ers, and, time and again, had a future state of being been the
subject of discourse between him and his betrothed. As the seasons of
adversity are those in which men are the most apt to bethink them of
their duties to God, it is not at all surprising that one of this
disposition, thus situated, felt renewed demands on his gratitude and
repentance.

While Mark, in this frame of mind, went rambling around his narrow
domains, Bob got the dingui, and proceeded with his fishing-tackle
towards some of the naked rocks, that lifted their caps above the
surface of the sea, in a north-westerly direction from the crater. Of
these naked rocks there were nearly twenty, all within a mile of the
crater, and the largest of them not containing more than six or eight
acres of dry surface. Some were less than a hundred feet in diameter.
The great extent and irregular formation of the reefs all around the
island, kept the water smooth, for some distance, on all sides of it;
and it was only when the rollers were sent in by heavy gales, that the
dingui could not move about, in this its proper sphere, in safety.

Betts was very fond of fishing, and could pass whole days, at a time, in
that quiet amusement, provided he had a sufficient supply of tobacco.
Indeed, one of the greatest consolations this man possessed, under the
present misfortune, was the ample store of this weed which was to be
found in the ship. Every man on board the Rancocus, Mark alone excepted,
made use of tobacco; and, for so long a voyage, the provision laid in
had been very abundant. On this occasion, Bob enjoyed his two favourite
occupations to satiety, masticating the weed while he fished.

With Mark it was very different. He was fond of his fowling-piece, but
of little use was that weapon in his present situation. Of all the birds
that frequented the adjacent rocks, not one was of a sort that would be
eaten, unless in cases of famine. As he walked over the island, that
afternoon, his companion was the goat, which had been driven ashore on
the new gangway, and was enjoying its liberty almost as much as the
ducks. As the animal frisked about him, accompanying him everywhere in
his walks. Mark was reminded of the goats of Crusoe, and his mind
naturally adverted to the different accounts of shipwrecks of which he
had read, and to a comparison between his own condition and those of
other mariners who had been obliged to make their homes, for a time, on
otherwise uninhabit