee. steph. trinculo, keep a good tongue in your head: if you prove a mutineer,--the next tree! the poor monster's my subject and he shall not suffer indignity. cal. i thank my noble lord. wilt thou be pleased to hearken once again to the suit i made to thee? steph. marry, will i: kneel and repeat it; i will stand, and so shall trinculo. _enter_ ariel, _invisible_. cal. as i told thee before, i am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island. ari. thou liest. cal. thou liest, thou jesting monkey, thou: i would my valiant master would destroy thee! i do not lie. steph. trinculo, if you trouble him anymore in's tale, by this hand, i will supplant some of your teeth. trin. why, i said nothing. steph. mum, then, and no more. proceed. cal. i say, by sorcery he got this isle; from me he got it. if thy greatness will revenge it on him,--for i know thou darest, but this thing dare not,- steph. that's most certain. cal. thou shalt be lord of it and i'll serve thee. steph. how now shall this be compassed? canst thou bring me to the party? cal. yea, yea, my lord: i'll yield him thee asleep, where thou mayst knock a nail into his head. ari. thou liest; thou canst not. cal. what a pied ninny's this! thou scurvy patch! i do beseech thy greatness, give him blows and take his bottle from him: when that's gone he shall drink nought but brine; for i'll not show him where the quick freshes are. steph. trinculo, run into no further danger: interrupt the monster one word further, and, by this hand, i'll turn my mercy out o' doors, and make a stock-fish of thee. trin. why, what did i? i did nothing. i'll go farther off. steph. didst thou not say he lied? ari. thou liest. steph. do i so? take thou that. [_beats_ trinculo.] as you like this, give me the lie another time. trin. i did not give the lie. out o' your wits and hearing too? a plague o' your bottle! this can sack and drinking do. a murrain on your monster, and the devil take your fingers. cal. ha, ha, ha! steph. now, forward with your tale. prithee, stand farther off. cal. beat him enough: after a little time i'll beat him too. steph. stand farther. come, proceed. cal. why, as i told thee, 'tis a custom with him, i' th' afternoon to sleep: there thou mayst brain him, having first seized his books, or with a log batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake, or cut his wezand with thy knife. remember first to possess his books; for without them he's but a sot, as i am, nor hath not one spirit to command: they all do hate him as rootedly as i. burn but his books. he has brave utensils,--for so he calls them,- which, when he has a house, he'll deck withal. and that most deeply to consider is the beauty of his daughter; he himself calls her a nonpareil: i never saw a woman, but only sycorax my dam and she; but she as far surpasseth sycorax as great'st does least. steph. is it so brave a lass? cal. ay, lord; she will become thy bed, i warrant, and bring thee forth brave brood. steph. monster, i will kill this man: his daughter and i will be king and queen,--save our graces!--and trinculo and thyself shall be viceroys. dost thou like the plot, trinculo? trin. excellent. steph. give me thy hand: i am sorry i beat thee; but, while thou livest, keep a good tongue in thy head. cal. within this half hour will he be asleep: wilt thou destroy him then? steph. ay, on mine honour. ari. this will i tell my master. cal. thou makest me merry; i am full of pleasure: let us be jocund: will you troll the catch you taught me but while-ere? steph. at thy request, monster, i will do reason, any reason. come on, trinculo, let us sing. [_sings_] flout 'em and scout 'em and scout 'em and flout 'em; thought is free. cal. that's not the tune. [ariel _plays the tune on a tabor and pipe_. steph. what is this same? trin. this is the tune of our catch, played by the picture of nobody. steph. if thou beest a man, show thyself in thy likeness: if thou beest a devil, take't as thou list. trin. o, forgive me my sins! steph. he that dies pays all debts: i defy thee. mercy upon us! cal. art thou afeard? steph. no, monster, not i. cal. be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices, that, if i then had waked after long sleep, will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, the clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when i waked, i cried to dream again. steph. this will prove a brave kingdom to me, where i shall have my music for nothing. cal. when prospero is destroyed. steph. that shall be by and by: i remember the story. trin. the sound is going away; let's follow it, and after do our work. steph. lead, monster; we'll follow. i would i could see this taborer; he lays it on. trin. wilt come? i'll follow, stephano. [_exeunt._ [illustration: iris: '_i met her deity cutting the clouds towards paphos_' (page 110).] scene iii _another part of the island._ _enter_ alonso, sebastian, antonio, gonzalo, adrian, francisco, _and others_. gon. by'r lakin, i can go no further, sir; my old bones ache: here's a maze trod indeed through forth-rights and meanders! by your patience, i needs must rest me. _alon._ old lord, i cannot blame thee, who am myself attach'd with weariness, to the dulling of my spirits: sit down, and rest. even here i will put off my hope and keep it no longer for my flatterer: he is drown'd whom thus we stray to find, and the sea mocks our frustrate search on land. well, let him go. ant. [_aside to_ seb.] i am right glad that he's so out of hope. do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose that you resolved to effect. seb. [_aside to_ ant.] the next advantage will we take throughly. ant. [_aside to_ seb.] let it be to-night: for, now they are oppress'd with travel, they will not, nor cannot, use such vigilance as when they are fresh. seb. [_aside to_ ant.] i say, to-night: no more. [_solemn and strange music._ alon. what harmony is this? my good friends, hark! gon. marvellous sweet music! _enter_ prospero _above, invisible. enter several strange shapes, bringing in a banquet; they dance about it with gentle actions of salutation; and, inviting the king, etc. to eat, they depart._ alon. give us kind keepers, heavens! what were these! seb. a living drollery. now i will believe that there are unicorns, that in arabia there is one tree, the phoenix' throne, one phoenix at this hour reigning there. ant. i'll believe both; and what does else want credit, come to me, and i'll be sworn 'tis true: travellers ne'er did lie, though fools at home condemn 'em. gon. if in naples i should report this now, would they believe me? if i should say, i saw such islanders- for, certes, these are people of the island- who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet, note, their manners are more gentle-kind than of our human generation you shall find many, nay, almost any. pros. [_aside._] honest lord, thou hast said well; for some of you there present are worse than devils. alon. i cannot too much muse such shapes, such gesture and such sound, expressing, although they want the use of tongue, a kind of excellent dumb discourse. pros. [_aside._] praise in departing. fran. they vanish'd strangely. seb. no matter, since they have left their viands behind; for we have stomachs. will't please you taste of what is here? alon. not i. gon. faith, sir, you need not fear. when we were boys, who would believe that there were mountaineers dew-lapp'd like bulls, whose throats had hanging at 'em wallets of flesh? or that there were such men whose heads stood in their breasts? which now we find each putter-out of five for one will bring us good warrant of. alon. i will stand to and feed, although my last: no matter, since i feel the best is past. brother, my lord the duke, stand to and do as we. _thunder and lightning._ _enter_ ariel, _like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table; and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes_. ari. you are three men of sin, whom destiny, that hath to instrument this lower world and what is in't, the never-surfeited sea hath caused to belch up you; and on this island where man doth not inhabit; you 'mongst men being most unfit to live. i have made you mad; and even with such-like valour men hang and drown their proper selves. [alonso, sebastian, _etc. draw their swords_. you fools! i and my fellows are ministers of fate: the elements, of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at stabs kill the still-closing waters, as diminish one dowle that's in my plume: my fellow-ministers are like invulnerable. if you could hurt, your swords are now too massy for your strengths and will not be uplifted. but remember- for that's my business to you--that you three from milan did supplant good prospero; exposed unto the sea, which hath requit it, him and his innocent child; for which foul deed the powers, delaying, not forgetting, have incensed the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures, against your peace. thee of thy son, alonso, they have bereft; and do pronounce by me lingering perdition, worse than any death can be at once, shall step by step attend you and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from- which here, in this most desolate isle, else falls upon your heads--is nothing but heart-sorrow and a clear life ensuing. _he vanishes in thunder; then, to soft music, enter the shapes again, and dance, with mocks and mows, and carrying out the table._ pros. bravely the figure of this harpy hast thou perform'd, my ariel; a grace it had, devouring: of my instruction hast thou nothing bated in what thou hadst to say: so, with good life and observation strange, my meaner ministers their several kinds have done. my high charms work and these mine enemies are all knit up in their distractions; they now are in my power; and in these fits i leave them, while i visit young ferdinand, whom they suppose is drown'd, and his and mine loved darling. [_exit above._ gon. i' the name of something holy, sir, why stand you in this strange stare? alon. o, it is monstrous, monstrous! methought the billows spoke and told me of it; the winds did sing it to me, and the thunder, that deep and dreadful organ-pipe, pronounced the name of prosper: it did bass my trespass. therefore my son i' the ooze is bedded, and i'll seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded and with him there lie mudded. [_exit._ seb. but one fiend at a time, i'll fight their legions o'er. ant. i'll be thy second. [_exeunt_ sebastian _and_ antonio. gon. all three of them are desperate: their great guilt, like poison given to work a great time after, now 'gins to bite the spirits. i do beseech you that are of suppler joints, follow them swiftly and hinder them from what this ecstasy may now provoke them to. adr. follow, i pray you. [_exeunt._ [illustration: act iv] scene i _before_ prospero's _cell_. _enter_ prospero, ferdinand, _and_ miranda. pros. if i have too austerely punish'd you, your compensation makes amends, for i have given you here a third of mine own life, or that for which i live; who once again i tender to thy hand: all thy vexations were but my trials of thy love, and thou hast strangely stood the test: here, afore heaven, i ratify this my rich gift. o ferdinand, do not smile at me that i boast her off, for thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise and make it halt behind her. fer. i do believe it against an oracle. pros. then, as my gift and thine own acquisition worthily purchased, take my daughter: but if thou dost break her virgin-knot before all sanctimonious ceremonies may with full and holy rite be minister'd, no sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall to make this contract grow; but barren hate, sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew the union of your bed with weeds so loathly that you shall hate it both: therefore take heed, as hymen's lamps shall light you. fer. as i hope for quiet days, fair issue and long life, with such love as 'tis now, the murkiest den, the most opportune place, the strong'st suggestion our worser genius can, shall never melt mine honour into lust, to take away the edge of that day's celebration, when i shall think, or phoebus' steeds are founder'd, or night kept chain'd below. pros. fairly spoke. sit then and talk with her; she is thine own. what, ariel! my industrious servant, ariel! _enter_ ariel. ari. what would my potent master? here i am. pros. thou and thy meaner fellows your last service did worthily perform; and i must use you in such another trick. go bring the rabble, o'er whom i give thee power, here to this place: incite them to quick motion; for i must bestow upon the eyes of this young couple some vanity of mine art: it is my promise, and they expect it from me. ari. presently? pros. ay, with a twink. ari. before you can say 'come' and 'go,' and breathe twice and cry 'so, so,' each one, tripping on his toe, will be here with mop and mow. do you love me, master? no? pros. dearly, my delicate ariel. do not approach till thou dost hear me call. ari. well, i conceive. [_exit._ pros. look thou be true; do not give dalliance too much the rein: the strongest oaths are straw to the fire i' the blood: be more abstemious, or else, good night your vow! fer. i warrant you, sir; the white cold virgin snow upon my heart abates the ardour of my liver. pros. well. now come, my ariel! i bring a corollary, rather than want a spirit: appear, and pertly! no tongue! all eyes! be silent. [_soft music._ _enter_ iris. iris. ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats and pease; thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep, and flat meads thatch'd with stover, them to keep; thy banks with pioned and twilled brims, which spongy april at thy hest betrims, to make cold nymphs chaste crowns; and thy broom-groves, whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves, being lass-lorn; thy pole-clipt vineyard; and thy sea-marge, sterile and rocky-hard, where thou thyself dost air;--the queen o' the sky, whose watery arch and messenger am i, bids thee leave these, and with her sovereign grace, here on this grass-plot, in this very place, to come and sport: her peacocks fly amain: approach, rich ceres, her to entertain. [illustration: iris: '_you nymphs, call'd naiads, of the windring brooks, leave your crisp channels_' (page 112).] _enter_ ceres. cer. hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er dost disobey the wife of jupiter; who with thy saffron wings upon my flowers diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers, and with each end of thy blue bow dost crown my bosky acres and my unshrubb'd down, rich scarf to my proud earth; why hath thy queen summon'd me hither, to this short-grass'd green? iris. a contract of true love to celebrate; and some donation freely to estate on the blest lovers. cer. tell me, heavenly bow, if venus or her son, as thou dost know, do now attend the queen? since they did plot the means that dusky dis my daughter got, her and her blind boy's scandal'd company i have forsworn. iris. of her society be not afraid: i met her deity cutting the clouds towards paphos, and her son dove-drawn with her. here thought they to have done some wanton charm upon this man and maid, whose vows are, that no bed-right shall be paid till hymen's torch be lighted: but in vain; mars's hot minion is return'd again; her waspish-headed son has broke his arrows, swears he will shoot no more, but play with sparrows and be a boy right out. cer. high'st queen of state, great juno, comes; i know her by her gait. _enter_ juno. juno. how does my bounteous sister? go with me to bless this twain, that they may prosperous be and honour'd in their issue. [_they sing._ juno. honour, riches, marriage-blessing, long continuance, and increasing, hourly joys be still upon you! juno sings her blessings on you. cer. earth's increase, foison plenty, barns and garners never empty, vines with clustering bunches growing, plants with goodly burthen bowing; spring come to you at the farthest in the very end of harvest! scarcity and want shall shun you; ceres' blessing so is on you. fer. this is a most majestic vision, and harmonious charmingly. may i be bold to think these spirits? pros. spirits, which by mine art i have from their confines call'd to enact my present fancies. fer. let me live here ever; so rare a wonder'd father and a wise makes this place paradise. [juno _and_ ceres _whisper, and send_ iris _on employment_. pros. sweet, now, silence! juno and ceres whisper seriously; there's something else to do: hush, and be mute, or else our spell is marr'd. iris. you nymphs, call'd naiads, of the windring brooks, with your sedged crowns and ever-harmless looks, leave your crisp channels and on this green land answer your summons; juno does command: come, temperate nymphs, and help to celebrate a contract of true love; be not too late. [illustration: prospero: '_we are such stuff as dreams are made on_' (page 114).] _enter certain nymphs._ you sunburnt sicklemen, of august weary, come hither from the furrow and be merry: make holiday: your rye-straw hats put on and these fresh nymphs encounter every one in country footing. _enter certain reapers, properly habited: they join with the nymphs in a graceful dance; towards the end whereof_ prospero _starts suddenly, and speaks; after which, to a strange, hollow, and confused noise, they heavily vanish_. pros. [_aside._] i had forgot that foul conspiracy of the beast caliban and his confederates against my life: the minute of their plot is almost come. [_to the spirits._] well done! avoid; no more! fer. this is strange: your father's in some passion that works him strongly. mir. never till this day saw i him touch'd with anger so distemper'd. pros. you do look, my son, in a moved sort, as if you were dismay'd: be cheerful, sir. our revels now are ended. these our actors, as i foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air: and, like the baseless fabric of this vision, the cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve and, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. we are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep. sir, i am vex'd; bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled: be not disturb'd with my infirmity: if you be pleased, retire into my cell and there repose: a turn or two i'll walk, to still my beating mind. fer. mir. we wish your peace. [_exeunt._ pros. come with a thought. i thank thee, ariel: come. _enter_ ariel. ari. thy thoughts i cleave to. what's thy pleasure? pros. spirit, we must prepare to meet with caliban. ari. ay, my commander: when i presented ceres, i thought to have told thee of it, but i fear'd lest i might anger thee. pros. say again, where didst thou leave these varlets? ari. i told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking; so full of valour that they smote the air for breathing in their faces; beat the ground for kissing of their feet; yet always bending towards their project. then i beat my tabor; at which, like unback'd colts, they prick'd their ears, advanced their eyelids, lifted up their noses as they smelt music: so i charm'd their ears that calf-like they my lowing follow'd through tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss and thorns, which enter'd their frail shins: at last i left them i' the filthy-mantled pool beyond your cell, there dancing up to the chins, that the foul lake o'erstunk their feet. pros. this was well done, my bird. thy shape invisible retain thou still: the trumpery in my house, go bring it hither, for stale to catch these thieves. ari. i go, i go. [_exit._ pros. a devil, a born devil, on whose nature nurture can never stick; on whom my pains, humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost; and as with age his body uglier grows, so his mind cankers. i will plague them all, even to roaring. _re-enter_ ariel, _loaden with glistering apparel, etc._ come, hang them on this line. prospero _and_ ariel _remain, invisible. enter_ caliban, stephano, _and_ trinculo, _all wet_. cal. pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may not hear a foot fall: we now are near his cell. steph. monster, your fairy, which you say is a harmless fairy, has done little better than played the jack with us. do you hear, monster? if i should take a displeasure against you, look you,-trin. thou wert but a lost monster. cal. good my lord, give me thy favour still. be patient, for the prize i'll bring thee to shall hoodwink this mischance: therefore speak softly, all's hush'd as midnight yet. trin. ay, but to lose our bottles in the pool,-steph. there is not only disgrace and dishonour in that, monster, but an infinite loss. trin. that's more to me than my wetting: yet this is your harmless fairy, monster. steph. i will fetch off my bottle, though i be o'er ears for my labour. cal. prithee, my king, be quiet. see'st thou here, this is the mouth o' the cell: no noise, and enter. do that good mischief which may make this island thine own for ever, and i, thy caliban, for aye thy foot-licker. steph. give me thy hand. i do begin to have bloody thoughts. trin. o king stephano! o peer! o worthy stephano! look what a wardrobe here is for thee! cal. let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash. trin. o, ho, monster! we know what belongs to a frippery! o king stephano! steph. put off that gown, trinculo; by this hand i'll have that gown. trin. thy grace shall have it. cal. the dropsy drown this fool! what do you mean to dote thus on such luggage? let's alone and do the murder first: if he awake, from toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches, make us strange stuff. steph. be you quiet, monster. mistress line, is not this my jerkin? now is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin, you are like to lose your hair and prove a bald jerkin. trin. do, do: we steal by line and level, an't like your grace. steph. i thank thee for that jest; here's a garment for't: wit shall not go unrewarded while i am king of this country. 'steal by line and level' is an excellent pass of pate; there's another garment for't. trin. monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers, and away with the rest. cal. i will have none on't: we shall lose our time, and all be turn'd to barnacles, or to apes with foreheads villanous low. steph. monster, lay to your fingers: help to bear this away where my hogshead of wine is, or i'll turn you out of my kingdom: go to, carry this. trin. and this. steph. ay, and this. _a noise of hunters heard. enter divers spirits, in shape of dogs and hounds, hunting them about;_ prospero _and_ ariel _setting them on_. pros. hey, mountain, hey! ari. silver! there it goes, silver! pros. fury, fury! there, tyrant, there! hark! hark! [caliban, stephano, _and_ trinculo _are driven out_. go charge my goblins that they grind their joints with dry convulsions, shorten up their sinews with aged cramps, and more pinch-spotted make them than pard or cat o' mountain. ari. hark, they roar! pros. let them be hunted soundly. at this hour lies at my mercy all mine enemies: shortly shall all my labours end, and thou shalt have the air at freedom: for a little follow, and do me service. [_exeunt._ [illustration: ariel: '_all prisoners, sir, in the line-grove which weather-fends your cell_' (page 123).] [illustration: act v] scene i _before_ prospero's _cell_. _enter_ prospero _in his magic robes, and_ ariel. pros. now does my project gather to a head: my charms crack not; my spirits obey; and time goes upright with his carriage. how's the day? ari. on the sixth hour; at which time, my lord, you said our work should cease. pros. i did say so, when first i raised the tempest. say, my spirit, how fares the king and 's followers? ari. confined together in the same fashion as you gave in charge, just as you left them; all prisoners, sir, in the line-grove which weather-fends your cell; they cannot budge till your release. the king, his brother, and yours, abide all three distracted, and the remainder mourning over them, brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly him that you term'd, sir, 'the good old lord, gonzalo'; his tears run down his beard, like winter's drops from eaves of reeds. your charm so strongly works 'em, that if you now beheld them, your affections would become tender. pros. dost thou think so, spirit? ari. mine would, sir, were i human. pros. and mine shall. hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling of their afflictions, and shall not myself, one of their kind, that relish all as sharply, passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art? though with their high wrongs i am struck to the quick, yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury do i take part: the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent, the sole drift of my purpose doth extend not a frown further. go release them, ariel: my charms i'll break, their senses i'll restore, and they shall be themselves. [illustration: prospero: '_you demi-puppets that by moonshine do the green sour ringlets make_' (page 125).] ari. i'll fetch them, sir. [_exit._ pros. ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves, and ye that on the sands with printless foot do chase the ebbing neptune and do fly him when he comes back; you demi-puppets that by moonshine do the green sour ringlets make, whereof the ewe not bites; and you whose pastime is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice to hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid, weak masters though ye be, i have bedimm'd the noontide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, and 'twixt the green sea and the azured vault set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder have i given fire and rifted jove's stout oak with his own bolt; the strong-based promontory have i made shake and by the spurs pluck'd up the pine and cedar: graves at my command have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth by my so potent art. but this rough magic i here abjure, and, when i have required some heavenly music, which even now i do, to work mine end upon their senses that this airy charm is for, i'll break my staff, bury it certain fathoms in the earth, and deeper than did ever plummet sound i'll drown my book. [_solemn music._ _re-enter_ ariel _before: then_ alonso, _with a frantic gesture, attended by_ gonzalo; sebastian _and_ antonio _in like manner, attended by_ adrian _and_ francisco: _they all enter the circle which_ prospero _had made, and there stand charmed; which_ prospero _observing, speaks_: a solemn air and the best comforter to an unsettled fancy cure thy brains, now useless, boil'd within thy skull! there stand, for you are spell-stopp'd. holy gonzalo, honourable man, mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine, fall fellowly drops. the charm dissolves apace, and as the morning steals upon the night, melting the darkness, so their rising senses begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle their clearer reason. o good gonzalo, my true preserver, and a loyal sir to him thou follow'st! i will pay thy graces home both in word and deed. most cruelly didst thou, alonso, use me and my daughter: thy brother was a furtherer in the act. thou art pinch'd for't now, sebastian. flesh and blood, you, brother mine, that entertain'd ambition, expell'd remorse and nature; who, with sebastian, whose inward pinches therefore are most strong, would here have kill'd your king; i do forgive thee, unnatural though thou art. their understanding begins to swell, and the approaching tide will shortly fill the reasonable shore that now lies foul and muddy. not one of them that yet looks on me, or would know me: ariel, fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell: i will discase me, and myself present as i was sometime milan: quickly, spirit; thou shalt ere long be free. ariel _sings and helps to attire him_. where the bee sucks, there suck i: in a cowslips bell i lie; there i couch when owls do cry. on the bat's back i do fly after summer merrily. merrily, merrily shall i live now under the blossom that hangs on the bough. pros. why, that's my dainty ariel! i shall miss thee; but yet thou shalt have freedom: so, so, so. to the king's ship, invisible as thou art: there shalt thou find the mariners asleep under the hatches; the master and the boatswain being awake, enforce them to this place, and presently, i prithee. ari. i drink the air before me, and return or ere your pulse twice beat. [_exit._ gon. all torment, trouble, wonder and amazement inhabits here: some heavenly power guide us out of this fearful country! pros. behold, sir king, the wronged duke of milan, prospero: for more assurance that a living prince does now speak to thee, i embrace thy body; and to thee and thy company i bid a hearty welcome. alon. whether thou be'st he or no, or some enchanted trifle to abuse me, as late i have been, i not know: thy pulse beats as of flesh and blood; and, since i saw thee, the affliction of my mind amends, with which, i fear, a madness held me: this must crave, an if this be at all, a most strange story. thy dukedom i resign and do entreat thou pardon me my wrongs. but how should prospero be living and be here? pros. first, noble friend, let me embrace thine age, whose honour cannot be measured or confined. gon. whether this be or be not, i'll not swear. pros. you do yet taste some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you believe things certain. welcome, my friends all! [_aside to_ sebastian _and_ antonio.] but you, my brace of lords, were i so minded, i here could pluck his highness' frown upon you and justify you traitors: at this time i will tell no tales. seb. [_aside._] the devil speaks in him. pros. no. for you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother would even infect my mouth, i do forgive thy rankest fault; all of them; and require my dukedom of thee, which perforce, i know, thou must restore. [illustration: prospero: '_graves at my command have waked their sleepers_' (page 126).] alon. if thou be'st prospero, give us particulars of thy preservation; how thou hast met us here, who three hours since were wreck'd upon this shore; where i have lost- how sharp the point of this remembrance is!- my dear son ferdinand. pros. i am woe for't, sir. alon. irreparable is the loss, and patience says it is past her cure. pros. i rather think you have not sought her help, of whose soft grace for the like loss i have her sovereign aid, and rest myself content. alon. you the like loss! pros. as great to me as late; and, supportable to make the dear loss, have i means much weaker than you may call to comfort you, for i have lost my daughter. alon. a daughter? o heavens, that they were living both in naples, the king and queen there! that they were, i wish myself were mudded in that oozy bed where my son lies. when did you lose your daughter? pros. in this last tempest. i perceive, these lords at this encounter do so much admire that they devour their reason and scarce think their eyes do offices of truth, their words are natural breath: but, howsoe'er you have been justled from your senses, know for certain that i am prospero and that very duke which was thrust forth of milan, who most strangely upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was landed, to be the lord on't. no more yet of this; for 'tis a chronicle of day by day, not a relation for a breakfast, nor befitting this first meeting. welcome, sir; this cell's my court: here have i few attendants and subjects none abroad: pray you, look in. my dukedom since you have given me again, i will requite you with as good a thing; at least bring forth a wonder, to content ye as much as me my dukedom. _here_ prospero _discovers_ ferdinand _and_ miranda _playing at chess_. mir. sweet lord, you play me false. fer. no, my dear'st love, i would not for the world. mir. yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle, and i would call it fair play. alon. if this prove a vision of the island, one dear son shall i twice lose. seb. a most high miracle! fer. though the seas threaten, they are merciful; i have cursed them without cause. [_kneels._ alon. now all the blessings of a glad father compass thee about! arise, and say how thou camest here. mir. o, wonder! how many goodly creatures are there here! how beauteous mankind is! o brave new world, that has such people in't! pros. 'tis new to thee. alon. what is this maid with whom thou wast at play? your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours: is she the goddess that hath sever'd us, and brought us thus together? fer. sir, she is mortal; but by immortal providence she's mine: i chose her when i could not ask my father for his advice, nor thought i had one. she is daughter to this famous duke of milan, of whom so often i have heard renown, but never saw before; of whom i have received a second life; and second father this lady makes him to me. alon. i am hers: but, o, how oddly will it sound that i must ask my child forgiveness! pros. there, sir, stop: let us not burthen our remembrance with a heaviness that's gone. gon. i have inly wept, or should have spoke ere this. look down, you gods, and on this couple drop a blessed crown! for it is you that have chalk'd forth the way which brought us hither. alon. i say, amen, gonzalo! gon. was milan thrust from milan, that his issue should become kings of naples? o, rejoice beyond a common joy, and set it down with gold on lasting pillars: in one voyage did claribel her husband find at tunis, and ferdinand, her brother, found a wife where he himself was lost, prospero his dukedom in a poor isle, and all of us ourselves when no man was his own. alon. [_to_ fer. _and_ mir.] give me your hands: let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart that doth not wish you joy! gon. be it so! amen! _re-enter_ ariel, _with the_ master _and_ boatswain _amazedly following_. o look, sir, look, sir! here is more of us: i prophesied, if a gallows were on land, this fellow could not drown. now, blasphemy, that swear'st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore? hast thou no mouth by land? what is the news? boats. the best news is, that we have safely found our king and company; the next, our ship- which, but three glasses since, we gave out split- is tight and yare and bravely rigged as when we first put out to sea. ari. [_aside to_ pros.] sir, all this service have i done since i went. [illustration: boatswain: '_and were brought moping hither_' (page 137).] pros. [_aside to_ ariel.] my tricksy spirit! alon. these are not natural events; they strengthen from strange to stranger. say, how came you hither? boats. if i did think, sir, i were well awake, i'ld strive to tell you. we were dead of sleep, and--how we know not--all clapp'd under hatches; where but even now with strange and several noises, of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains, and mo diversity of sounds, all horrible, we were awaked; straightway, at liberty; where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld our royal, good and gallant ship, our master capering to eye her: on a trice, so please you, even in a dream, were we divided from them and were brought moping hither. ari. [_aside to_ pros.] was't well done? pros. [_aside to_ ariel.] bravely, my diligence. thou shalt be free. alon. this is as strange a maze as e'er men trod; and there is in this business more than nature was ever conduct of: some oracle must rectify our knowledge. pros. sir, my liege, do not infest your mind with beating on the strangeness of this business; at pick'd leisure which shall be shortly, single i'll resolve you, which to you shall seem probable, of every these happen'd accidents; till when, be cheerful and think of each thing well. [_aside to_ ariel.] come hither, spirit: set caliban and his companions free; untie the spell. [_exit_ ariel.] how fares my gracious sir? there are yet missing of your company some few odd lads that you remember not. _re-enter_ ariel, _driving in_ caliban, stephano, _and_ trinculo, _in their stolen apparel_. steph. every man shift for all the rest, and let no man take care for himself; for all is but fortune. coragio, bully-monster, coragio! trin. if these be true spies which i wear in my head, here's a goodly sight. cal. o setebos, these be brave spirits indeed! how fine my master is! i am afraid he will chastise me. seb. ha, ha! what things are these, my lord antonio? will money buy 'em? ant. very like; one of them is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable. pros. mark but the badges of these men, my lords, then say if they be true. this mis-shapen knave, his mother was a witch, and one so strong that could control the moon, make flows and ebbs, and deal in her command without her power. these three have robb'd me; and this demi-devil- for he's a bastard one--had plotted with them to take my life. two of these fellows you must know and own; this thing of darkness i acknowledge mine. cal. i shall be pinch'd to death. alon. is not this stephano, my drunken butler? seb. he is drunk now: where had he wine? alon. and trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they find this grand liquor that hath gilded 'em? how camest thou in this pickle? trin. i have been in such a pickle since i saw you last that, i fear me, will never out of my bones: i shall not fear fly-blowing. seb. why, how now, stephano! steph. o, touch me not; i am not stephano, but a cramp. pros. you'ld be king o' the isle, sirrah? steph. i should have been a sore one then. alon. this is a strange thing as e'er i look'd on. [illustration: prospero: '_calm seas, auspicious gales, and sail so expeditious_' (page 142).] [_pointing to_ caliban. pros. he is as disproportion'd in his manners as in his shape. go, sirrah, to my cell; take with you your companions; as you look to have my pardon, trim it handsomely. cal. ay, that i will; and i'll be wise hereafter and seek for grace. what a thrice-double ass was i, to take this drunkard for a god and worship this dull fool! pros. go to; away! alon. hence, and bestow your luggage where you found it. seb. or stole it, rather. [_exeunt_ cal., steph., _and_ trin. pros. sir, i invite your highness and your train to my poor cell, where you shall take your rest for this one night; which, part of it, i'll waste with such discourse as, i not doubt, shall make it go quick away; the story of my life and the particular accidents gone by since i came to this isle: and in the morn i'll bring you to your ship and so to naples, where i have hope to see the nuptial of these our dear-beloved solemnized; and thence retire me to my milan, where every third thought shall be my grave. alon. i long to hear the story of your life, which must take the ear strangely. pros. i'll deliver all; and promise you calm seas, auspicious gales and sail so expeditious that shall catch your royal fleet far off. [_aside to_ ariel.] my ariel, chick, that is thy charge: then to the elements be free, and fare thou well! please you, draw near. [_exeunt._ epilogue spoken by prospero now my charms are all o'erthrown, and what strength i have's mine own, which is most faint: now, 'tis true, i must be here confined by you, or sent to naples. let me not, since i have my dukedom got and pardon'd the deceiver, dwell in this bare island by your spell; but release me from my bands with the help of your good hands: gentle breath of yours my sails must fill, or else my project fails, which was to please. now i want spirits to enforce, art to enchant, and my ending is despair, unless i be relieved by prayer, which pierces so that it assaults mercy itself and frees all faults. as you from crimes would pardon'd be, let your indulgence set me free. printed by t. and a. constable, printers to his majesty at the edinburgh university press * * * * * * transcriber's note: some illustrations of this work have been moved from their original sequence to enable the contents to continue without interruption. the solitary of juan fernandez; or, the real robinson crusoe by the author of picciola. translated from the french by anne t. wilbur. mdcccli. contents. chapter i. the royal salmon.--pretty kitty.--captain stradling.--william dampier. --reveries and caprices of miss catherine. chapter ii. alexander selkirk.--the college.--first love.--eight years of absence. --maritime combats.--return and departure.--the swordfish. chapter iii. the tour of the world.--the way to manufacture negroes.--california. --the eldorado.--revolt of selkirk.--the log-book.--degradation. --a free shore. chapter iv. inspection of the country.--marimonda.--a city seen through the fog. --the sea every where.--dialogue with a toucan.--the first shot. --declaration of war.--vengeance.--a terrestrial paradise. chapter v. labors of the colonist.--his study.--fishing.--administration. --selkirk island.--the new prometheus.--what is wanting to happiness. --encounter with marimonda.--monologue. chapter vi. the hammock.--poison.--success.--a calm under the tropics.--invasion of the island.--war and plunder.--the oasis.--the spy-glass. --reconciliation. chapter vii. a tête-a-tête.--the monkey's goblet.--the palace.--a removal.--winter under the tropics--plans for the future.--property.--a burst of laughter.--misfortune not far off. chapter viii. a new invasion.--selkirk joyfully meets an ancient enemy.--combat on a red cedar.--a mother and her little ones.--the flock.--fête in the island; pacific combats, diversions and swings.--a sail.--the burning wood.--presentiments of marimonda. chapter ix. the precipice.--a dungeon in a desert island.--resignation.--the passing bird.--the browsing goat.--the bending tree.--attempts at deliverance. --success.--death of marimonda. chapter x. discouragement.--a discovery.--a retrospective glance.--project of suicide.--the last shot.--the sea serpent.--the _porro_. --a message.--another solitary. chapter xi. the island of san ambrosio.--selkirk at last knows what friendship is. --the raft.--visits to the tomb of marimonda.--the departure.--the two islands.--shipwreck.--the port of safety. chapter xii. the island of juan fernandez.--encounter in the mountains.--discussion. --a new captivity.--cannon-shot.--dampier and selkirk.--_mas a fuera_. --news of stradling.--confidences.--end of the history of the real robinson crusoe.--nebuchadnezzar. conclusion. new books and new editions. (advertising section) the solitary of juan fernandez, or the real robinson crusoe. * * * * * chapter i the royal salmon.--pretty kitty.--captain stradling.--william dampier. --reveries and caprices of miss catherine. about the commencement of the last century, the little town of st. andrew, the capital of the county of fife, in scotland, celebrated then for its university, was not less so for its inn, the royal salmon, which, built in 1681 by a certain andrew felton, had descended as an inheritance to his only daughter, catherine. this young lady, known throughout the neighborhood under the name of pretty kitty, had contributed not a little, by her personal charms, to the success and popularity of the inn. in her early youth, she had been a lively and piquant brunette, with black, glossy hair, combed over a smooth and prominent forehead, and dark, brilliant eyes, a style of beauty much in vogue at that period. though tall and slender in stature, she was, as our ancestors would have said, sufficiently _en bon point_. in fine, kitty merited her surname, and more than one laird in the neighborhood, more than one great nobleman even,--thanks to the familiarity which reigned among the different classes in scotland,--had figured occasionally among her customers, caring as little what people might say as did the brave duke of argyle, whom walter scott has shown as conversing familiarly with his snuff merchant. at present catherine felton is in her second youth. by a process common enough, but which at first appears contradictory, her attractions have diminished as they developed; her waist has grown thicker, the roses on her cheek assumed a deeper vermilion, her voice has acquired the rough and hoarse tone of her most faithful customers; the slender young girl is transformed into a virago. fortunately for her, at the commencement of the eighteenth century, and especially in scotland, reputations did not vanish as readily as in our days. notwithstanding her increasing size and coarser voice, catherine still remained pretty kitty, especially in the eyes of those to whom she gave the largest credit. besides, if from year to year her beauty waned, a circumstance which might tend to diminish the attractions of her establishment, like a prudent woman she took care that her stock of ale and usquebaugh should also from year to year improve in quality, to preserve the equilibrium. undoubtedly the visits of lairds and great noblemen at her bar were less frequent than formerly, but all the trades-people in town, all the sailors in port, from the gulf of tay to the gulf of forth, still patronized the pretty landlady. meanwhile catherine was not yet married. the gossips of the town were surprised, because she was rich and suitors were plenty; they fluttered around her constantly in great numbers, especially when somewhat exhilarated with wine. when their gallantry became obtrusive, kitty was careful not to grow angry; she would smile, and lift up her white hand, tolerably heavy, till the offenders came to order. catherine possessed in the highest degree the art of restraining without discouraging them, and always so as to forward the interests of her establishment. to maintain the discipline of the tavern, nevertheless, the presence of a man was desirable; she understood this. besides, the condition of an old maid did not seem to her at all inviting, and she did not care to wait the epoch of a third youth, before making a choice. but what would the unsuccessful candidates say? would not this decision be at the risk of kindling a civil war, of provoking perhaps a general desertion? then, too, accustomed as she was to command, the idea of giving herself a master alarmed her. she was vacillating amid all these perplexities, when a certain sailor, with cold and reserved manners, whose face bore the mark of a deep sabre cut, and who had for some time past, frequented her inn with great assiduity, without ever having addressed to her a single word, took her aside one fine morning and said: 'listen to me, kate, and do not reply hastily. i came here, not like many others, attracted by your beautiful eyes, but because i wished to obtain recruits for an approaching voyage which i expected to undertake at my own risk and peril. i do not know how it has happened, but i now think less about sailing; i seem to be stumbling over roots. right or wrong, i imagine that a good little wife, who will fill my glass while i am tranquilly smoking my pipe before a blazing fire, may have as many charms as the best brig in which one may sometimes perish with hunger and thirst. right or wrong, i imagine to myself again that the prattle of two or three little monkeys around me, may be as agreeable as the sound of the wind howling through the masts, or of spanish balls whistling about one's ears. all this, kate, signifies that i mean to marry; and who do you suppose has put this pretty whim into my head? who, but yourself?' catherine uttered an exclamation of surprise, perfectly sincere, for if she had expected a declaration, it was certainly not from this quarter. 'do not reply to me yet,' hastily resumed the sailor; 'he who pronounces his decree before he has heard the pleader and maturely reflected on the case, is a poor judge. to continue then. you are no longer a child, kate, and i am no longer a young man; you are approaching thirty----' at these words the pretty kitty made a gesture of surprise and of denial. 'do not reply to me!' repeated the pitiless sailor. 'you are thirty! i have already passed another barrier, but not long since. we are of suitable age for each other. the man should always have traversed the road before his companion. you are active and genteel; that does very well for women. you have always been an honest girl, that is better still. as for me, my skin is not so white as yours, but it is the fault of a tropic sun. it is possible that i may be a little disfigured by the scar on my cheek; but of this scar i am proud; i had the honor of receiving it, while boarding a vessel, from the hand of the celebrated jean bart, who, after having on that occasion lost a fine opportunity of being honorably killed, has just suffered himself to die of a stupid pleurisy; but it is not of him but of myself that we are now to speak. after having fought with jean bart, i have made a voyage with our not less celebrated william dampier, whom i may dare call my friend. you may therefore understand, kate, that if you have the reputation of an honest girl, i have that of a good sailor. the name of captain stradling is favorably known upon two oceans, and it will be to your credit, if ever, with your arm linked in mine, we walk as man and wife, through any port of england or scotland. i have said. now, look, reflect; if my proposition suits you, i will settle for life on _terra firma_, and bid adieu to the sea; if not, i resume my projected expedition, and it will be to you, kate, that i shall say adieu.' catherine opened her mouth to thank him, as was suitable, for his good intentions. 'do not reply to me!' interrupted he again; 'in three days i will come to receive your decision.' and he went out, leaving her amazed at having listened to so long a speech from one, who until then, seated motionless in a distant corner of the room, had always appeared to her the most rigid and silent of seamen. that very day catherine has come to a decision concerning the captain; she thinks him ugly and disagreeable, coarse and ignorant; he has dared to tell her that she is thirty years old, and she will hardly be so at st. valentine's day, which is six weeks ahead, at least. besides the scar which he has received from the celebrated jean bart, his countenance has no beauty to boast of: his face is long and pale, his temples are furrowed with wrinkles, and his lips thick and heavy; his eyebrows, at the top of his forehead, seem to be lost in his hair; his eyes are not mates, his nose is one-sided; his form is perhaps still worse; he walks after the fashion of a duck. fie! can such a man be a suitable match for the rich landlady of the royal salmon, for the beautiful kitty; for her who, among so many admirers and lovers, has had but the difficulty of a choice? the next day towards nightfall, catherine, seated in her bar, in the large leathern arm-chair which served as her throne, with dreamy and downcast brow, and chin resting on her hand, was still thinking of captain stradling, but her ideas had assumed a different aspect from those of the evening before. she was saying to herself: 'if he has thick and heavy lips, it is because he is an englishman; if he walks like a duck, it is because he is a sailor; if he has taken me to be thirty years old, that proves simply that he is a good physiognomist, and i shall have one painful avowal the less to make after marriage. as for his scar, he has a thousand reasons to be proud of it, and, upon close examination, it is not unbecoming. it would be very difficult for me to choose a husband, on account of the discontented suitors who will be left in the lurch; but i will relinquish my business, and that will put an end to all inconvenience. he is rich, so much for the profit; he is a captain, so much for the honor. come, come, mistress stradling will have no reason to complain!' at this moment, catherine felton could meditate quite at her ease, without fear of being noticed; for the tobacco smoke, three times as dense and abundant as usual, enveloped her in an almost opaque cloud. there was this evening a grand _fête_ at the tavern of the royal salmon. the concourse of customers was immense, and this time, it was neither the beauty of the hostess, nor the quality of the liquors which had attracted them thither. the serving-men and lasses were going from table to table, multiplying themselves to pour out, not only the golden waves of strong beer and usquebaugh, but the purple waves of claret and port; all faces were smiling, all eyes sparkling, and in the midst of the huzzas and _vivas_, was heard, with triple applause, the name of william dampier. this celebrated man, now a corsair, now a skilful seaman, who had just discovered so many unknown straits and shores, who had just made the tour of the world twice, in an age when the tour of the world did not pass, as at present, for a trifling matter; who had published, upon his return, a narrative full of novel facts and observations; this pitiless and intelligent pirate, who studied the coasts of peru while he pillaged the cities along its shores, and meditated, in the midst of tempests, his learned theory of winds and tides, william dampier, had landed, this very day at the little port of st. andrew. at the intelligence of his arrival, the whole maritime population of the coast was in commotion; the society of the _old pilots_, with that of the _sea dogs_, had sent to him deputations, headed by the principal ship-owners in the town. captain stradling had not failed to be among them, happy at the opportunity of once more meeting and embracing his former friend. speeches were made, as if to welcome an admiral, speeches in which were passed in review all his noble qualities and the great services rendered by him to the marine interest. to these dampier replied with simplicity and conciseness, saying to the orators: 'gentlemen and dear comrades, you must be hoarse, let us drink!' this first trait of eccentricity could not fail to enlist universal applause. commissioned by him to lead the column, stradling could not do otherwise than to take the road to the royal salmon. it was on this occasion that he appeared there before the expiration of the three days: but he had not addressed a word to catherine, scarcely turned his eyes towards her. nevertheless the circumstances were favorable to his suit. then a millionaire, william dampier had immediately declared his intentions to treat at his own expense the whole company and even the whole town, if the town would do him the honor to drink with him. catherine at once took him into favor. when she heard him praise his friend and companion, the brave captain stradling, she felt for the latter, not an emotion of tenderness, but a sentiment of respect and even of good-will. dampier, excited by his audience, did not fail, like other conquerors by land and sea, to recount some of his great deeds. among others, he recapitulated a certain affair in which he and his friend stradling had captured a spanish galleon, laden with piastres. from this moment the beautiful kitty became more thoughtful, and began to see that the scar was becoming to the face of this good captain. after drinking, when dampier, still escorted by his _fidus achates_, came to settle his account with the hostess, he chucked her familiarly under the chin, as was his custom with landladies in the four quarters of the globe. from any one else, the proud catherine would not have suffered such a liberty; to this, she replied only by a graceful reverence, and, while the hero and paymaster of the _fête_ shook a rouleau of gold upon her counter, she said, hastily bending towards stradling: 'to-morrow!' accompanying this word with an expressive look and her most gracious smile. the enamored stradling, always impassible, contented himself with replying: 'it is well!' the day following, the third, the important day, that which catherine already regarded as her day of betrothal, early in the morning, she dressed herself in her best attire, not doubting the impatience of the captain. before noon, the latter entered the inn and went directly up to the landlady. she received him carelessly and coldly; she was nervous, she had not had time for reflection; she did not know what the captain wished; if he would let her alone for the present, by and by she would consider. 'boy! a new pipe and some ale!' exclaimed stradling, addressing a waiter. and, perfectly calm in appearance, he sauntered to his accustomed place at the farther end of the bar-room. however, before leaving the royal salmon, approaching catherine, he said: 'yesterday, by your voice and gesture you said, or almost said, yes; we sailors know the signals; to-day it is no, or almost no. very well, i will wait; but reflect, my beauty, we are neither of us young enough to lose our time in this foolish game.' but what had thus unexpectedly changed, from white to black, the good intentions of catherine in the captain's behalf? the presence of a young boy whom she had not seen for many years, and towards whom she had, until then, felt only a kindly indifference. chapter ii. alexander selkirk.--the college.--first love.--eight years of absence. --maritime combats.--return and departure.--the swordfish. alexander selkirk,--the name of the principal personage in this narrative,--was born at largo, in the county of fife, not far from st. andrew. entered as a pupil in the university of the town, he at first distinguished himself by his aptitude and his intelligence, until the day when, hearing of the beauty of the landlady of the royal salmon, he was seized with an irresistible desire to see her: he saw her, and became violently enamored. it was one of those youthful passions, springing rather from the effervescence of the age, than from the merit of the object; one of those sudden ebullitions to which the young recluses of science are sometimes subject, from a prolonged compression of the natural and affectionate sentiments. from this moment, all the words in the greek and latin dictionaries, all the principles of natural philosophy, mathematics and history, suddenly taken by storm, whirled confusedly and pell-mell in the head of selkirk, like the elements of the world in chaos, before the day of creation. his professors had predicted that at the annual exhibition he would obtain six great prizes; he obtained not even a premium. as a punishment, he was required to remain within the college grounds during the vacation. but its gates were not strong enough, nor its walls high enough to detain him. condemned, for the crime of desertion, to a classic imprisonment, he was shut up in a cellar; he escaped through the window; in a garret; he descended by the roof. then, pronounced incorrigible, he was expelled from the university. he left it joyous and happy, escaped from the tutor commissioned to conduct him to his father, and at last wholly free, his own master, he took lodgings in a cabin, not far from the royal salmon, and thought himself monarch of the universe. as soon as the doors of the inn were opened, he penetrated there with the earliest fogs of morning, with the first beams of day; in the evening he was the last to cross the threshold, after the extinction of the lights. all day long, seated at a little table opposite the bar, between a pipe and a pewter pot, he watched the movements of kitty, and followed her with admiring eyes. catherine was not slow to perceive this new passion; but she was accustomed to admiring eyes, and therefore paid but little heed to them. she was then at the age of twenty-two, in all the glory of her transient royalty; he, scarcely sixteen, was in her eyes a boy, a raw and awkward boy, like almost all the other students, and she contented herself with now and then bestowing a slight smile upon him, in common with her other customers. but this mechanical smile, this half extinguished spark, did but increase the flame, by kindling in the young man's soul a ray of hope. at this age, passion has not yet an oral language; it is in the heart, in the head especially, but not on the lips; one comprehends, experiences, dreams, writes of love in prose and verse, but does not talk of it. selkirk had twenty times attempted to confess his affection to catherine; he had as yet succeeded only in a few simple and hasty meteorological sentences, on the rain and fine weather. he therefore wrote. unfortunately, catherine could not easily read writing; she applied to him to interpret his letter. this was a hard task for the poor boy, who, with a tremulous and hesitating voice, saw himself forced to stammer through all that burning phraseology which seemed to congeal under the breath of the reader. the result however was that catherine became his friend; she encouraged his confidence, and gave him good advice as an elder sister might have done. she even called him by the familiar name of sandy, which was a good omen. meanwhile his scanty resources became exhausted; he had no longer means to pay for the pot of ale which he consumed daily. the idea of asking credit of his beloved, of opening with her an account, which he might never have means to pay, was revolting to him. on the other hand, the thought of returning home, and asking pardon of his father, was not less repugnant to his feelings. he was endowed with one of those haughty and imperious natures which recognize their faults, not to repair them, but to make of them a starting point, or even a pedestal. he was rambling about the port, reflecting on his unfortunate situation, when he heard mention made of a ship ready to set sail at high tide, and which needed a reinforcement of cabin-boys and sailors. this was for him an inspiration; he did not hesitate, he hastened to engage. that very evening he had gained the open sea, beyond the isle of may, and, with his eyes turned towards the bay of st. andrew, was attempting, in vain, to recognize among the lights which were yet burning in the city, the fortunate lantern which decorated the sacred door of the royal salmon. at present, alexander selkirk is twenty-four years old. he has become a genuine sailor, and he loves his profession; the sea is now his beautiful kitty. besides, it is long since he has troubled himself about his heart. it is empty, even of friendship, for, among his numerous companions, the proud young man has not found one worthy of him. after having served two years in the merchant marine, he has entered the navy. thanks to the war kindled in europe for the spanish succession, he has for a long time cruised with the brave admiral rooke along the coasts of france; with him, he has fought against the danish in the baltic sea, and in 1702, in the capacity of a master pilot, figured honorably in the expedition against cadiz, and in the affair of vigo. finally, under the command of admiral dilkes, he has just taken part in the destruction of a french fleet. but all these expeditions, rather military than maritime, and circumscribed in the narrow circle of the seas of europe, have not satisfied the vast desires of the ambitious sailor. he experiences an invincible thirst to apply his knowledge, to exercise his intelligence on a larger scale; he is impatient for a long voyage, a voyage of discovery. the terrific hurricane of the twenty-seventh of november, 1703, which drove the waves of the thames even into westminster, hall, and covered london almost entirely with the fragments of broken vessels, appeared to selkirk a favorable occasion for asking his dismissal. he easily obtained it. so many sailors had just been thrown out of employment by the hurricane. once more, the undisciplined scholar found himself free and his own master! he profited by this to pay a visit to his birthplace in scotland. his father was dead, but he had some business to regulate there. on reaching largo he learned the arrival of william dampier at st. andrew. he set sail for that port immediately. 'ah!' said he on his way, 'if this brave captain should be about to undertake a voyage to the new world, and will let me accompany him, no matter in what capacity, all my wishes will be gratified. i thirst to see tattooed faces, other trees besides beeches, oaks and firs; other shores than those of the baltic, mediterranean and atlantic. who knows whether i may not aid him in the discovery of some new continent, some unknown island which shall bear my name!' and, cradled by the wave in the frail canoe that bore him, he dreamed of government, perhaps of royalty, in one of those archipelagoes which he imagined to exist in the bosom of the distant southern seas, long afterwards explored by cook, bougainville and vancouver. once in port, he hastened to inquire for the dwelling occupied by dampier. the latter was absent; he was in the harbor. while awaiting his return, our young sailor thought of his old friend catherine, his pretty black-eyed kitty, and directed his steps towards the inn. he found her already enthroned in her leathern arm-chair, her hair neatly braided, with two small curls on her temples; in a toilette which the early hour of the morning did not seem to authorize; but it was the famous third day, and she was awaiting stradling. on seeing selkirk enter, she exclaimed to the boy, pointing to the newly-arrived: 'a pot of ale!' 'no,' cried the young man smiling; 'the ale which i once drank here was for me a philter full of bitterness; a glass of whiskey, if you please,----' and, pointing to the little table opposite the bar at which he was formerly accustomed to place himself, he said: 'serve me there; i will return to my old habits.' catherine looked at him with astonishment. 'does not pretty kate recognize me?' said he in a caressing tone, approaching her. 'how! is it possible! is it you, indeed, sandy?' 'yes, alexander selkirk, formerly a fugitive from the university of st. andrew; recently a master pilot in the royal marine; now, as ever, your very humble servant.' and they shook hands, and examined each other closely, but the impression on both sides was far from being the same. catherine finds selkirk much changed, but for the better; time and navigation have been favorable to him. he is no longer the raw student with embarrassed air, awkward manner, bony frame and dilapidated costume; but a stout young man, with a broad chest, active and graceful form; though his features are decidedly scotch, they are handsome; his eyes, less brilliant than formerly, are animated with a more attractive thoughtfulness, and the naval uniform, which he still wears, sets off his person to advantage. on his part, selkirk finds catherine also much changed; the rosy complexion, the soft voice, the youthful look, the twenty-two years, all are gone. her form has assumed a superabundant amplitude. they drop each other's hands and utter a sigh; he, of regret; she, of surprise. both close their eyes, at the same time; she, with the fear of gazing too earnestly; he, to recall the being of his imagination. however this may be, she is not yet a woman to be despised by a sailor. he therefore prolongs his visit: they come to interrogations, to confidences. catherine acquaints him with the situation of her little business affairs; her fortune is improving; she gives him an estimate of it in round numbers, as well as of the suitors she has rejected; but she does not mention captain stradling, whose arrival she yet fears every moment. selkirk relates to her his campaigns, his combats against the french, against the danish, the victorious attack of the english ships against the great boom of vigo; but, when she asks him what motive has brought him back to st. andrew, he replies boldly that he came to see her and no one else, and says not a word of captain dampier, whom he is even now impatient to meet. at last the old friends say adieu. then the gallant sailor, with an apparent effort, goes away, not forgetting, however, to drink his glass of whiskey. and this is the reason why, on the third day, catherine has the vapors; this is the reason why, notwithstanding her soft words of the evening before and her grand morning toilette, she receives so coldly the scarred adversary of the celebrated jean bart. during the whole of the week following, stradling, dampier and selkirk, did not fail to meet at the royal salmon. selkirk came to see dampier; dampier came to see stradling; stradling came to see catherine felton. the latter thought the young man already knew the two others, that he had sailed with them, and was not surprised at their intimacy. sometimes selkirk, leaving his companions in the midst of their bottles and glasses, would describe a tangent towards the counter, and come to converse with the pretty hostess. he no longer felt love for her, and notwithstanding this, perhaps for this very reason, he now talked eloquently. kitty blushed, was embarrassed, and poor captain stradling, listening with all his ears to the narratives of his illustrious friend william dampier, or pre-occupied with his pipe, lost in its cloud, saw nothing,--or seemed to see nothing. nevertheless one evening, he went, in his turn, to lean on the counter: 'kate,' said he, 'when is our marriage to take place?' 