ipper and his mate kept watching it
the whole night through, and had a second one ready to let go should the
first yield; so I felt no inclination to turn in again, though I would
not awake the rest of our party.

Next morning there was a strong breeze, and we were able to weigh anchor
and run up against the current. When passing an island some way up, a
couple of canoes came off with provisions to sell, when we readily
became purchasers. Among other articles we bought a number of
land-tortoises, which, when cooked, we found delicious. We had also a
supply of very fine ripe plums, which grow wild in the forest on the
banks of the stream. Altogether we fared sumptuously, and soon
recovering our spirits, began to look more hopefully at the future. My
father even talked of being able to return to Trinidad some day, should
the Inquisition be got rid of. The people in the country generally
detested it, and so especially did the new settlers, who had been
accustomed to live in countries blessed with freer institutions.

For fully a week more we ran on, the wind favouring us--otherwise we
should have made no progress. By the appearance of the banks we saw
that the river had risen very considerably, and in many places the whole
forest appeared to be growing out of the water, which extended amid the
trees as far as the eye could reach. We had thus an advantage, as we
could make a straight course and pass over sandbanks and shallows;
whereas in the original state of the river we should have had to steer
now on one side, now on the other, to avoid them.

The weather had hitherto been very fine; but at length one night, some
hours after we had brought up, the wind began to increase, dark clouds
gathered in the sky, the thunder roared, and vivid lightning darted
through the air.

A cry arose, "The anchor has parted!" Sail was instantly made, and we
drove before the blast. The broad river, hitherto so calm, was lashed
into fierce waves, amid which the little sloop tumbled and tossed as if
she was in mid-ocean. To anchor was impossible, and no harbour appeared
on either side into which we could run for shelter. The trees bent
beneath the fierce blast which swept over them. Our only course was to
keep on in the centre of the stream. Our brave skipper went to the
helm, and did his best to keep up our spirits by assuring us that his
sloop had weathered many a fiercer gale. The seas, however, continually
broke aboard, a