spairing mind could not quit the world in peace, and even here
in the cold, cruel sea, the quivering body clung to this fragment of
life, and winced at death's touch, though more merciful.

He despised this weakness; he raged at it; he could not overcome it.

Unable to live or to die, condemned to float slowly, hour by hour, down
into death's jaws.

To a long, death-like stupor succeeded frenzy. Fury seized this great
and long-suffering mind. It rose against the cruelty and injustice of
his fate. He cursed the world, whose stupidity had driven him to sea,
he cursed remorseless nature; and at last he railed on the God who made
him, and made the cruel water, that was waiting for his body. "God's
justice! God's mercy! God's power! they are all lies," he shouted,
"dreams, chimeras, like Him the all-powerful and good, men babble of by
the fire. If there was a God more powerful than the sea, and only
half as good as men are, he would pity my poor Rosa and me, and send
a hurricane to drive those caitiffs back to the wretch they have
abandoned. Nature alone is mighty. Oh, if I could have her on my side,
and only God against me! But she is as deaf to prayer as He is: as
mechanical and remorseless. I am a bubble melting into the sea. Soul
I have none; my body will soon be nothing, nothing. So ends an honest,
loving life. I always tried to love my fellow-creatures. Curse them!
curse them! Curse the earth! Curse the sea! Curse all nature: there is
no other God for me to curse."

The moon came out.

He raised his head and staring eyeballs, and cursed her.

The wind began to whistle, and flung spray in his face.

He raised his fallen head and staring eyeballs, and cursed the wind.

While he was thus raving, he became sensible of a black object to
windward.

It looked like a rail, and a man leaning on it.

He stared, he cleared the wet hair from his eyes, and stared again.

The thing, being larger than himself and partly out of water, was
drifting to leeward faster than himself.

He stared and trembled, and at last it came nearly abreast, black,
black.

He gave a loud cry, and tried to swim towards it; but encumbered with
his life-buoy, he made little progress. The thing drifted abreast of
him, but ten yards distant.

As they each rose high upon the waves, he saw it plainly.

It was the very raft that had been the innocent cause of his sad fate.

He shouted with hope, he swam, he struggled; he got near it, but not