It was just daybreak as,
somewhat stiffened with a sleep on the cold beach, and sore from my
recent bruises, I began my march. "Nor'-west and by west" was Halkett's
vague direction to me; but as I had no compass, I was left to the
guidance of the rising sun for the cardinal points. Not a path nor track
of any kind was to be seen; indeed, the surface could scarcely have
borne traces of footsteps, for it was one uniform mass of slaty shingle,
with here and there the backbone of a fish, and scattered fragments
of seaweed, washed up by the storms, on this low bleak shore. I
cannot fancy desolation more perfect than this dreary spot; slightly
undulating, but never sufficient to lose sight of the sea; not a
particle of shelter to be found; not a rock, nor even a stone large
enough to sit upon when weary. Of vegetation, no trace could be met
with; even a patch of moss or a lichen would have been a blessing to
see; but there were neither. At last, as I journeyed on, I wandered
beyond the sound of the sea as it broke upon the low strand, and then
the silence became actually appalling. But a few moments back, and the
loud booming of the breakers stunned the ear; and now, as I stopped
to listen, I could hear my own heart as in full, thick beat it smote
against my ribs. I could not dismiss the impression that such a
stillness, thus terrible, would prevail on the day of judgment, when,
after the graves had given up their millions of dead, and the agonizing
cry for mercy had died away, then, as in a moment of dread suspense, the
air would be motionless, not a leaf to stir, not a wing to cleave it.
Such possession of me did this notion take that I fell upon my knees and
sobbed aloud, while, with trembling and uplifted hands, I prayed that I
too might be pardoned.

So powerful is the influence of a devotional feeling, no matter how
associated with error, how alloyed by the dross of superstition, that I,
who but an instant back could scarcely drag my wearied limbs along for
very despair, became of a sudden trustful and courageous. Life seemed no
longer the worthless thing it did a few minutes before; on the contrary,
I was ready to dare anything to preserve it; and so, with renewed vigor
I again set forward.

At each little swell of the ground, I gazed eagerly about me, hoping to
see the log-hut, but in vain; nothing but the same wearisome monotony
met my view. The sun was now high, and I could easily see that I was
following out the