through the storm. I was almost suffocated by the
spray which continually blew over me, and the heavy sea boots which I
wore, filling with water, threatened to drag me down. I had given
myself up for lost, when I noticed a spar floating near, which must
have been washed overboard with me, and, making an effort, I succeeded
in laying hold of it, so that I managed to keep afloat. Thus holding to
the spar and swimming, sometimes with one hand and sometimes with the
other, I kept my head above water until my feet touched ground, when I
waded upon the shore of an island, where I fell down exhausted, and for
the time lost consciousness.

When I came to myself it was almost dark. I had fortunately been
carried by a current upon the leeside of the island, so that I was
protected from the wind and sea, but my limbs felt numb and cold, while
the blood coursed feebly in my veins. I felt too weary to move, and
presently I fell asleep, from which I awoke, as I judged, about
midnight, much refreshed.

I was now once more haunted by the thought of being marooned in a
strange country, so that I remained awake, bemoaning my fate and
blaming myself for not having taken better precautions against such a
mishap. These reflections led me so far that I began to form a project
against my life, but the dawn dissipated my gloomy ideas, when I made
up my mind to trust to Providence, which had protected me through so
many perils.

I then mounted the high land to scan the horizon, but no sign of the
ship could I see, so I knew myself to be again a castaway. The island
appeared to be one of considerable size, very fertile and well watered.
The verdure inland was unusually luxuriant, even for the tropics. From
the centre of the island rose a mountain, with a smoke-cloud banging
upon it, which proved it to be an active volcano.

The storm had passed, and the weather was pleasant, the beat not
excessive, being tempered with a land breeze. I descended after a while
into a valley, where I noticed a number of fresh-water ponds, at one of
which I knelt down to drink, when I perceived a prodigious quantity of
bivalve shells of one single species, which formed a kind of beach, in
breadth about fifteen feet. The water in the pond was clear, and
although it was deep, the sand and shells at the bottom of it were
easily seen.

Whilst I was admiring their beauties I was startled by the approach of
a party of natives, the leader of whom, a tall, muscular