the sun was now nearly at his meridian; the blue mist
which had covered everything, and veiled the distance from my view in
the morning when I emerged from the water and crawled up the muddy
bank, had now entirely rolled away, and the vast level tract of
marsh-land was open to my inspection to a distance at least of some
five or six English miles, at the extremity of which it was bounded by
a rising ground sparsely wooded. I imagined that I could distinguish
tho mud-walls of a row of small cottages, partly concealed by a group
of trees, though I was by no means sure that it was not a bank of
earth or the face of a rock. I looked anxiously round for other
indications of life; and after a close and protracted scrutiny, had
the satisfaction of distinctly perceiving a thin column of white smoke
winding up the dark background of the distant hill. I resolved now, in
case no means of escape should turn up on the river, to attempt the
passage of the marsh in another hour at latest--though, from former
experience, I well knew the difficulty of the attempt, and the little
probability there was that a perfect stranger would succeed in getting
across. I saw, too, that if I would make the attempt at all, I must
not defer it much longer, since to be overtaken by darkness in the
midst of the bog would be certain destruction.

I passed another half-hour in surveying the river, in which, about
four miles below the point on which I stood, I now for the first time
discovered several small islands, overgrown with reeds or underwood;
but they manifested no signs of any human inhabitants, so far as I
could distinguish, and I adhered to my resolution of crossing the
marsh. Delaying no longer, I descended from my post of observation,
intending to travel in a straight line to the point where I could
still see the smoke ascending. I had not, however, proceeded 100
yards, before I found that my idea of journeying in a straight line
was utterly impracticable. I could walk over the firm soil, and I
could swim the pools; but through the deep masses of soft bog I could
neither walk nor swim; and after a narrow escape from smothering in
one of them, I came to a stand-still. I found, too, that now I was
down in the swamp, I could not see the distant hill which was the
object of my journey, though it was plain, that from any part of the
marsh I might see the little mound on the river's brink which I had
just left. I returned to the mound, and, by the a