two officers dined with him; but, whatever
the matter might be, neither Mr Austin nor Mr Smellie let fall a word
as to its nature, though it was evident from their manner that it was
deemed of considerable import.

When I turned in that night I felt very greatly dissatisfied with
myself. Those outrageous suspicions, upon which I have dwelt so much in
the last few pages, seemed to be gathering new strength every day in
spite of my utmost endeavours to dissipate them, and that, too, without
the occurrence of anything fresh to confirm them. I accordingly took
myself severely to task; subjected myself to a rigid self-examination,
looking the matter square in the face; and the conclusions to which I
came were--first, that I had allowed myself to be deluded into the
belief that the _Vestale_ herself was the craft which had committed the
act of piracy of which poor Richards and his crew were the victims; and
second, that I had been an unmitigated idiot for suffering myself to be
so deluded. On going thoroughly over the whole question I was forced to
admit to myself that there was not a particle of evidence incriminating
the French gun-brig save what I had manufactured out of my own too vivid
imagination; and I clearly foresaw that unless I could get rid of, or,
at all events, conquer, this hallucination, I should be doing or saying
something which would get me into a serious scrape. And, having at last
thus settled the question--as I thought--to my own satisfaction, I
rolled over in my hammock and went to sleep.

The breeze held fresh during the whole of that night; and the _Daphne_
made such good progress that by eight o'clock on the following morning
we found ourselves once more abreast of Padron Point at the entrance to
the Congo. Sail was now shortened; the ship hove-to, and the men sent
to their breakfasts; the officers also being requested to get theirs at
the same time.

At 8:30 the hands were turned up, the main topsail filled, and, under
topsails, jib, and spanker, and with a leadsman in the fore-chains on
each side, the sloop proceeded boldly to enter the river, under the
pilotage of the master, who stationed himself for the purpose on the
fore-topsail yard. This was a most unusual, almost an un-heard-of,
proceeding at that time, the river never having been, up to that period,
properly surveyed; so we came to the conclusion that there was something
to the fore a trifle out of the common; a conclusion which w