'are you thinking of that still?' replied she, with an air of levity which would once have became her better; 'i hoped this fancy had passed out of your head.' 'i may then set out on my voyage, kate?' 'why not? we will talk of our plans on your return.' 'but i am going to make the tour of the world, as well as my friend dampier. kate, it is the affair of three years!' 'so much the better! it will give us both time for reflection.' 'it is well!' replied the phlegmatic englishman, and nothing on his polar face betokened an afterthought. the doors closed, the lights extinguished, catherine retired to rest the happiest woman in the world. she said to herself: 'alexander loves me, and has loved me for eight years! he deserves to be rewarded. he has less money than the other, it is a misfortune; but he has more youth and grace, that balances it. as to rank, a master pilot of twenty-four is as far advanced as a captain of forty. between selkirk and myself, if the wealth is on my side, on his will be gratitude and little attentions. at all events, i prefer a young husband who will whisper words of love in my ear, to amusing myself by pouring out drink for my lord and master, while he smokes his pipe, with his feet on the brands. was it not thus that icicle, dressed in blue, called stradling, talked to me of the pleasures of marriage? and what a name! but mistress selkirk!--that sounds well. in our scotland, there is the county of selkirk, the town of selkirk; there is even a great nobleman of this name, who is something like minister to our queen anne, i believe. who knows? we are perhaps of his family! as for walking about the port arm-in-arm with a captain, i am sure my very dear friends and neighbors would die with jealousy if i took, instead of this scarred captain, a young and handsome man. it is settled. i will marry alexander; to-morrow i will myself announce it to him. i hope he will not die of joy!' on the morrow she attired herself as on the day of selkirk's return, in her beautiful dress of cloth and silk, with the two little curls upon her temples. she thus waited a great part of the day. at last, about four o'clock, selkirk arrives in haste, his face beaming with joy, and a gleam of triumph in his eye. 'has he then,' thought catherine, 'a presentiment of the happiness in store for him?' 'congratulate me, pretty kitty,' said the young man, almost out of breath; 'i am appointed mate of the brig swordfish, which i am to join at dunbar.' 'how! you are going?' 'in an hour.' 'for a long time?' 'for three years at least. in a fortnight we set sail for the east indies. it will be a great commercial voyage and a voyage of discovery. unfortunately william dampier does not accompany us; but he furnishes funds to the brave captain stradling.' 'stradling!' 'yes, it is he who has just engaged me, and with whom i am to sail. our agreement is signed,--i am mate! i am going to explore the new world! ah! i would not exchange my fate for that of a king. but time presses; adieu, kitty, till i see you again!' 'three years!' murmured catherine. and her curls grew straight beneath the cold perspiration that covered her forehead. chapter iii. the tour of the world.--the way to manufacture negroes--california. --the eldorado.--revolt of selkirk.--the log-book.--degradation. --a free shore. the swordfish, well provisioned, even with guns and ammunition, left dunbar one morning with a fresh breeze, sailed down the north sea, passed ireland, france and spain, the azores, canaries, and cape verd islands on the coast of africa, and, after having stopped for a short time in the harbors of guinea and congo, doubled the cape of good hope, amid the traditional tempest. entering the indian ocean, and passing through the straits of sunda, she touched at borneo, and at java, reached the southern sea by the gulf of siam, passed the philippine isles, then, through the vast regions of the pacific ocean, pursued the route which had been marked out by the exploring ship of william dampier in 1686. like that, the swordfish remained a few days at the island of st. pierre, before launching into that immensity where, during nearly two months, wave only succeeded to wave; at last she reached the coasts of south america, and cast anchor in the gulf of california. this gigantic voyage, which seemed as if it must have been attempted under the inspiration of science and with the hope of the most important discoveries, had been undertaken by stradling with no object but of traffic and even of rapine. these had been the great ends of most of the bold enterprises which had preceded. the spanish and portuguese, in their discoveries of new continents, had thought less of glory than of riches; they had conquered the new world only to pillage it; the vanquished who escaped extermination, were forced to dig their native soil, not to render it more fruitful, but to procure from it, for the profit of the vanquisher, the gold it might contain. among the european nations, those who had had no part in the conquest now sought to share the spoils. for this the least pretext of war or commerce sufficed. stradling availed himself of both these pretences; when he touched at the coasts of guinea and congo, it was to obtain negroes whom he expected to sell in america. at borneo, the opportunity presented itself for an advantageous disposal of the greater part of his black merchandize; as he was a man of resources and not at all scrupulous, he soon found means to replace them. in the straits of sunda, several barques, manned by negroes and malays, had become entangled in the masses of seaweed which are every where floating on the surface of the wave; stradling encountered them, made the rowers enter his ship, and obligingly took the barques in tow, to extricate them from their difficulty. but those who ascended the side of the swordfish, descended only to be sold in their turn. although he had received an education superior to that of his companions, selkirk shared in the prejudices of his times; he had therefore found nothing objectionable in seeing his captain exchange at congo little mirrors, a few glass beads, half a dozen useless guns, and some gallons of brandy, for men still young and vigorous, torn from their country and their families. their skin was of another color, their heads woolly; this was a profitable traffic, recognized by governments; but when he saw stradling seize the property of others to refill his empty hold, he could not control his indignation and boldly expressed it: 'it is for their salvation,' replied the captain, without emotion; 'we will make christians of them.' on approaching the vermilion sea, a deep gulf which separates california from the american continent, and makes it almost an island, the malays were rubbed with a mixture of tar and dragon's blood, dissolved in a caustic oil, to give to their olive skins a deeper shade, and their flat noses and silky hair making them pass for yolof negroes, they were exchanged at cape st. lucas, along with the rest, for pearls and native productions. the young mate thought this proceeding not less mean and dishonorable than the first; he made new observations. 'nothing now remains to be done, captain,' said he, 'but to shave and besmear with tar the monkey you have just bought, and to include it among your new race of negroes.' this time, the captain looked at him askance, and shrugged his shoulders without replying. the storm was beginning to growl in the distance. it was not without a secret object that, in his course through the southern sea, stradling had first of all aimed at california. he devoted an entire month to cruising along both shores of this almost island, and penetrating all the bays of the vermilion sea; he hoped to find there a passage to an unknown land, then predicted and coveted by all navigators. what was this land? the _eldorado_! although i would hasten over these details of the voyage to arrive at the more important events of this history; now that the recent discovery of the immense mines of gold buried beneath the hills of california has aroused the entire world, that the name alone of _sacramento_ seems to fill with gold the mouth which pronounces it, there is a curious fact, perhaps entirely unknown, which i cannot pass over in silence. after the middle of the sixteenth century, and long before the seventeenth, a vague rumor, a confused tradition, had located, in the neighborhood of the vermilion sea, a famed land, whose rivers rolled over gold, and whose mountains rested on golden foundations; the treasures of mexico and peru were nothing in comparison with those which were to be gathered there. an ingot of native gold was talked of, of a _pepite_ or eighty pounds weight. it was a grape from the promised land. this marvellous country had been named, in advance, _eldorado_. among the bold argonauts of these two centuries, there was a contest as to who should first raise his flag over this new colchis, defended, it was said, by the apaches, a terrible, sanguinary and cannibal race, whom cortez himself could not subdue. this land of gold some had located in new biscay or new mexico; others, in the pretended kingdoms of sonora and quivira; then, after several ineffectual attempts, the possibility of reaching it was denied; learned men, from the various academies of europe, proved that the _eldorado_ was not a country, but a dream; on this subject the old world laughed at the new; the argonauts became discouraged, and during a century the subject was named only to be ridiculed. and yet, in spite of sceptics and scoffers, the _eldorado_ existed. it existed where tradition had placed it, on the shores of this vermilion sea, now the gulf of california. for once, popular opinion had the advantage over scientific dissertations and philosophic denials; there, where, according to the dictionary of alcedo, nothing had been discovered but mines of pewter! where jacques baegert had indeed acknowledged the presence of gold, but _in meagre veins_; where raynal had named as curiosities only fishes and pearls, declaring, in california, _the sea richer than the land_; where in our own times m. humboldt discovered nothing but cylindrical cacti, on a sandy soil, remained buried, as a deposit for future ages, this treasure of the world, which seemed to be waiting in order to leave its native soil, the moment of falling into the hands of a commercial and industrious people, that of the united states. this _eldorado_, stradling sought in vain; he therefore decided to pursue his route along the coast of mexico, now under the french flag, when he found an opportunity for traffic with the natives, colonists or savages; now under the english flag, when he wished to exercise his trade of corsair, an easy profession, for since the disaster of vigo, the spanish had abandoned their transatlantic possessions to themselves. the spanish soldiery of america then found themselves, in the presence of european adventurers, in that state of pusillanimous inferiority in which had been, at the period of the conquest, the subjects of the incas and montezuma before the soldiers of cortez and pizarro. the time was not already far passed, when a few bands of freebooters, from france, england and holland, had well nigh wrested from his majesty, the king of spain and the indies, the most extensive and wealthy of his twenty-two hereditary kingdoms. stradling was following in the footsteps of these freebooters. recently, two little cities on the coast had been put under contribution for the supplies of the swordfish; there had been resistance, a threatened attack, a parley, and capitulation; in this affair, the young mate had nobly distinguished himself both as a combatant and a negotiator, and yet the captain had not deigned to give him a share in his distribution of compliments. selkirk felt an irritation the more lively that this shore life began to be irksome. not that his conscience disturbed him any more than in the treatment of the blacks; he thought it as honorable to war with the spaniards in the new world, as to be beaten by them in the old; but he compared his present chief, captain stradling, with his former commander, the noble and brave admiral rooke; the parallel extended in his mind to his old companions in the royal navy, all so frank, so gay, so loyal,--among whom he had yet never found a friend,--and his new companions of to-day, recruited for the most part in the marshy lowlands of the merchant marine of scotland; his thoughts became overshadowed, and his desires for independence, which dated from his college life, returned in full force. as much as his duties permitted, he loved to isolate himself from all; when he could remain some time alone in his cabin, or gaze upon the sea from a retired corner of the deck and watch the ploughing of the vessel, then only he was happy. as if to increase his uneasiness, stradling became daily more severe and more exacting towards his chief officer; he imposed upon him rude labors foreign to his station. it seemed as if he were determined to drive him to desperation. he succeeded. selkirk protested against such treatment, and recapitulated his subjects of complaint. the other paid no more attention than he would have done to the buzzing of a fly. irritated by this outrageous impassibility, the young man declared that there should no longer be any thing in common between them, and that, whatever fate might await him, he demanded to be set on shore. stradling touched his forehead: 'that is a good idea,' said he, and he turned away. the next day, they reached the isthmus of panama; the persevering selkirk returned to the charge: 'the moment is favorable for ridding yourself of me, and me of you,' said he to the captain; 'let the boat convey me to the shore; i will cross the isthmus, reach the gulf of darien, the north sea, and return to scotland, even before the swordfish!' this time the honest corsair listened attentively, then shaking his head and winking his eye, with the smile of a hungry vampire, replied: 'you are then in great haste to be married, comrade.' it was the first word he had addressed to him relative to catherine during this long voyage, and this word selkirk had not even understood. they were about passing panama: the vessel continuing her voyage, selkirk interposed his authority, ordered the men to put about, take in sail and approach the shore. this stradling prohibited, uttered a formidable oath, and commanded the young man to bring the log-book. when it was brought, he made the following entry: 'to-day, sept. 24th, 1704, alexander selkirk, mate of this vessel, having mutinied and attempted to desert to the enemy, we have deprived him of his title and his office; in case of obstinacy we shall hang him to the yard-arm.' and he read the sentence to the offender. from this day, the rebel saw himself compelled to serve in the swordfish as a simple sailor, and his subordinates of yesterday, to-day his equals, indemnified themselves for the authority he had exercised over them, which did not cure him of that native contempt he had always felt for mankind. a month passed away thus, during which the swordfish several times touched the shores of peru, now to renew her supplies of provisions and water, now to exchange with the indians, nails, hatchets, knives, and necklaces of beads, for gold dust, furs, and garments trimmed with colored feathers. during one of these pauses, selkirk, left on the ship, accosted the captain once more. he knew that the remains of some bands of freebooters were colonized there, leading a peaceful and agricultural life; this fact was known to all. at coquimbo in chili, some english and dutch pirates had formed a settlement of this kind, now in the full tide of prosperity. selkirk, who, during an entire month, had not spoken to the captain, now demanded, in a voice which he attempted to render calm and almost supplicating, to be landed at coquimbo, from which they were only a few days sail. 'you will not this time accuse me of wishing to desert to the enemy; they are the english, scotch, dutch, our countrymen and allies whom i wish to join! do you still suspect me? well, do not content yourself with setting me on shore; place me in the hands of the chief men of the settlement. will that suit you?' stradling winked significantly; but this was all. 'ah!' resumed the young man with increasing emotion, 'do not think to detain me longer on board, to crush me beneath this humiliation! i consented to serve under your orders as mate, and you have made me the lowest of your sailors; this you had no right to do.' stradling took his glass and directed it towards the shore, where his people were engaged in trafficking their beads and hardware. raising his head and folding his arms: 'captain,' pursued selkirk with vehemence, 'some day or other we shall return to england, where the laws protect all; there, i shall have the right of complaint, and queen anne loves to render justice; beware!' stradling, still spying, began to whistle _god save the queen_; then he called his monkey and made it gambol before him. 'i will depart, i will free myself from your presence, and that of your worthy companions; i will do so at all events, do you understand!' exclaimed selkirk exasperated, 'i will not endure your infamous treatment another week! if you refuse to consent to my demand, i will leave without your permission; were the vessel twenty miles from the land, and were i to perish twenty times on the way, i will attempt to swim ashore. will you land me at coquimbo, yes or no? reply!' by way of reply, stradling ordered him to be confined in the hold. poor selkirk! ah! if pretty kitty, if the beautiful landlady of the royal salmon could know all thou hast endured for her sake, how many tears would her fine eyes shed over thy fate! but who knows whether she will ever hear of thee? who can tell whether any human being will learn the sufferings in reserve for thee? poor selkirk! you who painted to yourself so smiling a picture of this grand voyage to america; who hoped to leave, like dampier, your name to some strait, some newly discovered island; you who dreamed of scientific walks in vast prairies and under the arches of virgin forests, you have shared only in the career of a trafficker and a pirate; of this new world, full of marvellous sights, you have seen only the shore, the fringe of the mantle, the margin of this last work of god! poor selkirk, must you then return to your cold and foggy scotland, without having contemplated at your ease, beneath the brilliant sun of the tropics, one of those edens overshadowed by the luxuriant verdure of palm-trees, bananas, mimosas and gigantic ferns? in your country, the bark of the trees is clad with lichens and mosses, and the parasite mistletoe suspends itself to the branches, more as a burden than as an ornament; here, numerous families of the orchis, with their singular forms, showy and variegated blossoms, climb along the knotty stems of the tall monarchs of the forests; from their feet spring up, as if to enlace them with a magic network, the brilliant passiflora, the vanilla with its intoxicating perfume, the banisteria whose roots seem to have dived into mines of gold and borrowed from thence the color of its petals! hither the birds of paradise and brazilian parrots come to build their nests; here the bluebird and the purple-necked wood-pigeon coo and sing; here, like swarms of bees, thousands of humming-birds of mingled emerald and sapphire, warble and glitter as they suck the nectar from the flowers. this was what you hoped to contemplate, poor selkirk! and this joy, like many others, is henceforth forbidden. in his floating prison, in his submarine cell, his only employment is to listen to the dashing of the waves against the ship, or now and then to catch a glimpse of the blue sky through the hatchways. what cares he? he does not complain; he has learned to abhor mankind, and he loves to be alone, in company with himself and his own thoughts. several days passed in this manner. one morning he felt the brig slacken its speed; the dashing of the wave against the prow diminished, and the swordfish, suddenly furling its sails, after having slightly rocked hither and thither, stopped. they had just cast anchor. where? he knows not. soon he hears the rattling of the rope-ladder which serves as a stairway to those above who would communicate with his prison. they come, on the part of the captain, to seek him. he finds the latter seated on the deck, surrounded by his principal men. 'young man,' said stradling, 'i have been obliged to be severe for the sake of an example; but you have been sufficiently punished by the time you have passed below there,'--and he pointed to the ship's hold. 'now, your wish shall be granted. you shall be allowed to land.' and the rare smile which sometimes hovered on his lips, stole over his rigid face. 'so much the better,' replied selkirk, laconically. the boat was let down; he entered it, and ten minutes afterwards disembarked on a green shore, where the waves, as they broke upon it, seemed to murmur softly in his ear the word, _liberty_! the boat immediately rejoined the ship, which set sail, coasted along chili and patagonia, and re-entered the northern sea by the straits of magellan. chapter iv. inspection of the country.--marimonda.--a city seen through the fog. --the sea every where.--dialogue with a toucan.--the first shot. --declaration of war.--vengeance.--a terrestrial paradise. while watching the departure of the swordfish, alexander selkirk felt the same sensation as on that day when he had seen the doors of the college of st. andrew thrown open for his exit; once more he was his own master. now, however, it is at some thousands of miles from his country that he must reap the benefits of his independence, and this idea embitters his emotions of joy. but is he not about to find countrymen at coquimbo? and if their society should be unpleasing?--if their habits, their mode of life, their persons, should become objects of antipathy to the misanthropic selkirk, as it is but natural to fear? well! after all, no engagement binds him to them; he will be always free to enter, in the capacity of a sailor, the first vessel which may leave for europe. determined to act as shall seem good to him,--to make some excursions into the interior of the continent, if an opportunity presents itself, and he will know how to make one,--he casts a first glance at the land of his adoption. before him extends a vast shore, studded with groves of trees, covered with fine turf and little flowers joyfully unfolding their petals to the sun: two streams, having their source at the very base of the opposite hills, after having meandered around this immense lawn, unite almost at his feet. he bends down to one of these streams, fills the hollow of his hand with water, and tastes it, as a libation, and as a toast to the generous land which has just received him; the water is excellent; he plucks a flower, and continues his inspection. on his left rise high mountains, terraced and verdant, excepting at their summits, on one of which he perceives a goat, with long horns, stationed there immovable like a sentinel, and whose delicate profile is clearly defined on the azure of the sky. on the side towards the sea, the mountains, bending their gray and naked heads, resemble stone giants, watching the movements of the wave which dashes at their feet. on his right, where the land declines, he sees little valleys linked together with charming undulations; but on the mountains at his left, in the valleys at his right, among the hills in the distance, his eye vainly seeks the vestige of a human habitation. he sets out in search of one. the boat from which he landed has deposited on the shore his effects--his arms, his nautical instruments, his charts, a bible, and provisions of various kinds. notwithstanding his piratical sentiments, the captain of the swordfish has not designed to precede exile by confiscation. selkirk takes his gun, his gourd; but, unable to carry all his riches, he conceals them behind a stony thicket, well defended by the darts of the cactus, and the sword-like leaves of the aloe, not caring to have the first comer seize them as his booty. as he is occupied with this duty, he feels himself suddenly clasped by two long hairy arms; he turns his head, it is marimonda, the captain's monkey, a female of the largest species. how came she there? selkirk does not know. disgusted with her sea-voyages, with the intelligence natural to her race, marimonda has undoubtedly profited by the moment of the boat's leaving the ship to conceal herself in it and gain the shore along with the prisoner, which she might easily have done, unseen by all, during the transporting of the effects and provisions. however this may be, selkirk begins by freeing himself from her grasp, repulses the monkey and sets out: but the latter perseveres in following, and after having, by her most graceful grimaces, sought to conciliate him, marches beside him. not caring to arrive at coquimbo escorted by such a companion, which would give him in a city the appearance of a mountebank and showman of monkeys, selkirk, this time, repulses her rudely, not with his hand, but with the butt of his gun. struck in the breast by this home thrust, the poor monkey stops, rolls up her eyes, moves her lips, and growling confusedly her complaints and reproaches, crouches beneath a tuft of the sapota, leaving the man to pursue his way alone. selkirk has at first directed his steps toward the valleys; after having traversed these, he arrives at the margin of a sandy plain, and as far as the eye can reach, perceives neither city, village, house, tent nor hut, nothing which can indicate the presence of inhabitants. nevertheless, a little grove which he has just traversed, seems to have recently, in its principal path, passed under the shears of a gardener; the foliage presents a certain symmetry; fragments of branches are strewed, on the ground, which seem to have been freshly cut; he even thinks he sees vestiges of the passage of a flock. on the lawn of the shore, he has seen, and still sees around him, trees with tufted heads, which must owe this form to art. he continues his researches. at last, in the distance, beneath a fog which is just beginning to dissolve, he perceives a vast mass of white and red houses, some with terraced roofs, others covered with thatch; through the humid veil which envelopes them, he sees the glistening of the glass in the windows; already he hears at his feet the confused noise of cities; murmuring voices reply; the measured sound of hammers and of mills even reaches his ear. it is coquimbo! he cannot doubt it, and shortening his route by a path across the hill, he quickens his pace. meanwhile an east wind arises, the fog disappears; when he thinks he has reached the suburbs of the city, selkirk sees before him only an irregular assemblage of calcareous stones, crowned with dry herbs, or reddish, arid, angular rocks, flattened at their summits, tessellated with fragments of silex and mica, on which the sun is just pouring his rays; a company of goats, which the mist had condemned to a momentary repose, are bounding here and there, startling flocks of clamorous black-birds and plaintive sea-gulls; the fearless and yellow-crested woodpeckers alone do not stir, but continue to hammer with their sharp beaks at some old stunted trees. the disenchantment is painful for our sailor; the fog has deceived him with the semblance of a city, as it has more than once deluded us in the midst of plains and woods, by the appearance of an ocean with its white waves, its great capes, its bold shores, and its vessels at anchor. perhaps coquimbo is still beyond. fearing to lose himself if he ventures farther in an unknown land, he resolves to explore it first by a look. returning to the shore upon which he had landed, he scales the mountains on the north, reaches the first platform, and from thence seeks to discover some indications of a city. nothing! he still ascends, the circle enlarges around him, but with no better result. summoning all his courage, through a thousand difficulties, climbing, drawing himself up by the arid and abrupt rocks, piled one upon another, he at last attains a culminating point of the mountain. he can now embrace with his eye an immense horizon, but this immense horizon is the sea! on his right, on his left, before him, behind him, every where the sea! he is not on the continent, but on an island. this evening, exhausted with fatigue, he lies down in a grotto at the foot of the mountain, where he passes a night full of agitation and anxiety. rising with the sun, his first care, the next morning, is to examine his riches and his provisions. he returns to the thicket of cactus and aloes. besides two guns, two hatchets, a knife, an iron pot, a bible and nautical instruments, all articles belonging to him, he finds there a quantity of nails, a large fragment of a sail, several horns of powder and shot; a bag of ship biscuit, a salted quarter of pork, a little cask of pickled fish, and a dozen cocoa-nuts. the night before, at sight of these articles, he had supposed a sentiment of justice and humanity to exist in the soul of the corsair. just now, he had said to himself that stradling, deceived by a false reckoning of latitude, had landed him on an island, perhaps believing it to be a projecting shore of the continent. now, the abundance of his supplies, this biscuit, these salt provisions, these fruits of the cocoa, all valueless if he had really landed at coquimbo, lead him to suspect that the vindictive englishman has designedly chosen the place of his exile. but this exile, is it complete isolation? is the island inhabited or deserted? if it is inhabited, as he still believes he has reason to suppose, by whom is it so? that he may obtain a reply to this double question, he resolves to traverse the country in its whole extent. at the very commencement of his journey, the immobility of a bird suffices to give to the doubt, on which his thoughts vacillate, the appearance almost of a certainty. this bird is a toucan, of brilliant plumage and monstrous beak. selkirk passes near it, with his eyes fixed on the branch which serves as a perch, and the toucan, without stirring, looks at him with a species of calm and placid astonishment. selkirk stops; he comprehends the mute language of the bird. 'you do not know then what a man is! he is the enemy of every creature to whom god has given life, the enemy even of his kind! you have then never been threatened by the arms that i bear!' and with the palm of his hand, striking the butt of his gun, he made the hammer click. at the sound of his voice, as at the noise of the hammer, the bird raised its head, manifesting new and redoubled surprise, but without any other movement. it seemed to think that the man and the gun were one, and that its strange interlocutor possessed two different voices. at last, by way of reply, it uttered a few shrill and prolonged cries, accompanied by the rattling of its two horny mandibles. after which, acting the great nobleman, cutting short the audience he has deigned to grant, the toucan is silent, turns its head, proudly raises one of its wings and busies itself in smoothing, with the point of its large beak, its beautiful greenish feathers, variegated with purple. at some distance from this spot, still following the margin of a wooded hill, selkirk sees other birds, some in their nests, others warbling in the shade; all manifesting no more alarm at his presence than did the toucan. crested orioles, hooded bullfinches, alight to pick up little grains or insects almost at his feet; humming-birds, variegated cotingas, red manaquins flutter before him in the sunbeams, pursuing invisible flies; little wood-peckers, black or green, hop around the trunks of the trees, stopping a moment to see him pass and then resuming their spiral ascent. the confidence which he inspires is not confined to these winged people. upon a hillock of turf he perceives an animal, with pointed nose, brown fur enamelled with red spots, and of the size of a hare; seated on its hind paws, longer than those in front, it uses these, after the manner of squirrels, to carry to its mouth some nuts of the maripa, which constitute its breakfast. it is an agouti,[1] a mother, her little ones are near. at sight of the stranger they run to her, but quickly re-assured, quietly finish their morning repast. farther on, coatis,[2] with short ears, and long tails; companies of little guinea pigs; armadillos, a species of hedge-hog without the quills, but covered with an armor of scales, more compact and impervious than that of the ancient knights of the middle ages, arrange themselves along the line of his route, as if to pass him in review. [footnote 1: _agouti_. an animal of the bigness of a rabbit, with bright red hair, and a little tail without hair. he has but two teeth in each jaw; holds his meat in his forepaws like a squirrel, and has a very remarkable cry: when he is angry, his hair stands on end, and he strikes the earth with his hind feet; and when chased, he flies to a hollow tree, whence he is expelled by smoke.--_trevoux_.] [footnote 2: the _coati_ is a native of brazil, not unlike the racoon in the general form of the body, and, like that animal, it frequently sits up on the hinder legs, and in this position carries its food to its mouth. if left at liberty in a state of tameness, it will pursue poultry, and destroy every living thing that it has strength to conquer. when it sleeps it rolls itself into a lump, and remains immovable for fifteen hours together. his eyes are small, but full of life; and when domesticated, this creature is very playful and amusing. a great peculiarity belonging to this animal is the length of his snout, which resembles in some particulars the trunk of the elephant, as it is movable in every direction. the ears are round, and like those of a rat; the forefeet have five toes each. the hair is short and rough on the back, and of a blackish color; the tail is marked with rings of black, like the wild cat; the rest of the animal is a mixture of black and red.] alas! this general quiet does but deepen in the heart of selkirk the certainty of his isolation. nevertheless, yesterday, said he to himself, in this thick wood, did i not see alleys trimmed with the shears, trees shaped by the pruning-knife? and the little grove which he visited the evening previous, at that instant presents itself before him. he examines the trees; they are myrtles of various heights; but among their glossy branches, he in vain seeks traces of the pruning-knife or shears; nature alone has thus disposed in spheroids or umbels the extremities of this rich vegetation. the same disappointment awaits him in the underwood. the only pruners have been goats, or other animals, daintily cropping the green shoots. then only does the complete and terrible certainty of his disaster fall on him and crush him. behold him blotted from the number of men, perhaps condemned to die of misery and of hunger! more securely imprisoned, more entirely forgotten by the world than the most hardened criminal plunged in the lowest depths of the bastile! he at least, has a jailor! miserable stradling! at this moment he hears a noise above his head: it is the monkey. marimonda, on her side, has also inspected the island; she has already tasted its productions. whether she is satisfied with her discoveries, or whether forgiveness and forgetfulness of injuries are natural to her, on perceiving her old companion, wagging her head in token of good-will, she descends towards him from the tree on which she is perched. but marimonda is the captain's monkey; she has been his property, his favorite, his flatterer! in the disposition of mind in which selkirk finds himself, he does not need these thoughts to make him pitiless. marimonda reminds him of stradling; the monkey shall pay for the man! he lowers his gun, and fires. the monkey has seen the movement and divined his intentions; she has only time to retreat behind her tree, which does not prevent her receiving in her side a part of the charge. this detonation of fire-arms, the first perhaps which has resounded in this corner of the earth since the creation of the world, as it is prolonged from echo to echo, even to the highest mountains, awakens in every part of the island as it were a groan of distress. instinct, that sublime prescience, has revealed to all that a great peril has just been born. to the cries of affright from birds of every species, to the uneasy and distant bleating of the goats, succeeds a plaintive moaning, like the voice of a wailing infant. it is marimonda lamenting over her wound. at nightfall, after an entire day of walks and explorations, selkirk is returning to his grotto on the shore, when he sees a stone fall at his feet, then another. while he, astonished, is seeking to divine the direction from which this invisible battery plays, a little date-stone hits him on the cheek. he immediately hears as it were a joyous whistling in the foliage, which is agitated at his right, and sees marimonda leaping from tree to tree, using for this movement her feet, her tail, and one hand; for she holds the other to her side. it is a compress on her wound. war is already in the island! selkirk has a declared enemy here! and this island, is it deserted? he has just traversed it in every direction without seeing any thing which betokens the existence of a human being. his disaster is then complete; henceforth not a doubt of it can exist. and yet his forehead wears rather the character of hope and fortitude than of discouragement; it is more than resignation, it is pride. he has just visited his empire. the island, irregular in form, is from four to five leagues in length; in breadth it is from one and a half to two leagues. this abode to which he is condemned, is the most enchanting retreat he could have chosen; a luxuriant park cradled upon the waves. if sometimes, in the mountainous parts, he has encountered sterile and rugged rocks, even abysses and precipices, they seem to be placed there only as a contrast to the fresh and green valleys which encircle them. if he has seen some dark, dense, inaccessible forests, entangled in the thousand arms of interwoven vines, he has not discovered a single reptile. every where, springs of living water, little streams which are lost under a thick verdure, or fall in cascades from the summits of the hills; every where a luxuriant vegetation; esculent and refreshing plants, celery, cresses, sorrel, spring in profusion beneath his feet; over his head, and almost within reach of his hand, palm-cabbages, and unknown fruits of succulent appearance: on the margin of the shores, muscles, periwinkles, shell-fish of every species, crabs crawling in the moist sand; beneath the transparent waters, innumerable shoals of fishes of all colors, all forms. will game be wanting here? after what he has seen this morning, he will not even need his gun to obtain it. oh! his provision of powder will last him a long time. what has he to desire more in this terrestrial paradise? the society of men? why? that he may find a master, a chief, under whose will he must bend? men! but he despises, detests them! is he not then sufficient for himself? yes! this shall be his glory, his happiness! to live in entire liberty, to depend only upon himself, will not this impart to his soul true dignity? besides, this island cannot be so far from the coast, but, from time to time, ships, or at least boats must come in sight. this is then for him but a transient seclusion; but were he even condemned to eternal isolation, this isolation has ceased to terrify him, he accepts it! has he not almost always lived alone, in spirit at least? when he was in the depths of the hold, was he not better satisfied with his fate than when surrounded by those coarse sailors who composed the worthy crew of the swordfish? to-day he is no longer the prisoner of stradling, he is the prisoner of god! and this thought reassures him. a sailor, he has never loved but the sea; well! the sea surrounds him, guards him! he has then only thanks to render to god. arrived at his grotto, he takes his bible, opens it; but the sun, suddenly sinking below the horizon, permits him to read only this passage on which his finger is placed: 'thou shalt perish in thy pride!' chapter v. labors of the colonist.--his study.--fishing.--administration. --selkirk island.--the new prometheus.--what is wanting to happiness. --encounter with marimonda.--monologue. three months have passed away. thanks to selkirk, the shore which received him at his disembarkation, presents to-day an aspect not only picturesque, but animated. the hand of man has made itself felt there. the bushes and tufts of trees which hid the view of the hills in the distance, have been uprooted and cut down; pretty paths, covered with gravel, wind over the vast lawn; one in the direction of the valleys at the right, another towards the mountains at the left; a third leads to a tall mimosa, whose topmost boughs and dense foliage spread out like a parasol. a wooden bench, composed of some round sticks, driven into the earth, with branches interwoven and covered with bark, surrounds it; a rustic table, constructed in the same manner, stands at the foot of the tree. this is the study and place of meditation of the exile; here also he comes to take his meals, in sight of the sea. all three paths terminate in the grotto which selkirk continues to make his residence. this grotto he has enlarged, quarried out with his hatchet, to make room for himself, his furniture, and provisions. he has even attempted to decorate its exterior with a bank of turf, and several species of creeping plants, trained to cover its calcareous nudity. at the entrance of his habitation, rise two young palm-trees, transplanted there by him, to serve as a portico. but nature is not always obedient to man; the vines and palm-trees do not prosper in their new location, and now the long flexible branches of the one, and the broad leaves of the other, droop half withered above the grotto, which they disfigure rather than decorate. by constant care, and with the aid of his streams, selkirk hopes to be able to restore them to life and health. he has imposed on his two streams another duty, that of supplying a bed of water-cresses and a fish-pond, both provident establishments, the first of which has succeeded perfectly. as for the second, his most arduous task has been, not to dig the fish-pond, but to people it. for this purpose he has been compelled to become a fisherman, to manufacture a net. he has succeeded, with some threads from his fragment of a sail, the fibres of his cocoa-nuts, and tough reeds, woven in close meshes; unfortunately those fine fishes, breams, eels and angel-fish, which show themselves so readily through the limpid wave, are not as easy to catch as to see. under the surface, almost at a level with the water, there is a ledge of rocks, upon which the net cannot be managed. after several fruitless attempts, he is obliged to content himself with the insignificant employment of fishing with a line; a nail flattened, sharpened and bent, performs the office of a hook. success ensues, but only with time and patience; fortunately the sea-crabs allow themselves to be caught with the hand, and the fish-pond does not long remain useless and deserted. besides, has not our fortunate selkirk the resource of hunting? the chase he had commenced generously, like a wise monarch, who wages war only for the general interest. it is true, that as it happens with most wise monarchs, his own private interest is also to be consulted, at least he thinks so. wild cats existed in the island, destroying young broods, agoutis, and other small game; he has almost entirely rid it of these pirates, reserving to himself only the right of levying upon his subjects the tribute of blood. he has already signalized his administration by acts of an entirely different nature. this king without a people, is ignorant in what part of the great ocean, and at what distance from its shores, is situated his nameless kingdom. armed with his spy-glass, by the aid of his nautical charts, he attempts to ascertain, by the position of the stars, its longitude and latitude. he at first believes himself to be in one of the islands forming the group of chiloe; his calculations rectified, he afterwards thinks it the island of juan fernandez, then san ambrosio, or san felix. unable to determine the location exactly, for want of correct instruments, he persuades himself that the country he inhabits has never been surveyed, that it is really a land without a name, and he gives it his own; he calls it selkirk island. ambitious youth, thou hast thus realized one of thy brightest dreams! dost thou remember the day when, on the way from largo to st. andrew, to join william dampier, thou didst already see thyself the chief of a new country, discovered and baptized by thee? well! has he not more than discovered this country? he inhabits it, he governs it, he reigns in it! not satisfied with giving his name to the island, he soon creates a special nomenclature for its various localities. to the shore upon which he landed, he gives the name of _swordfish beach_; the pile of white and red rocks, which he saw through the fog, is the _false coquimbo_; he calls _toucan forest_, the wood where he saw that bird for the first time; the _defile of attack_, is that where marimonda assaulted him with stones; upon these arid rocks, furrowed by deep ravines and abounding in precipices, he has imposed the odious name of _stradling_! in his mountains he has the _oasis_; it is a little shady valley, enlivened by the murmur of a streamlet, and with one extremity opening to the sea. there he often goes to watch the game and the goats, which come to drink at the brook. above it rises the table-land, with difficulty scaled by him on the day of his arrival, and from whence he became convinced that he had landed on an island. this table-land, he has named _the discovery_. the two streams which meander over his lawn, and before his grotto, have also received names. this, commissioned to feed the fish-pond, and which gently warbles through the grass, he calls _the linnet_; the other, interrupted by little cascades, and whose course is more rapid and impetuous, he calls _the stammerer_. he has now destroyed the noxious animals, administered government, opened ways of communication, given a name to every part of his island. how many great rulers have done no more! but his labors have not been confined to his fish-pond, his bed of water-cresses, his hunting, fishing, building, felling of trees; it has become necessary to procure that essential element of civilization, of comfort, fire. what could the opulent proprietor of this enchanting abode do without fire? is it not necessary, if he would open a passage through the dense woods? is it not indispensable to his kitchen? some of his trees, it is true, afford fruits in abundance; but most of these fruits are of a dry and woody nature; besides, young and vigorous, easily acquiring an appetite by labor and exercise, can he content himself with a dinner which is only a dessert? surrounded with fishes of all colors, with feathered and other game, must he then be reduced to dispute with the agoutis, their maripa-nuts? he reflects; armed with a bit of iron, he strikes the flinty rocks of the mountains, to elicit from them useless sparks. he then remembers that savages obtain fire without flint and matches, by the friction of two pieces of dry wood; he tries, but in vain; he exhausts the strength of his arms, without being discouraged; he tries each tree, wishing even that a thunderbolt might strike the island, if it would leave there a trace of burning. at last, almost discouraged, he attacks the pimento-myrtle;[1] he recommences his customary efforts of rubbing. the twigs grow warm with the friction; a little white smoke appears, fluttering to and fro between his hands, rapid and trembling with emotion. the flame bursts forth! he utters a cry of triumph, and, hastily collecting other twigs and dry reeds, he leaps for joy around his fire, which, like another prometheus, he has just stolen, not from heaven, but from earth! [footnote 1: _myrtus aromatica_; its berries are known under the name of jamaica pepper.] afterwards, in his gratitude, he runs to the myrtle, embraces it, kisses it. an act of folly, perhaps; perhaps an act of gratitude, which ascended higher than the topmost branches of the trees, higher than the culminating summits of the mountains of the island. but this fire, must he, each time he may need it, go through the same tedious process? not far from his grotto, in a cavity which a projecting rock protects from the sea breeze, he piles up wood and brush, sets fire to it, keeps it alive from time to time, by the addition of combustibles, and comprehends why, among primitive nations, the earliest worship should have been that of fire; why, from zoroaster to the vestals, the care of preserving it should have been held sacred. at a later period, in the ordinary course of things, he simplified his means of preservation. with some threads and the fat of his game, he contrived a lamp; still later, he had oil, and reeds served him for wicks. dating from this moment, the entire island paid tribute to him; the crabs, the eels, the flesh of the agouti, savory like that of the rabbit, by turns figured on his table. when he seasoned them with some morsels of pork, substituting ship biscuit for bread, his repasts were fit for an admiral. although the goats had become wild, like the other inhabitants of the island, since all had learned the nature of man, and of the thunder, which he directed at his will, selkirk still surprised them within gun-shot. not only was their flesh profitable for food; their horns, long and hollow, served to contain powder and other small articles necessary to his house-keeping; of their skins he made carpets, coverings, and bags to protect his provisions from dampness. he even manufactured a game-pouch, which he constantly carried when hunting. his salt fish, his biscuit, some well smoked quarters of goat's flesh, and the productions of his fish-pond, at present constitute a store on which he can live for a long time, without any care, but to ameliorate his condition. he is now in possession of all the enjoyments he has coveted, abundance, leisure, absolute freedom. and yet, his brow is sometimes clouded, and an unaccountable uneasiness torments him; something seems wanting; his appetite fails, his courage grows feeble, his reveries are painfully prolonged. but, by mature reflection, he has discovered the cause of the evil. what is it that is so essential to his happiness? tobacco. our factitious wants often exercise over us a more tyrannical empire, than our real ones; it seems as if we clung with more force and tenacity to this second nature, because we have ourselves created it; it originates in us; the other originates with god, and is common to all! selkirk now persuades himself that tobacco alone is wanting to his comfort; it is this privation which throws him into these sorrowful fits of languor. if stradling had only given him a good stock of tobacco, he would have pardoned all; he no longer feels courage to hate him. what to him imports the plenty which surrounds him, if he has no tobacco? of what use is his leisure, if he cannot spend it in smoking? what avails even this fire, which he has just conquered, if he is prevented from lighting his pipe at it? careworn and dissatisfied, he was wandering one morning through his domains, with his gun on his shoulder, his hatchet at his belt, when he perceived something dancing on a point of land, shadowed by tall canes. it was marimonda. at sight of her enemy, she darted lightly and rapidly behind a woody hillock. an instant afterwards, he saw her tranquilly seated on the topmost branch of a tree, holding in each of her hands fruits which she was alternately striking against the branch, and against each other, to break their tough envelope. the sight of marimonda has always awakened in selkirk a sentiment of repulsion; she not only reminds him of stradling, but with her withered cheeks, projecting jaw, and especially her dancing motion, he now imagines that she resembles him; and yet, pausing before her, he contemplates her not without a lively emotion of surprise and interest. he had already encountered her within gun-shot, when engaged in the destruction of the wild cats, and had asked himself whether he should not reckon her among noxious animals. but then marimonda, with her hand constantly pressed against her side, was with the other seizing various herbs, which she tasted, bruised between her teeth, and applied to her wound; useless remedies, doubtless, for, grown meagre, her hair dull and bristling, she seemed to have but a few days to live, and selkirk thought her not worth a charge of powder and shot. and here he finds her alert and healthy, holding in the same hand which had served as a compress, no longer the plant necessary for her cure, but the fruit desirable for her sustenance. 'what,' said selkirk to himself, 'in an island where this frightful monkey has never before been, she has succeeded in finding without difficulty the _herba sacra_, that which has restored her to health and strength! and i, selkirk, who have studied at one of the principal universities of scotland, i am vainly sighing for the plant which would suffice to render me completely happy! is instinct then superior to reason? to believe this, would be ingratitude to providence. instinct is necessary, indispensable to animals, because they cannot benefit by the traditions of their ancestors. the monkey has consulted her instinct, and it has inspired her; if i consult reason, what will be her counsel? she will advise me to do like the monkey; to seek the herb of which i feel so great a want, or at least to endeavor to substitute for it something analogous; to choose, try, and taste, in short, to follow the example of marimonda! i will not fail to do so; but it is nature reversed, and, for a man, it is too humiliating to see himself reduced to imitate a monkey!' chapter vi. the hammock.--poison.--success.--a calm under the tropics.--invasion of the island.--war and plunder.--the oasis.--the spy-glass. --reconciliation. do you see, upon a carpet of fresh verdure, the sandy margin of which is bathed by a caressing wave, that hammock suspended to the branches of those fine trees? what happy mortal, during the heat of the day, is there gently rocked, gently refreshed, by a light sea breeze? it is selkirk; and this hammock is his sail, attached to his tall myrtles by strips of goat-skin. perhaps he is resting after the fatigues of the day? no, it is the day of the lord, and selkirk now can consecrate the sabbath to repose. with his eyes half closed, he is inhaling, undoubtedly, the perfume of his myrtles, the soft fragrance of his heliotropes? no, something sweeter still pre-occupies him. is he dreaming of his friends in scotland, of his first love? he has never known friendship, and the beautiful catherine is far from his memory. what is he then doing in his hammock? he is smoking his pipe. his pipe! has he a pipe? he has them of all forms, all sizes--made of spiral shells of various kinds, of maripa-nuts, of large reeds; all set in handles of myrtle, stalks of coarse grain, or the hollow bones of birds. in these he is luxurious; he has become a connoisseur; but this has not been the difficulty. before every thing else, tobacco was wanting. in consequence of his encounter with marimonda, he ransacked the woods and meadows, seeking among all plants those which approximated nearest to the nature of the nicotiana. as it was necessary to judge by their taste, he bit their leaves--chewed them, still in imitation of the monkey: but, to his new and profound humiliation, less skilful or less fortunate than the latter, he obtained at first no other result than a sort of poisoning: one of these plants being poisonous. for several days he saw himself condemned to absolute repose and a spare diet. his mouth, swollen, excoriated, refused all nourishment; his throat was burning; his body was covered with an eruption, and his languid and trembling limbs scarcely permitted him to drag himself to the stream to quench there the thirst by which he was devoured. he believed himself about to die; and grief then imposing silence on pride, with his eyes turned towards the sea, he allowed a long-repressed sigh to escape his heart. it was a regret for his absent country. very soon these alarming symptoms disappeared; his strength returned; his water-cresses and wild sorrel completed the cure. would he have dared to ask it of the other productions of his island? he had become suspicious of nature; these, at least, he had long known. scarcely had he recovered, when the want of tobacco made itself felt anew with more force than ever. what to him imports experiment, what imports danger? is it not to procure this precious, indispensable herb,--which the world had easily done without for thousands of years? this time, nevertheless, become more prudent, he no longer addresses himself to the sense of taste; but to odor, to that of smell. he has resolved to dry the different plants which appear to him most proper for the use to which he destines them, and to submit them afterwards to a trial by fire. will not the smoke which escapes from them easily enable him to discover the qualities which he requires, since it is in smoke that they are to evaporate, if he succeeds in his researches? of this grand collection of aromatics, two plants, at last, come off victorious. one is the petunia, that charming flower which at present decorates all our gardens, whence the enemies of tobacco may one day banish it; so it is only with trembling that i here announce its relationship to the nicotiana; the other, which, like the petunia, grows in profusion in the islands as well as on the continent of southern america, is the herb _coca_, improperly so called, for its precious leaves, which are to the natives of peru and chili, what the _betel_ is for the indians of malabar, grow on an elegant shrub.[1] [footnote 1: the _erythroxylum coca_.] these two plants, separately or together, composed, thanks to a slight amalgam of chalk, sea-water, and bruised pepper-corns, the most delicious tobacco. now, half awake, selkirk smokes, as he busies himself with constructing some necessary article, such as a ladder, a stool, a basket of rushes, with which he is completing the furniture of his house; he smokes while fishing, and while hunting; on his return to his dwelling, he lies down at the entrance of his grotto, on his bank of turf, re-lights his pipe at his fire, and smokes; at the hour of breakfast or of dinner, seated beneath the shade of his mimosa, his elbow on the table, his bible open before him, he smokes still. well! notwithstanding these pleasures so long desired, notwithstanding this addition to his comfort, notwithstanding his pipe, this vague uneasiness sometimes assails him anew. he ascribes it to enfeebled health; and yet he remains active and vigorous; he ascribes it to the powerful odors of certain trees which affect his brain. these trees he destroys around him, but his uneasiness continues; he ascribes it to his food, the insipidity of the fish which he has eaten without salt, since his quarter of pork is consumed, and his stores of pickled fish exhausted. in fact, the flesh of fish has for some time given him a nausea, occasioned frequent indigestions; he renounces it; his stomach recovers its tone; but his fits of torpor and melancholy continue. this state of suffering is most painful at those moments of profound calm, common between the tropics, when the birds are silent, when from the thickets and burrows issue no murmurs, when the insect seems to sleep within the closed corollas of the flowers; when the leaves of the mimosa fold themselves; when the tree-tops are not swayed by the slightest breath of air, and the sea, motionless, ceases to dash against the shore. what an inexpressible weight such a silence adds to isolation! and yet it is not an unbroken silence, for then a shrill and harsh sound seems to grate upon the ear. it is as if in this muteness of nature, one could hear the motion of the earth on its axis; then, above his head, in the depths of immensity, the whirling of the celestial spheres and myriads of worlds which gravitate in space. thought becomes troubled and exhausted before this overwhelming and terrible immobility, and the man who, at such a moment, cannot have recourse to his kind, to distract or re-assure him, is overpowered with his own insignificance. sometimes the solitary calls on himself to break this oppressive and painful silence; he articulates a few words aloud, and his voice inspires him with fear; it seems formidable and unnatural. during one of these sinister calms, in which every thing in creation seemed to pause, even the heart of man, seated on the shore, not having even strength to smoke, selkirk was vainly awaiting the evening breeze; nothing came, but the obscurity of night. the moon, delaying her appearance, submitting in her turn to the sluggishness of all things, seemed detained below the circle of the horizon by some fatal power; the sea was dull, gloomy, and as it were congealed. suddenly, though there was not a breath of air, selkirk saw at his right, on a vast but limited tract of ocean, the waves violently agitated and foaming. he thought he distinguished a multitude of barques and canoes furrowing the surface of the waters; not far from swordfish beach, the flotilla enters a little cove running up into the mountains. he no longer sees any thing; but he hears a frightful tumult of discordant cries. there is no room for doubt! some indian tribes, pursued perhaps by new conquerors from europe, have just disembarked on the shore. wo to him! he can hope from them neither pity nor mercy. a cold sweat bathes his forehead; he runs to his grotto, takes his gun, puts in his goatskin pouch some horns of powder and shot, a piece of smoked meat, not forgetting his bible! and passes the night wandering in the woods, in the mountains, a prey to a thousand terrors; hearing without cessation the steps of pursuers behind him, and seeing fiery eyes glaring at him through the thickets. at day-break, with a thousand precautions, he returns to his grotto. he finds the beach covered with seals. these were the enemies whose invasion had so alarmed him. it is now the middle of the month of february, the period of the greatest tropical heats, and these amphibia, having left the shores of chili or peru, are accomplishing one of their periodical migrations. they have just taken possession of the island, one of their accustomed stations. but the island has now a master. where he expected to encounter a peril, selkirk finds amusement, a subject of study, perhaps a resource. a long time ago he has read, in the narratives of voyagers, singular stories concerning these marine animals, these _lions_, these _sea-elephants_, flocks of old neptune, who have their chiefs, their pacha; who are acquainted with and practise the discipline of war; stationing vigilant sentinels in the spots they occupy, communicating to each other a pass-word, and attentive to the _qui vive_? he spies them, he watches them, he takes pleasure in examining their grotesque forms,--half quadruped, half fish; their feet encased in a sort of web, and terminated by crooked claws, with which they creep on the earth; their skins, covered with short and glossy hair; their round heads and eyes. he is a witness of their sports, their combats; but very soon their frightful roaring and bellowing annoys him, and makes him regret the silence of his solitude. another cause of complaint against them soon arises. one morning, selkirk finds his fish-pond and bed of water-cresses devastated. exasperated, he declares war against the invaders: during three days he tracks them, pursues them; ten of them fall beneath his balls, leaving the shore bathed in their blood. the rest at last take flight, and the army of seals, regaining the sea with despairing cries, goes to establish itself at the other extremity of the island. this war has been profitable to the conqueror. with the skin of the vanquished he makes himself a new hammock, which permits him to employ his sail for other uses; he also makes leather bottles, in which he preserves the oil which he extracts in abundance from their fat. now he can have a lamp constantly burning, even by night. he has all the comforts of life. of the hairy skin of the seals, he manufactures a broad-brimmed hat, which shields him from the burning rays of the sun. he tastes their flesh; it appears to him insipid and nauseous, like that of the fish; but the tongue, the heart, seasoned with pepper, are for him quite a luxury. days, weeks, months roll away in the same toils, the same recreations. whatever he may do to drive it away, this apathetic sadness, this sinking of soul, which has already tormented him at different periods, becomes with selkirk more and more frequent; he cannot conquer it as he did the seals. his seals, he now regrets. when they were encamped on the shore, they at least gave him something to look at, an amusement; something lived, moved, near him. when he finds himself a prey to these fits, which, in his pride, he persists in attributing to transient indisposition, he goes to walk in the mountains, taking with him only his pipe, his bible, and his spy-glass. he often pursues his journey as far as the oasis; there, he seats himself at the extremity of the little valley, opposite the sea, from which his eye can traverse its immense extent. he opens the holy book, and closes it immediately; then, his brow reddening, he seizes his spy-glass, levels it, and remains entire hours measuring the ocean, wave by wave. what is he looking for there? he seeks a sail, a sail which shall come to his island and bear him from his desert, from his _ennui_. his _ennui_ he can no longer dissimulate; this is the evil of his solitude. one day, while he was at this spot, the setting sun suddenly illuminated a black point, against which the waves seemed to break in foam, as against the prow of a ship; his eyes become dim, a tremor seizes him. he looks again--keeps his glass for a long time fixed on the same object, but the black point does not stir. 