the sea, in the hope of catching sight of
some ship which might carry us away from our island. Tom and I at other
times used to wander about and collect all the fruits, and roots, and
leaves of every description which we thought were likely to prove
wholesome for food, and when we brought them to him he was able to tell
us which were the most nutritive, and to point out to us those which
were poisonous. I thus discovered the very great advantage of
possessing a thorough knowledge of botany, and wished that I had paid
more attention to the subject before I left home. Strange as it may
seem, the days passed away very rapidly. Tom and I had always an
abundance of work with which to employ ourselves. The poor doctor
could, indeed, do little for himself, and Sills and Brown would do
nothing. I had tried at first to make a companion of Sills, but after
the effect produced by his narrow escape had worn off, he became very
much what he had been before, and as now there was nobody over him, he
gave himself up to perfect idleness. He and Brown, whom he made his
companion, found a leaf which, when dried, served the purpose of
tobacco, and from that time they spent the greater part of every day in
smoking and eating. I induced them now and then at night to get up and
turn a turtle, which gave us fresh meat when we grew tired of our salted
and dried provisions. They seemed to have no wish to leave the island.
"We have nothing to do and plenty to eat--what more do we want?" said
Sills, throwing himself back on the grass, when one day I asked him to
take his turn in looking out for any ships which might be passing. "For
my part, I am ready to remain here till I want a new rig out; it will
then be time enough to think of getting away."

I could make no reply to such a senseless answer.

In a short time, however, he and Brown got tired of their daily fare of
turtle, and the latter proposed to try and get some fish. Though idle,
Brown was not destitute of ingenuity. He first set to work, and out of
some nails which he drew from a plank washed on shore, he manufactured
several very good hooks, his chief tool being a file which he had in his
knife. He soon, also, found several fibrous plants from which he made
some strong, and yet fine lines. Among the things left by Mr Henley
was an axe: with this two trees were cut down, and a sort of double
canoe, or rather raft, was constructed. The fanlike leaves of the palm
served for