her I
could find my way back to the spot from which I had started, and in the
next, I considered that it would be simply a waste of time and strength.
I had not been altogether unmindful of the course I was steering while
seeking for the river, and I was of opinion that though I had been
travelling rather away from the road, if anything, yet on the whole my
course had been pretty much in its direction. In order to regain it,
therefore, all that seemed necessary was to make my way in a direction
about at right angles with my former course.

I accordingly edged away in what I judged to be the right direction,
choosing my ground, however, more with a view to easy than to direct
progress. I estimated that it would occupy about an hour, or perhaps an
hour and a half--certainly not more--to regain the road, and as I was
anxious to do this before it became quite dark, I pushed rapidly
forward, and the wood growing somewhat more open as I proceeded, with
less undergrowth, I made very fair progress.

The hour which I had allowed myself passed, and still there was no sign
of the road. I felt sure, however, that it could not be far away, and
at all events I was going in the right direction, the ground rising
continuously, so I carried on under a heavy press of sail, expecting
every moment to emerge into the beaten track, and growing increasingly
anxious to do so as I noted the rapidity with which darkness was falling
upon the scene, notwithstanding the fact that the trees were by this
time so far apart and the ground so clear that walking was as easy as it
would have been on the road itself. In this state of mingled hope and
anxiety I hurried on for another hour, still without hitting upon the
road; by which time it had become so dark that I grew fearful of losing
my way. The stars had appeared, and shone brilliantly, their light,
however, being insufficient to enable me to see where I was going; so
after stumbling on over the uneven ground for a quarter of an hour
longer, during which I experienced more than one awkward tumble, the
conclusion forced itself upon me that I had strayed somewhat from the
right direction, and had better defer until the next morning any further
effort to discover the lost road.

Having arrived at this conclusion, my next business was to find a
tolerably comfortable spot in which to bestow myself for the night.
While searching for this, I quite unexpectedly reached the edge of the
wood, and in a