'another illusion!' said he to himself; 'it is a reef, a rock which the tide has left bare.' he wipes the glasses of his spy-glass, he examines again; he seems to see the waves whiten and whirl for a large space around this rock. 'can it be an island? if an island, is it inhabited? i will construct a barque, and if god has pity on me i will reach it.' at this moment he hears footsteps resound on the dry leaves which the wind has swept into the little valley. he turns hastily. it is marimonda. marimonda has no longer her lively and dancing motions; she also seems languid, sad. at sight of selkirk, she makes a movement as if to flee; but almost immediately advances a little, and, sorrowful, with bent brow, sits down on a bank not far from him. has she then remarked that he is without arms? on his side, selkirk who had not met her for a long time, seemed to have forgotten his former aversion. at all events, is she not the most intelligent being chance has placed near him? he remembers that, in the ship, she obeyed the voice, the gesture of the captain, and that her tricks amused the whole crew. this resemblance to the human form, which he at first disliked, now awakens in him ideas of indulgence and peace. he reproaches himself with having treated her so brutally, when the poor animal, who alone had accompanied him into exile, at first accosted him with a caress. and now she returns, laying aside all ill-will, forgetting even the wound which she received from him in an impulse of irritation and hatred, of which she was not the object, for which she ought not to be responsible. he therefore makes to her a little sign with the head. marimonda replies by winks of the eye and motions of the shoulders, which selkirk thinks not wholly destitute of grace. he rises and approaches her, saluting her with an amicable gesture. she awaits him, chattering with her teeth and lips with an expression of joy. selkirk gently passes his hand over her forehead and neck, calling her by name; then he starts for his habitation, and marimonda follows him. the man and the monkey have just been reconciled. both were tired of their isolation. chapter vii. a tête-a-tête.--the monkey's goblet.--the palace.--a removal.--winter under the tropics--plans for the future.--property.--a burst of laughter.--misfortune not far off. tranquility of mind has returned to our solitary; now, his reveries are more pleasant and less prolonged; his walks through the woods, his moments of repose during the heat of the day seem more endurable since _something_, besides his shadow, keeps him company; he has resumed his taste for labor since there is _somebody_ to look at him; speech has returned to him since _somebody_ replies to his voice. this _somebody_, this _something_, is marimonda. marimonda is now the companion of selkirk, his friend, his slave; she seems to comprehend his slightest gestures and even his _ennui_. to amuse him, she resorts to a thousand expedients, a thousand tricks of the agility peculiar to her race; she goes, she comes, she runs, she leaps, she bounds, she chatters at his side; she tries to people his solitude, to make a rustling around him; she brings him his pipes, rocks him in his hammock, and, for all these cares, all this attention, demands only a caress, which is no longer refused. she is often a spectator of her master's repasts; sometimes even shares them. this was at first a favor, afterwards a habit, as in the case of honest countrymen, who, secluded from the world, by degrees admit their servants into their intimacy. selkirk had not to fear the importunate, unexpected visit of a neighbor or a curious stranger. so it is in the open air, on the latticed table, in the shade of his great mimosa, that these repasts in common take place; the master occupies the bench, the servant humbly seats herself on the stool, ready, at the first signal, to leave her place and assist in serving. have we not seen in india, ourang-outangs trained to perform the office of domestics? and marimonda was in nothing inferior in intelligence and activity. she is now fond of the flesh of the goat, of that of the coatis and agoutis, for monkeys easily become carnivorous; but the table is also sometimes covered with the products of her hunting. if the dessert fails, she hastily interrupts her repast, leaves the master to continue his alone, buries herself in the surrounding woods, reaches in three bounds the tops of the trees, and quickly returns with a supply of fruits which he can fearlessly taste, for she knows them. selkirk was one day a witness of the singular facility with which she could supply her wants. at the morning repast, seeing him use one of his cocoa-nuts which he had fashioned in the form of a cup to drink from; in her instinct of imitation, she had attempted to seize the cup in her turn; a look of reprimand stopped her short in her attempt. whether she felt a species of humiliation at being forced to quench her thirst in the presence of her master, by going to the banks of the stream and lapping there, like a vulgar animal; or whether the reprimand had painfully affected her, she abstained from drinking and remained for some time quiet and dreamy; but at the following repast, with lifted head and sparkling eye she resumed her place on the stool, provided with a goblet, a goblet belonging to her, lawfully obtained by her, and, with an air of triumph presented it to selkirk, who, wondering, did not hesitate an instant to share with the monkey the water contained in his gourd. this goblet was the ligneous and impermeable capsule, the fruit, naturally and deeply hollowed out, of a tree called _quatela_.[1] it was thus that the intelligent marimonda, after having borrowed from the numerous vegetables of the island their leaves, to ameliorate her sufferings, to heal her wounds; their fruits for her nourishment and even for her sports, also found means to obtain the divers utensils for house-keeping of which she stood in need. [footnote 1: the _lecythis quatela_, of the family of the _lecythidées_, created by professor richard, and whose singular fruits bear, in peru as well as in chili, the denomination of _monkey's goblets_.] charmed with her gentleness, her docility, the affection she seemed to bear him, selkirk grew more and more attached to her. winter, that is, the rainy season which usually lasts in these regions during the months of june and july, was approaching; he suffered in anticipation, from the idea that during this time his gentle companion would not be able to retain her habitual shelter, beneath the foliage of the trees; he conceived the project of giving up to her his grotto, and constructing for himself a new habitation, spacious and commodious. it is thus that our most generous resolutions, whatever we may design to do, encountering in their way personal interest, often turn to the increase of our own private welfare. at a little distance from the grotto, but farther inland, on the banks of the stream called the _linnet_, there was a thicket of verdure shaded by five myrtles of from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and whose stems presented a diameter more than sufficient to insure the solidity of the edifice. four of these myrtles formed an irregular square; the fifth arose in the midst, or nearly so; but our architect is not very particular. he already sees the principal part of his frame; the myrtles will remain in their places, their roots serving as a foundation. he removes the shrubs, the plants, the brushwood from the thicket, leaving only a heliotrope which, at a later period, may twine around his house and at evening shed its perfumes. he has become reconciled to its fragrance. he trims the trees, cuts off their tops eight feet above the ground, leaving the middle one, which is to sustain the roof, a foot higher; for this roof reeds and palm-leaves furnish all the materials. the walls, made of a solid network of young branches interwoven, and plastered with a mixture of sand, clay, and chopped rushes, he takes care not to build quite to the top, but to leave between them and the roof a little space, where the air can circulate freely through a light trellis formed of branches of the blue willow. then, having finished his work in less than a fortnight, he contemplates it and admires it; marimonda herself seems to share in his admiration, and in her joy climbing up the new building, she begins to leap, to dance on the roof of foliage, which bears her, and thus gives to selkirk an additional triumph. he now proceeds to furnish his palace; he transports thither his bed of reeds and his goatskin coverings. how much better will he be sheltered here than under the gloomy vault of his grotto! how has he been able to content himself so long with such an abode, more suitable for a troglodyte or a monkey! he will no longer be obliged to lift up his curtain of vines, and to peep through the fans of his palm-trees, in order to behold the beneficent rays of the new-born day; they will come of themselves to find him and rejoice him at his awakening, as the sea-breezes will at evening breathe on him, to refresh him in his repose. already has the interior of his cabin, of his palace, assumed an aspect which charms him; his guns, his hatchets, his spy-glass, his instruments of labor, well polished and shining, suspended in racks, upon wooden pegs, decorate the walls; upon another partition, his assortment of pipes are arranged on a shelf according to their size; on his central pillar, he suspends his game-bag, his gourd, his tobacco-pouch, and various articles of daily use. as for his iron pot, his smoked meat, his stock of skins, and bottles of seal-oil, he leaves them under the guardianship of marimonda in the grotto which he will now make his store-house, his kitchen: he will not encumber with them his new dwelling. he now sets himself to prepare new furniture; he will construct a small portable table, two wooden seats, one for himself, the other for marimonda, when she comes from her grotto to visit his cabin; for he has now a neighborhood. besides, during the rainy season, they will be forced to dine under cover. the first rains have commenced, gentle, fertilizing rains, falling at intervals and lovingly drank in by the earth; selkirk no longer thinks of his table and seats; another project has just taken the place of these, and seems to deserve the precedence. marimonda has just returned from a tour in the woods, bringing fruits of all sorts, among them some which selkirk has never before seen. he tastes them with more care and attention than usual; then, becoming thoughtful, with his chin resting on his hand says to himself: 'why should i not make these fruits grow at my door, not far from my habitation? why should i not attempt to improve them by cultivation? this is a very simple and very prudent idea which should have occurred to me long since; but i was alone, absolutely alone; and one loses courage when thinking of self only. a garden, at once an orchard and a vegetable garden, will be at least as useful to me as my fish-pond and bed of water-cresses; i will make one around my cabin; it will set it off and give it a more home-like appearance! is not the stream placed here expressly to traverse it and water it? afterwards, if god assist me, i will raise little kids which will become goats and give me milk, butter, cheese! why have i not thought of this before? it would have been too much to have undertaken at once. i shall then have tame goats; i will also have guinea-pigs, agoutis, and coatis. my house shall be enlarged, i will have a farm, a dairy! but the time has not yet come; let us first prepare the garden. why has it not been already prepared? i am impatient to render the earth productive, fruitful by my cares, to walk in the shade of the trees i may plant; it seems to me that i shall be at home there, more than any where else!' you are right, selkirk; to possess the entire island, is to possess nothing; it is simply to have permission to hunt, a right of promenade and pasture, which the other inhabitants of the island, quadrupeds or birds, can claim as well as yourself. what is property, without the power of improvement? can the earth become the domain of a single person, when the true limits of his possessions must always be those of the field which affords him subsistence? envy not then the happiness of the rich; they are but the transient holders and distributors of the public fortune; we possess, in reality, only that which we can ourselves enjoy; the rest escapes us, and contributes to the well-being of others. selkirk comprehends that his streams, his bank of turf, his fish-pond, his bed of water-cresses, his grotto, his cabin, belong to him far otherwise than the twelve or fifteen square leagues of his island; to his private domain he now intends to add a garden, and this garden, this orchard, will be to him an increase of his wealth, since it will aid in the satisfaction of his wants. the humidity with which the earth begins to be penetrated, facilitates his labors; he sets himself to the work. behold him then, now armed with his hatchet, now with a wooden shovel, which he has just manufactured, clearing the ground, digging, transplanting young fruit-trees, or sowing the seeds which he is soon to see spring up and prosper. every thing grows rapidly in these climates. when the garden-spot is marked out, dug, sown, planted, not forgetting the kitchen vegetables, and especially the _coca_ and _petunia-nicotiana_, selkirk, with his arms folded on his spade, thanks god with all his heart,--god who has given him strength to finish his work. he has never felt so happy as when, with his hands behind his back, he walks smoking, among his beds, in which nothing has as yet appeared; but he already sees, in a dream, his trees covered with blossoms; around these blossoms are buzzing numerous swarms of bees; he reflects upon the means of compelling them to yield the honey of which they have just stolen from him the essence. it is a settled thing, on his farm he will have hives! after his bees, still in his dream, come flocks of humming-birds to plunder in their turn. the happy possessor of the garden will exact no tribute from them, but the pleasure of seeing them suspend, by a silken thread, to the leaves of his shrubs, the elegant little boat in which they cradle their fragile brood. nothing seems to him more beautiful than his embryo garden; here, he is more than the monarch of the island; he is a proprietor! thanks to the garden, selkirk sees with resignation the two long months of the rainy season pass away. when the heavy torrents render the paths impassable, he consoles himself by thinking that they aid in the germination of his seeds, in the rooting of his young plants. sometimes, between two deluges, he can scarcely find time to procure himself sufficient game; what matters it! he lives on his provisions: he is forcibly detained within; but has he not now good cheer, good company, and occupation, during his leisure hours? it is now that he completes his furniture. his table and his seats finished, he undertakes to provide for another want, equally indispensable. worn out by the weather, and by service, his garments are becoming ragged. he must shield himself from the humidity of the air; where shall he procure materials? has he not the choice between seal-skins and goat-skins? he gives the preference to the latter, as more pliable, and behold him a tailor, cutting with the point of his knife; as for thread, it is furnished by the fragment of the sail; and two days afterwards, he finds himself flaming in a new suit. to describe the delirious stupefaction of marimonda, when she perceives her master under this strange costume, would be a thing impossible. she finds him almost like herself, clad like her, in a hairy suit. never tired of looking at him, of examining him curiously, she leaps, she gambols around him, now rolling at his feet, and uttering little cries of joy, now suspended over his head, at the top of the central pillar, and turning her wild and restless eyes. when she has thus inspected him from head to foot, she runs and crouches in a corner, with her face towards the wall, as if to reflect; then, whirling about, returns towards him, picks up on the way the garment he has just laid aside, looking alternately at this and at the other, very anxious to know which of the two really made a part of the person. after having enjoyed for a few moments the surprise and transports of his companion, selkirk takes his bible and his pipe, and, placing the book on the table, bends over it, preparing to read and to meditate. but, whether in consequence of her joyous excitement, or whether she is emboldened by the species of fraternity which costume establishes between them, marimonda, without hesitation, directs herself to the little shelf, chooses from it a pipe in her turn, places it gravely between her lips, astonished at not seeing the smoke issue from it in a spiral column; and, with an important air, still imitating her master, comes to sit opposite him, with her brow inclined, and her elbow resting on the table. willingly humoring her whim, selkirk takes the pipe from her hands, fills it with his most spicy tobacco, lights it, and restores it to her. hardly has marimonda respired the first breath, when suddenly letting fall the pipe, overturning the table, emitting the smoke through her mouth and nostrils, she disappears, uttering plaintive cries, as if she had just tasted burning lava. at sight of the poor monkey, thus thrown into confusion, selkirk, for the first time since his residence in the island, laughs so loudly, that the echo follows the fugitive to the grotto, where she had taken refuge, and is prolonged from the grotto to the _oasis_, from the oasis to the summit of the _discovery_. the exile has at last laughed, laughed aloud, and, at the same moment, a terrible disaster is taking place without his knowledge; a new war is preparing for him, in which his arms will be useless. chapter viii. a new invasion.--selkirk joyfully meets an ancient enemy.--combat on a red cedar.--a mother and her little ones.--the flock.--fête in the island; pacific combats, diversions and swings.--a sail.--the burning wood.--presentiments of marimonda. the next morning the sun has scarcely touched the horizon, selkirk is still asleep, when he is awakened by a sort of tickling at his feet. thinking it some caress or trick of marimonda, risen earlier than usual, he half opens his eyes, sees nothing, and places himself again in a posture to continue his nap. the same tickling is renewed, but with more perseverance, and very soon something sharp and keen penetrates to the quick the hard envelope of his heel. the tickling has become a bite. this time wide awake, he raises his head. his cabin is full of rats! near him, a company of them are tranquilly engaged in breakfasting on his coverings and the rushes of his couch; they are on his table, his seats, along his pillow and his walls; they are playing before his door, running hither and thither through the crevices of his roof, multiplying themselves on his rack and shelf; all biting, gnawing, nibbling--some his seal-skin hat, his tobacco-pouch, the bark ornaments of his furniture; others the handles of his tools, his pipes, his bible, and even his powder-horn. selkirk utters a cry, springs from his couch, and immediately crushes two under his heels. the rest take flight. as he is pursuing these new invaders with the shovel and musket, he perceives at a few paces' distance marimonda, sorrowful and drooping, perched on the strong branch of a sapota-tree. by her piteous and chilly appearance, her tangled and wet hair, he doubts not but she has passed the whole night exposed to the inclemency of the weather. but he at first attributes this whim only to her ill-humor the evening before. on perceiving him, marimonda descends, from her tree, sad, but still gentle and caressing, and with gestures of terror, points to the grotto. he runs thither. here another spectacle of disorder and destruction awaits him; the rats are collected in it by thousands; his furs, his provisions of fruit and game, his bottles formerly filled with oil, every thing is sacked, torn in pieces, afloat; for the water has at last made its way through the crevices of the mountain. to put the climax to his misfortune, his reserve of powder, notwithstanding its double envelope of leather and horn, attacked by the voracious teeth of his aggressors, is swimming in the midst of an oily slime. the solitary now possesses, for the purpose of hunting, for the renewal of these provisions so necessary to his life, only the few charges contained in his portable powder-horn, and in the barrels of his guns. the blow which has just struck him is his ruin! and still the hardest trial appointed for him is yet to come. in penetrating the ground, the rains of winter have driven the rats from their holes; hence their invasion of the cabin and the grotto. against so many enemies, what can selkirk do, reduced to his single strength? he succeeds, nevertheless, in killing some; marimonda herself, armed with the branch of a tree, serves as an ally, and aids him in putting them to flight; but their combined efforts are ineffectual. an hour after, the accursed race are multiplying round him, more numerous and more ravenous than ever. he comprehends then what an error he has committed in the complete destruction of the wild cats which peopled the island. with the most generous intentions, how often is man mistaken in the object he pursues! we think we are ridding us of an enemy, and we are depriving ourselves of a protector. god only knows what he does, and he has admitted apparent evil, as a principle, into the admirable composition of his universe; he suffers the wicked to live. selkirk had been more severe than god, and he repents it. if his poor cats had only been exiled, he would hasten to proclaim a general amnesty. alas! there is no amnesty with death. but has he indeed destroyed all? perhaps some still exist in those distant regions which have already served as a refuge for that other banished race, the seals. the rains have ceased; the storms of winter, always accompanied by overpowering heat and dense fogs, no longer sadden the island by anticipated darkness, or the gloomy mutterings of continual thunder. the sun, though _garué_[1] absorbs the remainder of the inundation. followed by marimonda, selkirk, for the first time, has ventured to the woods and thickets between the hills beyond the shore and the false coquimbo, when a sound, sweeter to his ear than would have been the songs of a siren, makes him pause suddenly in ecstasy: it is the mewing of a cat. [footnote 1: in peru and chili, they call _garua_ that mist which sometimes, and especially after the rainy season, floats around the disk of the sun.] this cat, strongly built, with a spotted and glossy coat, white nose, and brown whiskers, is stationed at a little distance, on a red cedar, where she is undoubtedly watching her prey. she is an old settler escaped from the general massacre; the last of the vanquished; perhaps! without hesitation, selkirk clasps the trunk of the tree, climbs it, reaches the first branches; marimonda follows him and quickly goes beyond. at the aspect of these two aggressors, like herself clad in skin, the cat recoils, ascending; the monkey follows, pursues her from branch to branch, quite to the top of the cedar. struck on the shoulder with a blow of the claw, she also recoils, but descending, and declaring herself vanquished in the first skirmish, immediately gives over the combat, or rather the sport, for she has seen only sport in the affair. selkirk is not so easily discouraged; this cat he must have, he must have her alive; he wishes to make her the guardian of his cabin, his protector against the rats. three times he succeeds in seizing her; three times the furious animal, struggling, tears his arms or face. it is a terrible, bloody conflict, mingled with exclamations, growlings, and frightful mewings. at last selkirk, forgetting perhaps in the ardor of combat the object of victory, seizes her vigorously by the skin of the neck, at the risk of strangling her; with the other hand he grasps her around the body. the difficulty is now to carry her. fortunately he has his game-bag. with one hand he holds her pressed against the fork of the tree; with the other arm he reaches his game-bag, opens it; the conquered animal, half dead, has not made, during this manoeuvre, a single movement of resistance. but when the hunter is about to close it, suddenly rousing herself with a leap, distending by a last effort all her muscles at once, she escapes from his grasp, and precipitates herself from the top of the cedar, to the great terror of marimonda, then peaceably crouched under the tree, whom the cat brushes against in falling, and to the great disappointment of selkirk, who thinks he has the captive in his pouch. sliding along the trunk, selkirk descends quickly to the ground; but the enemy has already disappeared, and left no trace. in vain his eyes are turned on all sides; he sees nothing, neither his adversary nor marimonda, who has undoubtedly fled under the impression of this last terror. as he is in despair, a whistling familiar to his ear is heard, and at two hundred paces distant he perceives, on an eminence of the false coquimbo, his monkey, bent double, in an attitude of contemplation, appearing very attentive to what is passing beneath her, and changing her posture only to send a repeated summons to her master. at all hazards he directs himself to this quarter. what a spectacle awaits him! in a cavity at the foot of the eminence where marimonda is, he finds, crouching, still out of breath with her struggle and her race, his fugitive. she is a mother! and six kittens, already active, are rolling in the sun around her. selkirk, seizing his knife, kills the mother, and carries off the little ones. a short time after, the rats have deserted the shore. but their departure, though it prevents the evil they might yet have done, does not remedy that already accomplished. the provisions of the solitary are almost entirely destroyed, and the little powder which remains is scarcely sufficient for a reserve which he no longer knows where to renew. the moment at last comes when he possesses no other ammunition than the only charge in his gun. this last charge, his last resource, oh! how preciously he preserves it to-day. while it is there, he can still believe himself armed, still powerful; he has not entirely exhausted his resources; it is his last hope. who knows?--perhaps he may yet need it to protect his life in circumstances which he cannot foresee. but since his gun must remain suspended, inactive, to the walls of his cabin, it is time to think of supplying the place of the services it has rendered; it is time to realize his dream, and, according to the usual course of civilization, to substitute the life of a farmer and shepherd for that of a hunter. already is his colony augmented by six new guests, domesticated in his house; already, on every side, his seeds are peeping out of the ground under the most favorable auspices; his young trees, firmly rooted, are growing rapidly beneath the double influence of heat and moisture; at the axil of some of their leaves, he sees a bud, an earnest of the harvest. he must now occupy himself with the means of surprising, seizing and retaining the ancestors of his future flock. here, patience, address or stratagem can alone avail. notwithstanding his natural agility, he does not dream of reaching them by pursuit. since his last hunts, goats and kids keep themselves usually in the steep and mountainous parts of the island. to leap from rock to rock, to attempt to vie with them in celerity and lightness appears to him, with reason, a foolish and impracticable enterprise. later, perhaps,... who knows? he manufactures snares, traps; but suspicion is now the order of the day around him; each holds himself on the _qui vive_. after long waiting without any result, he finds in his snares a coati, some little guinea pigs; here is one resource, undoubtedly, but he aims at higher game, and the kids will not allow themselves to be taken by his baits. he remembers then, that in certain parts of america, the hunters, in order to seize their prey living, have recourse to the lasso, a long cord terminated by a slip-noose, which they know how to throw at great distances, and almost always with certainty. with a thread which he obtains from the fibres of the aloe, with narrow strips of skin, closely woven, he composes a lasso more than fifty feet long; he tries it; he exercises it now against a tuft of leaves detached from a bush, now against some projecting rock; afterwards he tries it upon marimonda, who often enough, by her agility and swiftness, puts her master at fault. in the interval of these preparatory exercises, selkirk occupies himself with the construction of a latticed inclosure, destined to contain the flock which he hopes to possess; he makes it large and spacious, that his young cattle may bound and sport at their ease; high, that they may respect the limits he assigns them. in one corner, supported by solid posts, he builds a shed, simply covered with branches; that his flock may there be sheltered from the heat of the day. the inclosure and the shed, together with his garden, form a new addition to his great settlement. when, his kids shall have become goats, when the epoch of domesticity shall have arrived for them, when they shall have contracted habits of tameness, when they have learned to recognize his voice, then, and then only, will he permit them to wander and browse on the neighboring hills, under the direction of a vigilant guardian. this guardian, where shall he find? why may it not be marimonda? marimonda, to whose intelligence he knows not where to affix bounds! dreams, dreams, perhaps! and yet but for dreams, but for those gentle phantoms which he creates, and by which he surrounds himself, what would sustain the courage of the solitary? when selkirk thinks he has acquired skill in the use of the lasso, he buries himself among the high mountains situated towards the central part of his island. several days pass amid fruitless attempts, and when the delicately-carved foliage of the mimosa announces, by its folding, that night is approaching, he regains his cabin, gloomy, care-worn, and despairing of the future. meanwhile, by his very failures, he has acquired experience. one evening, he returns to his dwelling, bringing with him two young kids, with scarcely perceptible horns, and reddish skin, varied with large brown spots. marimonda welcomes her new guests, and this evening all in the habitation breathes joy and tranquillity. the week has not rolled away, when the number of selkirk's goats exceeds that of his cats; and he takes pleasure in seeing them leap and play together in his inclosure; his mind has recovered its serenity. 'yes,' said he, with pride, 'man can suffice for himself, can depend on himself only for subsistence and welfare! am i not a striking proof? did not all seem lost for me, when an unforeseen catastrophe destroyed the remnant of the provision of powder which i owed to the pity of that miserable captain? ah! undoubtedly according to his hateful calculations, he had limited the term of my life to the last charge which my gun should contain; this last charge is still there! of what use will it be to me? why do i need it? are not my resources for subsistence more certain and numerous to-day than before? what then is wanting? the society of a stradling and his fellows? god keep me from them! the best member of the crew of the brig swordfish came away when i did. i have received from marimonda more proofs of devotion than from all the companions i have had on land and on sea. what have i to regret? i am well off here; may god keep me in repose and health!' after this sally, he thought of his hives, which were still wanting, and of the methods to be employed to seize a swarm of bees. a month after, selkirk, who religiously kept his reckoning on the margin of his bible, resolved to celebrate the new year. it was now the first of january, 1706. on this day he dined, not in his cabin, nor under his tree, but in the middle of the inclosure, surrounded by his family; fruits and good cheer were more abundant than usual; marimonda, as was her custom, dined at the same table with himself: the cats shared in the feast; the goats roved around, stretching up to gaze with their blue eyes on the baskets of fruits, and returning to browse on the grass beneath the feet of the guests. selkirk, as the master of the house, and chief of the family, generously distributed the provisions to his young and frolicksome republic, and marimonda assisted him as well as she could, in doing the honors. after the repasts, there were races and combats; the remains of the baskets were thrown to the most skilful and the most adroit; then came, diversions and swings. lying in his hammock, where he smoked his most excellent tobacco in his best pipe, selkirk smilingly contemplated the capricious bounds, the riotous sports of his cats and kids, their graceful postures, their fraternal combats, in which sheathed claws and the inoffensive horn were the only weapons used on either side. to give more variety to the fête, marimonda developes all the resources of her daring suppleness; she leaps from right to left, clearing large spaces with inconceivable dexterity. attaining the summit of a tree, she whistles to attract her master's attention, then, with her two fore-paws clasped in her hind ones, she rolls herself up like a ball and drops on the ground; the foliage crackles beneath her fall, which seems as if it must be mortal; for her, this is only sport. without altering the position of her limbs, she suddenly stops in her rapid descent, by means of her prehensile tail, that fifth hand, so powerful, with which nature has endowed the monkeys of america. then, suspended by this organ alone, she accelerates her motions to and fro with incredible rapidity, quickly unwinds her tail from the branch by which she is suspended, and with a dart, traversing the air as if winged, alights at a hundred paces distance on a vine, which she instantly uses as a swing. selkirk is astonished; he applauds the tricks of marimonda, the sports and combats of his other subjects. meanwhile, his eyes having turned towards the sea, his brow is suddenly overclouded. at the expiration of a few moments of an uneasy and agitated observation, he utters an exclamation, springs from his hammock, runs to his cabin, then to the shore, where he prostrates himself with his hands clasped and raised towards heaven. he has just perceived a sail. provided with his glass, he seeks the sail upon the waves, he finds it. 'it is without doubt a barque,' said he to himself; 'a barque from the neighboring island, or some point of the continent!' and looking again through his copper tube, he clearly distinguishes three masts well rigged, decorated with white sails, which are swelling in the east wind, and gilded by the oblique rays of the declining sun. 'it is a brig! the swordfish, perhaps! yes, stradling has prolonged his voyage in these regions. the time which he had fixed for my exile has rolled away! he is coming to seek me. may he be blessed!' the movement which the brig made to double the island, had increased more and more the hopes of selkirk, when the spanish flag, hoisted at the stern, suddenly unfolded itself to his eyes. 'the enemy!' exclaimed he; 'woe is me! if they land on this coast, whither shall i fly, where conceal myself? in the mountains! yes, i can there succeed in escaping them! but, the wretches! they will destroy my cabin, my inclosure, my garden! the fruit of so much anxiety and labor!' and, with palpitating heart, he again watches the manoeuvres of the brig. the latter, having tacked several times, as if to get before the wind, hastily changed her course and stood out to sea. selkirk remains stupefied, overwhelmed. 'these are spaniards,' murmured he, after a moment's hesitation; 'what matters it! am i now their enemy? i am only a colonist, an exile, a deserter from the english navy. they owe me protection, assistance, as a christian. if they required it, i would serve on board their vessel! but they have gone; what method shall i employ to recall them, to signalize my presence?' there was but one; it was to kindle a large fire on the shore or on the hill. he needs hewn wood, and his supplies are exhausted; what is to be done? for an instant, in his disturbed mind, the idea arises to tear the lattice-work from his inclosure, the pillars and the roof from his shed, to pile them around his cabin, and set fire to the whole. this idea he quickly repulses, but it suffices to show what passed in the inner folds of the heart of this man, who had just now forced himself to believe that happiness was yet possible for him. on farther reflection, he remembers that behind his grotto, on one of the first terraces of the mountain, there is a dense thicket, where the trees, embarrassed with vines and dry briers, closely interwoven, calcined by the burning reflections of the sun on the rock which surrounds them, present a collection of dead branches and mouldy trunks, scarcely masked by the semblance of vegetation. thither he transports all the brands preserved under the ashes of his hearth; he makes a pile of them; throws upon it armfuls of chips, bark and leaves. the flame soon runs along the bushes which encircle the thicket; and, when the sun goes down, an immense column of fire illuminates all this part of the island, and throws its light far over the ocean. standing on the shore, selkirk passes the night with his eyes fixed on the sea, his ear listening attentively to catch the distant sound of a vessel; but nothing presents itself to his glance upon the luminous and sparkling waves, and amid their dashing he hears no other sound but that of the trees and vines crackling in the flames. at morning all has disappeared. the fire has exhausted itself without going beyond its bounds, and the sea, calm and tranquil, shows nothing upon its surface but a few flocks of gulls. a week passes away, during which selkirk remains thoughtful and taciturn; he rarely leaves the shore; he still beholds the sports of his cats and his kids, but no longer smiles at them; marimonda, by way of amusing him, renews in his presence her surprising feats, but the attention of the master is elsewhere. nevertheless, he cannot allow himself time to dream long with impunity; his reserve of smoked beef is nearly exhausted; to save it, he has again resorted to the shell-fish, which his stomach loathes; to the sea-crabs, of which he is tired; he needs other nourishment to restore his strength. he shakes off his lethargy, takes his lasso, his game-bag. his plan now is, not to hunt the kids, but the goats themselves. as he is about to set out, marimonda approaches, preparing to accompany him. in his present frame of mind, selkirk wishes to be alone, and makes her comprehend, by signs, that she must remain at home and watch the flock; but this time, contrary to her custom, she does not seem disposed to obey. notwithstanding his orders, she follows him, stops when he turns, recommences to follow him, and, by her supplicating looks and expressive gestures, seeks to obtain the permission which he persists in refusing. at last selkirk speaks severely, and she submits, still protesting against it by her air of sadness and depression. was this, on her part, caprice or foresight? no one has the secret of these inexplicable instincts, which sometimes reveal to animals the presence of an invisible enemy, or the approach of a disaster. at evening, selkirk had not returned! marimonda passed the night in awaiting him, uttering plaintive cries. on the morrow the morning rolled away, then the day, then the night, and the cabin remained deserted, and marimonda in vain scaled the trees and hills in the neighborhood to recover traces of her master. what had become of him? chapter ix. the precipice.--a dungeon in a desert island.--resignation.--the passing bird.--the browsing goat.--the bending tree.--attempts at deliverance. --success.--death of marimonda. in that sterile and mountainous quarter of the island to which he has given the name of stradling,--that name, importing to him misfortune,--selkirk, venturing in pursuit of a goat, has fallen from a precipice. fortunately the cavity is not deep. after a transient swoon, recovering his footing, experiencing only a general numbness, and some pain caused by the contusions resulting from his fall, he bethinks himself of the means of escape. but a circle of sharp rocks, contracting from the base to the summit, forms a tunnel over his head; no crevice, no precipitous ledge, interrupts their fatal uniformity. only around him some platforms of sandy earth appear; he digs them with his knife, to form steps. some fragments of roots project here and there through the interstices of the stones; he hopes to find a point of support by which to scale these abrupt walls. the little solidity of the roots, which give way in his grasp; his sufferings, which become more intense at every effort; these thousand rocky heads bending at once over him; all tell him plainly that it will be impossible for him to emerge from this hole--that it is destined to be his tomb. poor young sailor, already condemned to isolation, separated from the rest of mankind, could he have foreseen that one day his captivity was to be still closer! that his steps would be chained, that the sight even of his island would be interdicted! and that in this desert, where he had neither persecutor nor jailer to fear, he would find a prison, a dungeon! after three days of anguish and tortures, after new and ineffectual attempts,--exhausted by fatigue, by thirst, by hunger,--consumed by fever, supervened in consequence of all his sufferings of body and soul, he resigns himself to his fate; with his foot, he prepares his last couch, composed of sand and dried leaves shaken from above by the neighboring trees; he lies down, folds his arms, closes his eyes, and prepares to die, thinking of his eternal salvation. although he tries not to allow himself to be distracted by other thoughts, from time to time sounds from the outer world disturb his pious meditations. first it is the joyous song of a bird. to these vibrating notes another song replies from afar, on a more simple and almost plaintive key. it is doubtless the female, who, with a sort of modest and repressed tenderness, thus announces her retreat to him who calls; then a rapid rustling is heard above the head of the prisoner. it is the songster, hastening to rejoin his companion. selkirk has never known love. once perhaps,--in a fit of youth and delirium; and it was this false love which tore him from his studies, from his country! ah! why did he not remain at largo, with his father? to-day he also would have had a companion! in that smiling country where coolness dwells, where labor is so easy, life so sweet and calm, the paternal roof would have sheltered his happiness! oh! the joys of his infancy! his green and sunny scotland. the regrets which arise in his heart he quickly banishes; his dear remembrances he sacrifices to god; he weaves them into a fervent prayer. very soon an approaching bleating rouses him again from his abstractions. a goat, with restless eye, has just stretched her head over the edge of the precipice, and for an instant fixes on him her astonished glance. then, as if re-assured, defying his powerlessness, with a disdainful lip she quietly crops some tufts of grass growing on the verge of the tunnel. on seeing her, selkirk instinctively lays his hand on the lasso which is beside him. 'if i succeed in reaching her, in catching her,' said he, 'her blood will quench the thirst which devours me, her flesh will appease my hunger. but of what use would it be? whence can i expect aid and succor for my deliverance? this would then only prolong my sufferings.' and, throwing aside the end of the lasso which he has just seized, he again folds his arms on his breast, and closes his eyes once more. i know not what stoical philosopher--atticus, i believe, a prey to a malady which he thought incurable,--had resolved to die of inanition. at the expiration of a certain number of days, abstinence had cured him, and when his friends, in the number of whom he reckoned cicero, exhorted him to take nourishment, persisting in his first resolution, 'of what use is it!' said he also, 'must i not die sooner or later? why should i then retrace my steps, when i have already travelled more than half the road?' selkirk had more reason than atticus to decide thus; besides, his friends, where are they, to exhort him to live? friends!--has he ever had any? night comes, and with the night a terrific hurricane arises. by the glare of the lightning he sees a tree, situated not far from the tunnel, bend towards him, almost broken by the violence of the wind. 'perhaps providence will send me a method of saving myself!' murmured selkirk; 'should the tree fall on this side, if its branches do not crush me, they will serve as steps to aid me to leave this pit! i am saved!' but the tree resists the storm, which passes away, carrying with it the last hope of the captive. towards the morning of the fourth day his fever has ceased; the tortures of hunger and thirst are no longer felt; the complete annihilation of his strength is to him a kind of relief; sleep seizes him, and with sleep he thinks death must come. soon, in his dream, in a hallucination springing undoubtedly from the weakness of his brain, plaints, confused and distant groans, reach him from different points of the island. these sorrowful cries, almost uninterrupted, afterwards approach, and are repeated with increasing strength. he awakes, he listens; the bushes around him crackle and rustle; even the earth emits a dull sound, as beneath the bounding of a goat; the cries are renewed and become more and more distinct, like the sobs of a child. selkirk puts his hand to his forehead. these plaints, these sobs, he thinks he recognizes, and, suddenly raising himself with a convulsive effort, he exclaims: 'marimonda!' and marimonda runs at her master's voice, changes, on seeing him, her cries of distress for cries of joy, leaps and gambols on the edge of the cavity, and, quickly finding a way to join him, suspends herself by her tail to one of the branches on the verge, and springs to his side. then contortions, caresses, winks of the eyes, motions of the head, whining, whistling, succeed each other; she rolls before him, embraces him closely, seeking by every method to supply the place of that speech which alone is wanting, and which she almost seems to have. good marimonda! her humid and shivering skin, her bruised and bleeding feet, her in-flamed eyes, plainly tell selkirk how long she has been in search of him, how she has watched, run, to find him, and, not finding him, what she has suffered at his absence. her first transports over, by his pale complexion, by his dim eye, she quickly divines that it is want of food which has reduced him to this condition. swift as a bird she climbs the sides of the tunnel; she repeatedly goes and returns, bringing each time fruits and canes full of savory and refreshing liquid. it is precisely the usual hour for their first repast, and once more they can partake of it together. revived by this repast, by the sight of his companion in exile, selkirk recovers his ideas of life and liberty. this abyss, from which she ascends with so much facility, who knows but with her aid he may be able in his turn to leave it? he remembers his lasso; he puts one end of it into marimonda's hand. it is now necessary that she should fix it to some projection of the rock, some strong shrub, which may serve as a point of support. it was perhaps presuming too much on the intelligence which nature has bestowed on the race of monkeys. at her master's orders, marimonda would seize the end of the cord, then immediately abandon it, as she needed entire freedom of motion to enable her to scale the walls of the tunnel. after several ineffectual attempts, selkirk, as a last resort, decided to encircle marimonda with the noose of the lasso, and, by a gesture, to send her towards those heights where he was so impatient to join her. she departs, dragging after her the chain, of which he holds the other extremity: this chain, the only bridge thrown for him between the abyss and the port of safety, between life and death! with what anxiety he observes, studies its oscillations! several times he draws it towards him, and each time, as if in reply to his summons, marimonda suddenly re-appears at the brow of the precipice, preparing to re-descend; but he repulses her with his voice and gestures, and when these methods are insufficient,--when marimonda, exhausted with lassitude, seated on the verge of the tunnel, persists in remaining motionless, he has recourse to projectiles. to compel her to second him in his work, the possible realization of which he himself scarcely comprehends, he throws at her some fragments of stone detached from his rocky wall, and even the remains of that repast for which he is indebted to her. even when she is at a distance, informed by the movements of the lasso of the direction she has taken, he pursues her still. suddenly the cord tightens in his hand. he pulls again, he pulls with force; the cord resists! fire mounts to his brain; his sluggish blood is quickened; his heart and temples beat violently; his fever returns, but only to restore to him, at this decisive moment, his former vigor. he hastily digs new steps in the interstices of the rock; with his hands suspending himself to the lasso, assisted by his feet, by his knees, sometimes turning, grasping the projecting roots, the angles of his wall, he at last reaches the top of the cliff. suddenly he feels the lasso stretch, as if about to break; a mist passes over his eyes: his head becomes dizzy, the cord escapes his grasp. but, by a mechanical movement, he has seized one of the highest projections of the tunnel, he holds it, he climbs,--he is saved. and during this perilous ascension, absorbed in the difficulties of the undertaking, attentive to himself alone, staggering, with a buzzing sound in his ears, he has not heard a sorrowful, lamentable moaning, not far from him. dragging hither and thither after her the rope of leather and fibre of aloes, marimonda, rather, doubtless, by chance than by calculation, had enlaced it around the trunk of the same tree which the night before, during the storm, had agitated its dishevelled branches above the deep couch of the dying man. this trunk had served as a point of resistance; but, during the tension, the unfortunate monkey, with her breast against the tree, had herself been caught in the folds of the lasso. when selkirk arrives, he finds her extended on the ground, blood and foam issuing from her mouth, and her eyes starting from their sockets. kneeling beside her, he loosens the bonds which still detain her. excited by his presence, marimonda makes an effort to rise, but immediately falls back, uttering a new cry of pain. with his heart full of anguish, taking her in his arms, selkirk, not without a painful effort, not without being obliged to pause on the way to recover his strength, carries her to the dwelling on the shore. this shore he finds deserted and in confusion. deprived of their daily nourishment during the prolonged absence of their master, the goats have made a passage through the inclosure, by gnawing the still green foliage which imprisoned them; the hurricane of the night has overthrown the rest. before leaving, they had ravaged the garden, destroyed the promises of the approaching harvest, and devoured even the bark of the young trees. the cats have followed the goats. selkirk has before his eyes a spectacle of desolation; his props, his trellises, the remains of his orchard, of his inclosure, of his shed, a part even of the roof of his cabin, strew the earth in confusion around him. but it is not this which occupies him now. he has prepared for marimonda a bed beside his own; he takes care of her, he watches over her, he leaves her only to seek in the woods, or on the mountains, the herb which may heal her; he brings all sorts, and by armfuls, that she may choose;--does she not know them better than himself? as she turns away her head, or repulses with the hand those which he presents, he thinks he has not yet discovered the one she requires, and though still suffering, though himself exhausted by so many varying emotions, he re-commences his search, to summon the entire island to the assistance of marimonda. from each of his trees he borrows a branch; from his bushes, his rocks, his streams--a plant, a fruit, a leaf, a root! for the first time he ventures across the _pajonals_--spongy marshes formed by the sea along the cliffs, and where, beneath the shade of the mangroves, grow those singular vegetables, those gelatinous plants, endowed with vitality and motion. at sight of all these remedies, marimonda closes her eyes, and reopens them only to address to her friend a look of gratitude. the only thing she accepts is the water he offers her, the water which he himself holds to her lips in his cocoa-nut cup. during a whole week, selkirk remains constantly absorbed in these cares, useless cares!--marimonda cannot be healed! in her breast, bruised by the folds of the lasso, exists an important lesion of the organs essential to life, and from time to time a gush of blood reddens her white teeth. 'what!' said selkirk to himself, 'she has then accompanied me on this corner of earth only to be my victim! to her first caress i replied only by brutality; the first shot i fired in this island was directed against her. i pursued for a long time, with my thoughtless and stupid hatred, the only being who has ever loved me, and who to-day is dying for having saved me from that precipice from which i drove her with blows of stones! marimonda, my companion, my friend,--no! thou shalt not die! he who sent thee to me as a consolation will not take thee away so soon, to leave me a thousand times more alone, more unhappy, than ever! god, in clothing thee with a form almost human, has undoubtedly given thee a soul almost like ours; the gleam of tenderness and intelligence which shines in thine eyes, where could it have been lighted, but at that divine fire whence all affection and devotion emanate? well! i will implore him for thee; and if he refuse to hear me, it will be because he has forgotten me, because he has entirely forsaken me, and i shall have nothing more to expect from his mercy!' falling then upon his knees, with his forehead upon the ground, he prays god for marimonda. meanwhile, from day to day the poor invalid grows weaker; her eyes become dim and glassy; her limbs frightfully emaciated, and her hair comes off in large masses. one evening, exhausted with fatigue, after having wrapped in a covering of goat-skin marimonda, who was in a violent fever, selkirk was preparing to retire to rest; she detained him, and, taking his hand in both of hers, cast upon him a gentle and prolonged look, which resembled an adieu. he seated himself beside her on the ground. then, without letting go his hand, she leaned her head on her master's knee, and fell asleep in this position. selkirk dares not stir, for fear of disturbing her repose. insensibly sleep seizes him also. in the morning when he awakes, the sun is illuminating the interior of his cabin; marimonda remains in the same attitude as the evening before, but her hands are cold, and a swarm of flies and mosquitoes are thrusting their sharp trunks into her eyes and ears. she is a corpse. selkirk raises her, uttering a cry, and, after having cast an angry look towards heaven, wipes away two tears that trickle down his cheeks. thou thoughtest thyself insensible, selkirk, and behold, thou art weeping!--thou, who hast more than once seen, with unmoistened eye, men, thy companions, in war or at sea, fall beneath a furious sword, or under the fire of batteries! among the sentiments which honor humanity, which elevate it notwithstanding its defects, thou hadst preserved at least thy confidence in god and in his mercy, selkirk, and to-day thou doubtest both! why dost thou weep? why dost thou distrust god? because thy monkey is dead! chapter x. discouragement.--a discovery.--a retrospective glance.--project of suicide.--the last shot.--the sea serpent.--the _porro_.--a message. --another solitary. his provisions are exhausted, and selkirk thinks not of renewing them; his settlement on the shore is destroyed, and he thinks not of rebuilding it; the fish-pond, the bed of water-cresses are encroached upon by sand and weeds, and he thinks not of repairing them. his mind, completely discouraged, recoils before such labors; he has scarcely troubled himself to replace the roof of his cabin. in the midst of his dreams, selkirk had not counted enough on two terrific guests, which must sooner or later come: despair and _ennui_. nevertheless, he had read in his bible this passage: 'as the worm gnaweth the garment and rottenness the wood, so doth the weariness of solitude gnaw the heart of man.' one day, as he was descending from the oasis, where he had dug a tomb for marimonda, he bethought himself of visiting the site of his burning wood. around him, the earth, blackened by the ravages of the fire, presented only a naked, gloomy and desolate picture. to his great surprise, beneath the ruins, under coal dust and half-calcined trunks of trees, he discovered, elevated several feet above the soil, the partition of a wall, some stones quarried out and placed one upon another; in fine, the remains of a building, evidently constructed by the hand of man. men had then inhabited this island before him! what had become of them? this wood, impenetrably choked, stifled with thorny bushes, briars and vines, and which he had delivered over to the flames, was undoubtedly a garden planted by them, on a sheltered declivity of the mountain; the garden which surrounded their habitation, as he had himself designed his own to do. ah! if he could have but found them in the island, how different would have been his fate! but to live alone! to have no companions but his own thoughts! amid the dash of waves, the cry of birds, the bleating of goats, incessantly to imagine the sound of a human voice, and incessantly to experience the torture of being undeceived! what elements of happiness has he ever met in this miserable island? when he dreamed of creating resources for a long and peaceful future, he lied to himself. a life favored by leisure would but crush him the oftener beneath the weight of thought, and it is thought which is killing him, the thought of isolation! what import to him the beautiful sights spread out before his eyes? the vast extent of sky and earth has repeated to him each day that he is lost, forgotten on an obscure point of the globe. the sunrises and sunsets, with their magic aspects, this luxuriant tropical vegetation, the magnificent and picturesque scenery of his island, awaken in him only a feeling of restraint, an uneasiness which he cannot define. perhaps the emotions, so sweet to all, are painful to him only because he cannot communicate them, share them with another. it is not the noisy life of cities which he asks, not even that of the shore. but, at least, a companion, a being to reply to his voice, to be associated with his joys, his sorrows. marimonda! no, he recognizes it now! marimonda could amuse him, but was not sufficient; she inhabited with him only the exterior world, she communicated with him only by things visible and palpable; her affection for her master, her gentleness, her admirable instinct, sometimes succeeded in lessening the distance which separated their two natures, but did not wholly fill up the interval. he had exaggerated the intelligence which, besides, increased at the expense of her strength, as with all monkeys; for god has not willed that an animal should approximate too closely to man; he had overrated the sense of her acts, because he needed near him a thinking and acting being; but with her, confidences, plans, hopes, communication, the exchange of all those intimate and mysterious thoughts which are the life of the soul, were they possible? even her eyes did not see like his own; admiration was forbidden to her; admiration, that precious faculty, which exists only for man,--and which becomes extinct by isolation. how many others become extinct also! self-love, a just self-esteem, that powerful lever which sustains us, which elevates us, which compels us to respect in ourselves that nobility of race which we derive from god, what becomes of it in solitude? for selkirk, vanity itself has lost its power to stimulate. formerly, when in the presence of his comrades at st. andrew or of the royal fleet, he had signalized himself by feats of address or courage, a sentiment of pride or triumph had inspired him. since his arrival in the island, his courage and address have had but too frequent opportunities of exercising themselves, but he has been excited only by want, by necessity, by a purely personal interest. besides, can one utter an exclamation of triumph, where there is not even an echo to repeat it? after having thus painfully passed in review all of which his exile from the world had deprived him, he exclaimed: 'to live alone, what a martyrdom! to live useless to all, what a disgrace! what! does no one need me? what! are generosity, devotion, even pity, all those noble instincts by which the soul reveals itself, for ever interdicted to me? this is death, death premature and shameful! ah! why did i not remain at the foot of that precipice?' with downcast head, he remained some time overwhelmed with the weight of his discouragement; then, suddenly, his brow cleared up, a sinister thought crossed his mind; he ran to his cabin, seized his gun. this last shot, this last charge of powder and lead, which he has preserved so preciously as a final resource, it will serve to put an end to his days! well, is not this the most valuable service he can expect from it? he examines the gun; the priming is yet undisturbed; he passes his nail over the flint, leans the butt against the ground, takes off the thick leather which covers his foot, that he may be able to fire with more certainty. but during all these preparations his resolution grows weaker; he trembles as he rests the gun against his temples; that sentiment of self-preservation, so profoundly implanted in the heart of man, re-awakens in him. he hesitates--thrice returning to his first resolution, he brings the gun to his forehead; thrice he removes it. at last, to drive away this demon of suicide, he fires it in the air. scarcely has he thus uselessly thrown away this precious shot before he repents. he approaches the shore; it is at the moment when the tide is at its lowest ebb; the sun touches the horizon. selkirk lies down on the damp beach:--'when the wave returns,' said he, 'if it be god's will, let it take me!' slumber comes first. exhausted with emotion, yielding to the lassitude of his mind, he falls asleep. in the middle of the night, suddenly awakened by the sound of the advancing wave, he again flees before the threat of death; he no longer wishes to die. once in safety, he turns to contemplate that immense sea which, for an instant, he had wished might be his tomb. by the moonlight, he perceives as it were a long and slender chain, which, gliding upon the crest of the waves, directs itself towards the shore. by its form, by its copper color, by the multiplicity of its rings, unfolding in the distance, selkirk recognizes the sea-serpent, that terror of navigators, as he has often heard it described. the mind of the solitary is a perpetual mirage. filled with terror, he flies again; he conceals himself, trembling, in the caverns of his mountains; he has become a coward; why should he affect a courage he does not feel? no one is looking at him! the next day, instead of the sea-serpent, he finds on the beach an immense cryptogamia, a gigantic alga, of a single piece, divided into a thousand cylindrical branches, and much superior to all those he has observed in the straits of sunda. the rising tide had thrown it on the shore. while he examines it, he sees with surprise all sorts of birds come to peck at it; coatis, agoutis, and even rats, come out of their holes, boldly carrying away before his eyes fragments, whence issues a thick and brown sap. emboldened by their example, and especially by the balsamic odor of the plant, he tastes it. it is sweet and succulent. this plant is no other than that providential vegetable called by the spaniards _porro_, and which forms so large a part of the nourishment of the poor inhabitants of chili.[1] [footnote 1: it is the _durvilloea utilis_, dedicated to dumont d'urville, by bory de st. vincent, and classed by him in the laminariées, an important and valuable family of marine cryptogamia.] the sea, which had already sent selkirk seals to furnish him with oil and furs in a moment of distress, had just come to his assistance by giving him an easily procured aliment for a long time. another surprise awaits him. between the interlaced branches of his alga, he discovers a little bottle, strongly secured with a cork and wax. it contains a fragment of parchment, on which are traced some lines in the spanish language. although he is but imperfectly acquainted with this language, though the characters are partially effaced or scarcely legible, selkirk, by dint of patience and study, soon deciphers the following words: 'in the name of the holy trinity, to you who may read'--(here some words were wanting,)--'greeting. my name is jean gons--(gonzalve or gonsales; the rest of the name was illegible.) after having seen my two sons, and almost all my fortune, swallowed up in the sea with the vessel _fernand cortes_, in which i was a passenger, thrown by shipwreck on the coasts of the island of san ambrosio, near chili, i live here alone and desolate. may god and men come to my aid!' at the bottom of the parchment, some other characters were perceptible, but without form, without connection, and almost entirely destroyed by a slight mould which had collected at the bottom of the bottle. chapter xi. the island san ambrosio.