the wave;
Hoist, hoist all sail, before us
Hope's beacon shines to cheer the brave.
--_Masaniello_.

When all had been saved from the wreck that was worth saving, or that
could be saved, we found ourselves still in the possession of some goods
soon to become of great value to us, especially my compass and charts
which, though much damaged, were yet serviceable and suggested practical
usefulness; and the chronometer being found intact, my course was no
longer undecided, my wife and sons agreeing with what I thought best.

The plan, in a word, was this: We could not beg our way, neither would
we sit idle among the natives. We found that it would require more
courage to remain in the far-off country than to return home in a boat,
which then we concluded to build and for that purpose.[4]

My son Victor, with much pride and sympathy, entered heartily into the
plan, which promised a speedy return home. He bent his energies in a
practical direction, working on the boat like an old builder.

Before entering on the project, however, all responsibilities were
considered. Swift ocean currents around capes and coral reefs were taken
into account; and above all else to be called dangerous we knew would
be the fierce tropical storms which surely we would encounter.

[Illustration: Diagram of the _Liberdade_

(Length 35 ft. beam 71/2 ft., draught 21/2 ft. weight 6 tons.)]

But a boat should be built stout and strong, we all said, one in which
we should not be afraid to trust our lives even in the storm.

And with the advantage of experience in ships and boats of various sizes
and in many seas, I turned to the work of constructing, according to my
judgment and means, a craft which would be best adapted to all weathers
and all circumstances. My family with sympathetic strength pulling hard
in the same direction.

Seaworthiness was to be the first and most prominent feature in our
microscopic ship; next to this good quality she should sail well; at
least before free winds. We counted on favourable winds; and so they
were experienced the greater part of the voyage that soon followed.

Long exposures and many and severe disappointments by this time, I
found, had told on health and nerve, through long quarantines, expensive
fumigations, and ruinous doctors' visits, which had swept my dollars
into hands other than mine. However, with still a "shot in the locker,"
and with some