America," answered Curtis, "and near the Amazon; no other river
has a current strong enough to freshen the ocean twenty miles from
shore!"

CHAPTER LVII.

JANUARY 27th CONTINUED.--Curtis, no doubt was right The discharge from
the mouth of the Amazon is enormously large, but we had probably drifted
into the only spot in the Atlantic where we could find fresh water
so far from land. Yet land, undoubtedly was there, and the breeze was
carrying us onwards slowly but surely to our deliverance.

Miss Herbey's voice was heard pouring out fervent praise to Heaven, and
we were all glad to unite our thanksgivings with hers. Then the whole
of us (with the exception of Andre and his father, who remained by
themselves together at the stern) clustered in a group, and kept our
expectant gaze upon the horizon.

We had not long to wait. Before an hour had passed Curtis, leaped in
ecstasy and raised the joyous shout of "Land ahoy!"

* * * *

My journal has come to a close.

I have only to relate, as briefly as possible, the circumstances that
finally brought us to our destination.

A few hours after we first sighted land the raft was off Cape Magoari,
on the Island of Marajo, and was observed by some fishermen who, with
kind-hearted alacrity picked us up, and tended us most carefully. They
conveyed us to Para, where we became the objects of unbounded sympathy.

The raft was brought to land in lat. 0deg. 12min. N., so that since we
abandoned the "Chancellor" we had drifted at least fifteen degrees to
the south-west. Except for the influence of the Gulf Stream we must have
been carried far, far to the south, and in that case we should never
have reached the mouth of the Amazon, and must inevitably have been
lost.

Of the thirty-two souls--nine passengers, and twenty-three seamen--who
left Charleston on board the ship, only five passengers and six seamen
remain. Eleven of us alone survive.

An official account of our rescue was drawn up by the Brazilian
authorities. Those who signed were Miss Herbey, J. R. Kazallon, M.
Letourneur, Andre Letourneur, Mr. Falsten, the boatswain, Dowlas, Burke,
Flaypole, Sandon, and last, though not least,

"Robert Curtis, captain."

At Para we soon found facilities for continuing our homeward route. A
vessel took us to Cayenne, where we secured a passage on board one of
the steamers of the French Transatlantic Aspinwall line, the "Ville de
St. Nazaire," which conveyed us to Europe.

Afte