--selkirk at last knows what friendship is.--the raft.--visits to the tomb of marimonda.--the departure.--the two islands.--shipwreck.--the port of safety. as he read this, selkirk was seized with intense pity for the unfortunate shipwrecked. what! on this same ocean, undoubtedly on these same shores, lives another unhappy being, like himself exiled from the world, enduring the same sufferings, subject to the same wants, experiencing the same _ennui_, the same anguish as himself! this man has confided to the sea his cry of distress, his complaint, and the sea, a faithful messenger, has just deposited it at the feet of selkirk! suddenly he remembers that rock, that island, discerned by him, on the day when at the oasis, he was reconciled to marimonda. that is the island of san ambrosio; it is there, he does not doubt it for an instant, that his new friend lives; yes, his friend! for, from this moment he experiences for him an emotion of sympathetic affection. he loves him, he is so much to be pitied! poor father, he has lost his sons, he has lost his fortune and the hope of returning to his country; and yet there reigns in his letter a tone of dignified calmness, of religious resignation which can come only from a noble heart. he is a spaniard and a roman catholic; selkirk is a scotchman and a presbyterian; what matters it? to-day his friend demands assistance, and he has resolved to dare all, to undertake all to respond to his appeal. like a lamp deprived of air, his mind has revived at this idea, that he can at last be useful to others than himself. the inhabitant of san ambrosio shall be indebted to him for an alleviation of his sorrows; for companionship in them. what is there visionary about this hope? had he not already conceived the project of preparing a barque to explore that unknown coast? god seems to encourage his design, by sending him at once this double manna for the body and soul, the _porro_, which will suffice for his nourishment, and this writing, which the wave has just brought, to impose on him a duty. he immediately sets himself to the work, and obstacles are powerless to chill his generous excitement. of the vegetable productions of the island, the red cedar and myrtle are those which grow of the largest size;[1] but yet their trunks are not large enough to serve when hollowed out for a barque. well! he will construct a raft. [footnote 1: the _myrtus maximus_ attains 13 metres (a little more than 42 feet) in height.] he fells young trees, cuts off their branches, rolls them to the shore, on a platform of sand, which the waves reach at certain periods; he fastens them solidly together with a triple net-work of plaited leather, cords woven of the fibre of the aloe, supple and tough vines; he chooses another with diverging and horizontal roots, the habitual direction taken by all the large vegetables of this island, the sand of which is covered only by two feet of earth. this shall be the mast. he plants it in the middle of the raft, where it is kept upright by its roots, knotted and interwoven with the various pieces which compose the floor. for a sail, has he not that which was left him by the swordfish? and will not his seal-skin hammock serve as a spare sail? he afterwards constructs a helm, then two strong oars, that he may neglect no chance of success. he fastens his structure still more firmly by all that remains to him of his nails and bolts, and awaits the high tide to launch his skiff upon the sea. he has never felt calmer, happier, than during the long time occupied in these labors; their object has doubled his strength. the moments of indispensable repose, he has passed at the oasis, beside the tomb of marimonda, of that marimonda, who by her example, opened to him the life of devotedness in which he has just engaged. thence, with his eye turned upon that island where dwells the unknown friend from whom he has received a summons, he talks to him, encourages him, consoles him; he imparts to him his resolution to join him soon, and it seems as if the same waves which had brought the message will also undertake to transmit the reply. at present, selkirk finds some sweetness in pitying evils which are not his own; he no longer dreams of wrapping himself in a cloak of selfishness; that disdainful heart, hitherto invincibly closed, at last experiences friendship, or at least aspires to do so. at last, the day arrives when the sea, inundating the marshes, bending the mangroves, reaches, on the sandy platform, one of the corners of his raft. selkirk hastens to transport thither his hatchets, his guns, his seal-skins and goat-skins, his bible, his spy-glass, his pipes, his ladder, his stools, even his traps; all his riches! it is a complete removal. on taking possession of the island, he had engraved on the bark of several trees the date of his arrival; he now inscribes upon them the day of his departure. for many months his reckoning has been interrupted; to determine the date is impossible; he knows only the day of the week. when the wave had entirely raised his barque, aiding himself with one of the long oars to propel it over the rocky bottom, he gained the sea. then, after having adjusted his sail, with his hand on the helm, he turned towards his island to address to it an adieu, laden with maledictions rather than regrets. swelled by a south-east wind, the sail pursues its course towards that other land, the object of his new desires. at the expiration of some hours, by the aid of his glass, what from the summit of his mountains had appeared to him only a dark point, a rock beaten by the waves, seems already enlarged, allowing him to see high hills covered with verdure. he has not then deceived himself! there exists a habitable land,--habitable for two! it has served as a refuge to the shipwrecked man, to his friend! ah! how impatient he is to reach this shore where he is to meet him! several hours more of a slow but peaceful navigation roll away. he has arrived at a distance almost midway between the point of departure and that of arrival. looking alternately at the islands selkirk and san ambrosio, both illuminated by the sunset, with their indefinite forms, their bases buried in the waves, their terraced summits, veiled with a light fog, they appear like the reflection of each other. but for the discovery which he had previously made of the second, he would have believed this was his own island, or rather its image, represented in the waters of the sea. but in proportion as he advances towards his new conquest, it increases to his eyes, as if to testify the reality of its existence, now by a mountain peak, now by a cape. he had seen only the profile, it now presents its face, ready to develope all its graces, all its fascinations; while its rival, disdained, abandoned, becomes by degrees effaced, and seems to wish to conceal its humiliation beneath the wave of the great ocean. suddenly, without any apparent jar, without any flaw of wind, on a calm sea, the stem of the tree serving as a mast vacillates, bends forward, then on one side; the roots, which fasten it to the floor of the raft, are wrenched from their hold; the sail, diverging in the same direction, still extended, drags it entirely down, and it is borne away by the wave. struck with astonishment, selkirk puts his foot on the helm, and seizes his oars; but oars are powerless to move so heavy a machine. what is to be done? he who has not been able to endure isolation in the midst of a terrestrial paradise, from which he has just voluntarily exiled himself, must he then he reduced to have for an asylum, on the immensity of the ocean, only a few trunks of trees scarcely lashed together? the situation is frightful, terrific; selkirk dares not contemplate it, lest his reason should give way. he must have a sail; a mast! he has his spare sail; for the mast, his only resource is to detach one of the timbers which compose the frame-work of his raft. perhaps this will destroy its solidity; but he has no choice. he takes the best of his hatchets, chooses among the straight stems of which his floating dwelling is composed, that which seems most suitable; he cuts away with a thousand precautions, the bonds which fasten it; he frees it, not without difficulty, from the contact of other logs to which it has been attached. but while he devotes himself to this task, the raft, obedient to a mysterious motion of the sea, has slowly drifted on; the surface is covered with foam, as if sub-marine waves are lashing it. selkirk springs to the helm; the tiller breaks in his hands; he seizes the oars, they also break. an unknown force hurries him on. he has just fallen into one of those rapid currents which, from north to south, traverse the waters of the pacific ocean. borne away in a contrary direction from that which he has hitherto pursued, the land of which he had come in search seems to fly before him. whither is he going? into what regions, into what solitudes of the sea is he to be carried, far from islands and continents? to add to his terror, in these latitudes, where day suddenly succeeds to night and night to day, where twilight is unknown, the sun, just now shining brightly, suddenly sinks below the horizon. in the midst of profound darkness, the unhappy man pursues this fatal race, leading to inevitable destruction. during a part of this terrible night, he hears the frail frame-work which supports him cracking beneath his feet. how long must his sufferings last? he knows not. at last, jostled by adverse waves, shaken to its centre, the raft begins to whirl around, and something heavier than the shock of the wave comes repeatedly to give it new and rude blows. the first rays of the rising moon, far from calming the terrors of the unhappy mariner, increase them. in his dizzy brain, these wan rays which silver the surface of the sea, seem so many phantoms coming to be present at his last moments. pale, bent double, with his hair standing upright, clinging to some projection of his barque, he in vain attempts to fix his glance on certain strange objects which he sees ascending, descending, and rolling around him. they are the trunks of the trees which formed a part of his raft, limbs detached from its body, and which, now drawn into the same whirlpool, are by their repeated shocks, aiding in his complete destruction. in face of this imminent, implacable death, selkirk ceases to struggle against it. he has now but one resource; the belief in another life. the religious instinct, which has already come to his assistance, revives with force. clinging with his hands and feet to these wavering timbers, which are almost disjoined, half inundated by the wave, which is encroaching more and more upon his last asylum, he directs his steps towards the spot where he had deposited his arms and furs; he takes from among them his bible, not to read it, but to clasp it to his heart, whose agitation and terror seem to grow calm beneath its sacred contact. he then attempts to absorb his thoughts in god; he blames himself for not having been contented with the gifts he had received from him; he might have lived happily in scotland, or in the royal navy. it is this perpetual desire for change, these aspirations after the unknown, which have occasioned his ruin. at this moment, raising his eyes towards heaven, he sees, beneath the pale rays of the moon, a mass of rocks rising at a little distance, which he immediately recognizes. there is the bay of the seals, the peak of the discovery. that hollow, lying in the shadow, is the valley of the oasis! as on the first day of his arrival, on one of the steepest summits of the mountain, he perceives stationed there, immovable, like a sentinel, a goat, between whose delicate limbs shines a group of stars, celestial eyes, whose golden lids seem to vibrate as if in appeal. it is his island! he does not hesitate; suddenly recovering all his energies, he springs from the raft, struggles with vigor, with perseverance against the current, triumphs over it, and, after prolonged efforts, at last reaches this haven of deliverance, this port of safety; he lands, fatigued, exhausted, but overcome with joy and gratitude. profoundly thanking god from his heart, he prostrates himself, and kisses with transport the hospitable soil of this island,--which, on the morning of the same day, he had cursed. alas! does not reflection quickly diminish this lively joy at his return and safety? from this shipwreck, poor sailor, thou hast saved only thyself: thy tools, thy instruments of labor, even thy bible, are a prey to the sea! it is now, selkirk, that thou must suffice for thyself! it is the last trial to which thou canst be subjected! chapter xii. the island of juan fernandez.--encounter in the mountains.--discussion. --a new captivity.--a cannon-shot.--dampier and selkirk.--_mas a fuera_. --news of stradling.--confidences.--end of the history of the real robinson crusoe.--nebuchadnezzar. on the 1st of february, 1709, an english vessel, equipped and sent to sea by the merchants of bristol, after having sailed around cape horn, in company with another vessel belonging to the same expedition, touched alone, about the 33d degree of south latitude, at the island of juan fernandez, from a hundred and ten to a hundred and twenty leagues distant from the coast of chili. the second ship was to join her without delay. symptoms of the scurvy had appeared on board, and it was intended to remain here for some time, to give the crew opportunity of recovering their health. their tents pitched, towards evening several sailors, having ventured upon the island, were not a little surprised to see, through the obscurity, a strange being, bearing some resemblance to the human form, who, at their approach, scaling the mountains, leaping from rock to rock, fled with the rapidity of a deer, the lightness of a chamois. some doubted whether it was a man, and prepared to fire at him. they were prevented by an officer named dower, who accompanied them. on their return to their companions, the sailors related what they had seen; dower did not fail to do the same among the officers; and this evening, at the encampment on the shore, in the forecastle as well as on the quarter-deck, there were narratives and suppositions that would 'amuse an assembly of puritans through the whole of lent,' says the account from which we borrow a part of our information. at this period, tales of the marvellous gained great credence among sailors. not long before, the spaniards had discovered giants in patagonia; the portuguese, sirens in the seas of brazil; the french, tritons and satyrs at martinique; the dutch, black men, with feet like lobsters, beyond paramaribo. the strange individual under discussion was unquestionably a satyr, or at least one of those four-footed, hairy men, such as the authentic james carter declared he had met with in the northern part of america. some, thinking this conclusion too simple, adroitly insinuated that no one among the sailors who had met this monster, had noticed in him so great a number of paws. why four paws?--why should he not be a monopedous man, a man whose body, terminated by a single leg, cleared, with this support alone, considerable distances? was not the existence of the monopedous man attested by modern travellers, and even in antiquity and the middle ages, by pliny and st. augustine? others preferred to imagine in this singular personage the acephalous man, the man without a head, named by the grave baumgarthen as existing on the new continent. they had not discovered many legs, but neither had they discovered a head; why should he have one? and the discussion continued, and not a voice was raised to risk this judicious observation; if neither head nor limbs have been distinguished, it may perhaps be because he has been seen only in the dark. the next day, each wished to be satisfied; a regular hunt was organized against this phenomenon; they set out, invaded his retreat, pursued him, surrounded him, at last seized him, and the brave sailors of great britain discovered with stupefaction, in this monopedous, acephalous man, in this satyr, this cercopithecus, what? a countryman, a scotchman, a subject of queen anne! it was selkirk; selkirk, his hair long and in disorder, his limbs encased in fragments of skins, and half deprived of his reason. his island was juan fernandez, so called by the first navigator who discovered it; this was selkirk island. when he was conducted before captain woodes rogers, commander of the expedition, to the interrogations of the latter, the unfortunate man, with downcast look, and agitated with a nervous trembling, replied only by repeating mechanically the last syllables of the phrases which were addressed to him by the captain. a little recovered from his agitation, discovering that he had englishmen to deal with, he attempted to pronounce some words; he could only mutter a few incoherent and disconnected sentences. 'solitude and the care of providing for his subsistence,' says paw, 'had so occupied his mind, that all rational ideas were effaced from it. as savage as the animals, and perhaps more so, he had almost entirely forgotten the secret of articulating intelligible sounds.' captain rogers having asked him how long he had been secluded in this island, selkirk remained silent; he nevertheless understood the question, for his eyes immediately opened with terror, as if he had just measured the long space of time which his exile had lasted. he was far from having an exact idea of it; he appreciated it only by the sufferings he had endured there, and, looking fixedly at his hands, he opened and shut them several times. reckoning by the number of his fingers, it was twenty or thirty years, and every one at first believed in the accuracy of his calculation, so completely did his forehead, furrowed with wrinkles, his skin blackened, withered by the sun, his hair whitened at the roots, his gray beard, give him the aspect of an old man. selkirk was born in 1680; he was then only twenty-nine. after having replied thus, he turned his head, cast a troubled look on the objects which surrounded him; a remembrance seemed to awaken, and, uttering a cry, stepping forward, he pointed with his finger to a cedar on his left. it was the tree on which, when he left the swordfish, he had inscribed the date of his arrival in the island. the officer dower approached, and, notwithstanding the crumbling of the decayed bark, could still read there this inscription: 'alexander selkirk--from largo, scotland, oct. 27, 1704.' his exile from the world had therefore lasted four years and three months. notwithstanding the interest excited by his misfortunes, by his name, his accent, more than by his language, captain rogers, an honorable and humane man, but of extreme severity on all that appertained to discipline, recognized him as a british subject, suspected him to be a deserter from the english navy, and gave orders that he should be put under guard, pending a definitive decision. the sailors commissioned to this office did not find it an easy thing to guard a prisoner who could climb the trees like a squirrel, and outstrip them all in a race. as a precaution, they commenced by binding him firmly to the same cedar on which his name was engraved. there the unfortunate selkirk figured as a curious animal, ornamented with a label. afterwards, more for pastime than through mischief, they tormented him with questions, to obtain from him hesitating or almost senseless replies, which bewildered him much; then they began to examine, with childish surprise, the length of his beard, of his hair and nails; the prodigious development of his muscles; his bare feet, so hardened by travel, that they seemed to be covered with horn moccasins. having found beneath his goat-skin rags, a knife, whose blade, by dint of use and sharpening, was almost reduced to the proportions of that of a penknife, they took it away to examine it; but on seeing himself deprived of this single weapon, the only relic of his shipwreck, the prisoner struggled, uttering wild howls; they restored it to him. at the hour of repast, selkirk had, like the rest, his portion of meat and biscuit. he ate the biscuit, manifesting great satisfaction; but he, who had at first suffered so much from being deprived of salt, found in the meat a degree of saltness insupportable. he pointed to the stream; one of his guards courteously offered him his gourd, containing a mixture of rum and water; he approached it to his lips, and immediately threw it away with violence, as if it had burned him. at evening, he was transported on board. a few days after he began to acquire a taste for common food; his ideas became more definite; speech returned to his lips more freely and clearly; but liberty of motion was not yet restored to him, a new captivity opened before him, and his irritation at this was presenting an obstacle to the complete restoration of his faculties, when god, who had so deeply tried him, came to his assistance. one morning, as the crew of the ship were occupied, some in caulking and tarring it, others in gathering edible plants on the island, a cannon-shot resounded along the waves. the caulkers climbed up the rigging, the provision-hunters ran to the shore, the officers seized their spy-glasses, and all together quickly uttered a _huzza_! the vessel which had sailed in company with that of captain rogers, the duchess, of bristol, had arrived. this vessel, commanded by william cook, had, for a master-pilot, a man more celebrated in maritime annals than the commanders of the expedition themselves;--this was dampier, the indefatigable william dampier, who, a short time since a millionaire, now completely ruined in consequence of foolish speculations and prodigalities, had just undertaken a third voyage around the world. scarcely had he disembarked, when he heard of the great event of the day--of the wild man. his name was mentioned, he remembered having known an alexander selkirk at st. andrew, at the inn of the royal salmon. he went to him, interrogated him, recognized him, and, without loss of time, after having had his hair and beard cut, and procured suitable clothing for him, presented him to capt. rogers; he introduced him as one of his old comrades, formerly an intrepid and distinguished officer in the navy, one of the conquerors of vigo, who had been induced by himself to embark in the swordfish, partly at his expense. restored to liberty, supported, revived, by the kind cares of dampier, his old hero, selkirk felt rejuvenated. his first thought then is for that other unfortunate man, still an exile perhaps in his desert island. after having informed the old sailor that he had found a little bottle, containing a written parchment, he said: 'dear captain, it would be a meritorious act, and one worthy of you, to co-operate in the deliverance of this unhappy man. a boat will suffice for the voyage, since the island of san ambrosio is so near this. oh! how joyfully would i accompany you in this excursion!' 'my brave hermit,' replied dampier, shaking his head, 'the neighboring island of which you speak is no other than the second in this group, named _mas a fuera_. as for the other, that san ambrosio which you think so near, if it has not become a floating island since my last voyage, if it is still where i left it, under the tropic of capricorn, to reach it will not be so trifling a matter; besides, your little bottle must be a bottle of ink. there is here confusion of place and confusion of time; not only is _mas a fuera_ not _san ambrosio_ but this latter island, far from being a desert, as your correspondent has said, has been inhabited more than twenty years by a multitude of madmen, fishermen and pirates, potato-eaters and old sailors, who, when i visited them, in 1702, politely received me with gun-shots, and whose politeness i returned with cannon-shots. therefore, my boy, he who wrote to you must have been dead when you received his letter. what date did it bear?' 'none,' said selkirk; 'the last lines were effaced;' and he trembled at the idea of all the dangers he had run in pursuit of this friend, who no longer existed, and of a land which he had never inhabited. after having satisfied a duty of humanity, that which he had regarded as a debt contracted towards a friend, selkirk, among other inquiries, let fall the name of stradling. this time, it was hatred which asked information. his hatred was destined to be gratified. in pursuing his voyage, after having coasted along the shores of the straits of magellan, stradling, surprised by a frightful hurricane, had seen his vessel entirely disabled. repulsed at five different times, now by the tempest, now by the spaniards, from the ports where he attempted to take refuge, he was thrown, near la plata, on an inhospitable shore. attacked, pillaged by the natives, half of his crew having perished, with the remains of his ship he constructed another, to which he gave the name of the cinque ports, instead of that of the swordfish, which it was no longer worthy to bear. this was a large pinnace, on which he had secretly returned to england. for several years past, dampier had not heard of him. selkirk thought himself sufficiently avenged; his present happiness silenced his past ill-will. he even became reconciled to his island. each day he traversed its divers parts, with emotions various as the remembrances it awakened. but he was now no longer alone! arm and arm with dampier, he revisited these places where he had suffered so much, and which often resumed for him their enchanting aspects. his companion was soon informed of his history. when he had related what we already know, from his landing to the construction of his raft, and to his frightful shipwreck, he at last commenced, not without some mortification, the recital of his final miseries, which alone could explain the deplorable state in which the english sailors had found him. by the loss of his hatchets, his ladder, his other instruments of labor, condemned to inaction, to powerlessness, he had nothing to occupy himself with but to provide sustenance. but the sea had taken his snares along with the rest. he at first subsisted on herbs, fruits and roots; afterwards his stomach rejected these crudities, as it had repulsed the fish. armed with a stick, he had chased the agoutis; for want of agoutis, he had eaten rats. by night, he silently climbed the trees to surprise the female of the toucan or blackbird, which he pitilessly stifled over their young brood. meanwhile, at the noise he made among the branches, this winged prey almost always escaped him. he tried to construct a ladder; by the aid of his knife alone, he attempted to cut down two tall trees. during this operation his knife broke--only a fragment remained. this was for him a great trial. he thought of making, with reeds and the fibres of the aloe, a net to catch birds; but all patient occupation, all continuous labor, had become insupportable to him. that he might escape the gloomy ideas which assailed him more and more, it became necessary to avoid repose, to court bodily fatigue. by continual exercise, his powers of locomotion had developed in incredible proportions. his feet had become so hardened that he no longer felt the briers or sharp stones. when he grew weary, he slept, in whatever place he found himself, and these were his only quiet hours. to chase the agoutis had ceased to be an object worthy of his efforts; the kids took their turn, afterwards the goats. he had acquired such dexterity of movement, and such strength of muscle, such certainty of eye, that to leap from one projection of rock to another, to spring at one bound over ravines and deep cavities, was to him but a childish sport. in these feats he took pleasure and pride. sometimes, in the midst of his flights through space, he would seize a bird on the wing. the goats themselves soon lost their power to struggle against such a combatant. notwithstanding their number, had selkirk wished it, he might have depopulated the island. he was careful not to do this. if he wished to procure a supply of provisions, he directed his steps towards the most elevated peaks of the mountain, marked his game, pursued it, caught it by the horns, or felled it by a blow from his stick; after which his knife-blade did its office. the goat killed, he threw it on his shoulders, and, almost as swiftly as before, regained the cavernous grotto or leafy tree, in the shelter of which he could this day eat and sleep. he had for a long time forsaken his cabin, which was too far distant from his hunting-grounds. if he had a stock of provision on hand, he still pursued the goats as usual, but only for his personal gratification. if he caught one, he contented himself with slitting its ear; this was his seal, the mark by which he recognized his free flock. during the last years of his abode in the island, he had killed or marked thus nearly five hundred.[1] [footnote 1: long after his departure from juan fernandez, the ship's crews, who came there for supplies, or the pirates who took refuge there, found goats whose ears had been slit by selkirk's knife.] in the natural course of things, as his physical powers increased, his intelligence became enfeebled. necessity had at first aroused his industry, for all industry awakes at the voice of want; but his own had been due rather to his recollections than to his ingenuity. he thought himself a creator, he was only an imitator. whatever may have been said by those who, in the pride of a deceitful philosophy, have wished to glorify the power of the solitary man--if the latter, supported by certain fortunate circumstances, can remain some time in a state hardly endurable, it is not by his own strength, but by means which society itself has furnished. this is the incontestable truth, from which, in his pride, selkirk had turned away. deprived of exercise and of aliment, his thoughts, no longer sustained by reading the holy book, were day by day lost in a chaos of dreams and reveries. a prey to terrors which he could not explain, he feared darkness, he trembled at the slightest sound of the wind among the branches; if it blew violently, he thought the trees would be uprooted and crush him; if the sea roared, he trembled at the idea of the submersion of his entire island. when he traversed the woods, especially if the heat was great, he often heard, distinctly, voices which called him or replied. he caught entire phrases; others remained unfinished. these phrases, connected neither with his thoughts nor his situation, were strange to him. sometimes he even recognized the voice. now it was that of catherine, scolding her servants; now that of stradling, of dampier, or one of his college tutors. once he heard thus the voice of one of his classmates whom he least remembered; at another time it was that of his old admiral, rourke, uttering the words of command. if he attempted to raise his own to impose silence on these choruses of demons who tormented him, it was only with painful efforts that he could succeed in articulating some confused syllables. he no longer talked, but he still sang; he sang the monotonous and mournful airs of his psalms, the words of which he had totally forgotten. his memory by degrees became extinct. sometimes even, he lost the sentiment of his identity; then, at least, his state of isolation, and the memory of his misfortunes ceased to weigh upon him. he nevertheless remembered, that about this time, having approached swordfish beach, attracted by an unusual noise there, he had seen it covered with soldiers and sailors, doubtless spaniards. the idea of finding himself among men, had suddenly made his heart beat; but when he descended the declivity of the hills in order to join them, several shots were fired; the balls whistled about his ears, and, filled with terror, he had fled. once more he had found himself there, but without intending it, for then he could no longer find his way, by the points of the compass, through the woods and valleys leading to the shore. ah! how had his ancient abode changed its aspect! how many years had rolled away since he lived there! the little gravelled paths, which conducted to the grotto and the mimosa, were effaced; the mimosa, its principal branches broken, seemed buried beneath its own ruins; of his fish-pond, his bed of water-cresses, not a vestige remained; his grotto, veiled, hid beneath the thick curtains of vines and heliotropes, was no longer visible; his cabin had ceased to exist,--overthrown, swept away doubtless, by a hurricane, as his inclosure had been. he could discover the spot only by the five myrtles, which, disembarrassed of their roof of reeds and their plaster walls, had resumed their natural decorations, green and glossy, as if the hatchet had never touched them. at their feet tufts of briers and other underbrush had grown up, as formerly. the two streams, the _linnet_ and the _stammerer_, alone had suffered no change. the one with its gentle murmur, the other with its silvery cascades, after having embraced the lawn, still continued to flow towards the sea, where they seemed to have buried, with their waves, the memory of all that had passed on their borders. at sight of his shore, which seemed to have retained no vestige of himself, selkirk remained a few moments, mournful and lost in his incoherent thoughts, in the midst of which this was most prominent:--yet alive, already forgotten by the world, i have seen my traces disappear, even from this island which i have so long inhabited! a rustling was heard in the foliage; he raised his eyes, expecting to see marimonda swinging on the branch of a tree. perceiving nothing, he remembered that marimonda reposed at the oasis; he took the road from the mountain which led thither, but when he arrived there, when he was before her tomb, covered with tall grass, he had forgotten why he came. one of those unaccountable fits of terror, which were now more frequent than formerly, seized him, and he precipitately descended the mountain, springing from peak to peak along the rocks. the religious sentiment, which formerly sustained selkirk in his trials, was not entirely extinct; but it was obscured beneath his darkened reason. his religion was only that of fear. when the sea was violently agitated, when the storm howled, he prostrated himself with clasped hands; but it was no longer god whom he implored; it was the angry ocean, the thunder. he sought to disarm the genius of evil. the lightning having one day struck, not far from him, a date-palm, he worshipped the tree. his perverted faith had at last terminated in idolatry. this was, in substance, what alexander selkirk related to william dampier; what solitude had done for this man, still so young, and formerly so intelligent; this was what had become of the despiser of men, when left to his own reason. dampier listened with the most profound attention, interrupting him in his narrative only by exclamations of interest or of pity. when he ceased to speak, holding out his hand to him, he said: 'my boy, the lesson is a rude one, but let it be profitable to you; let it teach you that _ennui_ on board a vessel, even with a stradling, is better than _ennui_ in a desert. undoubtedly there are among us troublesome, wicked people, but fewer wicked than crack-brained. believe, then, in friendship, especially in mine; from this day it is yours, on the faith of william dampier.' and he opened his arms to the young man, who threw himself into them. on their return to the vessel, dampier presented to selkirk his own bible. the latter seized it with avidity, and, after having turned over its leaves as if to find a text which presented itself to his mind, read aloud the following passage: 'he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven.'--daniel v. 21. conclusion. capt. rogers, in his turn, learned the misfortunes of selkirk and became attached to him; from this moment, the sailors themselves showed him great deference; he was known among them by the name of _the governor_, and this title clung to him. to do the honors of his island, the governor one day gave to the crews of the two vessels, the spectacle of one of his former hunts. resuming his ancient costume, he returned to the high mountains, where, before their eyes, he started a goat, and darting in pursuit of it, over a thousand cliffs, sometimes clearing frightful abysses, by means of a vine which he seized on his passage,--this method he owed to marimonda,--he succeeded in forcing his game to the hills of the shore. arrived there, exhausted, panting, drawing itself up like a stag at bay, the goat stopped short. selkirk took it living on his shoulders, and presented it to capt. rogers. its ear was already slit. by way of thanks, the captain announced that he might henceforth be connected with the expedition, with his old rank of mate, which was restored to him. for this favor selkirk was indebted to the solicitations of dampier. in the same vessel with dampier, he made another three years' voyage, visited mexico, california, and the greater part of north america; after which, still in company with dampier, and possessor of a pretty fortune, he returned to england, where the recital of his adventures, already made public, secured him the most honorable patronage and friendship. among his friends, may be reckoned steele, the co-laborer, the rival of addison, who consecrated a long chapter to him in his publication of the tatler. selkirk did not fail to visit scotland. passing through st. andrew, could he help experiencing anew the desire to see his old friend pretty kitty? once more he appeared before the bar of the royal salmon. this time, on meeting, selkirk and catherine both experienced a sentiment of painful surprise. the latter, stouter and fuller than ever, fat and red-faced, touched the extreme limit of her fourth and last youth; the solitary of juan fernandez, with his gray hair, his copper complexion, could scarcely recall to the respectable hostess of the tavern the elegant pilot of the royal navy, still less the pale and blond student, of whom she had been, eighteen years before, the first and only love. 'is it indeed you, my poor sandy,' said she, with an accent of pity; 'i thought you were dead.' 'i have been nearly so, indeed, and a long time ago, kitty. but who has told you of me?' 'alas! it was my husband himself.' 'you are married then, catherine. so much the better.' 'so much the worse rather, my friend; for, would you believe it, the old monster, bent double as he is with age and rheumatism, was bright enough to dupe me finely; to dupe me twice. in the first place, by making me believe you were dead when you were not. but he well knew, the cheat, that if i refused him once, it was because my views were turned in your direction.' selkirk made a movement which escaped catherine; she continued: 'his second deception was to arrive here in triumph, in the midst of the cries of joy and embraces of the _sea-dogs_ and _old pilots_. one would have thought he had in his pockets all the mines of guinea and peru. he did not say so, but i thought it could not be otherwise; and i married him, since i believed you no longer living. his trick having succeeded, he then told me of his shipwreck, his complete ruin. ah! with what a good heart would i have sent him packing! but it was too late, and it became necessary that the royal salmon, founded by the honorable andrew felton, should furnish subsistence for two; and this is the reason why, mr. selkirk, you find me still here, a prisoner in my bar, and cursing all the captains who make the tour of the world only to come afterwards and impose upon poor and inexperienced young girls!' selkirk had not at first understood the lamentations of catherine; but a twilight commenced to dawn in his ideas; he divined that his name had been used for an act of baseness; and, without being able to account for it, he felt the return of an old leaven of spite, an old hatred revived. 'who is your husband? what is his name?' asked he, in a loud voice and with a tone of authority. 'do not grow angry, sandy? do not seek a quarrel with him now. what is done, is done; i am his wife, do you understand? it is of no use to recall the past.' 'and who thinks of recalling it? i simply asked you who he was?' 'you will be prudent; you promise me? well! do you see him yonder, in the second stall, at the same place he formerly occupied? he has just poured out some gin to those sailors, and is drinking with them. it is he who is standing up with an apron on.' 'stradling!' exclaimed selkirk, with sparkling eyes. but at the sight of this apron, finding his old captain become a waiter, his hatred and projects of vengeance were suddenly extinguished. alexander selkirk returned to england in 1712. the history of his captivity in the island of juan fernandez had appeared in the papers; several apocryphal relations had been already published, when in 1717, daniel de foe published his _robinson crusoe_. he is really the same personage; but in this latter version, the island of juan fernandez, in spite of distance and geographical impossibilities, is peopled with savage caribs; marimonda is transformed into the simple friday; history is turned into romance, but this romance is elevated to all the dignity of a philosophical treatise. rendering full justice to the merit of the writer, we must nevertheless acknowledge that he has completely altered, in a mental view, the physiognomy of his model. robinson is not a man suffering entire isolation; he has a companion, and the savages are incessantly making inroads around him. it is the european developing the resources of his industry, to contend at once with an unproductive land and the dangers created by his enemies. selkirk has no enemies to repulse, and he inhabits a fruitful country. he needs, before every thing else, the presence of man, one of those fraternal affections in which he refuses to believe. his sufferings originate in his very solitude. in solitude, robinson improves and perfects himself; selkirk, at first as full of resources as he, ends by becoming discouraged and brutified. which of the two is most true to nature? the first is an ideal being, for in no quarter of the globe has there ever been found one analogous to the robinson of de foe; the other, on the contrary, is to be met with every where, denying the dependence of an isolated individual; but this dependence, even in the midst of a prodigal nature, if it is not to the honor of man, is to the honor of society at large. notwithstanding all that has been said, the solitary is a man imbruted, vegetating, deprived of his crown. 'solitude is sweet only in the vicinity of great cities.'[1] by an admirable decree of providence, the isolated being is an imperfect being; man is completed by man. [footnote 1: bernardin de st. pierre. seneca had said: _miscenda et alternanda sunt solitudo et frequentia_.] notwithstanding the false maxims of a deceitful philosophy, it is to the social state that we owe, from the greatest to the least, the courage which animates and sustains us; god has created us to live there and to love one another; it is for this reason that selfishness is a shameful vice, a crime! it is, so to speak, an infringement of one of the great laws of nature. the end. new books and new editions published by ticknor, reed, and fields * * * * * henry w. longfellow complete poetical works [transcriber's note: missing text.] the six volumes mentioned below, and [tr. note: missing text.] the market. in two volumes, 16mo, $2.00 in separate volumes, each [tr. note: missing text.] cents. voices of the night. ballads and other poems. spanish student; a play in three acts. belfry of bruges and other poems. evangeline; a tale of acadie[tr. note: missing text.] the seaside and the fireside. the waif. a collection of poems. edited by [tr. note: missing text] the estray. a collection of poems. edited [tr. note: missing text] mr. longfellow's prose works hyperion. a romance. in one volume. price $1.00. outre-mer. a pilgrimage beyond the sea. in one volume, 16mo, price $1.00. kavanagh. a tale. lately published. in one vol., 16mo, price 75 cents. nathaniel hawthorne's writings twice-told tales. a new edition. in two vol., 16mo, with portrait, price $1.50. the scarlet letter. a romance. in one vol., 16mo, price 75 cents. the house of the seven gables. in one volume, 16mo, price $1.00. true stories from history and biography. in one volume, 16mo, with fine engravings, price 75 cents. whittier's writings. 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or words of counsel for overcoming the world. in one volume, 18mo, price 38 cents. the constitution of man. by george combe. 27th edition. in one volume, 12mo, price 75 cents. memoir of the buckminsters, father and son. by mrs. lee. in one volume, 12mo. each of the above poems and prose writings, may be had in various styles works of jules verne edited by charles f. horne introduction the survivors of the chancellor was issued in 1875. shipwrecks occur in other of verne's tales; but this is his only story devoted wholly to such a disaster. in it the author has gathered all the tragedy, the mystery, and the suffering possible to the sea. all the various forms of disaster, all the possibilities of horror, the depths of shame and agony, are heaped upon these unhappy voyagers. the accumulation is mathematically complete and emotionally unforgettable. the tale has well been called the "imperishable epic of shipwreck." the idea of the book is said to have originated in the celebrated french painting by gericault, "the wreck of the medusa," now in the louvre gallery. the medusa was a french frigate wrecked off the coast of africa in 1816. some of the survivors, escaping on a raft, were rescued by a passing ship after many days of torture. verne, however, seems also to have drawn upon the terrifying experiences of the british ship sarah sands in 1857, her story being fresh in the public mind at the time he wrote. the sarah sands caught fire off the african coast while on a voyage to india carrying british troops. there was gunpowder aboard liable to blow up at any moment. some of it did indeed explode, tearing a huge hole in the vessel's side. a storm added to the terror, and the waters entering the breach caused by the explosion, combated with the fire. after ten days of desperate struggle, the charred and sinking vessel reached a port. the extreme length of life which verne allows his people in their starving, thirsting condition is proven possible by medical science and recent "fasting"' experiments. the dramatic climax of the tale wherein the castaways find fresh water in the ocean is based upon a fact, one of those odd geographical facts of which the author made such frequent, skillful and instructive use. "michael strogoff" which, through its use as a stage play, has become one of the best known books of all the world, was first published in 1876. its vivid, powerful story has made it a favorite with every red-blooded reader. its two well-drawn female characters, the courageous heroine, and the stern, endurant, yearning mother, show how well verne could depict the tenderer sex when he so willed. though usually the rapid movement and adventure of his stories leave women in subordinate parts. as to the picture drawn in "michael strogoff" of russia and siberia, it is at once instructive and sympathetic. the horrors are not blinked at, yet neither is russian patriotism ignored. the loyalty of some of the siberian exiles to their mother country is a side of life there which is too often ignored by writers who dwell only on the darker view. the czar, in our author's hands, becomes the hero figure to the erection of which french "hero worship" is ever prone. the sarcasms thrown occasionally at the british newspaper correspondent of the story, show the changing attitude of verne toward england, and reflect the french spirit of his day. the survivors of the chancellor by jules verne chapter i the chancellor charleston, september 27, 1898.--it is high tide, and three o'clock in the afternoon when we leave the battery quay; the ebb carries us off shore, and as captain huntly has hoisted both main and top sails, the northerly breeze drives the chancellor briskly across the bay. fort sumter ere long is doubled, the sweeping batteries of the mainland on our left are soon passed, and by four o'clock the rapid current of the ebbing tide has carried us through the harbor mouth. but as yet we have not reached the open sea we have still to thread our way through the narrow channels which the surge has hollowed out amongst the sand-banks. the captain takes a southwest course, rounding the lighthouse at the corner of the fort; the sails are closely trimmed; the last sandy point is safely coasted, and at length, at seven o'clock in the evening, we are out free upon the wide atlantic. the chancellor is a fine square-rigged three-master, of 900 tons burden, and belongs to the wealthy liverpool firm of laird brothers. she is two years old, is sheathed and secured with copper, her decks being of teak, and the base of all her masts, except the mizzen, with all their fittings, being of iron. she is registered first class, a1, and is now on her third voyage between charleston and liverpool. as she wended her way through the channels of charleston harbor, it was the british flag that was lowered from her mast-head; but without colors at all, no sailor could have hesitated for a moment in telling her nationality,--for english she was, and nothing but english from her water-line upward to the truck of her masts. i must now relate how it happens that i have taken my passage on board the chancellor on her return voyage to england. at present there is no direct steamship service between south carolina and great britain, and all who wish to cross must go either northward to new york or southward to new orleans. it is quite true that if i had chosen a start from new york i might have found plenty of vessels belonging to english, french, or hamburg lines, any of which would have conveyed me by a rapid voyage to my destination; and it is equally true that if i had selected new orleans for my embarkation i could readily have reached europe by one of the vessels of the national steam navigation company, which join the french transatlantic line of colon and aspinwall. but it was fated to be otherwise. one day, as i was loitering about the charleston quays, my eye lighted on this vessel. there was something about the chancellor that pleased me, and a kind of involuntary impulse took me on board, where i found the internal arrangements perfectly comfortable. yielding to the idea that a voyage in a sailing vessel had certain charms beyond the transit in a steamer, and reckoning that with wind and wave in my favor there would be little material difference in time; considering, moreover, that in these low latitudes the weather in early autumn is fine and unbroken, i came to my decision, and proceeded forthwith to secure my passage by this route to europe. have i done right or wrong? whether i shall have reason to regret my determination is a problem to be solved in the future. however, i will begin to record the incidents of our daily experience, dubious as i feel whether the lines of my chronicle will ever find a reader. chapter ii crew and passengers september 28.--john silas huntly, the captain of the chancellor, has the reputation of being a most experienced navigator of the atlantic. he is a scotchman by birth, a native of dundee, and is about fifty years of age. he is of the middle height and slight build, and has a small head, which he has a habit of holding a little over his left shoulder. i do not pretend to be much of a physiognomist, but i am inclined to believe that my few hours' acquaintance with our captain has given me considerable insight into his character. that he is a good seaman and thoroughly understands his duties i could not for a moment venture to deny; but that he is a man of resolute temperament, or that he possesses the amount of courage that would render him, physically or morally, capable of coping with any great emergency, i confess i cannot believe. i observed a certain heaviness and dejection about his whole carriage. his wavering glances, the listless motion of his hands, and his slow, unsteady gait, all seem to me to indicate a weak and sluggish disposition. he does not appear as though he could be energetic enough ever to be stubborn; he never frowns, sets his teeth, or clenches his fists. there is something enigmatical about him; however, i shall study him closely, and do what i can to understand the man who, as commander of a vessel, should be to those around him "second only to god." unless i am greatly mistaken there is another man on board who, if circumstances should require it, would take the more prominent position--i mean the mate. i have hitherto, however, had so little opportunity of observing his character, that i must defer saying more about him at present. besides the captain and this mate, whose name is robert curtis, our crew consists of walter, the lieutenant, the boatswain, and fourteen sailors, all english or scotch, making eighteen altogether, a number quite sufficient for working a vessel of 900 tons burden. up to this time my sole experience of their capabilities is, that under the command of the mate, they brought us skillfully enough through the narrow channels of charleston; and i have no reason to doubt that they are well up to their work. my list of the ship's officials is incomplete unless i mention hobart the steward and jynxstrop the negro cook. in addition to these, the chancellor carries eight passengers, including myself. hitherto, the bustle of embarkation, the arrangement of cabins, and all the variety of preparations inseparable from starting on a voyage for at least twenty or five-and-twenty days have precluded the formation of any acquaintanceships; but the monotony of the voyage, the close proximity into which we must be thrown, and the natural curiosity to know something of each other's affairs, will doubtless lead us in due time to an exchange of ideas. two days have elapsed and i have not even seen all the passengers. probably sea-sickness has prevented some of them from making an appearance at the common table. one thing, however, i do know; namely, that there are two ladies occupying the stern cabin, the windows of which are in the aft-board of the vessel. i have seen the ship's list, and subjoin a list of the passengers. they are as follows: mr. and mrs. kear, americans, of buffalo. miss herbey, a young english lady, companion to mrs. kear. m. letourneur and his son andre, frenchmen, of havre. william falsten, a manchester engineer. john ruby, a cardiff merchant; and myself, j. r. kazallon, of london. chapter iii bill of lading september 29.--captain huntly's bill of lading, that is to say, the document that describes the chancellor's cargo and the conditions of transport, is couched in the following terms: bronsfield and co., agents, charleston: i, john silas huntly, of dundee, scotland, commander of the ship chancellor, of about 900 tons burden, now at charleston, do purpose, by the blessing of god, at the earliest convenient season, and by the direct route, to sail for the port of liverpool, where i shall obtain my discharge. i do hereby acknowledge that i have received from you, messrs. bronsfield and co., commission agents, charleston, and have placed the same under the gun-deck of the aforesaid ship, seventeen hundred bales of cotton, of the estimated value of 26,000 l., all in good condition, marked and numbered as in the margin; which goods i do undertake to transport to liverpool, and there to deliver, free from injury (save only such injury as shall have been caused by the chances of the sea), to messrs. laird brothers, or to their order, or to their representatives, who shall on due delivery of the said freight pay me the sum of 2,000 l. inclusive, according to the charter-party, and damages in addition, according to the usages and customs of the sea. and for the fulfillment of the above covenant, i have pledged and do pledge my person, my property, and my interest in the vessel aforesaid, with all its appurtenances. in witness whereof, i have signed three agreements all of the same purport, on the condition that when the terms of one are accomplished, the other two shall be absolutely null and void. given at charleston, september 13th, 1869. j. s. huntly. from the foregoing document it will be understood that the chancellor is conveying 1,700 bales of cotton to liverpool; that the shippers are bronsfield, of charleston, and the consignees are laird brothers of liverpool. the ship was constructed with the especial design of carrying cotton, and the entire hold, with the exception of a very limited space reserved for passenger's luggage, is closely packed with the bales. the lading was performed with the utmost care, each bale being pressed into its proper place by the aid of screw-jacks, so that the whole freight forms one solid and compact mass; not an inch of space is wasted, and the vessel is thus made capable of carrying her full complement of cargo. chapter iv something about my fellow passengers september 30 to october 6.--the chancellor is a rapid sailer, and more than a match for many a vessel of the same dimensions. she scuds along merrily in the freshening breeze, leaving in her wake, far as the eye can reach, a long white line of foam as well defined as a delicate strip of lace stretched upon an azure ground. the atlantic is not visited by many gales, and i have every reason to believe that the rolling and pitching of the vessel no longer incommode any of the passengers, who are all more or less accustomed to the sea. a vacant seat at our table is now very rare; we are beginning to know something about each other, and our daily life, in consequence, is becoming somewhat less monotonous. m. letourneur, our french fellow-passenger, often has a chat with me. he is a fine tall man, about fifty years of age, with white hair and a grizzly beard. to say the truth, he looks older than he really is: his drooping head, his dejected manner, and his eye, ever and again suffused with tears, indicate that he is haunted by some deep and abiding sorrow. he never laughs; he rarely even smiles, and then only on his son; his countenance ordinarily bearing a look of bitterness tempered by affection, while his general expression is one of caressing tenderness. it excites an involuntary commiseration to learn that m. letourneur is consuming himself by exaggerated reproaches on account of the infirmity of an afflicted son. andre letourneur is about twenty years of age, with a gentle, interesting countenance, but, to the irrepressible grief of his father, is a hopeless cripple. his left leg is miserably deformed, and he is quite unable to walk without the assistance of a stick. it is obvious that the father's life is bound up with that of his son; his devotion is unceasing; every thought, every glance is for andre; he seems to anticipate his most trifling wish, watches his slightest movement, and his arm is ever ready to support or otherwise assist the child whose sufferings he more than shares. m. letourneur seems to have taken a peculiar fancy to myself, and constantly talks about andre. this morning, in the course of conversation, i said: "you have a good son, m. letourneur. i have just been talking to him. he is a most intelligent young man." "yes, mr. kazallon," replied m. letourneur, brightening up into a smile, "his afflicted frame contains a noble mind. he is like his mother, who died at his birth." "he is full of reverence and love for you, sir," i remarked. "dear boy!" muttered the father half to himself. "ah, mr. kazallon," he continued, "you do not know what it is to a father to have a son a cripple, beyond hope of cure." "m. letourneur," i answered, "you take more than your share of the affliction which has fallen upon you and your son. that m. andre is entitled to the very greatest commiseration no one can deny; but you should remember, that after all a physical infirmity is not so hard to bear as mental grief. now, i have watched your son pretty closely, and unless i am much mistaken there is nothing that troubles him so much as the sight of your own sorrow." "but i never let him see it," he broke in hastily. "my sole thought is how to divert him. i have discovered that, in spite of his physical weakness, he delights in traveling; so for the last few years we have been constantly on the move. we first went all over europe, and are now returning from visiting the principal places in the united states. i never allowed my son to go to college, but instructed him entirely myself, and these travels, i hope, will serve to complete his education. he is very intelligent, and has a lively imagination, and i am sometimes tempted to hope that in contemplating the wonders of nature he forgets his own infirmity." "yes, sir, of course he does," i assented. "but," continued m. letourneur, taking my hand, "although, perhaps, he may forget, i can never forget. ah, sir, do you suppose that andre can ever forgive his parents for bringing him into the world a cripple?" the remorse of the unhappy father was very distressing, and i was about to say a few kind words of sympathy when andre himself made his appearance. m. letourneur hastened toward him and assisted him up the few steep steps that led to the poop. as soon as andre was comfortably seated on one of the benches, and his father had taken his place by his side, i joined them, and we fell into conversation upon ordinary topics, discussing the various points of the chancellor, the probable length of the passage, and the different details of our life on board. i find that m. letourneur's estimate of captain huntly's character very much coincides with my own, and that, like me, he is impressed with the man's undecided manner and sluggish appearance. like me, too, he has formed a very favorable opinion of robert curtis, the mate, a man of about thirty years of age, of great muscular power, with a frame and a will that seem ever ready for action. while we were still talking of him, curtis himself came on deck, and as i watched his movements i could not help being struck with his physical development; his erect and easy carriage, his fearless glance and slightly contracted brow all betoken a man of energy, thoroughly endowed with the calmness and courage that are indispensable to the true sailor. he seems a kind-hearted fellow, too, and is always ready to assist and amuse young letourneur, who evidently enjoys his company. after he had scanned the weather and examined the trim of the sails, he joined our party and proceeded to give us some information about those of our fellow-passengers with whom at present we have made but slight acquaintance. mr. kear, the american, who is accompanied by his wife, has made a large fortune in the petroleum springs in the united states. he is a man of about fifty, a most uninteresting companion, being overwhelmed with a sense of his own wealth and importance, and consequently supremely indifferent to all around him. his hands are always in his pockets, and the chink of money seems to follow him wherever he goes. vain and conceited, a fool as well as an egotist, he struts about like a peacock showing its plumage, and to borrow the words of the physiognomist gratiolet, "il se flaire, il se savoure, il se goute." why he should have taken his passage on board a mere merchant vessel instead of enjoying the luxuries of a transatlantic steamer, i am altogether at a loss to explain. the wife is an insignificant, insipid woman, of about forty years of age. she never reads, never talks, and i believe i am not wrong in saying, never thinks. she seems to look without seeing, and listen without hearing, and her sole occupation consists in giving her orders to her companion, miss herbey, a young english girl of about twenty. miss herbey is extremely pretty. her complexion is fair and her eyes deep blue, while her pleasing countenance is altogether free from that insignificance of feature which is not unfrequently alleged to be characteristic of english beauty. her mouth would be charming if she ever smiled, but, exposed as she is to the ridiculous whims and fancies of a capricious mistress, her lips rarely relax from their ordinary grave expression. yet, humiliating as her position must be, she never utters a word of open complaint, but quietly and gracefully performs her duties, accepting without a murmur the paltry salary which the bumptious petroleum-merchant condescends to allow her. the manchester engineer, william falsten, looks like a thorough englishman. he has the management of some extensive hydraulic works in south carolina, and is now on his way to europe to obtain some improved apparatus, and more especially to visit the mines worked by centrifugal force, belonging to the firm of messrs. cail. he is forty-five years of age, with all his interests so entirely absorbed by his machinery that he seems to have neither a thought nor a care beyond his mechanical calculations. once let him engage you in conversation, and there is no chance of escape; you have no help for it but to listen as patiently as you can until he has completed the explanation of his designs. the last of our fellow-passengers, mr. ruby, is the type of a vulgar tradesman. without any originality or magnanimity in his composition, he has spent twenty years of his life in mere buying and selling, and as he has generally contrived to do business at a profit, he has realized a considerable fortune. what he is going to do with the money, he does not seem able to say: his ideas do not go beyond retail trade, his mind having been so long closed to all other impressions that it appears incapable of thought or reflection on any subject besides. pascal says, "l'homme est visiblement fait pour penser. c'est toute sa dignite et tout son merite;" but to mr. ruby the phrase seems altogether inapplicable. chapter v an unusual route october 7.