cute. But the moment before, I was full of confidence,
making fair progress in my enterprise, and cheered with partial success.
This unexpected misfortune had interrupted all, and plunged me back
again into the gloomy gulf of despair.

For a long while I remained wavering and undecided. I could not make up
my mind to do anything. What could I do? I could not continue my work:
I had no tool to work with!

My mind seemed to wander. Several times I passed my thumb along the
handle of my knife, till it rested upon the short stump of the broken
blade, or rather upon the neck, for the blade was all gone. I did this
in a sort of mechanical way, to assure myself that it was really broken
off; for so sudden had been the misfortune, that I could yet hardly
believe in its reality. In truth, it had quite bewildered my senses,
and in this state they remained for several minutes.

When the first shock was over, my self-possession slowly and gradually
returned. Assured at length of the sad reality, and knowing the worst,
I began to reflect whether something might not still be done with the
broken weapon.

The words of a great poet, which I had heard at school, came into my
mind: "_Men better do their broken weapons use, than their bare hands_;"
and the suggestion that this wise saying afforded, I now took to myself.
It occurred to me, then, to examine the blade. The haft I held in my
hand, but the blade still remained in the angle of the box, where it had
broken off.

I drew it out, and passed my finger over it. It was still entire, and
as much of a blade as ever; but, alas! without the handle, what use
could I make of it?

I grasped it round the thick end, and made trial whether I could still
cut with it. It was some satisfaction to find that I could--a little.
The blade was a good long one, and this was a fortunate circumstance.
By wrapping a piece of rag around the thick end, I might yet make it
available; though, of course, any cutting I might hereafter do with it,
would be a slow and painful operation.

The idea of setting the blade in the haft again was out of the question.
It is true I entertained it at first, but I soon discovered a
difficulty not to be got over; and that was the removal of the
back-spring.

Could I only have got this out of the way, the haft would still have
served for a handle. I could easily have inserted the broken end of the
blade between the scales; and as I had plenty of good strin