to recover breath, and
till the waters went from me, and then took to my heels, and ran with what
strength I had, farther towards the shore. But neither would this deliver
me from the fury of the sea, which came pouring in after me again; and
twice more I was lifted up by the waves and carried forwards as before,
the shore being very flat.

The last time of these two had well-nigh been fatal to me; for the sea
having hurried me along, as before, landed me, or rather dashed me,
against a piece of a rock, and that with such force as it left me
senseless, and indeed helpless, as to my own deliverance; for the blow,
taking my side and breast, beat the breath as it were quite out of my
body; and had it returned again immediately, I must have been strangled in
the water; but I recovered a little before the return of the waves, and
seeing I should be covered again with the water, I resolved to hold fast
by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my breath, if possible, till the
wave went back. Now, as the waves were not so high as at first, being
nearer land, I held my hold till the wave abated, and then fetched another
run, which brought me so near the shore that the next wave, though it went
over me, yet did not so swallow me up as to carry me away; and the next
run I took I got to the mainland; where, to my great comfort, I clambered
up the cliffs of the shore, and sat me down upon the grass, free from
danger and quite out of the reach of the water. I was now landed, and safe
on shore, and began to look up and thank God that my life was saved, in a
case wherein there was some minutes before scarce any room to hope. I
believe it is impossible to express, to the life, what the ecstasies and
transports of the soul are when it is so saved, as I may say, out of the
very grave: and I do not wonder now at that custom, when a malefactor, who
has the halter about his neck, is tied up, and just going to be turned
off, and has a reprieve brought to him--I say, I do not wonder that they
bring a surgeon with it, to let him blood that very moment they tell him
of it, that the surprise may not drive the animal spirits from the heart,
and overwhelm him.

"For sudden joys, like griefs, confound at first."

I walked about on the shore, lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I
may say, wrapt up in a contemplation of my deliverance; making a thousand
gestures and motions, which I cannot describe; reflecting upon all my
comrades that wer