--this is the tenth day since we left charleston, and i should think our progress has been very rapid. robert curtis, the mate, with whom i continue to have many a friendly chat, informed me that we could not be far off the bermudas; the ship's bearings, he said, were lat. 32 deg. 20' n. and long. 64 deg. 50' w. so that he had every reason to believe that we should sight st. george's island before night. "the bermudas!" i exclaimed. "but how is it we are off the bermudas? i should have thought that a vessel sailing from charleston to liverpool, would have kept northward, and have followed the track of the gulf stream." "yes, indeed, sir," replied curtis, "that is the usual course; but you see that this time the captain hasn't chosen to take it." "but why not?" i persisted. "that's not for me to say, sir; he ordered us eastward, and eastward we go." "haven't you called his attention to it?" i inquired. curtis acknowledged that he had already pointed out what an unusual route they were taking, but that the captain had said that he was quite aware what he was about. the mate made no further remark; but the knit of his brow, as he passed his hand mechanically across his forehead, made me fancy that he was inclined to speak out more strongly. "all very well, curtis," i said, "but i don't know what to think about trying new routes. here we are at the 7th of october, and if we are to reach europe before the bad weather sets in, i should suppose there is not a day to be lost." "right, sir, quite right; there is not a day to be lost." struck by his manner, i ventured to add, "do you mind, curtis, giving me your honest opinion of captain huntly?" he hesitated a moment, and then replied shortly, "he is my captain, sir." this evasive answer of course put an end to any further interrogation on my part. curtis was not mistaken. at about three o'clock the look-out man sung out that there was land to windward, and descried what seemed as if it might be a line of smoke in the northeast horizon. at six, i went on deck with m. letourneur and his son, and we could then distinctly make out the low group of the bermudas, encircled by their formidable chain of breakers. "there," said andre letourneur to me, as we stood gazing at the distant land, "there lies the enchanted archipelago, sung by your poet moore. the exile waller, too, as long ago as 1643, wrote an enthusiastic panegyric on the islands, and i have been told that at one time english ladies would wear no other bonnets than such as were made of the leaves of the bermuda palm." "yes," i replied, "the bermudas were all the rage in the seventeenth century, although latterly they have fallen into comparative oblivion." "but let me tell you, m. andre," interposed curtis, who had as usual joined our party, "that although poets may rave, and be as enthusiastic as they like about these islands, sailors will tell a different tale. the hidden reefs that lie in a semicircle about two or three leagues from shore make the attempt to land a very dangerous piece of business. and another thing, i know. let the natives boast as they will about their splendid climate, they are visited by the most frightful hurricanes. they get the fag-end of the storms that rage over the antilles; and the fag-end of a storm is like the tail of a whale; it's just the strongest bit of it. i don't think you'll find a sailor listening much to your poets--your moores, and your wallers." "no doubt you are right, mr. curtis," said andre, smiling, "but poets are like proverbs; you can always find one to contradict another. although waller and moore have chosen to sing the praises of the bermudas, it has been supposed that shakspeare was depicting them in the terrible scenes that are found in 'the tempest.'" i may mention that there was not another of our fellow-passengers who took the trouble to come on deck and give a glance at this strange cluster of islands. miss herbey, it is true, was making an attempt to join us, but she had barely reached the poop, when mrs. kear's languid voice was heard recalling her for some trifling service to her side. chapter vi the sargasso sea october 8 to october 13.--the wind is blowing hard from the northeast, and the chancellor, under low-reefed top-sail and fore-sail, and laboring against a heavy sea, has been obliged to be brought ahull. the joists and girders all creak again until one's teeth are set on edge. i am the only passenger not remaining below; but i prefer being on deck notwithstanding the driving rain, fine as dust, which penetrates to the very skin. we have been driven along in this fashion for the best part of two days; the "stiffish breeze" has gradually freshened into "a gale"; the topgallants have been lowered, and, as i write, the wind is blowing with a velocity of fifty or sixty miles an hour. although the chancellor has many good points, her drift is considerable, and we have been carried far to the south; we can only guess at our precise position, as the cloudy atmosphere entirely precludes us from taking the sun's altitude. all along, throughout this period, my fellow-passengers are totally ignorant of the extraordinary course that we are taking. england lies to the northeast, yet we are sailing directly southeast, and robert curtis owns that he is quite bewildered; he cannot comprehend why the captain, ever since this northeasterly gale has been blowing, should persist in allowing the ship to drive to the south, instead of tacking to the northwest until she gets into better quarters. i was alone with robert curtis to-day upon the poop, and could not help saying to him, "curtis, is your captain mad?" "perhaps, sir, i might be allowed to ask what you think upon that matter," was his cautious reply. "well, to say the truth," i answered. "i can hardly tell; but i confess there is every now and then a wandering in his eye, and an odd look on his face that i do not like. have you ever sailed with him before?" "no; this is our first voyage together. again last night i spoke to him about the route we were taking, but he only said he knew all about it, and that it was all right." "what do lieutenant walter and your boatswain think of it all?" i inquired. "think; why, they think just the same as i do," replied the mate; "but if the captain chooses to take the ship to china we should obey his orders." "but surely," i exclaimed, "there must be some limit to your obedience! suppose the man is actually mad, what then?" "if he should be mad enough, mr. kazallon, to bring the vessel into any real danger, i shall know what to do." with this assurance i am forced to be content. matters, however, have taken a different turn to what i bargained for when i took my passage on board the chancellor. the weather has become worse and worse. as i have already said, the ship under her large low-reefed top-sail and fore stay-sail has been brought ahull, that is to say, she copes directly with the wind, by presenting her broad bows to the sea; and so we go on still drift, drift, continually to the south. how southerly our course has been is very apparent; for upon the night of the 11th we fairly entered upon that portion of the atlantic which is known as the sargasso sea. an extensive tract of water is this, inclosed by the warm current of the gulf stream, and thickly covered with the wrack, called by the spaniards "sargasso," the abundance of which so seriously impeded the progress of columbus's vessel on his first voyage. each morning at daybreak the atlantic has presented an aspect so remarkable, that at my solicitation, m. letourneur and his son have ventured upon deck to witness the unusual spectacle. the squally gusts make the metal shrouds vibrate like harp-strings; and unless we were on our guard to keep our clothes wrapped tightly to us, they would have been torn off our backs in shreds. the scene presented to our eyes is one of strangest interest. the sea, carpeted thickly with masses of prolific fucus, is a vast unbroken plain of vegetation, through which the vessel makes her way as a plow. long strips of seaweed caught up by the wind become entangled in the rigging, and hang between the masts in festoons of verdure; while others, varying from two to three hundred feet in length, twine themselves up to the very mast-head, from whence they float like streaming pennants. for many hours now, the chancellor has been contending with this formidable accumulation of algae; her masts are circled with hydrophytes; her rigging is wreathed everywhere with creepers, fantastic as the untrammeled tendrils of a vine, and as she works her arduous course, there are times when i can only compare her to an animated grove of verdure making its mysterious way over some illimitable prairie. chapter vii voices in the night october 14.--at last we are free from the sea of vegetation, the boisterous gale has moderated into a steady breeze, the sun is shining brightly, the weather is warm and genial, and thus, two reefs in her top-sails, briskly and merrily sails the chancellor. under conditions so favorable, we have been able to take the ship's bearings: our latitude, we find, is 21 deg. 33' n., our longitude, 50 deg. 17' w. incomprehensible altogether is the conduct of captain huntly. here we are, already more than ten degrees south of the point from which we started, and yet still we are persistently following a southeasterly course! i cannot bring myself to the conclusion that the man is mad. i have had various conversations with him: he has always spoken rationally and sensibly. he shows no tokens of insanity. perhaps his case is one of those in which insanity is partial, and where the mania is of a character which extends only to the matters connected with his profession. yet it is unaccountable. i can get nothing out of curtis; he listens coldly whenever i allude to the subject, and only repeats what he has said before, that nothing short of an overt act of madness on the part of the captain could induce him to supersede the captain's authority, and that the imminent peril of the ship could alone justify him in taking so decided a measure. last evening i went to my cabin about eight o'clock, and after an hour's reading by the light of my cabin-lamp, i retired to my berth and was soon asleep. some hours later i was aroused by an unaccustomed noise on deck. there were heavy footsteps hurrying to and fro, and the voices of the men were loud and eager, as if the crew were agitated by some strange disturbance. my first impression was, that some tacking had been ordered which rendered it needful to fathom the yards; but the vessel continuing to lie to starboard convinced me that this was not the origin of the commotion. i was curious to know the truth, and made all haste i could to go on deck; but before i was ready, the noise had ceased. i heard captain huntly return to his cabin, and accordingly i retired again to my own berth. whatever may have been the meaning of the maneuver, i cannot tell; it did not seem to result in any improvement in the ship's pace; still it must be owned there was not much wind to speed us along. at six o'clock this morning i mounted the poop and made as keen a scrutiny as i could of everything on board. everything appeared as usual. the chancellor was running on the larboard tack, and carried low-sails, top-sails, and gallant-sails. well braced she was; and under a fresh, but not uneasy breeze, was making no less than eleven knots an hour. shortly afterward m. letourneur and andre came on deck. the young man enjoyed the early morning air, laden with its briny fragrance, and i assisted him to mount the poop. in answer to my inquiry as to whether they had been disturbed by any bustle in the night, andre replied that he did not wake at all, and had heard nothing. "i am glad, my boy," said the father, "that you have slept so soundly. i heard the noise of which mr. kazallon speaks. it must have been about three o'clock this morning, and it seemed to me as though they were shouting. i thought i heard them say; 'here, quick, look to the hatches!' but as nobody was called up, i presumed that nothing serious was the matter." as he spoke i cast my eye at the panel-slides, which fore and aft of the main-mast open into the hold. they seemed to be all close as usual, but i now observed for the first time that they were covered with heavy tarpauling. wondering in my own mind what could be the reason for these extra precautions i did not say anything to m. letourneur, but determined to wait until the mate should come on watch, when he would doubtless give me, i thought, an explanation of the mystery. the sun rose gloriously, with every promise of a fine dry day. the waning moon was yet above the western horizon, for as it still wants three days to her last quarter she does not set until 10:57 a. m. on consulting my almanac, i find that there will be a new moon on the 24th, and that on that day, little as it may affect us here in mid-ocean, the phenomenon of the high syzygian tides will take place on the shores of every continent and island. at the breakfast hour m. letourneur and andre went below for a cup of tea, and i remained on the poop alone. as i expected, curtis appeared, that he might relieve lieutenant walter of the watch. i advanced to meet him, but before he even wished me good morning, i saw him cast a quick and searching glance upon the deck, and then, with a slightly contracted brow, proceed to examine the state of the weather and the trim of the sails. "where is captain huntly?" he said to walter. "i have seen nothing of him," answered the lieutenant; "is there anything fresh up?" "nothing whatever," was the curt reply. they then conversed for a few moments in an undertone, and i could see that walter by his gesture gave a negative answer to some question which the mate had asked him. "send me the boatswain, walter," said curtis aloud as the lieutenant moved away. the boatswain immediately appeared, and another conversation was carried on in whispers. the man repeatedly shook his head as he replied to curtis's inquiries, and then, in obedience to orders, called the men who were on watch, and made them plentifully water the tarpauling that covered the great hatchway. curious to fathom the mystery i went up to curtis and began to talk with him upon ordinary topics, hoping that he would himself introduce the subject that was uppermost in my mind; finding, however, that he did not allude to it, i asked him point blank: "what was the matter in the night, curtis?" he looked at me steadily, but made no reply. "what was it?" i repeated. "m. letourneur and myself were both of us disturbed by a very unusual commotion overhead." "oh, a mere nothing," he said at length; "the man at the helm had made a false move, and we had to pipe hands to brace the ship a bit; but it was soon all put to rights. it was nothing, nothing at all." i said no more; but i can not resist the impression that robert curtis has not acted with me in his usual straight-forward manner. chapter viii fire on board october 15 to october 18.--the wind is still in the northeast. there is no change in the chancellor's course, and to an unprejudiced eye all would appear to be going on as usual. but i have an uneasy consciousness that something is not quite right. why should the hatchways be so hermetically closed as though a mutinous crew was imprisoned between decks? i can not help thinking too that there is something in the sailors so constantly standing in groups and breaking off their talk so suddenly whenever we approach; and several times i have caught the word "hatches" which arrested m. letourneur's attention on the night of the disturbance. on the 15th, while i was walking on the forecastle, i overheard one of the sailors, a man named owen, say to his mates: "now i just give you all warning that i am not going to wait until the last minute. everyone for himself, say i." "why, what do you mean to do?" asked jynxstrop, the cook. "pshaw!" said owen, "do you suppose that longboats were only made for porpoises?" something at that moment occurred to interrupt the conversation, and i heard no more. it occurred to me whether there was not some conspiracy among the crew, of which probably curtis had already detected the symptoms. i am quite aware that some sailors are most rebelliously disposed, and required to be ruled with a rod of iron. yesterday and to-day i have observed curtis remonstrating somewhat vehemently with captain huntly, but there is no obvious result arising from their interviews; the captain apparently being bent upon some purpose, of which it is only too manifest that the mate decidedly disapproves. captain huntly is undoubtedly laboring under strong nervous excitement; and m. letourneur has more than once remarked how silent he has become at meal-times; for although curtis continually endeavors to start some subject of general interest, yet neither mr. falsten, mr. kear, nor mr. ruby are the men to take it up, and consequently the conversation flags hopelessly, and soon drops. the passengers too are now, with good cause, beginning to murmur at the length of the voyage, and mr. kear, who considers that the very elements ought to yield to his convenience, lets the captain know by his consequential and haughty manner that he holds him responsible for the delay. during the course of yesterday the mate gave repeated orders for the deck to be watered again and again, and although as a general rule this is a business which is done, once for all, in the early morning, the crew did not utter a word of complaint at the additional work thus imposed upon them. the tarpaulins on the hatches have thus been kept continually wet, so that their close and heavy texture is rendered quite impervious to the air. the chancellor's pumps afford a copious supply of water, so that i should not suppose that even the daintiest and most luxurious craft belonging to an aristocratic yacht club was ever subject to a more thorough scouring. i tried to reconcile myself to the belief that it was the high temperature of the tropical regions upon which we are entering, that rendered such extra sousings a necessity, and recalled to my recollection how, during the night of the 13th, i had found the atmosphere below deck so stifling, that in spite of the heavy swell i was obliged to open the porthole of my cabin, on the starboard side, to get a breath of air. this morning at daybreak i went on deck. the sun had scarcely risen, and the air was fresh and cool, in strange contrast to the heat which below the poop had been quite oppressive. the sailors as usual were washing the deck. a great sheet of water, supplied continuously by the pumps, was rolling in tiny wavelets, and escaping now to starboard, now to larboard through the scupper-holes. after watching the men for a while as they ran about bare-footed, i could not resist the desire to join them, so taking off my shoes and stockings, i proceeded to dabble in the flowing water. great was my amazement to find the deck perfectly hot to my feet! curtis heard my exclamation of surprise, and before i could put my thoughts into words, said: "yes! there is fire on board!" chapter ix curtis explains the situation october 19.--everything, then, is clear. the uneasiness of the crew, their frequent conferences, owen's mysterious words, the constant scourings of the deck and the oppressive heat of the cabins which had been noticed even by my fellow-passengers, all are explained. after his grave communication, curtis remained silent. i shivered with a thrill of horror; a calamity the most terrible that can befall a voyager stared me in the face, and it was some seconds before i could recover sufficient composure to inquire when the fire was first discovered. "six days ago," replied the mate. "six days ago!" i exclaimed; "why, then, it was that night." "yes," he said, interrupting me; "it was the night you heard the disturbance upon deck. the men on watch noticed a slight smoke issuing from the large hatchway and immediately called captain huntly and myself. we found beyond all doubt, that the cargo was on fire, and what was worse, that there was no possibility of getting at the seat of the combustion. what could we do? why, we took the only precaution that was practicable under the circumstances, and resolved most carefully to exclude every breath of air from penetrating into the hold. for some time i hoped that we had been successful. i thought that the fire was stifled; but during the last three days there is every reason to make us know that it has been gaining strength. do what we will, the deck gets hotter and hotter, and unless it were kept constantly wet, it would be unbearable to the feet. but i am glad, mr. kazallon," he added; "that you have made the discovery. it is better that you should know it." i listened in silence. i was now fully aroused to the gravity of the situation and thoroughly comprehended how we were in the very face of a calamity which it seemed that no human power could avert. "do you know what has caused the fire?" i presently inquired. "it probably arose," he answered, "from the spontaneous combustion of the cotton. the case is rare, but it is far from unknown. unless the cotton is perfectly dry when it is shipped, its confinement in a damp or ill-ventilated hold will sometimes cause it to ignite; and i have no doubt it is this that has brought about our misfortune." "but after all," i said, "the cause matters very little. is there no remedy? is there nothing to be done?" "nothing, mr. kazallon," he said. "as i told you before, we have adopted the only possible measure within our power to check the fire. at one time i thought of knocking a hole in the ship's timbers just on her water-line, and letting in just as much water as the pumps could afterward get rid of again; but we found the combustion was right in the middle of the cargo and that we should be obliged to flood the entire hold before we could get at the right place. that scheme consequently was no good. during the night, i had the deck bored in various places and water poured down through the holes; but that again seemed of no use. there is only one thing that can be done; we must persevere in excluding most carefully every breath of outer air, so that perhaps the conflagration, deprived of oxygen, may smoulder itself out. that is our only hope." "but, you say the fire is increasing?" "yes; and that shows that in spite of all our care there is some aperture which we have not been able to discover, by which, somehow or other, air gets into the hold." "have you ever heard of a vessel surviving such circumstances?" i asked. "yes, mr. kazallon," said curtis; "it is not at all an unusual thing for ships laden with cotton to arrive at liverpool or havre with a portion of their cargo consumed; and i have myself known more than one captain run into port with his deck scorching his very feet, and who, to save his vessel and the remainder of his freight has been compelled to unload with the utmost expedition. but, in such cases, of course the fire has been more or less under control throughout the voyage; with us, it is increasing day by day, and i tell you i am convinced there is an aperture somewhere which has escaped our notice." "but would it not be advisable for us to retrace our course, and make for the nearest land?" "perhaps it would," he answered. "walter and i, and the boatswain, are going to talk the matter over seriously with the captain to-day. but, between ourselves, i have taken the responsibility upon myself; i have already changed the tack to the southwest; we are now straight before the wind, and consequently we are sailing toward the coast." "i need hardly ask," i added; "whether any of the other passengers are at all aware of the imminent danger in which we are placed." "none of them," he said; "not in the least; and i hope you will not enlighten them. we don't want terrified women and cowardly men to add to our embarrassment; the crew are under orders to keep a strict silence on the subject. silence is indispensable." i promised to keep the matter a profound secret, as i fully entered into curtis's views as to the absolute necessity for concealment. chapter x picrate of potash on board october 20 and 21.--the chancellor is now crowded with all the canvas she can carry, and at times her topmasts threaten to snap with the pressure. but curtis is ever on the alert; he never leaves his post beside the man at the helm, and without compromising the safety of the vessel, he contrives, by tacking to the breeze, to urge her on at her utmost speed. all day long on the 20th the passengers were assembled on the poop. evidently they found the heat of the cabins painfully oppressive, and most of them lay stretched upon benches and quietly enjoyed the gentle rolling of the vessel. the increasing heat of the deck did not reveal itself to their well-shod feet, and the constant scouring of the boards did not excite any suspicion in their torpid minds. m. letourneur, it is true, did express his surprise that the crew of an ordinary merchant vessel should be distinguished by such extraordinary cleanliness; but as i replied to him in a very casual tone, he passed no further remark. i could not help regretting that i had given curtis my pledge of silence, and longed intensely to communicate the melancholy secret to the energetic frenchman; for at times when i reflect upon the eight-and-twenty victims who may probably, only too soon, be a prey to the relentless flames, my heart seems ready to burst. the important consultation between captain, mate, lieutenant and boatswain has taken place. curtis has confided the result to me. he says that huntly, the captain, is completely demoralized; he has lost all power and energy; and practically leaves the command of the ship to him. it is now certain the fire is beyond control, and that sooner or later it will burst out in full violence. the temperature of the crew's quarters has already become almost unbearable. one solitary hope remains; it is that we may reach the shore before the final catastrophe occurs. the lesser antilles are the nearest land; and although they are some five or six hundred miles away, if the wind remains northeast there is yet a chance of reaching them in time. carrying royals and studding-sails, the chancellor during the last four-and-twenty hours has held a steady course. m. letourneur is the only one of all the passengers who has remarked the change of tack; curtis, however, has set all speculation on his part at rest by telling him that he wanted to get ahead of the wind, and that he was tacking to the west to catch a favorable current. to-day, the 21st, all has gone on as usual; and as far as the observation of the passengers has reached, the ordinary routine has been undisturbed. curtis indulges the hope even yet that by excluding the air the fire may be stifled before it ignites the general cargo; he has hermetically closed every accessible aperture, and has even taken the precaution of plugging the orifices of the pumps, under the impression that their suction-tubes, running as they do to the bottom of the hold, may possibly be channels for conveying some molecules of air. altogether, he considers it a good sign that the combustion has not betrayed itself by some external issue of smoke. the day would have passed without any incident worth recording, if i had not chanced to overhear a fragment of a conversation which demonstrated that our situation, hitherto precarious enough, had now become most appalling. as i was sitting on the poop, two of my fellow-passengers, falsten, the engineer, and ruby, the merchant, whom i had observed to be often in company, were engaged in conversation almost close to me. what they said was evidently not intended for my hearing, but my attention was directed toward them by some very emphatic gestures of dissatisfaction on the part of falsten, and i could not forbear listening to what followed. "preposterous! shameful!" exclaimed falsten; "nothing could be more imprudent." "pooh! pooh!" replied ruby, "it's all right; it is not the first time i have done it." "but don't you know that any shock at any time might cause an explosion?" "oh, it's all properly secured," said ruby, "tight enough; i have no fears on that score, mr. falsten." "but why," asked falsten, "did you not inform the captain?" "just because if i had informed him, he would not have taken the case on board." the wind dropped for a few seconds; and for a brief interval i could not catch what passed; but i could see that falsten continued to remonstrate, while ruby answered by shrugging his shoulders. at length i heard falsten say. "well, at any rate, the captain must be informed of this, and the package shall be thrown overboard. i don't want to be blown up." i started. to what could the engineer be alluding? evidently he had not the remotest suspicion that the cargo was already on fire. in another moment the words "picrate of potash" brought me to my feet, and with an involuntary impulse i rushed up to ruby, and seized him by the shoulder. "is there picrate of potash on board?" i almost shrieked. "yes," said falsten, "a case containing thirty pounds." "where is it?" i cried. "down in the hold, with the cargo." chapter xi the passengers discover their danger what my feelings were i cannot describe; but it was hardly in terror so much as with a kind of resignation that i made my way to curtis on the forecastle, and made him aware that the alarming character of our situation was now complete, as there was enough explosive matter on board to blow up a mountain. curtis received the information as coolly as it was delivered, and after i had made him acquainted with all the particulars said, "not a word of this must be mentioned to anyone else, mr. kazallon. where is ruby, now?" "on the poop," i said. "will you then come with me, sir?" ruby and falsten were sitting just as i had left them. curtis walked straight up to ruby, and asked him whether what he had been told was true. "yes, quite true," said ruby, complacently, thinking that the worst that could befall him would be that he might be convicted of a little smuggling. i observed that curtis was obliged for a moment or two to clasp his hands tightly together behind his back to prevent himself from seizing the unfortunate passenger by the throat; but suppressing his indignation, he proceeded quietly, though sternly, to interrogate him about the facts of the case. ruby only confirmed what i had already told him. with characteristic anglo-saxon incautiousness he had brought on board, with the rest of his baggage, a case containing no less than thirty pounds of picrate, and had allowed the explosive matter to be stowed in the hold with as little compunction as a frenchman would feel in smuggling a single bottle of wine. he had not informed the captain of the dangerous nature of the contents of the package, because he was perfectly aware that he would have been refused permission to bring the package on board. "anyway," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders, "you can't hang me for it; and if the package gives you so much concern, you are quite at liberty to throw it into the sea. my luggage is insured." i was beside myself with fury; and not being endowed with curtis's reticence and self-control, before he could interfere to stop me, i cried out: "you fool! don't you know that there is fire on board?" in an instant i regretted my words. most earnestly i wished them unuttered. but it was too late--their effect upon ruby was electrical. he was paralyzed with terror; his limbs stiffened convulsively; his eye was dilated; he gasped for breath, and was speechless. all of a sudden he threw up his arms, and, as though he momentarily expected an explosion, he darted down from the poop, and paced frantically up and down the deck, gesticulating like a madman, and shouting: "fire on board! fire! fire!" on hearing the outcry, all the crew, supposing that the fire had now in reality broken out, rushed on deck; the rest of the passengers soon joined them, and the scene that ensued was one of the utmost confusion. mrs. kear fell down senseless on the deck, and her husband, occupied in looking after himself, left her to the tender mercies of miss herbey. curtis endeavored to silence ruby's ravings, whilst i, in as few words as i could, made m. letourneur aware of the extent to which the cargo was on fire. the father's first thought was for andre, but the young man preserved an admirable composure, and begged his father not to be alarmed, as the danger was not immediate. meanwhile the sailors had loosened all the tacklings of the long-boat, and were preparing to launch it, when curtis's voice was heard peremptorily bidding them to desist; he assured them that the fire had made no further progress; that mr. ruby had been unduly excited and not conscious of what he had said; and he pledged his word that when the right moment should arrive he would allow them all to leave the ship; but that moment, he said, had not yet come. at the sound of a voice which they had learned to honor and respect, the crew paused in their operations, and the long-boat remained suspended in its place. fortunately, even ruby himself in the midst of his ravings, had not dropped a word about the picrate that had been deposited in the hold; for although the mate had a power over the sailors that captain huntly had never possessed, i feel certain that if the true state of the case had been known, nothing on earth would have prevented some of them, in their consternation, from effecting an escape. as it was, only curtis, falsten, and myself were cognizant of the terrible secret. as soon as order was restored, the mate and i joined falsten on the poop, where he had remained throughout the panic, and where we found him with folded arms, deep in thought, as it might be, solving some hard mechanical problem. he promised, at my request, that he would reveal nothing of the new danger to which we were exposed through ruby's imprudence. curtis himself took the responsibility of informing captain huntly of our critical situation. in order to insure complete secrecy, it was necessary to secure the person of the unhappy ruby, who, quite beside himself, continued to rave up and down the deck with the incessant cry of "fire! fire!" accordingly curtis gave orders to some of his men to seize him and gag him; and before he could make any resistance the miserable man was captured and safely lodged in confinement in his own cabin. chapter xii curtis becomes captain october 22.--curtis has told the captain everything; for he persists in ostensibly recognizing him as his superior officer, and refuses to conceal from him our true situation. captain huntly received the communication in perfect silence, and merely passing his hand across his forehead as though to banish some distressing thought, re-entered his cabin without a word. curtis, lieutenant walter, falsten, and myself have been discussing the chances of our safety, and i am surprised to find with how much composure we can all survey our anxious predicament. "there is no doubt," said curtis, "that we must abandon all hope of arresting the fire; the heat toward the bow has already become well-nigh unbearable, and the time must come when the flames will find a vent through the deck. if the sea is calm enough for us to make use of the boats, well and good; we shall of course get quit of the ship as quietly as we can; if, on the other hand the weather should be adverse, or the wind be boisterous, we must stick to our place, and contend with the flames to the very last; perhaps, after all, we shall fare far better with the fire as a declared enemy than as a hidden one." falsten and i agreed with what he said, and i pointed out to him that he had quite overlooked the fact of there being thirty pounds of explosive matter in the hold. "no," he gravely replied, "i have not forgotten it, but it is a circumstance of which i do not trust myself to think. i dare not run the risk of admitting air into the hold by going down to search for the powder, and yet i know not at what moment it may explode. no; it is a matter that i cannot take at all into my reckoning; it must remain in higher hands than mine." we bowed our heads in a silence which was solemn. in the present state of the weather, immediate flight was, we knew, impossible. after considerable pause, mr. falsten, as calmly as though he were delivering some philosophic dogma, quietly observed: "the explosion, if i may use the formula of science, is not necessary, but contingent." "but tell me, mr. falsten," i asked, "is it possible for picrate of potash to ignite without concussion?" "certainly it is," replied the engineer. "under ordinary circumstances, picrate of potash although not more inflammable than common powder, yet possesses the same degree of inflammability." we now prepared to go on deck. as we left the saloon, in which we had been sitting, curtis seized my hand. "oh, mr. kazallon," he exclaimed, "if you only knew the bitterness of the agony i feel at seeing this fine vessel doomed to be devoured by flames, and at being so powerless to save her." then quickly recovering himself, he continued: "but i am forgetting myself; you, if no other, must know what i am suffering. it is all over now," he said more cheerfully. "is our condition quite desperate?" i asked. "it is just this," he answered deliberately, "we are over a mine, and already the match has been applied to the train. how long that train may be, 'tis not for me to say." and with these words he left me. the other passengers, in common with the crew, are still in entire ignorance of the extremity of peril to which we are exposed, although they are all aware that there is fire in the hold. as soon as the fact was announced, mr. kear, after communicating to curtis his instructions that he thought he should have the fire immediately extinguished, and intimating that he held him responsible for all contingencies that might happen, retired to his cabin, where he has remained ever since, fully occupied in collecting and packing together the more cherished articles of his property and without the semblance of a care or a thought for his unfortunate wife, whose condition, in spite of her ludicrous complaints, was truly pitiable. miss herbey, however, is unrelaxing in her attentions, and the unremitted diligence with which she fulfills her offices of duty, commands my highest admiration. october 23.--this morning, captain huntly sent for curtis into his cabin, and the mate has since made me acquainted with what passed between them. "curtis," began the captain, his haggard eye betraying only too plainly some mental derangement, "i am a sailor, am i not?" "certainly, captain," was the prompt acquiescence of the mate. "i do not know how it is," continued the captain, "but i seem bewildered; i can not recollect anything. are we not bound for liverpool? ah! yes! of course. and have we kept a northeasterly direction since we left?" "no, sir, according to your orders we have been sailing southeast, and here we are in the tropics." "and what is the name of the ship?" "the chancellor, sir." "yes, yes, the chancellor, so it is. well, curtis, i really can't take her back to the north. i hate the sea, the very sight of it makes me ill, i would much rather not leave my cabin." curtis went on to tell me how he had tried to persuade him that with a little time and care he would soon recover his indisposition, and feel himself again; but the captain had interrupted him by saying: "well, well; we shall see by-and-by; but for the present you must take this for my positive order; you must, from this time, at once take the command of the ship, and act just as if i were not on board. under present circumstances, i can do nothing. my brain is all in a whirl, you can not tell what i am suffering;" and the unfortunate man pressed both his hands convulsively against his forehead. "i weighed the matter carefully for a moment," added curtis, "and seeing what his condition too truly was, i acquiesced in all that he required and withdrew, promising him that all his orders should be obeyed." after hearing these particulars, i could not help remarking how fortunate it was that the captain had resigned of his own accord, for although he might not be actually insane, it was very evident that his brain was in a very morbid condition. "i succeeded him at a very critical moment," said curtis thoughtfully; "but i shall endeavor to do my duty." a short time afterward he sent for his boatswain and ordered him to assemble the crew at the foot of the main-mast. as soon as the men were together, he addressed them very calmly, but very firmly. "my men," he said, "i have to tell you that captain huntly, on account of the dangerous situation in which circumstances have placed us, and for other reasons known to myself, has thought right to resign his command to me. from this time forward, i am captain of this vessel." thus quietly and simply was the change effected, and we have the satisfaction of knowing that the chancellor is now under the command of a conscientious, energetic man, who will shirk nothing that he believes to be for our common good. m. letourneur, andre, mr. falsten, and myself immediately offered him our best wishes, in which lieutenant walter and the boatswain most cordially joined. the ship still holds her course southwest, and curtis crowds on all sail and makes as speedily as possible for the nearest of the lesser antilles. chapter xiii between fire and water october 24 to 29.--for the last five days the sea has been very heavy, and although the chancellor sails with wind and wave in her favor, yet her progress is considerably impeded. here on board this veritable fire-ship i cannot help contemplating with a longing eye this vast ocean that surrounds us. the water supply should be all we need. "why not bore the deck?" i said to curtis. "why not admit the water by tons into the hold? what could be the harm? the fire would be quenched; and what would be easier than to pump the water out again?" "i have already told you, mr. kazallon," said curtis, "that the very moment we admit the air, the flames will rush forth to the very top of the masts. no; we must have courage and patience; we must wait. there is nothing whatever to be done, except to close every aperture." the fire continued to progress even more rapidly than we had hitherto suspected. the heat gradually drove the passengers nearly all on deck, and the two stern cabins, lighted, as i said, by their windows in the aft-board were the only quarters below that were inhabitable. of these mrs. kear occupied one, and curtis reserved the other for ruby, who, a raving maniac, had to be kept rigidly under restraint. i went down occasionally to see him, but invariably found him in a state of abject terror, uttering horrible shrieks, as though possessed with the idea that he was being scorched by the most excruciating heat. once or twice, too, i looked in upon the ex-captain. he was always calm and spoke quite rationally on any subject except his own profession; but in connection with that he prated away the merest nonsense. he suffered greatly, but steadily declined all my offers of attention, and pertinaciously refused to leave his cabin. to-day, an acrid, nauseating smoke made its way through the panelings that partition off the quarters of the crew. at once curtis ordered the partition to be enveloped in wet tarpaulin, but the fumes penetrated even this, and filled the whole neighborhood of the ship's bows with a reeking vapor that was positively stifling. as we listened, too, we could hear a dull rumbling sound, but we were as mystified as ever to comprehend where the air could have entered that was evidently fanning the flames. only too certainly, it was now becoming a question not of days nor even of hours before we must be prepared for the final catastrophe. the sea was still running high, and escape by the boats was plainly impossible. fortunately, as i have said, the mainmast and the mizzen are of iron; otherwise the great heat at their base would long ago have brought them down and our chances of safety would have been very much imperiled; but by crowding on sail the chancellor in the full northeast wind continued to make her way with undiminished speed. it is now a fortnight since the fire was first discovered, and the proper working of the ship has gradually become a more and more difficult matter. even with thick shoes any attempt to walk upon deck up to the forecastle was soon impracticable, and the poop, simply because its floor is elevated somewhat above the level of the hold, is now the only available standing-place. water began to lose its effect upon the scorched and shriveling planks; the resin oozed out from the knots in the wood, the seams burst open, and the tar, melted by the heat, followed the rollings of the vessel, and formed fantastic patterns about the deck. then to complete our perplexity, the wind shifted suddenly round to the northwest, whence it blew a perfect hurricane. to no purpose did curtis do everything in his power to bring the ship ahull; every effort was in vain; the chancellor could not bear her trysail, so there was nothing to be done but to let her go with the wind, and drift further and further from the land for which we are longing so eagerly. to-day, the 29th, the tempest seemed to reach its height; the waves appeared to us mountains high, and dashed the spray most violently across the deck. a boat could not live a moment in such a sea. our situation is terrible. we all wait in silence, some few on the forecastle, the great proportion of us on the poop. as for the picrate, for the time we have quite forgotten its existence; indeed it might almost seem as though its explosion would come as a relief, for no catastrophe, however terrible, could far exceed the torture of our suspense. while he had still the remaining chance, curtis rescued from the store-room such few provisions as the heat of the compartment allowed him to obtain; and a lot of cases of salt meat and biscuits, a cask of brandy, some barrels of fresh water, together with some sails and wraps, a compass and other instruments are now lying packed in a mass all ready for prompt removal to the boats whenever we shall be obliged to leave the ship. about eight o'clock in the evening, a noise is heard, distinct even above the raging of the hurricane. the panels of the deck are upheaved, and volumes of black smoke issue upward as if from a safety-valve. a universal consternation seizes one and all; we must leave the volcano which is about to burst beneath our feet. the crew run to curtis for orders. he hesitates; looks first at the huge and threatening waves; looks then at the boats. the long-boat is there, suspended right along the center of the deck; but it is impossible to approach it now; the yawl, however, hoisted on the starboard side, and the whale-boat suspended aft, are still available. the sailors make frantically for the yawl. "stop, stop," shouts curtis; "do you mean to cut off our last and only chance of safety? would you launch a boat in such a sea as this?" a few of them, with owen at their head, give no heed to what he says. rushing to the poop, and seizing a cutlass, curtis shouts again: "touch the tackling of the davit, one of you; only touch it, and i'll cleave your skull." awed by his determined manner, the men retire, some clambering into the shrouds, while others mount to the very top of the masts. at eleven o'clock, several loud reports are heard, caused by the bursting asunder of the partitions of the hold. clouds of smoke issue from the front, followed by a long tongue of lambent flame that seems to encircle the mizzen-mast. the fire now reaches to the cabin of mrs. kear, who, shrieking wildly, is brought on deck by miss herbey. a moment more, and silas huntly makes his appearance, his face all blackened with the grimy smoke; he bows to curtis, as he passes, and then proceeds in the calmest manner to mount the aft-shrouds, and installs himself at the very top of the mizzen. the sight of huntly recalls to my recollection the prisoner still below, and my first impulse is to rush to the staircase and do what i can to set him free. but the maniac has already eluded his confinement, and with singed hair and his clothes already alight, rushes upon deck. like a salamander he passes across the burning deck with unscathed feet, and glides through the stifling smoke with unchoked breath. not a sound escapes his lips. another loud report; the long-boat is shivered into fragments; the middle panel bursts the tarpaulin that covered it, and a stream of fire, free at length from the restraint that had held it, rises half-mast high. "the picrate! the picrate!" shrieks the madman; "we shall all be blown up! the picrate will blow us all up." and in an instant, before we can get near him, he has buried himself, through the open hatchway, down into the fiery furnace below. chapter xiv breakers to starboard! october 20.--night.--the scene, as night came on, was terrible indeed. notwithstanding the desperateness of our situation, however, there was not one of us so paralyzed by fear, but that we fully realized the horror of it all. poor ruby, indeed, is lost and gone, but his last words were productive of serious consequences. the sailors caught his cry of "picrate, picrate!" and being thus for the first time made aware of the true nature of their peril, they resolved at every hazard to accomplish their escape. beside themselves with terror, they either did not, or would not, see that no boat could brave the tremendous waves that were raging around, and accordingly they made a frantic rush toward the yawl. curtis again made a vigorous endeavor to prevent them, but this time all in vain; owen urged them on, and already the tackling was loosened, so that the boat was swung over to the ship's side. for a moment it hung suspended in mid-air, and then, with a final effort from the sailors, it was quickly lowered into the sea. but scarcely had it touched the water, when it was caught by an enormous wave which, recoiling with resistless violence, dashed it to atoms against the chancellor's side. the men stood aghast; they were dumbfounded. longboat and yawl both gone, there was nothing now remaining to us but a small whale-boat. not a word was spoken; not a sound was heard but the hoarse whistling of the wind, and the mournful roaring of the flames. from the center of the ship, which was hollowed out like a furnace, there issued a column of sooty vapor that ascended to the sky. all the passengers, and several of the crew, took refuge in the aft-quarters of the poop. mrs. kear was lying senseless on one of the hen-coops, with miss herbey sitting passively at her side; m. letourneur held his son tightly clasped to his bosom. i saw falsten calmly consult his watch, and note down the time in his memorandum-book, but i was far from sharing his composure, for i was overcome by a nervous agitation that i could not suppress. as far as we knew, lieutenant walter, the boatswain, and such of the crew as were not with us, were safe in the bow; but it was impossible to tell how they were faring, because the sheet of fire intervened like a curtain, and cut off all communication between stem and stern. i broke the dismal silence, saying, "all over now curtis." "no, sir, not yet," he replied, "now that the panel is open we will set to work, and pour water with all our might down into the furnace, and may be, we shall put it out, even yet." "but how can you work your pumps while the deck is burning? and how can you get at your men beyond that sheet of flame?" he made no answer to my impetuous questions, and finding he had nothing more to say, i repeated that it was all over now. after a pause, he said, "as long as a plank of the ship remains to stand on, mr. kazallon, i shall not give up my hope." but the conflagration raged with redoubled fury, the sea around us was lighted with a crimson glow, and the clouds above shone with a lurid glare. long jets of fire darted across the hatchways, and we were forced to take refuge on the taffrail at the extreme end of the poop. mrs. kear was laid in the whale-boat that hung from the stern. miss herbey persisting to the last in retaining her post by her side. no pen could adequately portray the horrors of this fearful night. the chancellor under bare poles, was driven, like a gigantic fire-ship with frightful velocity across the raging ocean; her very speed as it were, making common cause with the hurricane to fan the fire that was consuming her. soon there could be no alternative between throwing ourselves into the sea, or perishing in the flames. but where, all this time, was the picrate? perhaps, after all, ruby had deceived us and there was no volcano, such as we dreaded, below our feet. at half-past eleven, when the tempest seems at its very height, there is heard a peculiar roar distinguishable even above the crash of the elements. the sailors in an instant recognize its import. "breakers to starboard!" is the cry. curtis leaps on to the netting, casts a rapid glance at the snow-white billows, and turning to the helmsman shouts with all his might, "starboard the helm!" but it is too late. there is a sudden shock; the ship is caught up by an enormous wave; she rises upon her beam ends; several times she strikes the ground; the mizzen-mast snaps short off level with the deck, falls into the sea, and the chancellor is motionless. chapter xv shipwrecked the night of the 29th continued.--it was not yet midnight; the darkness was most profound, and we could see nothing. but was it probable that we had stranded on the coast of america? very shortly after the ship had thus come to a stand-still a clanking of chains was heard proceeding from her bows. "that is well," said curtis; "walter and the boatswain have cast both the anchors. let us hope they will hold." then, clinging to the netting, he clambered along the starboard side, on which the ship had heeled, as far as the flames would allow him. he clung to the holdfasts of the shrouds, and in spite of the heavy seas that dashed against the vessel he maintained his position for a considerable time, evidently listening to some sound that had caught his ear in the midst of the tempest. in about a quarter of an hour he returned to the poop. "heaven be praised!" he said, "the water is coming in, and perhaps may get the better of the fire." "true," said i, "but what then?" "that," he replied, "is a question for bye-and-bye. we can think now only of the present." already i fancied that the violence of the flames was somewhat abated, and that the two opposing elements were in fierce contention. some plank in the ship's side was evidently stove in, admitting free passage for the waves. but how, when the water had mastered the fire, should we be able to master the water? our natural course would be to use the pumps, but these, in the very midst of the conflagration, were quite unavailable. for three long hours, in anxious suspense, we watched, and waited. where we were we could not tell. one thing alone was certain; the tide was ebbing beneath us, and the waves were relaxing in their violence. once let the fire be extinguished, and then, perhaps, there would be room to hope that the next high tide would set us afloat. toward half-past four in the morning the curtain of fire and smoke, which had shut off communication between the two extremities of the ship, became less dense, and we could faintly distinguish that party of the crew who had taken refuge in the forecastle; and before long, although it was impracticable to step upon the deck, the lieutenant and the boatswain contrived to clamber over the gunwale, along the rails, and joined curtis on the poop. here they held a consultation, to which i was admitted. they were all of opinion that nothing could be done until daylight should give us something of an idea of our actual position. if we then found that we were near the shore, we would, weather permitting, endeavor to land, either in the boat or upon a raft. if, on the other hand, no land were in sight, and the chancellor were ascertained to be stranded on some isolated reef, all we could do would be to get her afloat, and put her into condition for reaching the nearest coast. curtis told us that it was long since he had been able to take any observation of latitude, but there was no doubt the northwest wind had driven us far to the south; and he thought, as he was ignorant of the existence of any reef in this part of the atlantic, that it was just possible that we had been driven on to the coast of some portion of south america. i reminded him that we were in momentary expectation of an explosion, and suggested that it would be advisable to abandon the ship and take refuge on the reef. but he would not hear of such a proceeding, said that the reef would probably be covered at high tide, and persisted in the original resolution, that no decided action could be taken before the daylight appeared. i immediately reported this decision of the captain to my fellow-passengers. none of them seemed to realize the new danger to which the chancellor may be exposed by being cast upon an unknown reef, hundreds of miles it may be from land. all are for the time possessed with one idea, one hope; and that is, that the fire may now be quenched and the explosion averted. and certainly their hopes seem in a fair way of being fulfilled. already the raging flames that poured forth from the hatches have given place to dense black smoke, and although occasionally some fiery streaks dart across the dusky fumes, yet they are instantly extinguished. the waves are doing what pumps and buckets could never have effected; by their inundation they are steadily stifling the fire which was as steadily spreading to the whole bulk of the 1,700 bales of cotton. chapter xvi silas huntly rescued from the waves october 30.--at the first gleam of daylight we eagerly scanned the southern and western horizons, but the morning mists limited our view. land was nowhere to be seen. the tide was now almost at its lowest ebb, and the color of the few peaks of rock that jutted up around us showed that the reef on which we had stranded was of basaltic formation. there were now only about six feet of water around the chancellor, though with a full freight she draws about fifteen. it was remarkable how far she had been carried on to the shelf of rock, but the number of times that she had touched the bottom before she finally ran aground left us no doubt that she had been lifted up and borne along on the top of an enormous wave. she now lies with her stern considerably higher than her bows, a position which renders walking upon the deck anything but an easy matter, moreover as the tide receded she heeled over so much to larboard that at one time curtis feared she would altogether capsize; that fear, however, since the tide has reached its lowest mark, has happily proved groundless. at six o'clock some violent blows were felt against the ship's side, and at the same time a voice was distinguished, shouting loudly, "curtis! curtis!" following the direction of the cries we saw that the broken mizzen-mast was being washed against the vessel, and in the dusky morning twilight we could make out the figure of a man clinging to the rigging. curtis, at the peril of his life, hastened to bring the man on board. it proved to be none other than silas huntly, who, after being carried overboard with the mast, had thus, almost by a miracle, escaped a watery grave. without a word of thanks to his deliverer, the ex-captain, passive, like an automaton, passed on and took his seat in the most secluded corner of the poop. the broken mizzen may, perhaps, be of service to us at some future time, and with that idea it has been rescued from the waves and lashed securely to the stern. by this time it was light enough to see for a distance of three miles round; but as yet nothing could be discerned to make us think that we were near a coast. the line of breakers ran for about a mile from southwest to northeast, and two hundred fathoms to the north of the ship an irregular mass of rocks formed a small islet. this islet rose about fifty feet above the sea, and was consequently above the level of the highest tides; while a sort of causeway, available at low water, would enable us to reach the island, if necessity required. but there the reef ended; beyond it the sea again resumed its somber hue, betokening deep water. in all probability, then, this was a solitary shoal, unattached to a shore, and the gloom of a bitter disappointment began to weigh upon our spirits. in another hour the mists had totally disappeared, and it was broad daylight. i and m. letourneur stood watching curtis as he continued eagerly to scan the western horizon. astonishment was written on his countenance; to him it appeared perfectly incredible that, after our course for so long had been due south from the bermudas, no land should be in sight. but not a speck, however minute, broke the clearly-defined line that joined sea and sky. after a time curtis made his way along the netting to the shrouds, and swung himself quickly up to the top of the mainmast. for several minutes he remained there examining the open space around, then seizing one of the backstays he glided down and rejoined us on the poop. "no land in sight," he said, in answer to our eager looks. at this point mr. kear interposed, and in a gruff, ill-tempered tone, asked curtis where we were. curtis replied that he did not know. "you don't know, sir? then all i can say is that you ought to know!" exclaimed the petroleum merchant. "that may be, sir; but at present i am as ignorant of our whereabouts as you are yourself," said curtis. "well," said mr. kear, "just please to know that i don't want to stay forever on your everlasting ship, so i beg you will make haste and start off again." curtis condescended to make no other reply than a shrug of the shoulders, and turning away he informed m. letourneur and myself that if the sun came out he intended to take its altitude and find out to what part of the ocean we had been driven. his next care was to distribute preserved meat and biscuit among the passengers and crew already half fainting with hunger and fatigue, and then he set to work to devise measures for setting the ship afloat. the conflagration was greatly abated; no flames now appeared, and although some black smoke still issued from the interior, yet its volume was far less than before. the first step was to discover how much water had entered the hold. the deck was still too hot to walk upon; but after two hours' irrigation the boards became sufficiently cool for the boatswain to proceed to take some soundings, and he shortly afterward announced that there were five feet of water below. this the captain determined should not be pumped out at present, as he wanted it thoroughly to do its duty before he got rid of it. the next subject for consideration was whether it would be advisable to abandon the vessel, and to take refuge on the reef. curtis thought not; and the lieutenant and the boatswain agreed with him. the chances of an explosion were greatly diminished, as it had been ascertained that the water had reached that part of the hold in which ruby's luggage had been deposited; while, on the other hand, in the event of rough weather, our position even upon the most elevated points of rock might be very critical. it was accordingly resolved that both passengers and crew were safest on board. acting upon this decision we proceeded to make a kind of encampment on the poop, and a few mattresses that were rescued uninjured have been given up for the use of the two ladies. such of the crew as had saved their hammocks have been told to place them under the forecastle where they would have to stow themselves as best they could, their ordinary quarters being absolutely uninhabitable. fortunately, although the store-room has been considerably exposed to the heat, its contents are not very seriously damaged, and all the barrels of water and the greater part of the provisions are quite intact. the stock of spare sails, which had been packed away in front, is also free from injury. the wind has dropped considerably since the early morning, and the swell in the sea is far less heavy. on the whole our spirits are reviving and we begin to think we may yet find a way out of our troubles. m. letourneur, his son, and i, have just had a long conversation about the ship's officers. we consider their conduct, under the late trying circumstances, to have been most exemplary, and their courage, energy, and endurance to have been beyond all praise. lieutenant walter, the boatswain, and dowlas the carpenter have all alike distinguished themselves, and made us feel that they are men to be relied on. as for curtis, words can scarcely be found to express our admiration of his character; he is the same as he has ever been, the very life of his crew, cheering them on by word or gesture; finding an expedient for every difficulty, and always foremost in every action. the tide turned at seven this morning, and by eleven all the rocks were submerged, none of them being visible except the cluster of those which formed the rim of a small and almost circular basin from 230 to 300 feet in diameter, in the north angle of which the ship is lying. as the tide rose the white breakers disappeared, and the sea, fortunately for the chancellor, was pretty calm; otherwise the dashing of the waves against her sides, as she lies motionless, might have been attended by serious consequences. as might be supposed, the height of the water in the hold increased with the tide from five feet to nine; but this was rather a matter of congratulation, inasmuch as it sufficed to inundate another layer of cotton. at half-past eleven the sun, which had been behind the clouds since ten o'clock, broke forth brightly. the captain, who had already in the morning been able to calculate an horary angle, now prepared to take the meridian altitude, and succeeded at midday in making his observation most satisfactorily. after retiring for a short time to calculate the result, he returned to the poop and announced that we are in lat. 18 deg. 5' n. and long. 45 deg. 53' w., but that the reef on which we are aground is not marked on the charts. the only explanation that can be given for the omission is that the islet must be of recent formation, and has been caused by some subterranean volcanic disturbance. but whatever may be the solution of the mystery, here we are 800 miles from land; for such, on consulting the map, we find to be the actual distance to the coast of guiana, which is the nearest shore. such is the position to which we have been brought, in the first place, by huntly's senseless obstinacy, and, secondly, by the furious northwest gale. yet, after all, the captain's communication does not dishearten us. as i said before, our spirits are reviving. we have escaped the peril of fire; the fear of explosion is past and gone: and oblivious of the fact that the ship with a hold full of water is only too likely to founder when she puts out to sea, we feel a confidence in the future that forbids us to despond. meanwhile curtis prepares to do all that common sense demands. he proposes, when the fire is quite extinguished, to throw overboard the whole, or the greater portion of the cargo, including, of course, the picrate; he will next plug up the leak, and then, with a lightened ship, he will take advantage of the first high tide to quit the reef as speedily as possible. chapter xvii m. letourneur is pessimistic october 30.--once again i talked to m. letourneur about our situation, and endeavored to animate him with the hope that we should not be detained for long in our present predicament; but he could not be brought to take a very sanguine view of our prospects. "but surely," i protested, "it will not be difficult to throw overboard a few hundred bales of cotton; two or three days at most will suffice for that." "likely enough," he replied, "when the business is once begun; but you must remember, mr. kazallon, that the very heart of the cargo is still smoldering, and that it will still be several days before anyone will be able to venture into the hold. then the leak, too, that has to be caulked; and, unless it is stopped up very effectually, we shall only be doomed most certainly to perish at sea. don't then, be deceiving yourself; it must be three weeks at least before you can expect to put out to sea. i can only hope meanwhile that the weather will continue propitious; it wouldn't take many storms to knock the chancellor, shattered as she is, completely into pieces." here, then, was the suggestion of a new danger to which we were to be exposed; the fire might be extinguished, the water might be got rid of by the pumps, but, after all, we must be at the mercy of the wind and waves; and, although the rocky island might afford a temporary refuge from the tempest, what was to become of passengers and crew if the vessel should be reduced to a total wreck? i made no remonstrance, however, to this view of our case, but merely asked m. letourneur if he had confidence in robert curtis? "perfect confidence," he answered; "and i acknowledge it most gratefully, as a providential circumstance, that captain huntly had given him the command in time. whatever man can do i know that curtis will not leave undone to extricate us from our dilemma." prompted by this conversation with m. letourneur i took the first opportunity of trying to ascertain from curtis himself how long he reckoned we should be obliged to remain upon the reef; but he merely replied, that it must depend upon circumstances, and that he hoped the weather would continue favorable. fortunately the barometer is rising steadily, and there is every sign of a prolonged calm. meantime curtis is taking active measures for totally extinguishing the fire. he is at no great pains to spare the cargo, and as the bales that lie just above the level of the water are still a-light he has resorted to the expedient of thoroughly saturating the upper layers of the cotton, in order that the combustion may be stifled between the moisture descending from above and that ascending from below. this scheme has brought the pumps once more into requisition. at present the crew are adequate to the task of working them, but i and some of our fellow-passengers are ready to offer our assistance whenever it shall be necessary. with no immediate demand upon our labor, we are thrown upon our own resources for passing our time. m. letourneur, andre, and myself, have frequent conversations; i also devote an hour or two to my diary. falsten holds little communication with any of us, but remains absorbed in his calculations, and amuses himself by tracing mechanical diagrams with ground-plan, section, elevation, all complete. it would be a happy inspiration if he could invent some mighty engine that could set us all afloat again. mr. and mrs. kear, too, hold themselves aloof from their fellow-passengers, and we are not sorry to be relieved from the necessity of listening to their incessant grumbling; unfortunately, however, they carry off miss herbey with them, so that we enjoy little or nothing of the young lady's society. as for silas huntly, he has become a complete nonentity; he exists, it is true, but merely, it would seem, to vegetate. hobart, the steward, an obsequious, sly sort of fellow, goes through his routine of duties just as though the vessel were pursuing her ordinary course; and, as usual, is continually falling out with jynxstrop, the cook, an impudent, ill-favored negro, who interferes with the other sailors in a manner which, i think, ought not to be allowed. since it appears likely that we shall have abundance of time on our hands, i have proposed to m. letourneur and his son that we shall together explore the reef on which we are stranded. it is not very probable that we shall be able to discover much about the origin of this strange accumulation of rocks, yet the attempt will at least occupy us for some hours, and will relieve us from the monotony of our confinement on board. besides, as the reef is not marked in any of the maps, i could not but believe that it would be rendering a service to hydrography if we were to take an accurate plan of the rocks, of which curtis could afterward verify the true position by a second observation made with a closer precision than the one he has already taken. m. letourneur agrees to my proposal, curtis has promised to let us have the boat and some sounding-lines, and to allow one of the sailors to accompany us; so to-morrow morning, we hope to make our little voyage of investigation. chapter xviii we explore the reef october 31 to november 5.--our first proceeding on the morning of the 31st was to make the proposed tour of the reef, which is about a quarter of a mile long. with the aid of our sounding-lines we found that the water was deep, right up to the very rocks, and that no shelving shores prevented us coasting along them. there was not a shadow of doubt as to the rock being of purely volcanic origin, up-heaved by some mighty subterranean convulsion. it is formed of blocks of basalt, arranged in perfect order, of which the regular prisms give the whole mass the effect of being one gigantic crystal; and the remarkable transparency of the sea enabled us plainly to observe the curious shafts of the prismatic columns that support the marvelous substructure. "this is indeed a singular island," said m. letourneur; "evidently it is of quite recent origin." "yes, father," said andre, "and i should think it has been caused by a phenomenon similar to those which produced the julia island, off the coast of sicily, or the group of the santorini, in the grecian archipelago. one could almost fancy that it had been created expressly for the chancellor to strand upon." "it is very certain," i observed, "that some upheaving has lately taken place. this is by no means an unfrequented part of the atlantic, so that it is not at all likely that it could have escaped the notice of sailors if it had been always in existence; yet it is not marked even in the most modern charts. we must try and explore it thoroughly and give future navigators the benefit of our observations." "but, perhaps, it will disappear as it came," said andre. "you are no doubt aware, mr. kazallon, that these volcanic islands sometimes have a very transitory existence. not impossibly, by the time it gets marked upon the maps it may no longer be here." "never mind, my boy," answered his father, "it is better to give warning of a danger that does not exist than overlook one that does. i dare say the sailors will not grumble much, if they don't find a reef where we have marked one." "no, i dare say not, father," said andre, "and after all this island is very likely as firm as a continent. however, if it is to disappear, i expect captain curtis would be glad to see it take its departure as soon as possible after he has finished his repairs; it would save him a world of trouble in getting his ship afloat." "why, what a fellow you are, andre!" i said, laughing; "i believe you would like to rule nature with a magic wand, first of all, you would call up a reef from the depth of the ocean to give the chancellor time to extinguish her flames, and then you would make it disappear just that the ship might be free again." andre smiled; then, in a more serious tone, he expressed his gratitude for the timely help that had been vouchsafed us in our hour of need. the more we examined the rocks that formed the base of the little island, the more we became convinced that its formation was quite recent. not a mollusk, not a tuft of seaweed was found clinging to the sides of the rocks; not a germ had the wind carried to its surface, not a bird had taken refuge amid the crags upon its summits. to a lover of natural history, the spot did not yield a single point of interest; the geologist alone would find subject of study in the basaltic mass. when we reached the southern point of the island i proposed that we should disembark. my companions readily assented, young letourneur jocosely observing that if the little island was destined to vanish, it was quite right that it should first be visited by human beings. the boat was accordingly brought alongside, and we set foot upon the reef, and began to ascend the gradual slope that leads to its highest elevation. the walking was not very rough, and as andre could get along tolerably well without the assistance of an arm, he led the way, his father and i following close behind. a quarter of an hour sufficed to bring us to the loftiest point in the islet, when we seated ourselves on the basaltic prism that crowned its summit. andre took a sketch-book from his pocket, and proceeded to make a drawing of the reef. scarcely had he completed the outline when his father exclaimed: "why, andre, you have drawn a ham!" "something uncommonly like it, i confess," replied andre. "i think we had better ask captain curtis to let us call our island ham rock." "good," said i; "though sailors will need to keep it at a respectful distance, for they will scarcely find that their teeth are strong enough to tackle it." m. letourneur was quite correct; the outline of the reef as it stood clearly defined against the deep green water resembled nothing so much as a fine york ham, of which the little creek, where the chancellor had been stranded, corresponded to the hollow place above the knuckle. the tide at this time was low, and the ship now lay heeled over very much to the starboard side, the few points of rock that emerged in the extreme south of the reef plainly marking the narrow passage through which she had been forced before she finally ran aground. as soon as andre had finished his sketch we descended by a slope as gradual as that by which we had come up, and made our way toward the west. we had not gone very far when a beautiful grotto, perfect as an architectural structure, arrested our attention. m. letourneur and andre, who have visited the hebrides, pronounced it to be a fingal's cave in miniature; a gothic chapel that might form a fit vestibule for the cathedral cave of staffa. the basaltic rocks had cooled down into the same regular concentric prisms; there was the same dark canopied roof with its interstices filled up with its yellow lutings; the same precision of outline in the prismatic angles, sharp as though chiseled by a sculptor's hand; the same sonorous vibration of the air across the basaltic rocks, of which the gaelic poets have feigned that the harps of the fingal minstrelsy were made. but whereas at staffa the floor of the cave is always covered with a sheet of water, here the grotto was beyond the reach of all but the highest waves, while the prismatic shafts themselves formed quite a solid pavement. after remaining nearly an hour in our newly-discovered grotto we returned to the chancellor, and communicated the result of our explorations to curtis, who entered the island upon his chart, by the name andre letourneur had proposed. since its discovery we have not permitted a day to pass without spending some time in our ham rock grotto. curtis has taken an opportunity of visiting it, but he is too preoccupied with other matters to have much interest to spare for the wonders of nature. falsten, too, came once and examined the character of the rocks, knocking and chipping them about with all the mercilessness of a geologist. mr. kear would not trouble himself to leave the ship; and although i asked his wife to join us in one of our excursions she declined, upon the plea that the fatigue, as well as the inconvenience of embarking in the boat, would be more than she could bear. miss herbey, only to thankful to escape even for an hour from her capricious mistress, eagerly accepted m. letourneur's invitation to pay a visit to the reef, but to her great disappointment mrs. kear at first refused point-blank to allow her to leave the ship. i felt intensely annoyed, and resolved to intercede in miss herbey's favor; and as i had already rendered that self-indulgent lady sundry services which she though she might probably be glad again to accept, i gained my point, and miss herbey has several times been permitted to accompany us across the rocks, where the young girl's delight at her freedom has been a pleasure to behold. sometimes we fish along the shore, and then enjoy a luncheon in the grotto, while the basalt columns vibrate like harps to the breeze. this arid reef, little as it is, compared with the cramped limits of the chancellor's deck is like some vast domain; soon there will be scarcely a stone with which we are not familiar, scarcely a portion of its surface which we have not trodden, and i am sure that when the hour of departure arrives we shall leave it with regret. in the course of conversation, andre letourneur one day happened to say that he believed the island of staffa belonged to the macdonald family, who let it for the small sum of l.12 a year. "i suppose then," said miss herbey, "that we should hardly get more than half-a-crown a year for our pet little island." "i don't think you would get a penny for it. miss herbey; but are you thinking of taking a lease?" i said laughing. "not at present," she said; then added, with a half-suppressed sigh, "and yet it is a place where i have seemed to know what it is to be really happy." andre murmured some expression of assent, and we all felt that there was something touching in the words of the orphaned, friendless girl who had found her long-lost sense of happiness on a lonely rock in the atlantic. chapter xix the cargo unloaded november 6 to november 15.--for the first five days after the chancellor had run aground, there was a dense black smoke continually rising from the hold; but it gradually diminished until the 6th of november, when we might consider that the fire was extinguished. curtis, nevertheless, deemed it prudent to persevere in working the pumps, which he did until the entire hull of the ship, right up to the deck, had been completely inundated. the rapidity, however, with which the water, at every retreat of the tide, drained off to the level of the sea, was an indication that the leak must be of considerable magnitude; and such, on investigation, proved to be the case. one of the sailors, named flaypole, dived one day at low water to examine the extent of the damage, and found that the hole was not much less than four feet square, and was situated thirty feet fore of the helm, and two feet above the rider of the keel; three planks had been stove in by a sharp point of rock and it was only a wonder that the violence with which the heavily-laden vessel had been thrown ashore did not result in the smashing in of many parts beside. as it would be a couple of days or more before the hold would be in a condition for the bales of cotton to be removed for the carpenter to examine the damage from the interior of the ship, curtis employed the interval in having the broken mizzen-mast repaired. dowlas the carpenter, with considerable skill, contrived to mortise it into its former stump, and made the junction thoroughly secure by strong iron-belts and bolts. the shrouds, the stays and backstays, were then carefully refitted, some of the sails were changed, and the whole of the running rigging was renewed. injury, to some extent, had been done to the poop and to the crew's lockers in the front; but time and labor were all that were wanted to make them good; and with such a will did everybody set to work that it was not long before all the cabins were again available for use. on the 8th the unlading of the ship commenced. pulleys and tackling were put over the hatches, and passengers and crew together proceeded to haul up the heavy bales which had been deluged so frequently by water that the cotton was all but spoiled. one by one the sodden bales were placed in the boat to be transported to the reef. after the first layer of cotton had been removed it became necessary to drain off part of the water that filled the hold. for this purpose the leak in the side had somehow or other to be stopped, and this was an operation which was cleverly accomplished by dowlas and flaypole, who contrived to dive at low tide and nail a sheet of copper over the entire hole. this, however, of itself would have been utterly inadequate to sustain the pressure that would arise from the action of the pumps; so curtis ordered that a number of the bales should be piled up inside against the broken planks. the scheme succeeded very well, and as the water got lower and lower in the hold the men were enabled to resume their task of unlading. curtis thinks it quite probable that the leaks may be mended from the interior. by far the best way of repairing the damage would be to careen the ship, and to shift the planking, but the appliances are wanting for such an undertaking; moreover, any bad weather which might occur while the ship was on her flank would only too certainly be fatal to her altogether. but the captain has very little doubt that by some device or other he shall manage to patch up the hole in such a way as will insure our reaching land in safety. after two days' toil the water was entirely reduced, and without further difficulty the unlading was completed. all of us, including even andre letourneur, have been taking our turn at the pumps, for the work is so extremely fatiguing that the crew require some occasional respite; arms and back soon become strained and weary with the incessant swing of the handles, and i can well understand the dislike which sailors always express to the labor. one thing there is which is much in our favor; the ship lies on a firm and solid bottom, and we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are not contending with a flood that encroaches faster than it can be resisted. heaven grant that we may not be called to make like efforts, and to make them hopelessly, for a foundering ship! chapter xx examination of the hold november 15 to 20.--the examination of the hold has at last been made. among the first things that were found was the case of picrate, perfectly intact, having neither been injured by the water, nor of course reached by the flames. why it was not at once pitched into the sea i cannot say; but it was merely conveyed to the extremity of the island, and there it remains. while they were below, curtis and dowlas made themselves acquainted with the full extent of the mischief that had been done by the conflagration. they found that the deck and the cross-beams that supported it had been much less injured than they expected, and the thick, heavy planks had only been scorched very superficially. but the action of the fire on the flanks of the ship had been of a much more serious character; a long portion of the inside boarding had been burned away, and the very ribs of the vessel were considerably damaged; the oakum caulkings had all started away from the butt-ends and seams; so much so that it was little short of a miracle that the whole ship had not long since gaped completely open. the captain and the carpenter returned to the deck with anxious faces. curtis lost no time in assembling passengers and crew, and announcing to them the facts of the case. "my friends," he said, "i am here to tell you that the chancellor has sustained far greater injuries than we suspected, and that her hull is very seriously damaged. if we had been stranded anywhere else than on a barren reef, that may at any time be overwhelmed by a tempestuous sea, i should not have hesitated to take the ship to pieces, and construct a smaller vessel that might have carried us safely to land; but i dare not run the risk of remaining here. we are now 800 miles from the coast of paramaribo, the nearest portion of dutch guiana, and in ten or twelve days, if the weather should be favorable, i believe we could reach the shore. what i now propose to do is to stop the leak by the best means we can command, and make at once for the nearest port." as no better plan seemed to suggest itself, curtis's proposal was unanimously accepted. dowlas and his assistants immediately set to work to repair the charred frame-work of the ribs, and to stop the leak; they took care thoroughly to calk from the outside all the seams that were above low water mark; lower than that they were unable to work, and had to content themselves with such repairs as they could effect in the interior. but after all the pains there is no doubt the chancellor is not fit for a long voyage, and would be condemned as unseaworthy at any port at which we might put in. to-day the 20th, curtis having done all that human power could do to repair his ship, determined to put her to sea. ever since the chancellor had been relieved of her cargo, and of the water in her hold, she had been able to float in the little natural basin into which she had been driven. the basin was enclosed on either hand by rocks that remained uncovered even at high water, but was sufficiently wide to allow the vessel to turn quite round at its broadest part, and by means of hawsers fastened on the reef to be brought with her bows towards the south; while, to prevent her being carried back on to the reef, she has been anchored fore and aft. to all appearance, then, it seemed as though it would be an easy matter to put the chancellor to sea; if the wind were favorable the sails would be hoisted; if otherwise, she would have to be towed through the narrow passage. all seemed simple. but unlooked-for difficulties had yet to be surmounted. the mouth of the passage is guarded by a kind of ridge of basalt, which at high tide we knew was barely covered with sufficient water to float the chancellor, even when entirely unfreighted. to be sure she had been carried over the obstacle once before, but then, as i have already said, she had been caught up by an enormous wave, and might have been said to be lifted over the barrier into her present position. besides, on that ever memorable night, there had not only been the ordinary spring-tide, but an equinoctial tide, such a one as could not be expected to occur again for many months. waiting was out of the question; so curtis determined to run the risk, and to take advantage of the spring-tide, which would occur to-day, to make an attempt to get the ship, lightened as she was, over the bar; after which, he might ballast her sufficiently to sail. the wind was blowing from the northwest, and consequently right in the direction of the passage. the captain, however, after a consultation, preferred to tow the ship over the ridge, as he considered it was scarcely safe to allow a vessel of doubtful stability at full sail to charge an obstacle that would probably bring her to a dead lock. before the operation was commenced, curtis took the precaution of having an anchor ready in the stern, for, in the event of the attempt being unsuccessful, it would be necessary to bring the ship back to her present moorings. two more anchors were next carried outside the passage, which was not more than two hundred feet in length. the chains were attached to the windlass, the sailors worked at the hand-spikes, and at four o'clock in the afternoon the chancellor was in motion. high tide would be at twenty minutes past four, and at ten minutes before that time the ship had been hauled as far as her sea-range would allow; her keel grazed the ridge, and her progress was arrested. when the lowest part of her stern, however, just cleared the obstruction, curtis deemed that there was no longer any reason why the mechanical action of the wind should not be brought to bear and contribute its assistance. without delay, all sails were unfurled and trimmed to the wind. the tide was exactly at its height, passengers and crew together were at the windlass, m. letourneur, andre, falsten, and myself being at the starboard bar. curtis stood upon the poop, giving his chief attention to the sails; the lieutenant was on the forecastle; the boatswain by the helm. the sea seemed propitiously calm and; as it swelled gently to and fro, lifted the ship several times. "now, my boys," said curtis, in his calm clear voice, "all together! off!" round went the windlass; click, click, clanked the chains as link by link they were forced through the hawse-holes. the breeze freshened, and the masts gave to the pressure of the sails, but round and round we went, keeping time in regular monotony to the sing-song tune hummed by one of the sailors. we had gained about twenty feet, and were redoubling our efforts when the ship grounded again. and now no effort would avail; all was in vain; the tide began to turn: and the chancellor would not advance an inch. was there time to go back? she would inevitably go to pieces if left balanced upon the ridge. in an instant the captain has ordered the sails to be furled, and the anchor dropped from the stern. one moment of terrible anxiety, and all is well. the chancellor tacks to stern, and glides back into the basin, which is once more her prison. "well, captain," says the boatswain, "what's to be done now?" "i don't know," said curtis, "but we shall get across somehow." chapter xxi the "chancellor" released from her prison november 21 to 24.--there was assuredly no time to be lost before we ought to leave ham rock reef. the barometer had been falling ever since the morning, the sea was getting rougher, and there was every symptom that the weather, hitherto so favorable, was on the point of breaking; and in the event of a gale the chancellor must inevitably be dashed to pieces on the rocks. in the evening, when the tide was quite low, and the rocks uncovered, curtis, the boatswain, and dowlas went to examine the ridge which had proved so serious an obstruction. falsten and i accompanied them. we came to the conclusion that the only way of effecting a passage was by cutting away the rocks with pikes over a surface measuring ten feet by six. an extra depth of nine or ten inches would give a sufficient gauge, and the channel might be accurately marked out by buoys; in this way it was conjectured the ship might be got over the ridge and so reach the deep water beyond. "but this basalt is as hard as granite," said the boatswain; "besides, we can only get at it at low water, and consequently could only work at it for two hours out of the twenty-four." "all the more reason why we should begin at once, boatswain," said curtis. "but if it is to take us a month, captain, perhaps by that time the ship may be knocked to atoms. couldn't we manage to blow up the rock? we have got some powder aboard." "not enough for that," said the boatswain. "you have something better than powder," said falsten. "what's that?" asked the captain. "picrate of potash," was the reply. and so the explosive substance with which poor ruby had so grievously imperiled the vessel was now to serve her in good stead, and i now saw what a lucky thing it was that the case had been deposited safely on the reef, instead of being thrown into the sea. the sailors went off at once for their pikes, and dowlas and his assistants, under the direction of falsten, who, as an engineer, understood such matters, proceeded to hollow out a mine wherein to deposit the powder. at first we hoped that everything would be ready for the blasting to take place on the following morning, but when daylight appeared we found that the men, although they had labored with a will, had only been able to work for an hour at low water and that four tides must ebb before the mine had been sunk to the required depth. not until eight o'clock on the morning of the 23d was the work complete. the hole was bored obliquely in the rock, and was large enough to contain about ten pounds of explosive matter. just as the picrate was being introduced into the aperture, falsten interposed: "stop," he said, "i think it will be best to mix the picrate with common powder, as that will allow us to fire the mine with a match instead of the gun-priming which would be necessary to produce a shock. besides, it is an understood thing that the addition of gunpowder renders picrate far more effective in blasting such rocks as this, as then the violence of the picrate prepares the way for the powder which, slower in its action, will complete the disseverment of the basalt." falsten is not a great talker, but what he does say is always very much to the point. his good advice was immediately followed; the two substances were mixed together, and after a match had been introduced the compound was rammed closely into the hole. notwithstanding that the chancellor was at a distance from the rocks that insured her from any danger of being injured by the explosion, it was thought advisable that the passengers and crew should take refuge in the grotto at the extremity of the reef, and even mr. kear, in spite of his many objections, was forced to leave the ship. falsten, as soon as he had set fire to the match, joined us in our retreat. the train was to burn for ten minutes, and at the end of that time the explosion took place; the report, on account of the depth of the mine, being muffled, and much less noisy than we had expected. but the operation had been perfectly successful. before we reached the ridge we could see that the basalt had been literally reduced to powder, and that a little channel, already being filled by the rising tide, had been cut right through the obstacle. a loud hurrah rang through the air; our prison-doors were opened, and we were prisoners no more. at high tide the chancellor weighed anchor and floated out into the sea, but she was not in a condition to sail until she had been ballasted; and for the next twenty-four hours the crew were busily employed in taking up blocks of stone, and such of the bales of cotton as had sustained the least amount of injury. in the course of the day, m. letourneur, andre, miss herbey, and i took a farewell walk round the reef, and andre, with artistic skill, carved on the wall of the grotto the word chancellor--the designation of ham rock, which we had given to the reef--and the date of our running aground. then we bade adieu to the scene of our three weeks' sojourn, where we had passed days that to some at least of our party will be reckoned as far from being the least happy of their lives. at high tide this morning, the 24th, with low, top, and gallant sails all set, the chancellor started on her onward way, and two hours later the last peak of ham rock had vanished below the horizon. chapter xxii a new danger november 24 to december 1.--here we were then once more at sea, and although on board a ship of which the stability was very questionable, we had hopes, if the wind continued favorable, of reaching the coast of guiana in the course of a few days. our way was southwest and consequently with the wind, and although curtis would not crowd on all sail lest the extra speed should have a tendency to spring the leak afresh, the chancellor made a progress that was quite satisfactory. life on board began to fall back into its former routine; the feeling of insecurity and the consciousness that we were merely retracing our path doing much, however, to destroy the animated intercourse that would otherwise go on between passenger and passenger. the first few days passed without any incident worth recording, then on the 29th, the wind shifted to the north, and it became necessary to brace the yards, trim the sails, and take a starboard tack. this made the ship lurch very much on one side, and as curtis felt that she was laboring far too heavily, he clewed up the top-gallants, prudently reckoning that, under the circumstances, caution was far more important than speed. the night came on dark and foggy. the breeze freshened considerably, and, unfortunately for us, hailed from the northwest. although we carried no topsails at all, the ship seemed to heel over more than ever. most of the passengers had retired to their cabins, but all the crew remained on deck, while curtis never quitted his post upon the poop. toward two o'clock in the morning i was myself preparing to go to my cabin, when burke, one of the sailors who had been down into the hold, came on deck with the cry: "two feet of water below." in an instant curtis and the boatswain had descended the ladder. the startling news was only too true; the sea-water was entering the hold, but whether the leak had sprung afresh, or whether the caulking in some of the seams was insufficient, it was then impossible to determine; all that could be done was to let the ship go with the wind, and wait for day. at daybreak they sounded again--"three feet of water!" was the report. i glanced at curtis--his lips were white, but he had not lost his self-possession. he quietly informed such of the passengers as were already on deck of the new danger that threatened us; it was better that they should know the worst, and the fact could not be long concealed. i told m. letourneur that i could not help hoping that there might yet be time to reach the land before the last crisis came. falsten was about to give vent to an expression of despair, but he was soon silenced by miss herbey asserting her confidence that all would yet be well. curtis at once divided the crew into two sets, and made them work incessantly, turn and turn about, at the pumps. the men applied themselves to their task with resignation rather than with ardor; the labor was hard and scarcely repaid them; the pumps were constantly getting out of order, the valves being choked up by the ashes and bits of cotton that were floating about in the hold, while every moment that was spent in cleaning or repairing them was so much time lost. slowly but surely the water continued to rise, and on the following morning the soundings gave five feet for its depth. i noticed that curtis's brow contracted each time that the boatswain or the lieutenant brought him their report. there was no doubt it was only a question of time, and not for an instant must the efforts for keeping down the level be relaxed. already the ship had sunk a foot lower in the water, and as her weight increased she no longer rose buoyantly with the waves, but pitched and rolled considerably. all yesterday and last night the pumping continued, but still the sea gained upon us. the crew are weary and discouraged, but the second officer and the boatswain set them a fine example of endurance, and the passengers have now begun to take their turn at the pumps. but all are conscious of toiling almost against hope; we are no longer secured firmly to the solid soil of the ham rock reef, but we are floating over an abyss which daily, nay hourly, threatens to swallow us into its depths. chapter xxiii an attempt at mutiny december 2 and 3.--for four hours we have succeeded in keeping the water in the hold to one level; now, however, it is very evident that the time cannot be far distant when the pumps will be quite unequal to their task. yesterday curtis, who does not allow himself a minute's rest, made a personal inspection of the hold. i, with the boatswain and carpenter, accompanied him. after dislodging some of the bales of cotton we could hear a splashing, or rather gurgling sound; but whether the water was entering at the original aperture, or whether it found its way in through a general dislocation of the seams, we were unable to discover. but, whichever might be the case, curtis determined to try a plan which, by cutting off communication between the interior and exterior of the vessel, might, if only for a few hours, render her hull more water-tight. for this purpose he had some strong, well tarred sails drawn upward by ropes from below the keel, as high as the previous leaking place, and then fastened closely and securely to the side of the hull. the scheme was dubious, and the operation difficult, but for a time it was effectual, and at the close of the day the level of the water had actually been reduced by several inches. the diminution was small enough, but the consciousness that more water was escaping through the scupper-holes than was finding its way into the hold gave us fresh courage to persevere with our work. the night was dark, but the captain carried all the sail he could, eager to take every possible advantage of the wind, which was freshening considerably. if he could have sighted a ship he would have made signals of distress, and would not have hesitated to transfer the passengers, and even have allowed the crew to follow, if they were ready to forsake him; for himself his mind was made up--he should remain on board the chancellor until she foundered beneath his feet. no sail, however, hove in sight; consequently escape by such means was out of our power. during the night the canvas covering yielded to the pressure of the waves, and this morning, after taking the sounding, the boatswain could not suppress an oath when he announced, "six feet of water in the hold!" the ship, then, was filling once again, and already had sunk considerably below her previous water-line. with aching arms and bleeding hands we worked harder than ever at the pumps, and curtis makes those who are not pumping form a line and pass buckets, with all the speed they can, from hand to hand. but all in vain! at half-past eight more water is reported in the hold, and some of the sailors, overcome by despair, refuse to work one minute longer. the first to abandon his post was owen, a man whom i have mentioned before as exhibiting something of a mutinous spirit. he is about forty years of age, and altogether unprepossessing in appearance; his face is bare, with the exception of a reddish beard, which terminates in a point; his forehead is furrowed with sinister looking wrinkles, his lips curl inward, and his ears protrude, while his bleared and bloodshot eyes are encircled with thick red rings. among the five or six other men who had struck work i noticed jynxstrop, the cook, who evidently shared all owen's ill-feelings. twice did curtis order the men back to the pumps, and twice did owen, acting as spokesman for the rest, refuse; and when curtis made a step forward as though to approach him, he said savagely: "i advise you not to touch me," and walked away to the forecastle. curtis descended to his cabin, and almost immediately returned with a loaded revolver in his hand. for a moment owen surveyed the captain with a frown of defiance; but at a sign from jynxstrop he seemed to recollect himself, and, with the remainder of the men, he returned to his work. chapter xxiv curtis resolves to abandon the ship december 4.--the first attempt at mutiny being thus happily suppressed, it is to be hoped that curtis will succeed as well in future. an insubordinate crew would render us powerless indeed. throughout the night the pumps were kept, without respite, steadily at work, but without producing the least sensible benefit. the ship became so water-logged and heavy that she hardly rose at all to the waves, which consequently often washed over the deck and contributed their part toward aggravating our case. our situation was rapidly becoming as terrible as it had been when the fire was raging in the midst of us; and the prospect of being swallowed by the devouring billows was no less formidable than that of perishing in the flames. curtis kept the men up to the mark, and, willing or unwilling, they had no alternative but to work on as best they might; but in spite of all their efforts, the water perpetually rose, till, at length, the men in the hold who were passing the buckets found themselves immersed up to their waists, and were obliged to come on deck. this morning, after a somewhat protracted consultation with walter and the boatswain, curtis resolved to abandon the ship. the only remaining boat was far too small to hold us all, and it would therefore be necessary to construct a raft that should carry those who could not find room in her. dowlas, the carpenter, mr. falsten, and ten sailors were told off to put the raft in hand, the rest of the crew being ordered to continue their work assiduously at the pumps, until the time came and everything was ready for embarkation. hatchet or saw in hand, the carpenter and his assistants made a beginning without delay, by cutting and trimming the spare yards and extra spars to a proper length. these were then lowered into the sea--which was propitiously calm--so as to favor the operation (which otherwise would have been very difficult) of lashing them together into a firm framework, about forty feet long and twenty-five feet wide, upon which the platform was to be supported. i kept my own place steadily at the pumps, and andre letourneur worked at my side. i often noticed his father glance at him sorrowfully, as though he wondered what would become of him if he had to struggle with waves to which even the strongest man could hardly fail to succumb. but come what may, his father will never forsake him, and i myself shall not be wanting in rendering him whatever assistance i can. mrs. kear, who had been for some time in a state of drowsy unconsciousness, was not informed of the immediate danger; but when miss herbey, looking somewhat pale with fatigue, paid one of her flying visits to the deck, i warned her to take every precaution for herself, and to be ready for any emergency. "thank you, doctor, i am always ready," she cheerfully replied, and returned to her duties below. i saw andre follow the young girl with his eyes, and a look of melancholy interest passed over his countenance. toward eight o'clock in the evening the framework for the raft was almost complete, and the men were lowering empty barrels, which had first been securely bunged, and were lashing them to the woodwork to insure its floating. two hours later and suddenly there arose the startling cry, "we are sinking! we are sinking!" up to the poop rushed mr. kear, followed immediately by falsten and miss herbey, who were bearing the inanimate form of mrs. kear. curtis ran to his cabin, instantly returning with a chart, a sextant, and a compass in his hand. the scene that followed will ever be engraven in my memory; the cries of distress, the general confusion, the frantic rush of the sailors toward the raft that was not yet ready to support them, can never be forgotten. the whole period of my life seemed to be concentrated into that terrible moment when the planks bent below my feet and the ocean yawned beneath me. some of the sailors had taken their delusive refuge in the shrouds, and i was preparing to follow them when a hand was laid upon my shoulder.. turning round i beheld m. letourneur, with tears in his eyes, pointing toward his son. "yes, my friend," i said, pressing his hand, "we will save him, if possible." but curtis had already caught hold of the young man, and was hurrying him to the main-mast shrouds, when the chancellor, which had been scudding along rapidly with the wind, stopped suddenly, with a violent shock, and began to settle. the sea rose over my ankles, and almost instinctively i clutched at the nearest rope. all at once, when it seemed all over, the ship ceased to sink, and hung motionless in mid-ocean. chapter xxv while there's life there's hope night of december 4.--curtis caught young letourneur again in his arms, and, running with him across the flooded deck, deposited him safely in the starboard shrouds, whither his father and i climbed up beside him. i now had time to look about me. the night was not very dark, and i could see that curtis had returned to his post upon the poop; while in the extreme aft near the taffrail, which was still above water, i could distinguish the forms of mr. and mrs. kear, miss herbey, and mr. falsten. the lieutenant and the boatswain were on the far end of the forecastle; the remainder of the crew in the shrouds and top-masts. by the assistance of his father, who carefully guided his feet up the rigging, andre was hoisted into the main-top. mrs. kear could not be induced to join him in his elevated position, in spite of being told that if the wind were to freshen she would inevitably be washed overboard by the waves; nothing could induce her to listen to remonstrances, and she insisted upon remaining on the poop--miss herbey, of course, staying by her side. as soon as the captain saw the chancellor was no longer sinking, he set to work to take down all the sails--yards and all--and the top-gallants, in the hope that by removing everything that could compromise the equilibrium of the ship he might diminish the chance of her capsizing altogether. "but may she not founder at any moment?" i said to curtis, when i had joined him for a while upon the poop. "everything depends upon the weather," he replied, in his calmest manner; "that, of course, may change at any hour. one thing, however, is certain, the chancellor preserves her equilibrium for the present." "but do you mean to say," i further asked, "that she can sail with two feet of water over her deck?" "no, mr. kazallon, she can't sail, but she can drift with the wind; and if the wind remains in its present quarter, in the course of a few days we might possibly sight the coast. besides, we shall have our raft as a last resource; in a few hours it will be ready, and at daybreak we can embark." "you have not, then," i added, "abandoned all hope even yet?" i marveled at his composure. "while there's life there's hope, you know, mr. kazallon; out of a hundred chances, ninety-nine may be against us, but perhaps the odd one may be in our favor. besides, i believe that our case is not without precedent. in the year 1795, a three-master, the juno, was precisely in the same half-sunk, water-logged condition as ourselves; and yet, with her passengers and crew clinging to her top-masts, she drifted for twenty days, until she came in sight of land, when those who had survived the deprivation and fatigue were saved. so let us not despair; let us hold on to the hope that the survivors of the chancellor may be equally fortunate." i was only too conscious that there was not much to be said in support of curtis's sanguine view of things, and that the force of reason pointed all the other way; but i said nothing, deriving what comfort i could from the fact that the captain did not yet despond of an ultimate rescue. as it was necessary to be prepared to abandon the ship almost at a moment's notice, dowlas was making every exertion to hurry on the construction of the raft. a little before midnight he was on the point of conveying some planks for this purpose, when, to his astonishment and horror, he found that the framework had totally disappeared. the ropes that had attached it to the vessel had snapped as she became vertically displaced, and probably it had been adrift for more than an hour. the crew were frantic at this new misfortune, and shouting "overboard with the masts!" they began to cut down the rigging preparatory to taking possession of the masts for a new raft. but here curtis interposed: "back to your places, my men; back to your places. the ship will not sink yet, so don't touch a rope until i give you leave." the firmness of the captain's voice brought the men to their senses, and although some of them could ill disguise their reluctance, all returned to their posts. when daylight had sufficiently advanced curtis mounted the mast, and looked around for the missing raft; but it was nowhere to be seen. the sea was far too rough for the men to venture to take out the whale-boat in search of it, and there was no choice but to set to work and to construct a new raft immediately. since the sea has become so much rougher, mrs. kear has been induced to leave the poop, and has managed to join m. letourneur and his son on the main-top, where she lies in a state of complete prostration. i need hardly add that miss herbey continues in her unwearied attendance. the space to which these four people are limited is necessarily very small, nowhere measuring twelve feet across: to prevent them losing their balance some spars have been lashed from shroud to shroud, and for the convenience of the two ladies curtis has contrived to make a temporary awning of a sail. mr. kear has installed himself with silas huntly on the foretop. a few cases of preserved meat and biscuit and some barrels of water, that floated between the masts after the submersion of the deck, have been hoisted to the top-mast and fastened firmly to the stays. these are now our only provisions. chapter xxvi mr. kear makes a business deal december 5.--the day was very hot. december in latitude 16 deg. n. is a summer month, and unless a breeze should rise to temper the burning sun, we might expect to suffer from an oppressive heat. the sea still remained very rough, and as the heavy waves broke over the ship as though she were a reef, the foam flew up to the very top-masts, and our clothes were perpetually drenched by the spray. the chancellor's hull is three-fourths immerged; besides the three masts and the bowsprit, to which the whale-boat was suspended, the poop and the forecastle are the only portions that now are visible; and as the intervening section of the deck is quite below the water, these appear to be connected only by the framework of the netting that runs along the vessel's sides. communication between the top-masts is extremely difficult, and would be absolutely precluded, were it not that the sailors, with practiced dexterity, manage to hoist themselves about by means of the stays. for the passengers, cowering on their narrow and unstable platform, the spectacle of the raging sea below was truly terrific; every wave that dashed over the ship shook the masts till they trembled again, and one could venture scarcely to look or to think lest he should be tempted to cast himself into the vast abyss. meanwhile, the crew worked away with all their remaining vigor at the second raft, for which the top-gallants and yards were all obliged to be employed; the planks, too, which were continually being loosened and broken away by the violence of the waves from the partitions of the ship, were rescued before they had drifted out of reach, and were brought into use. the symptoms of the ship foundering did not appear to be immediate; so that curtis insisted upon the raft being made with proper care to insure its strength; we were still several hundred miles from the coast of guiana, and for so long a voyage it was indispensable to have a structure of considerable solidity. the reasonableness of this was self-apparent, and as the crew had recovered their assurance they spared no pains to accomplish their work effectually. of all the number, there was but one, an irishman, named o'ready, who seemed to question the utility of all their toil. he shook his head with an oracular gravity. he is an oldish man, not less than sixty, with his hair and beard bleached with the storms of many travels. as i was making my way toward the poop, he came up to me and began talking. "and why, bedad, i'd like to know, why is it that they'll all be afther lavin' the ship?" he turned his quid with the most serene composure, and continued: "and isn't it me myself that's been wrecked nine times already? and sure, poor fools are they that ever have put their trust in rafts or boats; sure and they found a wathery grave. nay, nay; while the ould ship lasts, let's stick to her, says i." having thus unburdened his mind he relapsed into silence, and soon went away. about three o'clock i noticed that mr. kear and silas huntly were holding an animated conversation in the foretop. the petroleum merchant had evidently some difficulty in bringing the ex-captain round to his opinion, for i saw him several times shake his head as he gave long and scrutinizing looks at the sea and sky. in less than an hour afterward i saw huntly let himself down by the forestays and clamber along to the fore-castle, where he joined the group of sailors, and i lost sight of him. i attached little importance to the incident, and shortly afterward joined the party in the main-top, where we continued talking for some hours. the heat was intense, and if it had not been for the shelter afforded by the sail-tent, would have been unbearable. at five o'clock we took as refreshment some dried meat and biscuit, each individual being also allowed half a glass of water. mrs. kear prostrate with fever, could not touch a mouthful; and nothing could be done by miss herbey to relieve her, beyond occasionally moistening her parched lips. the unfortunate lady suffers greatly, and sometimes i am inclined to think that she will succumb to the exposure and privation. not once had her husband troubled himself about her; but when shortly afterward i heard him hail some of the sailors on the fore-castle and ask them to help him down from the foretop, i began to think that the selfish fellow was coming to join his wife. at first the sailors took no notice of his request, but on his repeating it with the promise of paying them handsomely for their services, two of them, burke and sandon, swung themselves along the netting into the shrouds, and were soon at his side. a long discussion ensued. the men evidently were asking more than mr. kear was inclined to give, and at one time it seemed as though the negotiation would fall through altogether. but at length the bargain was struck, and i saw mr. kear take a bundle of paper dollars from his waistcoat pocket, and hand a number of them over to one of the men. the man counted them carefully, and from the time it took him, i should think that he could not have pocketed anything less than a hundred dollars. the next business was to get mr. kear down from the foretop, and burke and sandon proceeded to tie a rope round his waist, which they afterward fastened to the forestay; then, in a way which provoked shouts of laughter from their mates, they gave the unfortunate man a shove, and sent him rolling down like a bundle of dirty clothes on to the forecastle. i was quite mistaken as to his object. mr. kear had no intention of looking after his wife, but remained by the side of silas huntly until the gathering darkness hid them both from view. as night drew on, the wind grew calmer, but the sea remained very rough. the moon had been up ever since four in the afternoon, though she only appeared at rare intervals between the clouds. some long lines of vapor on the horizon were tinged with a rosy glare that foreboded a strong breeze for the morrow, and all felt anxious to know from which quarter the breeze would come, for any but a northeaster would bear the frail raft on which we were to embark far away from land. about eight o'clock in the evening, curtis mounted to the main-top, but he seemed preoccupied and anxious, and did not speak to anyone. he remained for a quarter of an hour, then after silently pressing my hand, he returned to his old post. i laid myself down in the narrow space at my disposal, and tried to sleep; but my mind was filled with strange forebodings, and sleep was impossible. the very calmness of the atmosphere was oppressive; scarcely a breath of air vibrated through the metal rigging, and yet the sea rose with a heavy swell as though it felt the warnings of a coming tempest. all at once, at about eleven o'clock, the moon burst brightly forth through a rift in the clouds, and the waves sparkled again as if illuminated by a submarine glimmer. i start up and look around me. is it merely imagination? or do i really see a black speck floating, on the dazzling whiteness of the waters, a speck that cannot be a rock, because it rises and falls with the heaving motion of the billows? but the moon once again becomes overclouded; the sea is darkened, and i return to my uneasy couch close to the larboard shrouds. chapter xxvii the whale-boat missing december 6.--i must have fallen asleep for a few hours, when, at four o'clock in the morning, i was rudely aroused by the roaring of the wind, and could distinguish curtis's voice as he shouted in the brief intervals between the heavy gusts. i got up, and holding tightly to the purlin--for the waves made the masts tremble with their violence--i tried to look around and below me. the sea was literally raging beneath, and great masses of livid-looking foam were dashing between the masts, which were oscillating terrifically. it was still dark, and i could only faintly distinguish two figures in the stern, whom, by the sound of their voices, that i caught occasionally above the tumult, i made out to be curtis and the boatswain. just at that moment a sailor, who had mounted to the main-top to do something to the rigging, passed close behind me. "what's the matter?" i asked. "the wind has changed," he answered, adding something which i could not hear distinctly, but which sounded like "dead against us." dead against us! then, thought i, the wind had shifted to the southwest, and my last night's forebodings had been correct. when daylight at length appeared, i found the wind, although not blowing actually from the southwest, had veered round to the northwest, a change which was equally disastrous to us, inasmuch as it was carrying us away from land. moreover, the ship had sunk considerably during the night, and there were now five feet of water above deck; the side netting had completely disappeared, and the forecastle and the poop were now all but on a level with the sea, which washed over them incessantly. with all possible expedition curtis and his crew were laboring away at their raft, but the violence of the swell materially impeded their operations, and it became a matter of doubt as to whether the woodwork would not fall asunder before it could be properly fastened together. as i watched the men at their work, m. letourneur, with one arm supporting his son, came out and stood by my side. "don't you think this main-top will soon give way?" he said, as the narrow platform on which we stood creaked and groaned with the swaying of the masts. miss herbey heard his words and pointing toward mrs. kear, who was lying prostrate at her feet, asked what we thought ought to be done. "we can do nothing but stay where we are," i replied. "no," said andre, "this is our best refuge; i hope you are not afraid." "not for myself," said the young girl quietly, "only for those to whom life is precious." at a quarter to eight we heard the boatswain calling to the sailors in the bows. "ay, ay, sir," said one of the men--o'ready, i think. "where's the whale-boat?" shouted the boatswain in a loud voice. "i don't know, sir. not with us," was the reply. "she's gone adrift, then!" and sure enough the whale-boat was no longer hanging from the bowsprit; and in a moment the discovery was made that mr. kear, silas huntly, and three sailors,--a scotchman and two englishmen,--were missing. afraid that the chancellor would founder before the completion of the raft, kear and huntly had plotted together to effect their escape, and had bribed the three sailors to seize the only remaining boat. this, then, was the black speck that i had seen during the night. the miserable husband had deserted his wife, the faithless captain had abandoned the ship that had once been under his command. "there are five saved, then," said the boatswain. "faith, an it's five lost ye'll be maning," said o'ready; and the state of the sea fully justified his opinion. the crew were furious when they heard of the surreptitious flight, and loaded the fugitives with all the invectives they could lay their tongues to. so enraged were they at the dastardly trick of which they had been made the dupes, that if chance should bring the deserters again on board i should be sorry to answer for the consequences. in accordance with my advice, mrs. kear has not been informed of her husband's disappearance. the unhappy lady is wasting away with a fever for which we are powerless to supply a remedy, for the medicine-chest was lost when the ship began to sink. nevertheless, i do not think we have anything to regret on that score, feeling, as i do, that in a case like mrs. kear's, drugs would be of no avail. chapter xxviii mrs. kear succumbs to fever december 6 continued.--the chancellor no longer maintained her equilibrium; we felt that she was gradually going down, and her hull was probably breaking up. the maintop was already only ten feet above water, while the bowsprit, with the exception of the extreme end, that rose obliquely from the waves, was entirely covered. the chancellor's last day, we felt, had come. fortunately the raft was all but finished, and unless curtis preferred to wait till morning, we should be able to embark in the evening. the raft is a very solid structure. the spars that form the framework are crossed one above another and lashed together with stout ropes, so that the whole pile rises a couple of feet above the water. the upper platform is constructed from the planks that were broken from the ship's sides by the violence of the waves, and which had not drifted away. the afternoon has been employed in charging the raft with such provisions, sails, tools, and instruments as we have been able to save. and how can i attempt to give any idea of the feelings with which, one and all, we now contemplated the fate before us? for my own part, i was possessed rather by a benumbed indifference than by any sense of genuine resignation. m. letourneur was entirely absorbed in his son, who, in his turn, thought only of his father, at the same time exhibiting a christian fortitude, which was shown by no one else of the party except miss herbey, who faced her danger with the same brave composure. incredible as it may seem, falsten remained the same as ever, occupying himself with writing down figures and memoranda in his pocketbook. mrs. kear, in spite of all that miss herbey could do for her, was evidently dying. with regard to the sailors, two or three of them were calm enough, but the rest had well-nigh lost their wits. some of the more ill-disposed among them seemed inclined to run into excesses; and their conduct, under the bad influence of owen and jynxstrop, made it doubtful whether they would submit to control when once we were limited to the narrow dimensions of the raft. lieutenant walter, although his courage never failed him, was worn out with bodily fatigue, and obliged to give up all active labor; but curtis and the boatswain were resolute, energetic and firm as ever. to borrow an expression from the language of metallurgic art, they were men "at the highest degree of hardness." at five o'clock one of our companions in misfortune was released from her sufferings. mrs. kear, after a most distressing illness, through which her young companion tended her with the most devoted care, has breathed her last. a few deep sighs and all was over, and i doubt whether the sufferer was ever conscious of the peril of her situation. the night passed on without further incident. toward morning i touched the dead woman's hand, and it was cold and stiff. the corpse could not remain any longer on the main-top, and after miss herbey and i had carefully wrapped the garments about it, with a few short prayers the body of the first victim of our miseries was committed to the deep. as the sea closed over the body i heard one of the men in the shrouds say: "there goes a carcass that we shall be sorry we have thrown away!" i looked round sharply. it was owen who had spoken. but horrible as were his words, the conviction was forced upon my mind that the day could not be far distant when we must want for food. chapter xxix we embark on the raft december 7.--the ship was sinking rapidly; the water had risen to the fore-top; the poop and forecastle were completely submerged; the top of the bowsprit had disappeared, and only the three mast-tops projected from the waves. but all was ready on the raft; an erection had been made on the fore to hold a mast, which was supported by shrouds fastened to the sides of the platform; this mast carried a large royal. perhaps, after all, these few frail planks will carry us to the shore which the chancellor has failed to reach; at any rate, we cannot yet resign all hope. we were just on the point of embarking at 7 a. m. when the chancellor all at once began to sink so rapidly that the carpenter and men who were on the raft were obliged with all speed to cut the ropes that secured it to the vessel, to prevent it from being swallowed up in the eddying waters. anxiety, the most intense, took possession of us all. at the very moment when the ship was descending into the fathomless abyss, the raft, our only hope of safety, was drifting off before our eyes. two of the sailors and an apprentice, beside themselves with terror, threw themselves headlong into the sea; but it was evident from the very first they were quite powerless to combat the winds and waves. escape was impossible; they could neither reach the raft nor return to the ship. curtis tied a rope round his waist and tried to swim to their assistance; but long before he could reach them, the unfortunate men, after a vain struggle for life, sank below the waves and were seen no more. curtis, bruised and beaten with the surf that raged about the mast-heads, was hauled back to the ship. meantime, dowlas and his men, by means of some spars which they used as oars, were exerting themselves to bring back the raft, which had drifted about two cables'-lengths away; but, in spite of all their efforts, it was fully an hour--an hour which seemed to us, waiting as we were with the water up to the level of the top masts, like an eternity--before they succeeded in bringing the raft alongside, and lashing it once again to the chancellor's main-mast. not a moment was then to be lost. the waves were eddying like a whirlpool around the submerged vessel, and numbers of enormous air-bubbles were rising to the surface of the water. the time was come. at curtis's word, "embark!" we all hurried to the raft. andre, who insisted upon seeing miss herbey go first, was helped safely on to the platform, where his father immediately joined him. in a very few minutes all except curtis and old o'ready had left the chancellor. curtis remained standing on the main-top, deeming it not only his duty, but his right, to be the last to leave the vessel he had loved so well, and the loss of which he so much deplored. "now then, old fellow, off of this!" cried the captain to the old irishman, who did not move. "and is it quite sure ye are that she's sinkin'?" he said. "ay, ay! sure enough, my man; and you'd better look sharp." "faith, then, and i think i will;" and not a moment too soon (for the water was up to his waist) he jumped on to the raft. having cast one last, lingering look around him, curtis then left the ship; the rope was cut, and we went slowly adrift. all eyes were fixed upon the spot where the chancellor lay foundering. the top of the mizzen was the first to disappear, then followed the main-top; and soon, of what had been a noble vessel, not a vestige was to be seen. chapter xxx our situation critical will this frail boat, forty feet by twenty, bear us in safety? sink it cannot; the material of which it is composed is of a kind that must surmount the waves. but it is questionable whether it will hold together. the cords that bind it will have a tremendous strain to bear in resisting the violence of the sea. the most sanguine among us trembles to face the future; the most confident dares to think only of the present. after the manifold perils of the last seventy-two days' voyage all are too agitated to look forward without dismay to what in all human probability must be a time of the direst distress. vain as the task may seem, i will not pause in my work of registering the events of our drama, as scene after scene they are unfolded before our eyes. of the twenty-eight persons who left charleston in the chancellor, only eighteen are left to huddle together upon this narrow raft; this number includes the five passengers, namely, m. letourneur, andre, miss herbey, falsten, and myself; the ship's officers, captain curtis, lieutenant walter, the boatswain, hobart the steward, jynxstrop the cook, and dowlas the carpenter; and seven sailors, austin, owen, wilson, o'ready, burke, sandon, and flaypole. such are the passengers on the raft; it is but a brief task to enumerate their resources. the greater part of the provisions in the store-room were destroyed at the time when the ship's deck was submerged, and the small quantity that curtis has been able to save will be very inadequate to supply the wants of eighteen people, who too probably have many days to wait ere they sight either land or a passing vessel. one cask of biscuit, another of preserved meat, a small keg of brandy, and two barrels of water complete our store, so that the utmost frugality in the distribution of our daily rations becomes absolutely necessary. of spare clothes we have positively none; a few sails will serve for shelter by day, and covering by night. dowlas has his carpenter's tools, we have each a pocket-knife, and o'ready an old tin pot, of which he takes the most tender care; in addition to these, we are in possession of a sextant, a compass, a chart, and a metal tea-kettle, everything else that was placed on deck in readiness for the first raft having been lost in the partial submersion of the vessel. such then is our situation; critical indeed, but after all perhaps not desperate. we have one great fear; some there are among us whose courage, moral as well as physical, may give way, and over failing spirits such as these we may have no control. chapter xxxi first day on the raft december 7 continued.--our first day on the raft has passed without any special incident. at eight o'clock this morning curtis asked our attention for a moment. "my friends," he said, "listen to me. here on this raft, just as when we were on board the chancellor, i consider myself your captain; and as your captain, i expect that all of you will strictly obey my orders. let me beg of you, one and all, to think solely of our common welfare; let us work with one heart and with one soul, and may heaven protect us!" after delivering these few words with an emotion that evidenced their earnestness, the captain consulted his compass, and found that the freshening breeze was blowing from the north. this was fortunate for us, and no time was to be lost in taking advantage of it to speed us on our dubious way. dowlas was occupied in fixing the mast into the socket that had already been prepared for its reception, and in order to support it more firmly he placed spurs of wood, forming arched buttresses, on either side. while he was thus employed the boatswain and the other seamen were stretching the large royal sail on the yard that had been reserved for that purpose. by half-past nine the mast was hoisted, and held firmly in its place by some shrouds attached securely to the sides of the raft; then the sail was run up and trimmed to the wind, and the raft began to make a perceptible progress under the brisk breeze. as soon as we had once started, the carpenter set to work to contrive some sort of a rudder, that would enable us to maintain our desired direction. curtis and falsten assisted him with some serviceable suggestions, and in a couple of hours' time he had made and fixed to the back of the raft a kind of paddle, very similar to those used by the malays. at noon, after the necessary preliminary observations, curtis took the altitude of the sun. the result gave lat. 15 deg. 7' n. by long. 49 deg. 35' w. as our position, which, on consulting the chart, proved to be about 650 miles northeast of the coast of paramaribo in dutch guiana. now even under the most favorable circumstances, with trade-winds and weather always in our favor, we can not by any chance hope to make more than ten or twelve miles a day, so that the voyage cannot possibly be performed under a period of two months. to be sure there is the hope to be indulged that we may fall in with a passing vessel, but as the part of the atlantic into which we have been driven is intermediate between the tracks of the french and english transatlantic steamers either from the antilles or the brazils, we cannot reckon at all upon a contingency happening in our favor; while if a calm should set in, or worse still, if the wind were to blow from the east, not only two months, but twice, nay, three times that length of time will be required to accomplish the passage. at best, however, our provisions, even though used with the greatest care, will barely last three months. curtis has called us into consultation, and as the working of the raft does not require such labor as to exhaust our physical strength, all have agreed to submit to a regimen which, although it will suffice to keep us alive, will certainly not fully satisfy the cravings of hunger and thirst. as far as we can estimate we have somewhere about 500 lbs. of meat and about the same quantity of biscuit. to make this last for three months we ought not to consume very much more than 5 lbs. a day of each, which, when divided among eighteen people, will make the daily ration 5 oz. of meat and 5 oz. of biscuit for each person. of water we have certainly not more than 200 gallons, but by reducing each person's allowance to a pint a day, we hope to eke out that, too, over the space of three months. it is arranged that the food shall be distributed under the boatswain's superintendence every morning at ten o'clock. each person will then receive his allowance of meat and biscuit, which may be eaten when and how he pleases. the water will be given out twice a day--at ten in the morning and six in the evening; but as the only drinking-vessels in our possession are the teakettle and the old irishman's tin pot, the water has to be consumed immediately on distribution. as for the brandy, of which there are only five gallons, it will be doled out with the strictest limitation, and no one will be allowed to touch it except with the captain's express permission. i should not forget that there are two sources from which we may hope to increase our store. first, any rain that may fall will add to our supply of water, and two empty barrels have been placed ready to receive it; secondly, we hope to do something in the way of fishing, and the sailors have already begun to prepare some lines. all have mutually agreed to abide by the rules that have been laid down, for all are fully aware that by nothing but the most precise regimen can we hope to avert the horrors of famine, and forewarned by the fate of many who in similar circumstances have miserably perished, we are determined to do all that prudence can suggest for husbanding our stores. chapter xxxii we catch a supply of fish december 8 to 17.--when night came we wrapped ourselves in our sails. for my own part, worn out with the fatigue of the long watch in the top-mast, i slept for several hours; m. letourneur and andre did the same, and miss herbey obtained sufficient rest to relieve the tired expression that her countenance had lately being wearing. the night passed quietly. as the raft was not very heavily laden the waves did not break over it at all, and we were consequently able to keep ourselves perfectly dry. to say the truth, it was far better for us that the sea should remain somewhat boisterous, for any diminution in the swell of the waves would indicate that the wind had dropped, and it was with a feeling of regret that when the morning came i had to note down "weather calm" in my journal. in these low latitudes the heat in the day-time is so intense, and the sun burns with such an incessant glare, that the entire atmosphere becomes pervaded with a glowing vapor. the wind, too, blows only in fitful gusts, and through long intervals of perfect calm the sails flap idly and uselessly against the mast. curtis and the boatswain, however, are of opinion that we are not entirely dependent on the wind. certain indications, which a sailor's eye alone could detect, make them almost sure that we are being carried along by a westerly current, that flows at the rate of three or four miles an hour. if they are not mistaken, this is a circumstance that may materially assist our progress, and at which we can hardly fail to rejoice, for the high temperature often makes our scanty allowance of water quite inadequate to allay our thirst. but with all our hardships i must confess that our condition is far preferable to what it was when we were still clinging to the chancellor. here at least we have a comparatively solid platform beneath our feet, and we are relieved from the incessant dread of being carried down with a foundering vessel. in the day time we can move about with a certain amount of freedom, discuss the weather, watch the sea, and examine our fishing-lines; while at night we can rest securely under the shelter of our sails. "i really think, mr. kazallon," said andre letourneur to me a few days after we had embarked, "that our time on board the raft passes as pleasantly as it did upon ham rock; and the raft has one advantage even over the reef, for it is capable of motion." "yes, andre," i replied, "as long as the wind continues favorable the raft has decidedly the advantage; but supposing the wind shifts; what then?" "oh, we mustn't think about that," he said; "let us keep up our courage while we can." i felt that he was right, and that the dangers we had escaped should make us more hopeful for the future; and i think that nearly all of us are inclined to share his opinion. whether the captain is equally sanguine i am unable to say. he holds himself very much aloof, and as he evidently feels that he has the great responsibility of saving other lives than his own, we are reluctant to disturb his silent meditations. such of the crew as are not on watch spend the greater portion of their time in dozing on the fore part of the raft. the aft, by the captain's orders, has been reserved for the use of us passengers, and by erecting some uprights we have contrived to make a sort of tent, which affords some shelter from the sun. on the whole our bill of health is tolerably satisfactory. lieutenant walter is the only invalid, and he, in spite of all our careful nursing, seems to get weaker every day. andre letourneur is the life of our party, and i have never appreciated the young man so well. his originality of perception makes his conversation both lively and interesting, and as he talks, his wan and suffering countenance lights up with an intelligent animation. his father seems to become more devoted to him than ever, and i have seen him sit for an hour at a time, with his hand resting on his son's, listening eagerly to his every word. miss herbey occasionally joins in our conversation, but although we all do our best to make her forget that she has lost those who should have been her natural protectors, m. letourneur is the only one among us to whom she speaks without a certain reserve. to him, whose age gives him something of the authority of a father, she has told the history of her life--a life of patience and self-denial such as not unfrequently falls to the lot of orphans. she had been, she said, two years with mrs. kear, and although now left alone in the world, homeless and without resources, hope for the future does not fail her. the young lady's modest deportment and energy of character command the respect of all on board, and i do not think that even the coarsest of the sailors has either by word or gesture acted toward her in a way that she could deem offensive. the 12th, 13th, and 14th of december passed away without any change in our condition. the wind continued to blow in irregular gusts, but always in the same direction, and the helm, or rather the paddle at the back of the raft, has never once required shifting; and the watch, who are posted on the fore, under orders to examine the sea with the most scrupulous attention, have had no change of any kind to report. at the end of the week we found ourselves growing accustomed to our limited diet, and as we had no manual exertion, and no wear and tear of our physical constitution, we managed very well. our greatest deprivation was the short supply of water, for, as i said before, the unmitigated heat made our thirst at times very painful. on the 15th we held high festival. a shoal of fish, of the sparus tribe, swarmed round the raft, and although our tackle consisted merely of long cords baited with morsels of dried meat stuck upon bent nails, the fish were so voracious that in the course of a couple of days we had caught as many as weighed almost 200 lbs., some of which were grilled, and others boiled in sea-water over a fire made on the fore part of the raft. this marvelous haul was doubly welcome, inasmuch as it not only afforded us a change of diet, but enabled us to economize our stores; if only some rain had fallen at the same time we would have been more than satisfied. unfortunately the shoal of fish did not remain long in our vicinity. on the 17th they all disappeared, and some sharks, not less than twelve or fifteen feet long, belonging to the species of the spotted dog-fish, took their place. these horrible creatures have black backs and fins, covered with white spots and stripes. here, on our low raft, we seemed almost on a level with them, and more than once their tails have struck the spars with terrible violence. the sailors manage to keep them at a distance by means of handspikes, but i shall not be surprised if they persist in following us, instinctively intelligent that we are destined to become their prey. for myself, i confess that they give me a feeling of uneasiness; they seem to me like monsters of ill-omen. chapter xxxiii mutiny on the raft december 18 to 20.--on the 18th the wind freshened a little, but as it blew from the same favorable quarter we did not complain, and only took the precaution of putting an extra support to the mast, so that it should not snap with the tension of the sail. this done, the raft was carried along with something more than its ordinary speed, and left a long line of foam in its wake. in the afternoon the sky became slightly over-clouded, and the heat consequently less oppressive. the swell made it more difficult for the raft to keep its balance, and we shipped two or three heavy seas; but the carpenter managed to make with some planks a kind of wall about a couple of feet high, which protected us from the direct action of the waves. our casks of food and water were secured to the raft with double ropes, for we dared not run the risk of their being carried overboard, an accident that would at once have reduced us to the direst distress. in the course of the day the sailors gathered some of the marine plants known by the name of sargassos, very similar to those we saw in such profusion between the bermudas and ham rock. i advised my companions to chew the laminary tangles, which they would find contained a saccharine juice, affording considerable relief to their parched lips and throats. the remainder of the day passed without incident. i should not, however, omit to mention that the frequent conferences held among the sailors, especially between owen, burke, flaypole, wilson, and jynxstrop, the negro, aroused some uneasy suspicions in my mind. what was the subject of their conversation i could not discover, for they became silent immediately that a passenger or one of the officers approached them. when i mentioned the matter to curtis i found he had already noticed these secret interviews, and that they had given him enough concern to make him determined to keep a strict eye upon jynxstrop and owen, who, rascals as they were themselves, were evidently trying to disaffect their mates. on the 19th the heat was again excessive. the sky was cloudless, and as there was not enough wind to fill the sail the raft lay motionless upon the surface of the water. some of the sailors found a transient alleviation for their thirst by plunging into the sea, but as we were fully aware that the water all around was infested with sharks, none of us was rash enough to follow their example, though if, as seems likely, we remain long becalmed, we shall probably in time overcome our fears, and feel constrained to indulge ourselves with a bath. the health of lieutenant walter continues to cause us grave anxiety, the young man being weakened by attacks of intermittent fever. except for the loss of the medicine-chest we might have temporarily reduced this by quinine; but it is only too evident that the poor fellow is consumptive, and that that hopeless malady is making ravages upon him that no medicine could permanently arrest. his sharp, dry cough, his short breathing, his profuse perspirations, more especially in the morning; the pinched-in nose, the hollow cheeks, of which the general pallor is only relieved by a hectic flush, the contracted lips, the too brilliant eye and wasted form--all bear witness to a slow but sure decay. to-day, the 20th, the temperature is as high as ever, and the raft still motionless. the rays of the sun penetrate even through the shelter of our tent, where we sit literally gasping with the heat. the impatience with which we awaited the moment when the boatswain should dole out our meager allowance of water, and the eagerness with which those lukewarm drops were swallowed, can only be realized by those who for themselves have endured the agonies of thirst. lieutenant walter suffers more than any of us from the scarcity of water, and i noticed that miss herbey reserved almost the whole of her own share for his use. kind and compassionate as ever, the young girl does all that lies in her power to relieve the poor fellow's sufferings. "mr. kazallon," she said to me this morning, "that young man gets manifestly weaker every day." "yes, miss herbey," i replied, "and how sorrowful it is that we can do nothing for him, absolutely nothing." "hush!" she said, with her wonted consideration, "perhaps he will hear what we are saying." and then she sat down near the edge of the raft, where, with her head resting on her hands, she remained lost in thought. an incident sufficiently unpleasant occurred to-day. for nearly an hour owen, flaypole, burke and jynxstrop had been engaged in close conversation and, although their voices were low, their gestures had betrayed that they were animated by some strong excitement. at the conclusion of the colloquy owen got up and walked deliberately to the quarter of the raft that has been reserved for the use of the passengers. "where are you off to now, owen?" said the boatswain. "that's my business," said the man insolently, and pursued his course. the boatswain was about to stop him, but before he could interfere curtis was standing and looking owen steadily in the face. "ah, captain, i've got a word from my mates to say to you," he said, with all the effrontery imaginable. "say on, then," said the captain coolly. "we should like to know about that little keg of brandy. is it being kept for the porpoises or the officers?" finding that he obtained no reply, he went on: "look here, captain, what we want is to have our grog served out every morning as usual." "then you certainly will not," said the captain. "what! what!" exclaimed owen, "don't you mean to let us have our grog?" "once and for all, no." for a moment, with a malicious grin upon his lips, owen stood confronting the captain; then, as though thinking better of himself, he turned round and rejoined his companions, who were still talking together in an undertone. when i was afterward discussing the matter with curtis, i asked him whether he was sure he had done right in refusing the brandy. "right!" he cried, "to be sure i have. allow those men to have brandy! i would throw it all overboard first." chapter xxxiv a squall december 21.--no further disturbance has taken place among the men. for a few hours the fish appeared again, and we caught a great many of them, and stored them away in an empty barrel. this addition to our stock of provisions makes us hope that food, at least, will not fail us. usually the nights in the tropics are cool, but to-day, as the evening drew on, the wonted freshness did not return, but the air remained stifling and oppressive, while heavy masses of vapor hung over the water. there was no moonlight; there would be a new moon at half-past one in the morning, but the night was singularly dark, except for dazzling flashes of summer lightning that from time to time illuminated the horizon far and wide. there was, however, no answering roll of thunder, and the silence of the atmosphere seemed almost awful. for a couple of hours, in the vain hope of catching a breath of air, miss herbey, andre letourneur, and i, sat watching the imposing struggle of the electric vapors. the clouds appeared like embattled turrets crested with flame, and the very sailors, coarse-minded men as they were, seemed struck with the grandeur of the spectacle, and regarded attentively, though with an anxious eye, the preliminary tokens of a coming storm. until midnight we kept our seats upon the stern of the raft, while the lightning ever and again shed around us a livid glare similar to that produced by adding salt to lighted alcohol. "are you afraid of a storm. miss herbey?" said andre to the girl. "no, mr. andre, my feelings are always rather those of awe than of fear," she replied. "i consider a storm one of the sublimest phenomena that we can behold--don't you think so too?" "yes, and especially when the thunder is pealing," he said; "that majestic rolling, far different to the sharp crash of artillery, rises and falls like the long-drawn notes of the grandest music, and i can safely say that the tones of the most accomplished artiste have never moved me like that incomparable voice of nature." "rather a deep bass, though," i said, laughing. "that may be," he answered; "but i wish we might hear it now, for this silent lightning is somewhat unexpressive." "never mind that, andre," i said; "enjoy a storm when it comes, if you like, but pray don't wish for it." "and why not?" said he; "a storm will bring us wind, you know." "and water, too," added miss herbey, "the water of which we are so seriously in need." the young people evidently wished to regard the storm from their own point of view, and although i could have opposed plenty of common sense to their poetical sentiments, i said no more, but let them talk on as they pleased for fully an hour. meanwhile the sky was becoming quite over-clouded, and after the zodiacal constellations had disappeared in the mists that hung round the horizon, one by one the stars above our heads were veiled in dark rolling masses of vapor, from which every instant there issued forth sheets of electricity that formed a vivid background to the dark gray fragments of cloud that floated beneath. sleep, even if we wished it, would have been impossible in that stifling temperature. the lightning increased in brilliancy and appeared from all quarters of the horizon, each flash covering large arcs, varying from 100 deg. to 150 deg., leaving the atmosphere pervaded by one incessant phosphorescent glow. the thunder became at length more and more distinct, the reports, if i may use the expression, being "round," rather than rolling. it seemed almost as though the sky were padded with heavy clouds of which the elasticity muffled the sound of the electric bursts. hitherto, the sea had been calm, almost stagnant as a pond. now, however, long undulations took place, which the sailors recognized, all too well, as being the rebound produced by a distant tempest. a ship, in such a case, would have been instantly brought ahull, but no maneuvering could be applied to our raft, which could only drift before the blast. at one o'clock in the morning one vivid flash, followed, after the interval of a few seconds, by a loud report of thunder, announced that the storm was rapidly approaching. suddenly the horizon was enveloped in a vaporous fog, and seemed to contract until it was close around us. at the same instant the voice of one of the sailors was heard shouting: "a squall! a squall!" chapter xxxv two sailors washed overboard december 21, night.--the boatswain rushed to the halliards that supported the sail, and instantly lowered the yard; not a moment too soon, for with the speed of an arrow the squall was upon us, and if it had not been for the sailor's timely warning we must all have been knocked down and probably precipitated into the sea; as it was, our tent on the back of the raft was carried away. the raft itself, however, being so nearly level with the water, had little peril to encounter from the actual wind; but from the mighty waves now raised by the hurricane we had everything to dread. at first the waves had been crushed and flattened as it were by the pressure of the air, but now, as though strengthened by the reaction, they rose with the utmost fury. the raft followed the motions of the increasing swell, and was tossed up and down, to and fro, and from side to side with the most violent oscillations. "lash yourselves tight," cried the boatswain, as he threw us some ropes; and in a few moments with curtis's assistance, m. letourneur, and andre, falsten and myself were fastened so firmly to the raft, that nothing but its total disruption could carry us away. miss herbey was bound by a rope passed round her waist to one of the uprights that had supported our tent, and by the glare of the lightning i could see that her countenance was as serene and composed as ever. then the storm began to rage indeed. flash followed flash, peal followed peal in quick succession. our eyes were blinded, our ears deafened, with the roar and glare. the clouds above, the ocean beneath, seemed verily to have taken fire, and several times i saw forked lightnings dart upward from the crest of the waves, and mingle with those that radiated from the fiery vault above. a strong odor of sulphur pervaded the air, but though thunderbolts fell thick around us, not one touched our raft. by two o'clock the storm had reached its height. the hurricane had increased, and the heavy waves, heated to a strange heat by the general temperature, dashed over us until we were drenched to the skin. curtis, dowlas, the boatswain, and the sailors did what they could to strengthen the raft with additional ropes. m. letourneur placed himself in front of andre, to shelter him from the waves. miss herbey stood upright and motionless as a statue. soon dense masses of lurid clouds came rolling up, and a crackling, like the rattle of musketry, resounded through the air. this was produced by a series of electrical concussions, in which volleys of hailstones were discharged from the cloud-batteries above. in fact, as the storm-sheet came in contact with a current of cold air, hail was formed with great rapidity, and hailstones, large as nuts, came pelting down, making the platform of the raft re-echo with a metallic ring. for about half an hour the meteoric shower continued to descend, and during that time the wind slightly abated in violence; but after having shifted from quarter to quarter, it once more blew with all its former fury. the shrouds were broken, but happily the mast, already bending almost double, was removed by the men from its socket before it should be snapped short off.. one gust caught away the tiller, which went adrift beyond all power of recovery, and the same blast blew down several of the planks that formed the low parapet on the larboard side, so that the waves dashed in without hindrance through the breach. the carpenter and his mates tried to repair the damage, but, tossed from wave to wave, the raft was inclined to an angle of more than forty-five degrees, making it impossible for them to keep their footing, and rolling one over another, they were thrown down by the violent shocks. why they were not altogether carried away, why we were not all hurled into the sea, was to me a mystery. even if the cords that bound us should retain their hold, it seemed perfectly incredible that the raft itself should not be overturned, so that we should be carried down and stifled in the seething waters. at last, toward three in the morning, when the hurricane seemed to be raging more fiercely than ever, the raft, caught up on the crest of an enormous wave, stood literally perpendicularly on its edge. for an instant, by the illumination of the lightning, we beheld ourselves raised to an incomprehensible height above the foaming breakers. cries of terror escaped our lips. all must be over now! but no; another moment, and the raft had resumed its horizontal position. safe, indeed, we were, but the tremendous upheaval was not without its melancholy consequences. the cords that secured the cases of provisions had burst asunder. one case rolled overboard, and the side of one of the water-barrels was staved in, so that the water which it contained was rapidly escaping. two of the sailors rushed forward to rescue the case of preserved meat; but one of them caught his foot between the planks of the platform, and, unable to disengage it, the poor fellow stood uttering cries of distress. i tried to go to his assistance, and had already untied the cord that was around me; but i was too late. another heavy sea dashed over us, and by the light of a dazzling flash i saw the unhappy man, although he had managed without assistance to disengage his foot, washed overboard before it was in my power to get near him. his companion had also disappeared. the same ponderous wave laid me prostrate on the platform, and as my head came in collision with the corner of a spar, for a time i lost all consciousness. chapter xxxvi we lose nearly all our provisions december 22.--daylight came at length, and the sun broke through and dispersed the clouds that the storm had left behind. the struggle of the elements, while it lasted, had been terrific, but the swoon into which i was thrown by my fall prevented me from observing the final incidents of the visitation. all that i know is, that shortly after we had shipped the heavy sea, that i have mentioned, a shower of rain had the effect of calming the severity of the hurricane, and tended to diminish the electric tension of the atmosphere. thanks to the kind care of m. letourneur and miss herbey, i recovered consciousness, but i believe that it is to robert curtis that i owe my real deliverance, for he it was that prevented me from being carried away by a second heavy wave. the tempest, fierce as it was, did not last more than a few hours; but even in that short space of time what an irreparable loss we have sustained, and what a load of misery seems stored up for us in the future! of the two sailors who perished in the storm, one was austin, a fine active young man of about eight-and-twenty; the other was old o'ready, the survivor of so many shipwrecks. our party is thus reduced to sixteen souls, leaving a total barely exceeding half the number of those who embarked on board the chancellor at charleston. curtis's first care had been to take a strict account of the remnant of our provisions. of all the torrents of rain that fell in the night we were unhappily unable to catch a single drop; but water will not fail us yet, for about fourteen gallons still remain in the bottom of the broken barrel, while the second barrel has not been touched. but of food we have next to nothing. the cases containing the dried meat, and the fish that we had preserved, have both been washed away, and all that now remains to us is about sixty pounds of biscuit. sixty pounds of biscuit between sixteen persons! eight days, with half a pound a day apiece, will consume it all. the day has passed away in silence. a general depression has fallen upon all; the specter of famine has appeared among us, and each has remained wrapped in his own gloomy meditations, though each has doubtless but one idea dominant in his mind. once, as i passed near the group of sailors lying on the fore part of the raft, i heard flaypole say with a sneer: "those who are going to die had better make haste about it." "yes," said owen, "and leave their share of food to others." at the regular hour each person received his half-pound of biscuit. some, i noticed, swallowed it ravenously; others reserved it for another time. falsten divided his ration into several portions, corresponding, i believe, to the number of meals to which he was ordinarily accustomed. what prudence he shows! if any one survives this misery, i think it will be he. chapter xxxvii lieutenant walter's condition december 23 to 30.--after the storm the wind settled back into its old quarter, blowing pretty briskly from the northeast. as the breeze was all in our favor it was important to make the most of it, and after dowlas had carefully readjusted the mast, the sail was once more hoisted, and we were carried along at the rate of two or two and a half knots an hour. a new rudder, formed of a spar and a good-sized plank, has been fitted in the place of the one we lost, but with the wind in its present quarter it is in little requisition. the platform of the raft has been repaired, the disjointed planks have been closed by means of ropes and wedges, and that portion of the parapet that was washed away has been replaced, so that we are no longer wetted by the waves. in fact, nothing has been left undone to insure the solidity of our raft, and to render it capable of resisting the wear and tear of the wind and waves. but the dangers of wind and waves are not those which we have most to dread. together with the unclouded sky came a return of the tropical heat, which during the preceding days had caused us such serious inconvenience; fortunately on the 23d the excessive warmth was somewhat tempered by the breeze, and as the tent was once again put up, we were able to find shelter under it by turns. but the want of food was beginning to tell upon us sadly, and our sunken cheeks and wasted forms were visible tokens of what we were enduring. with most of us hunger seemed to attack the entire nervous system, and the constriction of the stomach produced an acute sensation of pain. a narcotic, such as opium or tobacco, might have availed to soothe, if not to cure, the gnawing agony; but of sedatives we had none, so the pain must be endured. one alone there was among us who did not feel the pangs of hunger. lieutenant walter seemed as it were to feed upon the fever that raged within him; but then he was the victim of the most torturing thirst. miss herbey, besides reserving for him a portion of her own insufficient allowance, obtained from the captain a small extra supply of water with which every quarter of an hour she moistened the parched lips of the young man, who, almost too weak to speak, could only express his thanks by a grateful smile. poor fellow! all our care cannot avail to save him now; he is doomed, most surely doomed to die. on the 23d he seemed to be conscious of his condition, for he made a sign to me to sit down by his side, and then summoning up all his strength to speak, he asked me in a few broken words how long i thought he had to live? slight as my hesitation was, walter noticed it immediately. "the truth," he said; "tell me the plain truth." "my dear fellow, i am not a doctor, you know," i began, "and i can scarcely judge--" "never mind," he interrupted, "tell me just what you think." i looked at him attentively for some moments, then laid my ear against his chest. in the last few days his malady had made fearfully rapid strides, and it was only too evident that one lung had already ceased to act, while the other was scarcely capable of performing the work of respiration. the young man was now suffering from the fever which is the sure symptom of the approaching end in all tuberculous complaints. the lieutenant kept his eye fixed upon me with a look of eager inquiry. i knew not what to say, and sought to evade his question. "my dear boy," i said, "in our present circumstances not one of us can tell how long he has to live. not one of us knows what may happen in the course of the next eight days." "the next eight days," he murmured, as he looked eagerly into my face. and then, turning away his head, he seemed to fall into a sort of doze. the 24th, 25th, and 26th passed without any alteration in our circumstances, and strange, nay, incredible as it may sound, we began to get accustomed to our condition of starvation. often, when reading the histories of shipwrecks, i have suspected the accounts to be greatly exaggerated; but now i fully realize their truth, and marvel when i find on how little nutriment it is possible to exist for so long a time. to our daily half-pound of biscuit the captain has thought to add a few drops of brandy, and the stimulant helps considerably to sustain our strength. if we had the same provisions for two months, or even for one, there might be room for hope; but our supplies diminish rapidly, and the time is fast approaching when of food and drink there will be none. the sea had furnished us with food once, and, difficult as the task of fishing had now become, at all hazards the attempt must be made again. accordingly the carpenter and the boatswain set to work and made lines out of some untwisted hemp, to which they fixed some nails that they pulled out of the flooring of the raft, and bent into proper shape. the boatswain regarded his device with evident satisfaction. "i don't mean to say," said he to me, "that these nails are first-rate fish-hooks; but, one thing i do know, and that is, with proper bait they will act as well as the best. but this biscuit is no good at all. let me but just get hold of one fish, and i shall know fast enough how to use it to catch some more." and the true difficulty was how to catch the first fish. it was evident that fish were not abundant in these waters, nevertheless the lines were cast. but the biscuit with which they were baited dissolved at once in the water, and we did not get a single bite. for two days the attempt was made in vain, and as it only involved what seemed a lavish waste of our only means of subsistence, it was given up in despair. to-day, the 30th, as a last resource, the boatswain tried what a piece of colored rag might do by way of attracting some voracious fish, and having obtained from miss herbey a little piece of the red shawl she wears, he fastened it to his hook. but still no success; for when, after several hours, he examined his lines, the crimson shred was still hanging intact as he had fixed it. the man was quite discouraged at his failure. "but there will be plenty of bait before long," he said to me in a solemn undertone. "what do you mean?" said i, struck by his significant manner. "you'll know soon enough," he answered. what did he insinuate? the words, coming from a man usually so reserved, have haunted me all night. chapter xxxviii mutiny again january 1 to 5.--more than three months had elapsed since we left charleston in the chancellor, and for no less than twenty days had we now been borne along on our raft at the mercy of the wind and waves. whether we were approaching the american coast, or whether we were drifting farther and farther to sea, it was now impossible to determine, for, in addition to the other disasters caused by the hurricane, the captain's instruments had been hopelessly smashed, and curtis had no longer any compass by which to direct his course, nor a sextant by which he might make an observation. desperate, however, as our condition might be judged, hope did not entirely abandon our hearts, and day after day, hour after hour were our eyes strained toward the far horizon, and many and many a time did our imagination shape out the distant land. but ever and again the illusion vanished; a cloud, a mist, perhaps even a wave, was all that had deceived us; no land, no sail ever broke the gray line that united sea and sky, and our raft remained the center of the wide and dreary waste. on the 1st of january, we swallowed our last morsel of biscuit. the first of january! new year's day! what a rush of sorrowful recollections overwhelmed our minds! had we not always associated the opening of another year with new hopes, new plans, and coming joys? and now, where were we? could we dare to look at one another, and breathe a new year's greeting? the boatswain approached me with a peculiar look on his countenance. "you are surely not going to wish me a happy new year?" i said. "no indeed, sir," he replied, "i was only going to wish you well through the first day of it; and that is pretty good assurance on my part, for we have not another crumb to eat." true as it was, we scarcely realized the fact of there being actually nothing until on the following morning the hour came round for the distribution of the scanty ration, and then, indeed, the truth was forced upon us in a new and startling light. toward evening i was seized with violent pains in the stomach, accompanied by a constant desire to yawn and gape that was most distressing; but in a couple of hours the extreme agony passed away, and on the 3d i was surprised to find that i did not suffer more. i felt, it is true, that there was some great void within myself, but the sensation was quite as much moral as physical. my head was so heavy that i could not hold it up; it was swimming with giddiness, as though i were looking over a precipice. my symptoms were not shared by all my companions, some of whom endured the most frightful tortures. dowlas and the boatswain especially, who were naturally large eaters, uttered involuntary cries of agony, and were obliged to gird themselves tightly with ropes to subdue the excruciating pain that was gnawing their very vitals. and this was only the second day of our misery! what would we not have given for half, nay, for a quarter of the meager ration which a few days back we deemed so inadequate to supply our wants, and which now, eked out crumb by crumb, might, perhaps, serve for several days? in the streets of a besieged city, dire as the distress may be, some gutter, some rubbish-heap, some corner may yet be found that will furnish a dry bone or a scrap of refuse that may for a moment allay the pangs of hunger; but these bare planks, so many times washed clean by the relentless waves, offer nothing to our eager search, and after every fragment of food that the wind has carried into the interstices has been scraped out and devoured, our resources are literally at an end. the nights seem even longer than the days. sleep, when it comes, brings no relief; it is rather a feverish stupor, broken and disturbed by frightful nightmares. last night, however, overcome by fatigue, i managed to rest for several hours. at six o'clock this morning i was roused by the sound of angry voices, and, starting up, i saw owen and jynxstrop, with flaypole, wilson, burke, and sandon, standing in a threatening attitude. they had taken possession of the carpenter's tools, and now, armed with hatchets, chisels, and hammers, they were preparing to attack the captain, the boatswain, and dowlas. i attached myself in a moment to curtis's party. falsten followed my example, and although our knives were the only weapons at our disposal, we were ready to defend ourselves to the very last extremity. owen and his men advanced toward us. the miserable wretches were all drunk, for during the night they had knocked a hole in the brandy-barrel, and had recklessly swallowed its contents. what they wanted they scarcely seemed to know, but owen and jynxstrop, not quite so much intoxicated as the rest, seemed to be urging them on to massacre the captain and the officers. "down with the captain! overboard with curtis! owen shall take the command!" they shouted from time to time in their drunken fury; and, armed as they were, they appeared completely masters of the situation. "now, then, down with your arms!" said curtis sternly, as he advanced to meet them. "overboard with the captain!" howled owen, as by word and gesture he urged on his accomplices. curtis pushed aside the excited rascals, and, walking straight up to owen, asked him what he wanted. "what do we want? why, we want no more captains; we are all equals now." poor stupid fool! as though misery and privation had not already reduced us all to the same level. "owen," said the captain once again, "down with your arms!" "come on, all of you," shouted owen to his companions, without giving the slightest heed to curtis's words. a regular struggle ensued. owen and wilson attacked curtis, who defended himself with a piece of spar; burke and flaypole rushed upon falsten and the boatswain, while i was left to confront the negro jynxstrop, who attempted to strike me with the hammer which he brandished in his hand. i endeavored to paralyze his movements by pinioning his arms, but the rascal was my superior in muscular strength. after wrestling for a few minutes, i felt that he was getting the mastery over me, when all of a sudden he rolled over on to the platform, dragging me with him. andre letourneur had caught hold of one of his legs, and thus saved my life. jynxstrop dropped his weapon in his fall; i seized it instantly, and was about to cleave the fellow's skull, when i was myself arrested by andre's hand upon my arm. by this time the mutineers had been driven back to the forepart of the raft, and curtis, who had managed to parry the blows which had been aimed at him, had caught hold of a hatchet, with which he was preparing to strike owen. but owen made a sidelong movement to avoid the blow, and the weapon caught wilson full in the chest. the unfortunate man rolled over the side of the raft and instantly disappeared. "save him! save him!" shouted the boatswain. "it's too late; he's dead!" said dowlas. "ah, well! he'll do for--" began the boatswain; but he did not finish his sentence. wilson's death, however, put an end to the fray. flaypole and burke were lying prostrate in a drunken stupor, and jynxstrop was soon overpowered, and lashed tightly to the foot of the mast. the carpenter and boatswain seized hold of owen. "now then," said curtis, as he raised his blood-stained hatchet, "make your peace with god, for you have not a moment to live." "oh, you want to eat me, do you?" sneered owen, with the most hardened effrontery. but the audacious reply saved his life; curtis turned as pale as death, the hatchet dropped from his hand, and he went and seated himself moodily on the farthest corner of the raft. chapter xxxix a father's love january 5 and 6.--the whole scene made a deep impression on our minds, and owen's speech coming as a sort of climax, brought before us our misery with a force that was well-nigh overwhelming. as soon as i recovered my composure, i did not forget to thank andre letourneur for the act of intervention that had saved my life. "do you thank me for that, mr. kazallon?" he said; "it has only served to prolong your misery." "never mind, m. letourneur," said miss herbey; "you did your duty." enfeebled and emaciated as the young girl is, her sense of duty never deserts her; and although her torn and bedraggled garments float dejectedly about her body, she never utters a word of complaint, and never loses courage. "mr. kazallon," she said to me, "do you think we are fated to die of hunger?" "yes, miss herbey, i do," i replied, in a hard, cold tone. "how long do you suppose we have to live?" she asked again. "i cannot say; perhaps we shall linger on longer than we imagine." "the strongest constitutions suffer the most, do they not?" she said. "yes; but they have one consolation--they die the soonest," i replied, coldly. had every spark of humanity died out of my breast, that i thus brought the girl face to face with the terrible truth, without a word of hope or comfort? the eyes of andre and his father, dilated with hunger, were fixed upon me, and i saw reproach and astonishment written in their faces. afterward, when we were quite alone, miss herbey asked me if i would grant her a favor. "certainly, miss herbey; anything you like to ask," i replied; and this time my manner was kinder and more genial. "mr. kazallon," she said, "i am weaker than you, and shall probably die first. promise me that, if i do, you will throw me into the sea!" "oh, miss herbey," i began, "it was very wrong of me to speak to you as i did!" "no, no," she replied, half smiling; "you were quite right. but it is a weakness of mine; i don't mind what they do with me as long as i am alive, but when i am dead--" she stopped and shuddered. "oh, promise me that you will throw me into the sea!" i gave her the melancholy promise, which she acknowledged by pressing my hand feebly with her emaciated fingers. another night passed away. at times my sufferings were so intense that cries of agony involuntarily escaped my lips; then i became calmer, and sank into a kind of lethargy. when i awoke, i was surprised to find my companions still alive. the one of our party who seems to bear his privations the best is hobart the steward, a man with whom hitherto i have had very little to do. he is small, with a fawning expression remarkable for its indecision, and has a smile which is incessantly playing round his lips; he goes about with his eyes half closed, as though he wished to conceal his thoughts, and there is something altogether false and hypocritical about his whole demeanor. i cannot say that he bears his privations without a murmur, for he sighs and moans incessantly; but, with it all, i cannot but think that there is a want of genuineness in his manner, and that the privation has not really told upon him as much as it has upon the rest of us. i have my suspicions about the man, and intend to watch him carefully. to-day, the 6th, m. letourneur drew me aside to the stern of the raft, saying he had a secret to communicate, but that he wished neither to be seen nor heard speaking to me. i withdrew with him to the larboard corner of the raft, and, as it was growing dusk, nobody observed what we were doing. "mr. kazallon," m. letourneur began, in a low voice, "andre is dying of hunger; he is growing weaker and weaker, and oh! i cannot, will not, see him die!" he spoke passionately, almost fiercely, and i fully understood his feelings. taking his hand, i tried to reassure him. "we will not despair yet," i said; "perhaps some passing ship--" "ship!" he cried, impatiently, "don't try to console me with empty commonplaces; you know as well as i do that there is no chance of falling in with a passing ship." then, breaking off suddenly, he asked: "how long is it since my son and all of you have had anything to eat?" astonished at his question, i replied that it was now four days since the biscuit had failed. "four days," he repeated; "well, then, it is eight since i have tasted anything. i have been saving my share for my son." tears rushed to my eyes; for a few moments i was unable to speak, and could only once more grasp his hand in silence. "what do you want me to do?" i asked, at length. "hush! not so loud; someone will hear us," he said, lowering his voice; "i want you to offer it to andre as though it came from yourself. he would not accept it from me; he would think i had been depriving myself for him. let me implore you to do me this service; and for your trouble,"--and here he gently stroked my hand--"for your trouble you shall have a morsel for yourself." i trembled like a child as i listened to the poor father's words; and my heart was ready to burst when i felt a tiny piece of biscuit slipped into my hand. "give it him," m. letourneur went on under his breath, "give it him; but do not let anyone see you; the monsters would murder you if they knew it! this is only for to-day; i will give you some more to-morrow." the poor fellow did not trust me--and well he might not--for i had the greatest difficulty to withstand the temptation to carry the biscuit to my mouth. but i resisted the impulse, and those alone who have suffered like me can know what the effort was. night came on with the rapidity peculiar to these low latitudes, and i glided gently up to andre, and slipped the piece of biscuit into his hand as "a present from myself." the young man clutched at it eagerly. "but my father?" he said, inquiringly. i assured him that his father and i had each had our share, and that he must eat this now, and perhaps i should be able to bring him some more another time. andre asked no more questions, and eagerly devoured the morsel of food. so this evening at least, notwithstanding m. letourneur's offer, i have tasted nothing. chapter xl death of lieutenant walter january 7.--during the last few days, since the wind has freshened, the salt water constantly dashing over the raft has terribly punished the feet and legs of some of the sailors. owen, whom the boatswain ever since the revolt has kept bound to the mast, is in a deplorable state, and, at our request, has been released from his restraint. sandon and burke are also suffering from the severe smarting caused in this way, and it is only owing to our more sheltered position on the aft-part of the raft, that we have not all shared the same inconvenience. to-day the boatswain, maddened by starvation, laid hands upon everything that met his voracious eyes, and i could hear the grating of his teeth as he gnawed at fragments of sails and bits of wood, instinctively endeavoring to fill his stomach by putting the mucus into circulation. at length, by dint of an eager search, he came upon a piece of leather hanging to one of the spars that supported the platform. he snatched it off and devoured it greedily; and, as it was animal matter, it really seemed as though the absorption of the substance afforded him some temporary relief. instantly we all followed his example; a leather hat, the rims of caps, in short, anything that contained any animal matter at all, were gnawed and sucked with the utmost avidity. never shall i forget the scene. we were no longer human--the impulses and instincts of brute beasts seemed to actuate our every movement. for a moment the pangs of hunger were somewhat allayed; but some of us revolted against the loathsome food, and were seized either with violent nausea or absolute sickness. i must be pardoned for giving these distressing details; but how otherwise can i depict the misery, moral and physical, which we are enduring? and with it all, i dare not venture to hope that we have reached the climax of our sufferings. the conduct of hobart, during the scene that i have just described, has only served to confirm my previous suspicions of him. he took no part in the almost fiendish energy with which we gnawed at our scraps of leather; and, although by his conduct of perpetual groanings, he might be considered to be dying of inanition, yet to me he has the appearance of being singularly exempt from the tortures which we are all enduring. but whether the hypocrite is being sustained by some secret store of food, i have been unable to discover. whenever the breeze drops the heat is overpowering; but although our allowance of water is very meager, at present the pangs of hunger far exceed the pain of thirst. it has often been remarked that extreme thirst is far less endurable than extreme hunger. is it possible that still greater agonies are in store for us? i cannot, dare not, believe it. fortunately, the broken barrel still contains a few pints of water, and the other one has not yet been opened. but i am glad to say that notwithstanding our diminished numbers, and in spite of some opposition, the captain has thought right to reduce the daily allowance to half a pint for each person. as for the brandy, of which there is only a quart now left, it has been stowed away safely in the stern of the raft. this evening has ended the sufferings of another of our companions, making our number now only fourteen. my attentions and miss herbey's nursing could do nothing for lieutenant walter, and about half-past seven he expired in my arms. before he died, in a few broken words, he thanked miss herbey and myself for the kindness we had shown him. a crumpled letter fell from his hand, and in a voice that was scarcely audible from weakness, he said: "it is my mother's letter; the last i had from her--she was expecting me home; but she will never see me more. oh, put it to my lips--let me kiss it before i die. mother! mother! oh, my god!" i placed the letter in his cold hand, and raised it to his lips; his eye lighted for a moment; we heard the faint sound of a kiss; and all was over! chapter xli human flesh for bait january 8.--all night i remained by the side of the poor fellow's corpse, and several times miss herbey joined me in my mournful watch. before daylight dawned, the body was quite cold, and as i knew there must be no delay in throwing it overboard, i asked curtis to assist me in the sad office. the body was frightfully emaciated, and i had every hope that it would not float. as soon as it was quite light, taking every precaution that no one should see what we were about, curtis and i proceeded to our melancholy task. we took a few articles from the lieutenant's pockets, which we purposed, if either of us should survive, to remit to his mother. but as we wrapped him in his tattered garments that would have to suffice for his winding sheet, i started back with a thrill of horror. the right foot had gone, leaving the leg a bleeding stump. no doubt that, overcome by fatigue, i must have fallen asleep for an interval during the night, and some one had taken advantage of my slumber to mutilate the corpse. but who could have been guilty of so foul a deed? curtis looked around with anger flashing in his eye; but all seemed as usual, and the silence was only broken by a few groans of agony. but there was no time to be lost; perhaps we were already observed, and more horrible scenes might be likely to occur. curtis said a few short prayers, and we cast the body into the sea. it sank immediately. "they are feeding the sharks well, and no mistake," said a voice behind me. i turned round quickly, and found that it was jynxstrop who had spoken. as the boatswain now approached, i asked him whether he thought it possible that any of the wretched men could have taken the dead man's foot. "oh, yes, i dare say," he replied in a significant tone, "and perhaps they thought they were right." "right! what do you mean?" i exclaimed. "well, sir," he said coldly, "isn't it better to eat a dead man than a living one?" i was at a loss to comprehend him, and, turning away, laid myself down at the end of the raft. toward eleven o'clock a most suspicious incident occurred. the boatswain, who had cast his lines early in the morning, caught three large cod, each more than thirty inches long, of the species which, when dried, is known by the name of stock-fish. scarcely had he hauled them on board when the sailors made a dash at them, and it was with the utmost difficulty that curtis, falsten and myself could restore order, so that we might divide the fish into equal portions. three cod were not much among fourteen starving persons, but, small as the quantity was, it was allotted in strictly equal shares. most of us devoured the food raw, almost i might say, alive; only curtis, andre, and miss herbey having the patience to wait until their allowance had been boiled at a fire which they made with a few scraps of wood. for myself, i confess that i swallowed my portion of fish as it was--raw and bleeding. m. letourneur followed my example; the poor man devoured his food like a famished wolf, and it is only a wonder to me how, after his lengthened fast, he came to be alive at all. the boatswain's delight at his success was excessive, and amounted almost to delirium. i went up to him, and encouraged him to repeat his attempt. "oh, yes," he said; "i'll try again. i'll try again." "and why not try at once?" i asked. "not now," he said evasively; "the night is the best time for catching large fish. besides, i must manage to get some bait, for we have been improvident enough not to save a single scrap." "but you have succeeded once without bait; why may you not succeed again?" "oh, i had some very good bait last night," he said. i stared at him in amazement. he steadily returned my gaze, but said nothing. "have you none left?" at last i asked. "yes!" he almost whispered, and left me without another word. our meal, meager as it had been, served to rally our shattered energies; our hopes were slightly raised; there was no reason why the boatswain should not have the same good luck again. one evidence of the degree to which our spirits were revived was that our minds were no longer fixed upon the miserable present and hopeless future, but we began to recall and discuss the past; and m. letourneur, andre, mr. falsten and i, held a long conversation with the captain about the various incidents of our eventful voyage, speaking of our lost companions, of the fire, or the stranding of the ship, of our sojourn on ham rock, of the springing of the leak, of our terrible voyage in the top-masts, of the construction of the raft, and of the storm. all these things seemed to have happened so long ago, and yet we were living still. living, did i say? ay, if such an existence as ours could be called a life, fourteen of us were living still. who would be the next to go? we should then be thirteen. "an unlucky number!" said andre, with a mournful smile. during the night the boatswain cast his lines from the stern of the raft, and, unwilling to trust them to anyone else, remained watching them himself. in the morning i went to ascertain what success had attended his patience. it was scarcely light, and with eager eyes he was peering down into the water. he had neither seen nor heard me coming. "well, boatswain!" i said, touching him on the shoulder. he turned round quickly. "those villainous sharks have eaten every morsel of my bait," he said, in a desponding voice. "and you have no more left?" i asked. "no more," he said. then grasping my arm, he added, "and that only shows me that it is no good doing things by halves." the truth flashed upon me at once, and i laid my hand upon his mouth. poor walter! chapter xlii oxide of copper poisoning january 9 and 10.--on the 9th the wind dropped, and there was a dead calm; not a ripple disturbed the surface of the long undulations as they rose and fell beneath us; and if it were not for the slight current which is carrying us we know not whither, the raft would be absolutely stationary. the heat was intolerable; our thirst more intolerable still; and now it was that for the first time i fully realized how the insufficiency of drink could cause torture more unendurable than the pangs of hunger. mouth, throat, pharynx, all alike were parched and dry, every gland becoming hard as horn under the action of the hot air we breathed. at my urgent solicitation, the captain was for once induced to double our allowance of water; and this relaxation of the ordinary rule enabled us to attempt to slake our thirst four times in the day, instead of only twice. i use the word "attempt" advisedly; for the water at the bottom of the barrel though kept covered by a sail, became so warm that it was perfectly flat and unrefreshing. it was a most trying day, and the sailors relapsed into a condition of deep despondency. the moon was nearly full, but when she rose the breeze did not return. continuance of high temperature in daytime is a sure proof that we have been carried far to the south, and here, on this illimitable ocean, we have long ceased even to look for land; it might almost seem as though this globe of ours had veritably become a liquid sphere! to-day we are still becalmed, and the temperature is as high as ever. the air is heated like a furnace, and the sun scorches like fire. the torments of famine are all forgotten; our thoughts are concentrated with fevered expectation upon the longed-for moment when curtis shall dole out the scanty measure of lukewarm water that makes up our ration. oh for one good draught, even if it should exhaust the whole supply! at least, it seems as if we then could die in peace! about noon we were startled by sharp cries of agony, and looking round, i saw owen writhing in the most horrible convulsions. i went toward him, for, detestable as his conduct had been, common humanity prompted me to see whether i could afford him any relief. but before i reached him, a shout from flaypole arrested my attention. the man was up in the mast, and with great excitement pointing to the east. "a ship! a ship!" he cried. in an instant all were on their feet. even owen stopped his cries and stood erect. it was quite true that in the direction indicated by flaypole there was a white speck visible upon the horizon. but did it move? would the sailors with their keen vision pronounce it to be a sail? a silence the most profound fell upon us all. i glanced at curtis as he stood with folded arms intently gazing at the distant point. his brow was furrowed, and he contracted every feature, as with half-closed eyes he concentrated his power of vision upon that one faint spot in the far off horizon. but at length he dropped his arms and shook his head. i looked again, but the spot was no longer there. if it were a ship, that ship had disappeared; but probably it had been a mere reflection, or, more likely still, only the crest of some curling wave. a deep dejection followed this phantom ray of hope. all returned to their accustomed places. curtis alone remained motionless, but his eye no longer scanned the distant view. owen now began to shriek more wildly than ever. he presented truly a most melancholy sight; he writhed with the most hideous contortions, and had all the appearance of suffering from tetanus. his throat was contracted by repeated spasms, his tongue was parched, his body swollen, and his pulse, though feeble, was rapid and irregular. the poor wretch's symptoms were precisely such as to lead us to suspect that he had taken some corrosive poison. of course it was quite out of our power to administer any antidote; all that we could devise was to make him swallow something that might act as an emetic. i asked curtis for a little of the lukewarm water. as the contents of the broken barrel were now exhausted, the captain, in order to comply with my request, was about to tap the other barrel, when owen started suddenly to his knees, and with a wild, unearthly shriek, exclaimed: "no! no! no! of that water i will not touch a drop." i supposed he did not understand what we were going to do, and endeavored to explain; but all in vain; he persisted in refusing to taste the water in the second barrel. i then tried to induce vomiting by tickling his uvula, and he brought off some bluish secretion from his stomach, the character of which confirmed our previous suspicions--that he had been poisoned by oxide of copper. we now felt convinced that any effort on our part to save him would be of no avail. the vomiting, however, had for the time relieved him, and he was able to speak. curtis and i both implored him to let us know what he had taken to bring about consequences so serious. his reply fell upon us as a startling blow. the ill-fated wretch had stolen several pints of water from the barrel that had been untouched, and that water had poisoned him! chapter xliii owen's death january 11 to 14.--owen's convulsions returned with increased violence, and in the course of the night he expired in terrible agony. his body was thrown overboard almost directly, it had decomposed so rapidly that the flesh had not even consistency enough for any fragments of it to be reserved for the boatswain to use to bait his lines. a plague the man had been to us in his life; in his death he was now of no service! and now, perhaps still more than ever, did the horror of our situation stare us in the face. there was no doubt that the poisoned barrel had at some time or other contained copperas; but what strange fatality had converted it into a water cask, or what fatality, stranger still, had caused it to be brought on board the raft, was a problem that none could solve. little, however, did it matter now; the fact was evident--the barrel was poisoned, and of water we had not a drop. one and all, we fell into the gloomiest silence. we were too irritable to bear the sound of each other's voices; and it did not require a word--a mere look or gesture was enough--to provoke us to anger that was little short of madness. how it was that we did not all become raving maniacs, i cannot tell. throughout the 12th no drain of moisture crossed our lips, and not a cloud arose to warrant the expectation of a passing shower; in the shade, if shade it might be called, the thermometer would have registered at least 100 deg., and perhaps considerably more. no change next day. the salt water began to chafe my legs, but although the smarting was at times severe, it was an inconvenience to which i gave little heed; others who had suffered from the same trouble had become no worse. oh! if this water that surrounds us could be reduced to vapor or to ice! its particles of salt extracted, it would be available for drink. but no! we have no appliances, and we must suffer on. at the risk of being devoured by the sharks, the boatswain and two sailors took a morning bath, and as their plunge seemed to freshen them, i and three of my companions resolved to follow their example. we had never learned to swim, and had to be fastened to the end of a rope and lowered into the water, while curtis, during the half hour of our bath, kept a sharp lookout to give warning of any danger from approaching sharks. no recommendation, however, on our part, nor any representation of the benefit we felt we had derived, could induce miss herbey to allay her sufferings in the same way. at about eleven o'clock, the captain came up to me, and whispered in my ear: "don't say a word, mr. kazallon; i do not want to raise false hopes, but i think i see a ship." it was as well that the captain had warned me; otherwise, i should have raised an involuntary shout of joy; as it was i had the greatest difficulty in restraining my expressions of delight. "look behind to larboard," he continued in an undertone. affecting an indifference which i was far from feeling, i cast an anxious glance to that quarter of the horizon of which he spoke, and there, although mine was not a nautical eye, i could plainly distinguish the outline of a ship under sail. almost at the same moment the boatswain who happened to be looking in the same direction, raised the cry, "ship ahoy!" whether it was that no one believed it, or whether all energies were exhausted, certain it is that the announcement produced none of the effects that might have been expected. not a soul exhibited the slightest emotion, and it was only when the boatswain had several times sung out his tidings that all eyes turned to the horizon. there, most undeniably, was the ship, but the question rose at once to the minds of all, and to the lips of many, "would she see us?" the sailors immediately began discussing the build of the vessel, and made all sorts of conjectures as to the direction she was taking. curtis was far more deliberate in his judgment. after examining her attentively for some time, he said, "she is a brig running close upon the wind, on the starboard tack. if she keeps her course for a couple of hours, she will come right athwart our tracks." a couple of hours! the words sounded to our ears like a couple of centuries. the ship might change her course at any moment; closely trimmed as she was, it was very probable that she was only tacking about to catch the wind, in which case, as soon as she felt a breeze, she would resume her larboard tack and make away again. on the other hand, if she was really sailing with the wind, she would come nearer to us, and there would be good ground for hope. meantime, no exertion must be spared, and no means left untried, to make our position known. the brig was about twelve miles to the east of us, so that it was out of the question to think of any cries of ours being overheard; but curtis gave directions that every possible signal should be made. we had no firearms by which we could attract attention, and nothing else occurred to us beyond hoisting a flag of distress. miss herbey's red shawl, as being of a color most distinguishable against the background of sea and sky, was run up to the mast-head, and was caught by the light breeze that just then was ruffling the surface of the water. as a drowning man clutches at a straw, so our hearts bounded with hope every time that our poor flag fluttered in the wind. for an hour our feelings alternated between hope and despair. the ship was evidently making her way in the direction of the raft, but every now and then she seemed to stop, and then our hearts would almost stand still with agony lest she was going to put about. she carried all her canvas, even to her royals and stay-sails, but her hull was only partially visible above the horizon. how slowly she advanced! the breeze was very, very feeble, and perhaps soon it would drop altogether! we felt that we would give years of our life to know the result of the coming hour. at half past twelve the captain and the boatswain considered that the brig was about nine miles away; she had, therefore, gained only three miles in an hour and a half, and it was doubtful whether the light breeze that had been passing over our heads had reached her at all. i fancied, too, that her sails were no longer filled, but were hanging loose against her masts. turning to the direction of the wind, i tried to make out some chance of a rising breeze; but no, the waves were calm and torpid, and the little puff of air that had aroused our hopes had died away across the sea. i stood aft with m. letourneur, andre and miss herbey, and our glances perpetually wandered from the distant ship to our captain's face. curtis stood leaning against the mast, with the boatswain by his side; their eyes seemed never for a moment to cease to watch the brig, but their countenances clearly expressed the varying emotions that passed through their minds. not a word was uttered, nor was the silence broken, until the carpenter exclaimed, in accents of despair: "she's putting about!" all started up--some to their knees, others to their feet. the boatswain dropped a frightful oath. the ship was still nine miles away, and at such a distance it was impossible for our signal to be seen; our tiny raft, a mere speck upon the waters, would be lost in the intense irradiation of the sunbeams. if only we could be seen, no doubt all would be well; no captain would have the barbarous inhumanity to leave us to our fate; but there had been no chance; only too well we knew that we had not been within range of sight. "my friends," said curtis, "we must make a fire; it is our last and only chance." some planks were quickly loosened and thrown into a heap upon the fore part of the raft. they were damp and troublesome to light; but the very dampness made the smoke more dense, and ere long a tall column of dusky fumes was rising straight upward in the air. if darkness should come on before the brig was completely out of view, the flames, we hoped might still be visible. but the hours passed on; the fire died out; and yet no signs of help. the temper of resignation now deserted me entirely; faith, hope, confidence--all vanished from my mind, and, like the boatswain, i swore long and loudly. a gentle hand was laid upon my arm, and turning round i saw miss herbey with her finger pointing to the sky. i could stand it no longer, but gliding underneath the tent i hid my face in my hands and wept aloud. meanwhile the brig had altered her track, and was moving slowly to the east. three hours later and the keenest eye could not have discerned her top-sails above the horizon. chapter xliv the depths of despair january 15.--after this further shattering of our excited hopes, death alone now stares us in the face; slow and lingering as that death may be, sooner or later it must inevitably come. to-day some clouds that rose in the west have brought us a few puffs of wind; and in spite of our prostration, we appreciate the moderation, slight as it is, in the temperature. to my parched throat the air seemed a little less trying; but it is now seven days since the boatswain took his haul of fish, and during that period we had eaten nothing; even andre letourneur finished yesterday, the last morsel of the biscuit which his sorrowful and self-denying father had intrusted to my charge. jynxstrop, the negro, has broken loose from his confinement, but curtis has taken no measures for putting him again under restraint. it is not to be apprehended that the miserable fellow and his accomplices, weakened as they are by their protracted fast, will attempt to do us any mischief now. some huge sharks made their appearance to-day, cleaving the water rapidly with their great black fins. the monsters came up close to the edge of the raft, and flaypole, who was leaning over, narrowly escaped having his arm snapped off by one of them. i could not help regarding them as living sepulchers, which ere long might swallow up our miserable carcasses; yet, withal, i profess that my feelings were those of fascination rather than horror. the boatswain, who stood with clenched teeth and dilated eye, regarded these sharks from quite another point of view. he thought about devouring the sharks, not about the sharks devouring him; and if he could succeed in catching one, i doubt if one of us would reject the tough and untempting flesh. he determined to make the attempt, and as he had no whirl which he could fasten to his rope he set to work to find something that might serve as a substitute. curtis and dowlas were consulted, and after a short conversation, during which they kept throwing bits of rope and spars into the water in order to entice the sharks to remain by the raft, dowlas went and fetched his carpenter's tool, which is at once a hatchet and a hammer. of this he proposed to make the whirl of which they were in need, under the hope that either the sharp edge of the adze or the pointed extremity opposite would stick firmly into the jaws of any shark that might swallow it. the wooden handle of the hammer was secured to the rope, which, in its turn was tightly fastened to the raft. with eager, almost breathless, excitement we stood watching the preparations, at the same time using every means in our power to attract the attention of the sharks. as soon as the whirl was ready the boatswain began to think about bait, and, talking rapidly to himself, ransacked every corner of the raft, as though he expected to find some dead body coming opportunely to sight. but his search ended in nothing; and the only plan that suggested itself was again to have recourse to miss herbey's red shawl, of which a fragment was wrapped around the head of the hammer. after testing the strength of his line, and reassuring himself that it was fastened firmly both to the hammer and to the raft, the boatswain lowered it into the water. the sea was quite transparent, and any object was clearly visible to a depth of two hundred feet below the surface. leaning over the low parapet of the raft we looked on in breathless silence, as the scarlet rag, distinct as it was against the blue mass of water, made its slow descent. but one by one the sharks seemed to disappear. they could not, however, have gone far away, and it was not likely that anything in the shape of bait dropped near them would long escape their keen voracity. suddenly, without speaking, the boatswain raised his hand and pointed to a dark mass skimming along the surface of the water, and making straight in our direction. it was a shark, certainly not less than twelve feet long. as soon as the creature was about four fathoms from the raft, the boatswain gently drew in his line until the whirl was in such a position that the shark must cross right over it; at the same time he shook the line a little, that he might give the whirl the appearance, if he could, of being something alive and moving. as the creature came near, my heart beat violently; i could see its eyes flashing above the waves; and its gaping jaws, as it turned half over on its back, exhibited long rows of pointed teeth. i know not who it was, but some one at that moment uttered an involuntary cry of horror. the shark came to a standstill, turned about, and escaped quite out of sight. the boatswain was pale with anger. "the first man who speaks," he said, "i will kill him on the spot." again he applied himself to his task. the whirl was again lowered, this time to the depth of twenty fathoms, but for half an hour or more not a shark could be distinguished; but as the waters far below seemed somehow to be troubled i could not help believing that some of the brutes at least were still there. all at once, with a violent jerk, the cord was wrested from the boatswain's hands; firmly attached, however, as it was to the raft, it was not lost. the bait had been seized by a shark, and the iron had made good its hold upon the creature's flesh. "now, then, my lads," cried the boatswain, "haul away!" passengers and sailors, one and all, put forth what strength they had to drag the rope, but so violent were the creature's struggles that it required all our efforts (and it is needless to say they were willing enough) to bring it to the surface. at length, after exertions that almost exhausted us, the water became agitated by the violent flappings of the tail and fins; and looking down i saw the huge carcass of the shark writhing convulsively amid waves that were stained with blood. "steady! steady!" said the boatswain, as the head appeared above the whirl had passed right through the jaw into the middle of the throat, so that no struggle on the part of the animal could possibly release it. dowlas seized the hatchet, ready to dispatch the brute the moment it should be landed on the raft. a short sharp snap was heard. the shark had closed its jaws, and bitten through the wooden handle of the hammer. another moment and it had turned round and was completely gone. a howl of despair burst from all our lips. all the labor and the patience, all had been in vain. dowlas made a few more unsuccessful attempts, but as the whirl was lost, and they had no means of replacing it, there was no further room for hope. they did, indeed, lower some cords twisted into running knots, but (as might have been expected) these only slipped over, without holding, the slimy bodies of the sharks. as a last resource the boatswain allowed his naked leg to hang over the side of the raft; the monsters, however, were proof even against this attraction. reduced once again to a gloomy despondency, all turned to their places, to await the end that can not now be long deferred. just as i moved away i heard the boatswain say to curtis: "captain, when shall we draw lots?" the captain made no reply. chapter xlv our thirst relieved january 16.--if the crew of any passing vessel had caught sight of us as we lay still and inanimate upon our sail-cloth, they would scarcely, at first sight, have hesitated to pronounce us dead. my sufferings were terrible; tongue, lips, and throat were so parched and swollen that if food had been at hand i question whether i could have swallowed it. so exasperated were the feelings of us all, however, that we glanced at each other with looks as savage as though we were about to slaughter and without delay eat up one another. the heat was aggravated by the atmosphere being somewhat stormy. heavy vapors gathered on the horizon, and there was a look as if it were raining all around. longing eyes and gasping mouths turned involuntarily toward the clouds, and m. letourneur, on bended knee, was raising his hands, as it might be in supplication to the relentless skies. it was eleven o'clock in the morning. i listened for distant rumblings which might announce an approaching storm, but although the vapors had obstructed the sun's rays, they no longer presented the appearance of being charged with electricity. thus our prognostications ended in disappointment; the clouds, which in the early morning had been marked by the distinctness of their outline, had melted one into another and assumed an uniform dull gray tint; in fact, we were enveloped in an ordinary fog. but was it not still possible that this fog might turn to rain? happily this hope was destined to be realized; for in a very short time, dowlas, with a shout of delight, declared that rain was actually coming; and sure enough, not half a mile from the raft, the dark parallel streaks against the sky testified that there at least rain was falling. i fancied i could see the drops rebounding from the surface of the water. the wind was fresh and bringing the cloud right on toward us, yet we could not suppress our trepidation lest it should exhaust itself before it reached us. but no; very soon large heavy drops began to fall, and the storm-cloud, passing over our heads, was outpouring its contents upon us. the shower, however, was very transient; already a bright streak of light along the horizon marked the limit of the cloud and warned us that we must be quick to make the most of what it had to give us. curtis had placed the broken barrel in the position that was most exposed, and every sail was spread out to the fullest extent our dimensions would allow. we all laid ourselves down flat upon our backs and kept our mouths wide open. the rain splashed into my face, wetted my lips, and trickled down my throat. never can i describe the ecstasy with which i imbibed that renovating moisture. the parched and swollen glands relaxed, i breathed afresh, and my whole being seemed revived with a strange and requickened life. the rain lasted about twenty minutes, when the cloud, only half exhausted, passed quite away from over us. we grasped each other's hands as we rose from the platform on which we had been lying, and mutual congratulations, mingled with gratitude, poured forth from our long silent lips. hope, however evanescent it might be, for the moment had returned, and we yielded to the expectation that, ere long, other and more abundant clouds might come and replenish our store. the next consideration was how to preserve and economize what little had been collected by the barrel, or imbibed by the outspread sails. it was found that only a few pints of rain-water had fallen into the barrel; to this small quantity the sailors were about to add what they could by wringing out the saturated sails, when curtis made them desist from their intention. "stop, stop!" he said "we must wait a moment; we must see whether this water from the sails is drinkable." i looked at him in amazement. why should not this be as drinkable as the other? he squeezed a few drops out of one of the folds of a sail into a tin pot, and put it to his lips. to my surprise, he rejected it immediately, and upon tasting it for myself i found it not merely brackish, but briny as the sea itself. the fact was that the canvas had been so long exposed to the action of the waves, that it had become thoroughly impregnated by salt, which of course was taken up again by the water that fell upon it. disappointed we were; but with several pints of water in our possession, we were not only contented for the present, but sanguine in our prospect for the future. chapter xlvi my fast is broken january 17.--as a natural consequence of the alleviation of our thirst, the pangs of hunger returned more violently than ever. although we had no bait, and even if we had we could not use it for want of a whirl, we could not help asking whether no possible means could be devised for securing one out of the many sharks that were still perpetually swarming about the raft. armed with knives, like the indians in the pearl fisheries, was it not practicable to attack the monsters in their own element? curtis expressed his willingness personally to make the attempt, but so numerous were the sharks that we would not for one moment hear of his risking his life in a venture of which the danger was as great as the success was doubtful. by plunging into the sea, or by gnawing at a piece of metal, we could always, or at least often, do something that cheated us into believing that we were mitigating the pains of thirst; but with hunger it was different. the prospect, too, of rain seemed hopeful, while for getting food there appeared no chance; and, as we knew that nothing could compensate for the lack of nutritive matter, we were soon all cast down again. shocking to confess, it would be untrue to deny that we surveyed each other with the eye of an eager longing; and i need hardly explain to what a degree of savageness the one idea that haunted us had reduced our feelings. ever since the storm-cloud brought us the too transient shower the sky has been tolerably clear, and although at that time the wind had slightly freshened, it has since dropped, and the sail hangs idly against our mast. except for the trifling relief it brings by modifying the temperature, we care little now for any breeze. ignorant as we are as to what quarter of the atlantic we have been carried by the currents, it matters very little to us from what direction the wind may blow if only it would bring, in rain or dew, the moisture of which we are so dreadfully in need. my brain is haunted by most horrible nightmares; not that i suppose i am in anyway more distressed than my companions, who are lying in their usual places, vainly endeavoring to forget their sufferings in sleep. after a time i fell into a restless, dreamy doze. i was neither asleep nor awake. how long i remained in that state of stupor i could hardly say, but at length a strange sensation brought me to myself. was i dreaming, or was there not really some unaccustomed odor floating in the air? my nostrils became distended, and i could scarcely suppress a cry of astonishment; but some instinct kept me quiet, and i laid myself down again with the puzzled sensation sometimes experienced when we have forgotten a word or name. only a few minutes, however, had elapsed before another still more savory puff induced me to take several long inhalations. suddenly, the truth seemed to flash across my mind. "surely," i muttered to myself, "this must be cooked meat that i can smell." again and again i sniffed, and became more convinced than ever that my senses were not deceiving me. but from what part of the raft could the smell proceed? i rose to my knees, and having satisfied myself that the odor came from the front, i crept stealthily as a cat under the sails and between the spars in that direction. following the promptings of my scent, rather than my vision, like a bloodhound in track of his prey. i searched everywhere i could, now finding, now losing, the smell according to my change of position, or the dropping of the wind. at length i got the true scent, once for all, so that i could go straight to the object for which i was in search. approaching the starboard angle of the raft, i came to the conclusion that the smell that had thus keenly excited my cravings was the smell of smoked bacon; the membranes of my tongue almost bristled with the intenseness of my longing. crawling along a little farther, under a thick roll of sail-cloth, i was not long in securing my prize. forcing my arm below the roll, i felt my hand in contact with something wrapped up in paper. i clutched it up, and carried it off to a place where i could examine it by the help of the light of the moon that had now made its appearance above the horizon. i almost shrieked for joy. it was a piece of bacon. true, it did not weigh many ounces, but small as it was it would suffice to alleviate the pangs of hunger for one day at least. i was just on the point of raising it to my mouth, when a hand was laid upon my arm. it was only by a most determined effort that i kept myself from screaming out. one instant more, and i found myself face to face with hobart. in a moment i understood all. plainly this rascal hobart had saved some provisions from the wreck, upon which he had been subsisting ever since. the steward had provided for himself, while all around him were dying of starvation. detestable wretch! this accounts for the inconsistency of his well-to-do looks and his pitiable groans. vile hypocrite! yet why, it struck me, should i complain? was not i reaping the benefit of that secret store that he, for himself, had saved? but hobart had no idea of allowing me the peaceable possession of what he held to be his own. he made a dash at the fragment of bacon, and seemed determined to wrest it from my grasp. we struggled with each other, but although our wrestling was very violent, it was very noiseless. we were both of us aware that it was absolutely necessary that not one of those on board should know anything at all about the prize for which we were contending. nor was my own determination lessened by hearing him groan out that it was his last, his only morsel. "his!" i thought; "it shall be mine now!" and still careful that no noise of commotion should arise, i threw him on his back, and grasping his throat so that he gurgled again, i held him down until, in rapid mouthfuls, i had swallowed the last scrap of the food for which we had fought so hard. i released my prisoner, and quietly crept back to my own quarters. and not a soul is aware that i have broken my fast! chapter xlvii hobart hangs himself january 18.--after this excitement i awaited the approach of day with a strange anxiety. my conscience told me that hobart had the right to denounce me in the presence of all my fellow-passengers; yet my alarm was vain. the idea of my proceedings being exposed by him was quite absurd; in a moment he would himself be murdered without pity by the crew, if it should be revealed that, unknown to them, he had been living on some private store which, by clandestine cunning, he had reserved. but, in spite of my anxiety, i had a longing for day to come. the bit of food that i had thus stolen was very small; but small as it was it had alleviated my hunger; and i was now tortured with remorse, because i had not shared the meager morsel with my fellow-sufferers. miss herbey, andre, his father, all had been forgotten, and from the bottom of my heart i repented of my cruel selfishness. meantime the moon rose high in the heavens, and the first streaks of dawn appeared. there is no twilight in these low latitudes, and the full daylight came well nigh at once. i had not closed my eyes since my encounter with the steward, and ever since the first blush of day i had labored under the impression that i could see some unusual dark mass half way up the mast. but although it again and again caught my eye, it hardly roused my curiosity, and i did not rise from the bundle of sails on which i was lying to ascertain what it really was. but no sooner did the rays of the sun fall upon it than i saw at once that it was the body of a man, attached to a rope, and swinging to and fro with the motion of the raft. a horrible presentiment carried me to the foot of the mast, and, just as i had guessed, hobart had hanged himself. i could not for a moment doubt that it was i myself that had impelled him to the suicide. a cry of horror had scarcely escaped my lips, when my fellow-passengers were at my side, and the rope was cut. then came the sailors. and what was it that made the group gather so eagerly around the body? was it a humane desire to see whether any sparks of life remained? no, indeed; the corpse was cold, and the limbs were rigid; there was no chance that animation should be restored. what then was it that kept them lingering so close around? it was only too apparent what they were about to do. but i did not, could not, look. i refused to take part in the horrible repast that was proposed. neither would miss herbey, andre, nor his father, consent to alleviate their pangs of hunger by such revolting means. i know nothing for certain as to what curtis did, and i did not venture to inquire; but of the others,--falsten, dowlas, the boatswain, and all the rest,--i know that, to assuage their cravings, they consented to reduce themselves to the level of beasts of prey; they were transformed from human beings into ravenous brutes. the four of us who sickened at the idea of partaking of the horrid meal withdrew to the seclusion of our tent; it was bad enough to hear, without witnessing the appalling operation. but, in truth, i had the greatest difficulty in the world in preventing andre from rushing out upon the cannibals, and snatching the odious food from their clutches. i represented to him the hopelessness of his attempt, and tried to reconcile him by telling him that if they liked the food they had a right to it. hobart had not been murdered; he had died by his own hand; and, after all, as the boatswain had once remarked to me, "it was better to eat a dead man than a live one." do what i would, however, i could not quiet andre's feeling of abhorrence; in his disgust and loathing he seemed for the time to have quite forgotten his own sufferings. meanwhile, there was no concealing the truth that we were ourselves dying of starvation, while our eight companions would probably, by their loathsome diet, escape that frightful destiny. owing to his secret hoard of provisions hobart had been by far the strongest among us; he had been supported, so that no organic disease had affected his tissues, and really might be said to be in good health when his chagrin drove him to his desperate suicide. but what was i thinking of! whither were my meditations carrying me away? was it not coming to pass that the cannibals were rousing my envy instead of exciting my horror? very shortly after this i heard dowlas talking about the possibility of obtaining salt by evaporating seawater in the sun; "and then," he added, "we can salt down the rest." the boatswain assented to what the carpenter had said, and probably the suggestion was adopted. silence, the most profound, now reigns upon the raft. i presume that nearly all have gone to sleep. one thing i do know, that they are no longer hungry. chapter xlviii hobart's body stolen january 19.--all through the day the sky remained unclouded and the heat intense; and night came on without bringing much sensible moderation in the temperature. i was unable to get any sleep, and, toward morning, was disturbed by hearing an angry clamor going on outside the tent; it aroused m. letourneur, andre, and miss herbey, as much as myself, and we were anxious to ascertain the cause of the tumult. the boatswain, dowlas, and all the sailors were storming at each other in frightful rage; and curtis, who had come forward from the stern, was endeavoring to pacify them. "but who has done it? we must know who has done it," said dowlas, scowling with vindictive passion on the group around him. "there's a thief," howled out the boatswain, "and he shall be found! let's know who has taken it." "i haven't taken it!" "nor i! nor i!" cried the sailors one after another. and then they set to work again to ransack every quarter of the raft; they rolled every spar aside, they overturned everything on board, and only grew more and more incensed with anger as their search proved fruitless. "can you tell us," said the boatswain, coming up to me, "who is the thief?" "thief!" i replied. "i don't know what you mean." and while we were speaking the others all came up together, and told me that they had looked everywhere else, and that they were going now to search the tent. "shame!" i said. "you ought to allow those whom you know to be dying of hunger at least to die in peace. there is not one of us who has left the tent all night. why suspect us?" "now just look here, mr. kazallon," said the boatswain, in a voice which he was endeavoring to calm down into moderation, "we are not accusing you of anything; we know well enough you, and all the rest of you, had a right to your shares as much as anybody; but that isn't it. it's all gone somewhere, every bit." "yes," said sandon gruffly; "it's all gone somewheres, and we are going to search the tent." resistance was useless, and miss herbey, m. letourneur, and andre were all turned out. i confess i was very fearful. i had a strong suspicion that for the sake of his son, for whom he was ready to venture anything, m. letourneur had committed the theft; in that case i knew that nothing would have prevented the infuriated men from tearing the devoted father to pieces. i beckoned to curtis for protection, and he came and stood beside me. he said nothing, but waited with his hands in his pockets, and i think i am not mistaken in my belief that there was some sort of a weapon in each. to my great relief the search was ineffectual. there was no doubt that the carcass of the suicide had been thrown overboard, and the rage of the disappointed cannibals knew no bounds. yet who had ventured to do the deed? i looked at m. letourneur and miss herbey; but their countenances at once betrayed their ignorance. andre turned his face away, and his eyes did not meet my own. probably it is he; but, if it be, i wonder whether he has reckoned up the consequences of so rash an act. chapter xlix the negro becomes insane january 20 to 22.--for the day or two after the horrible repast of the 18th those who had partaken of it appeared to suffer comparatively little either from hunger or thirst; but for the four of us who had tasted nothing, the agony of suffering grew more and more intense. it was enough to make us repine over the loss of the provision that had so mysteriously gone; and if any one of us should die, i doubt whether the survivors would a second time resist the temptation to assuage their pangs by tasting human flesh. before long, all the cravings of hunger began to return to the sailors, and i could see their eyes greedily glancing upon us, starved as they knew us to be, as though they were reckoning our hours, and already were preparing to consume us as their prey. as is always the case with shipwrecked men, we were tormented by thirst far more than by hunger; and if, in the height of our sufferings, we had been offered our choice between a few drops of water and a few crumbs of biscuit, i do not doubt that we should, without exception, have preferred to take the water. and what a mockery to our condition did it seem that all this while there was water, water, nothing but water, everywhere around us! again and again, incapable of comprehending how powerless it was to relieve me, i put a few drops within my lips, but only with the invariable result of bringing on a most trying nausea, and rendering my thirst more unendurable than before. forty-two days had passed since we quitted the sinking chancellor. there could be no hope now; all of us must die, and by the most deplorable of deaths. i was quite conscious that a mist was gathering over my brain; i felt my senses sinking into a condition of torpor; i made an effort, but all in vain, to master the delirium that i was aware was taking possession of my reason. it is out of my power to decide for how long i lost my consciousness; but when i came to myself i found that miss herbey had folded some wet bandages around my forehead. i am somewhat better; but i am weakened, mind and body, and i am conscious that i have not long to live. a frightful fatality occurred to-day. the scene was terrible. jynxstrop the negro went raving mad. curtis and several of the men tried their utmost to control him, but in spite of everything he broke loose, and tore up and down the raft, uttering fearful yells. he had gained possession of a handspike, and rushed upon us all with the ferocity of an infuriated tiger; how we contrived to escape mischief from his attacks, i know not. all at once, by one of those unaccountable impulses of madness, his rage turned against himself. with his teeth and nails he gnawed and tore away at his own flesh; dashing the blood into our faces, he shrieked out with a demoniacal grin, "drink, drink!" and flinging us gory morsels, kept saying "eat, eat!" in the midst of his insane shrieks he made a sudden pause, then dashing back again from the stern to the front, he made a bound and disappeared beneath the waves. falsten, dowlas, and the boatswain, made a rush that at least they might secure the body; but it was too late; all that they could see was a crimson circle in the water, and some huge sharks disporting themselves around the spot. chapter l all hope gone january 23.--only eleven of us now remain; and the probability is very great that every day must now carry off at least its one victim, and perhaps more. the end of the tragedy is rapidly approaching, and save for the chance, which is next to an impossibility, of our sighting land, or being picked up by a passing vessel, ere another week has elapsed not a single survivor of the chancellor will remain. the wind freshened considerably in the night, and it is now blowing pretty briskly from the northeast. it has filled our sail, and the white foam in our wake is an indication that we are making some progress. the captain reckons that we must be advancing at the rate of about three miles an hour. curtis and falsten are certainly in the best condition among us, and in spite of their extreme emaciation they bear up wonderfully under the protracted hardships we have all endured. words cannot describe the melancholy state to which poor miss herbey bodily is reduced; her whole being seems absorbed into her soul, but that soul is brave and resolute as ever, living in heaven rather than on earth. the boatswain, strong, energetic man that he was, has shrunk into a mere shadow of his former self, and i doubt whether anyone would recognize him to be the same man. he keeps perpetually to one corner of the raft, his head dropped upon his chest, and his long, bony hands lying upon knees that project sharply from his worn-out trowsers. unlike miss herbey, his spirit seems to have sunk into apathy, and it is at times difficult to believe that he is living at all, so motionless and statue-like does he sit. silence continues to reign upon the raft. not a sound, not even a groan, escapes our lips. we do not exchange ten words in the course of the day, and the few syllables that our parched tongues and swollen lips can pronounce are almost unintelligible. wasted and bloodless, we are no longer human beings; we are specters. chapter li flaypole becomes delirious january 24.--i have inquired more than once of curtis if he has the faintest idea to what quarter of the atlantic we have drifted, and each time he has been unable to give me a decided answer, though from his general observation of the direction of the wind and currents he imagines that we have been carried westward, that is to say, toward the land. to-day the breeze has dropped entirely, but the heavy swell is still upon the sea, and is an unquestionable sign that a tempest has been raging at no great distance. the raft labors hard against the waves, and curtis, falsten, and the boatswain, employ the little energy that remains to them in strengthening the joints. why do they give themselves such trouble? why not let the few frail planks part asunder, and allow the ocean to terminate our miserable existence? certain it seems that our sufferings must have reached their utmost limit, and nothing could exceed the torture that we are enduring. the sky pours down upon us a heat like that of molten lead, and the sweat that saturates the tattered clothes that hang about our bodies goes far to aggravate the agonies of our thirst. no words of mine can describe this dire distress; these sufferings are beyond human estimate. even bathing, the only means of refreshment that we possessed, has now become impossible, for ever since jynxstrop's death the sharks have hung about the raft in shoals. to-day i tried to gain a few drops of fresh water by evaporation, but even with the exercise of the greatest patience, it was with the utmost difficulty that i obtained enough to moisten a little scrap of linen; and the only kettle that we had was so old and battered, that it would not bear the fire, so that i was obliged to give up the attempt in despair. falsten is now almost exhausted, and if he survives us at all, it can only be for a few days. whenever i raised my head i always failed to see him, but he was probably lying sheltered somewhere beneath the sails. curtis was the only man who remained on his feet, but with indomitable pluck he continued to stand on the front of the raft, waiting, watching, hoping. to look at him, with his unflagging energy, almost tempted me to imagine that he did well to hope, but i dared not entertain one sanguine thought, and there i lay, waiting, nay, longing for death. how many hours passed away thus i cannot tell, but after a time a loud peal of laughter burst upon my ear. someone else, then, was going mad, i thought; but the idea did not rouse me in the least. the laughter was repeated with greater vehemence, but i never raised my head. presently i caught a few incoherent words. "fields, fields, gardens and trees! look, there's an inn under the trees! quick, quick! brandy, gin, water! a guinea a drop! i'll pay for it! i've lots of money! lots! lots!" poor deluded wretch! i thought again; the wealth of a nation could not buy a drop of water here. there was silence for a minute, when all of a sudden i heard the shout of "land! land!" the words acted upon me like an electric shock, and, with a frantic effort, i started to my feet. no land, indeed, was visible, but flaypole, laughing, singing, and gesticulating, was raging up and down the raft. sight, taste, and hearing--all were gone; but the cerebral derangement supplied their place, and in imagination the maniac was conversing with absent friends, inviting them into the george inn at cardiff, offering them gin, whiskey, and, above all, water! stumbling at every step, and singing in a cracked, discordant voice, he staggered about among us like an intoxicated man. with the loss of his senses all his sufferings had vanished, and his thirst was appeased. it was hard not to wish to be a partaker of his hallucination. dowlas, falsten, and the boatswain, seemed to think that the unfortunate wretch would, like jynxstrop, put an end to himself by leaping into the sea; but, determined this time to preserve the body, that it might serve a better purpose than merely feeding the sharks, they rose and followed the madman everywhere he went, keeping a strict eye upon his every movement. but the matter did not end as they expected. as though he were really intoxicated by the stimulants of which he had been raving, flaypole at last sank down in a heap in a corner of the raft, where he lay lost in a heavy slumber. chapter lii i decide to commit suicide january 25.--last night was very misty, and for some unaccountable reason, one of the hottest that can be imagined. the atmosphere was really so stifling, that it seemed as if it only required a spark to set it alight. the raft was not only quite stationary, but did not even rise and fall with any motion of the waves. during the night i tried to count how many there were now on board, but i was utterly unable to collect my ideas sufficiently to make the enumeration. sometimes i counted ten, sometimes twelve, and although i knew that eleven, since jynxstrop was dead, was the correct number, i could never bring my reckoning right. of one thing i felt quite sure, and that was that the number would very soon be ten. i was convinced that i could myself last but very little longer. all the events and associations of my life passed rapidly through my brain. my country, my friends, and my family all appeared as it were in a vision, and seemed as though they had come to bid me a last farewell. toward morning i woke from my sleep, if the languid stupor into which i had fallen was worthy of that name. one fixed idea had taken possession of my brain--i would put an end to myself; and i felt a sort of pleasure as i gloated over the power that i had to terminate my sufferings. i told curtis, with the utmost composure, of my intention, and he received the intelligence as calmly as it was delivered. "of course you will do as you please," he said; "for my own part, i shall not abandon my post. it is my duty to remain here; and unless death comes to carry me away, i shall stay where i am to the very last." the dull gray fog still hung heavily over the ocean, but the sun was evidently shining above the mist, and would, in course of time, dispel the vapor. toward seven o'clock i fancied i heard the cries of birds above my head. the sound was repeated three times, and as i went up to the captain to ask him about it, i heard him mutter to himself: "birds! why, that looks as if land were not far off." but although curtis might still cling to the hope of reaching land, i knew not what it was to have one sanguine thought. for me there was neither continent nor island; the world was one fluid sphere, uniform, monotonous, as in the most primitive period of its formation. nevertheless it must be owned that it was with a certain amount of impatience that i awaited the rising of the mist, for i was anxious to shake off the phantom fallacies that curtis's words had suggested to my mind. not till eleven o'clock did the fog begin to break, and as it rolled in heavy folds along the surface of the water, i could every now and then catch glimpses of a clear blue sky beyond. fierce sunbeams pierced the cloud-rifts, scorching and burning our bodies like red-hot iron; but it was only above our heads that there was any sunlight to condense the vapor; the horizon was still quite invisible. there was no wind, and for half an hour longer the fog hung heavily round the raft, while curtis, leaning against the side, strove to penetrate the obscurity. at length the sun burst forth in full power, and, sweeping the surface of the ocean, dispelled the fog and left the horizon open to our eyes. there, exactly as we had seen it for the last six weeks, was the circle that bounded sea and sky--unbroken, definite, distinct as ever! curtis gazed with intensest scrutiny, but did not speak a word. i pitied him sincerely, for he alone of us all felt that he had not the right to put an end to his misery. for myself, i had fully determined that if i lived till the following day, i would die by my own hand. whether my companions were still alive, i hardly cared to know; it seemed as though days had passed since i had seen them. night drew on, but i could not sleep for a moment. toward two o'clock in the morning my thirst was so intense that i was unable to suppress loud cries of agony. was there nothing that would serve to quench the fire that was burning within me? what if, instead of drinking the blood of others, i were to drink my own? it would be all unavailing, i was well aware; but scarcely had the thought crossed my mind, than i proceeded to put it into execution. i unclasped my knife, and, stripping my arm, with a steady thrust i opened a small vein. the blood oozed out slowly, drop by drop, and as i eagerly swallowed the source of my very life, i felt that for a moment my torments were relieved. but only for a moment; all energy had failed my pulses, and almost immediately the blood had ceased to flow. how long it seemed before the morning dawned! and when that morning came it brought another fog, heavy as before, that again shut out the horizon. the fog was hot as the burning steam that issues from a boiler. it was to be my last day upon earth, and i felt that i should like to press the hand of a friend before i died. curtis was standing near, and crawling up to him, i took his hand in my own. he seemed to know that i was taking my farewell, and with one last lingering hope he endeavored to restrain me. but all in vain; my mind was finally made up. i should have liked to speak once again to m. letourneur, andre, and miss herbey, but my courage failed me. i knew that the young girl would read my resolution in my eyes, and that she would speak to me of duty, and of god, and of eternity, and i dared not meet her gaze; and i would not run the risk of being persuaded to wait until a lingering death should overtake me. i returned to the back of the raft, and after making several efforts, i managed to get on to my feet. i cast one long look at the pitiless ocean and the unbroken horizon; if a sail or the outline of a coast had broken on my view, i believe that i should only have deemed myself the victim of an illusion; but nothing of the kind appeared, and the sea was dreary as a desert. it was ten o'clock in the morning. the pangs of hunger and the torments of thirst were racking me with redoubled vigor. all instinct of self-preservation had left me, and i felt that the hour had come when i must cease to suffer. just as i was on the point of casting myself headlong into the sea, a voice, which i recognized as dowlas's, broke upon my ear. "captain," he said, "we are going to draw lots." involuntarily i paused; i did not take my plunge, but returned to my place upon the raft. chapter liii we decide to draw lots january 26.--all heard and understood the proposition; in fact it had been in contemplation for several days, but no one had ventured to put the idea into words. however, it was done now; lots were to be drawn, and to each would be assigned his share of the body of the one ordained by fate to be the victim. for my own part, i profess that i was quite resigned for the lot to fall upon myself. i thought i heard andre letourneur beg for an exception to be made in favor of miss herbey; but the sailors raised a murmur of dissent. as there were eleven of us on board, there were ten chances to one in each one's favor--a proportion which would be diminished if miss herbey were excluded; so that the young lady was forced to take her chance among the rest. it was then half-past ten, and the boatswain, who had been roused from his lethargy by what the carpenter had said, insisted that the drawing should take place immediately. there was no reason for delaying the fatal lottery. there was not one of us that clung in the least to life; and we knew that, at the worst, whoever should be doomed to die, would only precede the rest by a few days, or even hours. all that we desired was just once to slake our raging thirst and moderate our gnawing hunger. how all the names found their way to the bottom of a hat i cannot tell. very likely falsten wrote them upon a leaf torn from his memorandum-book. but be that as it may, the eleven names were there, and it was unanimously agreed that the last name drawn should be the victim. but who would draw the names? there was hesitation for a moment; then "i will," said a voice behind me. turning round, i beheld m. letourneur standing with outstretched hand, and with his long white hair falling over his thin livid face that was almost sublime in its calmness. i divined at once the reason of this voluntary offer; i knew that it was the father's devotion in self-sacrifice that led him to undertake the office. "as soon as you please," said the boatswain. m. letourneur proceeded to draw out the folded strips of paper, one by one, and, after reading out loud the name upon it, handed it to its owner. the first name called was that of burke, who uttered a cry of delight; then followed flaypole and the boatswain. what his name really was i never could exactly learn. then came falsten, curtis, sandon. more than half had now been called, and my name had not yet been drawn. i calculated my remaining chance; it was still four to one in my favor. m. letourneur continued his painful task. since burke's first exclamation of joy not a sound had escaped our lips, but all were listening in breathless silence. the seventh name was miss herbey's, but the young girl heard it without a start. then came mine, yes, mine! and the ninth was was that of letourneur. "which one?" asked the boatswain. "andre," said m. letourneur. with one cry andre fell back senseless. only two names now remained in the hat--those of dowlas and m. letourneur himself. "go on!" almost roared the carpenter, surveying his partner in peril as though he could devour him. m. letourneur almost had a smile upon his lips, as he drew forth the last paper but one, and with a firm, unfaltering voice, marvelous for his age, unfolded it slowly, and read the name of dowlas. the carpenter gave a yell of relief as he heard the word. m. letourneur took the last bit of paper from the hat, and, without looking at it, tore it to pieces. but, unperceived by all but myself, one little fragment flew into a corner of the raft. i crawled toward it and picked it up. on one side of it was written andr--; the rest of the word was torn away. m. letourneur saw what i had done, and, rushing toward me, snatched the paper from my hands, and flung it into the sea. chapter liv miss herbey pleads for one day more january 26.--i understood it all; the devoted father having nothing more to give, had given his life for his son. m. letourneur was no longer a human being in the eyes of the famished creatures who were now yearning to see him sacrificed to their cravings. at the very sight of the victim thus provided, all the tortures of hunger returned with redoubled violence. with lips distended, and teeth displayed, they waited like a herd of carnivora until they could attack their prey with brutal voracity; it seemed almost doubtful whether they would not fall upon him while still alive. it seemed impossible that any appeal to their humanity could, at such a moment, have any weight; nevertheless, the appeal was made, and, incredible as it may seem, prevailed. just as the boatswain was about to act the part of butcher, and dowlas stood, hatchet in hand, ready to complete the barbarous work, miss herbey advanced, or rather crawled, toward them. "my friends," she pleaded, "will you not wait just one more day? if no land or ship is in sight to-morrow, then i suppose our poor companion must become your victim. but allow him one more day; in the name of mercy i entreat, i implore you." my heart bounded as she made her pitiful appeal. it seemed to me as though the noble girl had spoken with an inspiration on her lips, and i fancied that, perhaps, in supernatural vision she had viewed the coast or the ship of which she spoke; and one more day was not much to us who had already suffered so long, and endured so much. curtis and falsten agreed with me, and we all united to support miss herbey's merciful petition. the sailors did not utter a murmur, and the boatswain in a smothered voice said: "very well, we will wait till daybreak to-morrow," and threw down his hatchet. to-morrow, then, unless land or a sail appear, the horrible sacrifice will be accomplished. stifling their sufferings by a strenuous effort, all returned to their places. the sailors crouched beneath the sails, caring nothing about scanning the ocean. food was in store for them to-morrow, and that was enough for them. as soon as andre letourneur came to his senses, his first thought was for his father, and i saw him count the passengers on the raft. he looked puzzled; when he lost consciousness there had been only two names left in the hat, those of his father and the carpenter; and yet m. letourneur and dowlas were both there still. miss herbey went up to him and told him quietly that the drawing of the lots had not yet been finished. andre asked no further question, but took his father's hand. m. letourneur's countenance was calm and serene; he seemed to be conscious of nothing except that the life of his son was spared, and as the two sat conversing in an undertone at the back of the raft, their whole existence seemed bound up in each other. meantime, i could not disabuse my mind of the impression caused by miss herbey's intervention. something told me that help was near at hand, and that we were approaching the termination of our suspense and misery; the chimeras that were floating through my brain resolved themselves into realities, so that nothing appeared to me more certain than that either land or sail, be they miles away, would be discovered somewhere to leeward. i imparted my convictions to m. letourneur and his son. andre was as sanguine as myself; poor boy! he little thinks what a loss there is in store for him to-morrow. his father listened gravely to all we said, and whatever he might think in his own mind, he did not give us any discouragement; heaven, he said, he was sure would still spare the survivors of the chancellor, and then he lavished on his son caresses which he deemed to be his last. some time afterward, when i was alone with him, m. letourneur whispered in my ear: "mr. kazallon, i commend my boy to your care, and mark you, he must never know--" his voice was choked with tears, and he could not finish his sentence. but i was full of hope, and, without a moment's intermission, i kept my eyes fixed upon the unbroken horizon. curtis, miss herbey, falsten, and even the boatswain, were also eagerly scanning the broad expanse of the sea. night has come on; but i have still a profound conviction that through the darkness some ship will approach, and that at daybreak our raft will be observed. chapter lv fresh water january 27.--i did not close my eyes all night, and was keenly alive to the faintest sounds, and every ripple of the water, and every murmur of the waves, broke distinctly on my ear. one thing i noticed and accepted as a happy omen; not a single shark now lingered round the raft. the waning moon rose at a quarter to one, and through the feeble glimmer which she cast across the ocean, many and many a time i fancied i caught sight of the longed-for sail, lying only a few cables'-lengths away. but when morning came, the sun rose once again upon a desert ocean, and my hopes began to fade. neither ship nor shore had appeared, and as the shocking hour of execution drew near, my dreams of deliverance melted away; i shuddered in my very soul as i was brought face to face with the stern reality. i dared not look upon the victim, and whenever his eyes, so full of calmness and resignation, met my own, i turned away my head. i felt choked with horror, and my brain reeled as though i were intoxicated. it was now six o'clock, and all hope had vanished from my breast; my heart beat rapidly, and a cold sweat of agony broke out all over me. curtis and the boatswain stood by the mast attentively scanning the horizon. the boatswain's countenance was terrible to look upon; one could see that although he would not forestall the hour, he was determined not to wait a moment after it arrived. as for the captain, it was impossible to tell what really passed within his mind; his face was livid, and his whole existence seemed concentrated in the exercise of his power of vision. the sailors were crawling about the platform, with their eyes gleaming, like the wild beasts ready to pounce upon their devoted prey. i could no longer keep my place, and glided along to the front of the raft. the boatswain was still standing intent on his watch, but all of a sudden, in a voice that made me start, he shouted: "now then, time's up!" and followed by dowlas, burke, flaypole, and sandon, ran to the back of the raft. as dowlas seized the hatchet convulsively, miss herbey could not suppress a cry of terror. andre started to his feet. "what are you going to do to my father?" he asked in accents choked with emotion. "my boy," said m. letourneur, "the lot has fallen upon me, and i must die!" "never!" shrieked andre, throwing his arms about his father. "they shall kill me first. it was i who threw hobart's body into the sea, and it is i who ought to die!" but the words of the unhappy youth had no other effect than to increase the fury of the men who were so stanchly bent upon their bloody purpose. "come, come, no more fuss," said dowlas, as he tore the young man away from his father's embrace. andre fell upon his back, in which position two of the sailors held him down so tightly that he could not move, while burke and sandon carried off their victim to the front. all this had taken place much more rapidly than i have been able to describe it. i was transfixed with horror, and much as i wished to throw myself between m. letourneur and his executioners, i seemed to be rooted to the spot where i was standing. meantime the sailors had been taking off some of m. letourneur's clothes, and his neck and shoulders were already bare. "stop a moment!" he said in a tone in which was the ring of indomitable courage. "stop! i don't want to deprive you of your ration; but i suppose you will not require to eat the whole of me to-day." the sailors, taken back by his suggestion, stared at him with amazement. "there are ten of you," he went on. "my two arms will give you each a meal; cut them off for to-day, and to-morrow you shall have the rest of me." "agreed!" cried dowlas; and as m. letourneur held out his bare arms, quick as lightning the carpenter raised his hatchet. curtis and i could bear this scene no longer; while we were alive to prevent it, this butchery should not be permitted, and we rushed forward simultaneously to snatch the victim from his murderers. a furious struggle ensued, and in the midst of the melee, i was seized by one of the sailors, and hurled violently into the sea. closing my lips, i tried to die of suffocation in the water; but in spite of myself, my mouth opened, and a few drops trickled down my throat. merciful heaven! the water was fresh! chapter lvi near the coast of south america january 27 continued.--a change came over me as if by miracle. no longer had i any wish to die, and already curtis, who had heard my cries, was throwing me a rope. i seized it eagerly, and was hauled up on to the raft. "fresh water!" were the first words i uttered. "fresh water?" cried curtis; "why then, my friends, we are not far from land!" it was not too late: the blow had not been struck, and so the victim had not yet fallen. curtis and andre (who had regained his liberty) had fought with the cannibals, and it was just as they were yielding to over-powering numbers that my voice had made itself heard. the struggle came to an end. as soon as the words "fresh water" had escaped my lips, i leaned over the side of the raft and swallowed the life-giving liquid in greedy draughts. miss herbey was the first to follow my example, but soon curtis, falsten, and all the rest were on their knees and drinking eagerly. the rough sailors seemed as if by a magic touch transformed back from ravenous beasts to human beings, and i saw several of them raise their hands to heaven in silent gratitude. andre and his father were the last to drink. "but where are we?" i asked at length. "the land is there," said curtis, pointing toward the west. we all stared at the captain as though he were mocking us: no land was in sight, and the raft, just as ever, was the center of a watery waste. yet our senses had not deceived us; the water we had been drinking was perfectly fresh. "yes," repeated the captain, "land is certainly there, not more than twenty miles to leeward." "what land?" inquired the boatswain. "south america," answered curtis, "and near the amazon; no other river has a current strong enough to freshen the ocean twenty miles from shore!" chapter lvii land ahoy! january 27 continued.--curtis, no doubt, was right. the discharge from the mouth of the amazon is enormously large, but we had probably drifted into the only spot in the atlantic where we could find fresh water so far from land. yet land undoubtedly was there, and the breeze was carrying us onward slowly but surely to our deliverance. miss herbey's voice was heard pouring out fervent praise to heaven, and we were all glad to unite our thanksgivings with hers. then the whole of us (with the exception of andre and his father, who remained by themselves together at the stern) clustered in a group, and kept our expectant gaze upon the horizon. we had not long to wait. before an hour had passed, curtis leaped in ecstasy and raised the joyous shout of "land ahoy!" . . . . . my journal has come to a close. i have only to relate, as briefly as possible, the circumstances that finally brought us to our destination. a few hours after we first sighted land the raft was off cape magoari, on the island of marajo, and was observed by some fishermen, who, with kind-hearted alacrity picked us up and tended us most carefully. they conveyed us to para, where we became the objects of unbounded sympathy. the raft was brought to land in latitude 0 deg. 12' north, so that since we abandoned the chancellor we had drifted at least fifteen degrees to the southwest. except for the influence of the gulf stream we must have been carried far, far to the south, and in that case we should never have reached the mouth of the amazon, and must inevitably have been lost. of the thirty-two souls--nine passengers and twenty-three seamen--who left charleston on board the ship, only five passengers and six seamen remain. eleven of us alone survive. an official account of our rescue was drawn up by the brazilian authorities. those who signed were miss herbey, j. r. kazallon, m. letourneur, andre letourneur, mr. falsten, the boatswain, dowlas, burke, flaypole, sandon, and last, though not least, "robert curtis, captain." at para we soon found facilities for continuing our homeward route. a vessel took us to cayenne, where we secured a passage on board one of the steamers of the french transatlantic aspinwall line, the ville de st. nazaire, which conveyed us to europe. after all the dangers and privations which we have undergone together, it is scarcely necessary to say that there has arisen between the surviving passengers of the chancellor a bond of friendship too indissoluble, i believe, for either time or circumstance to destroy; curtis must ever remain the honored and valued friend of those whose welfare he consulted so faithfully in their misfortunes; his conduct was beyond all praise. when we were fairly on our homeward way, miss herbey by chance intimated to us her intention of retiring from the world and devoting the remainder of her life to the care of the sick and suffering. "then why not come and look after my son?" said m. letourneur, adding, "he is an invalid, and he requires, as he deserves, the best of nursing." miss herbey, after some deliberation, consented to become a member of their family, and finds in m. letourneur a father, and in andre a brother. a brother, i say; but may we not hope that she may be united by a dearer and a closer tie, and that the noble-hearted girl may experience the happiness that she so richly deserves? 