r
almost preclude the sensation of fear; for I have been taught that God
is everywhere, and has power to preserve us if He so will it." I said
this in answer to Fairburn's remark.

"Do you know," he observed, "that when I am at sea especially, as now,
in an open boat, or in a small craft, or during the raging of a storm,
that I always feel more clearly that I am in the hands of the Almighty,
or perhaps, I might say, a sense of man's perfect helplessness. We are
too apt to forget this when roving on shore, in the full enjoyment of
high health and spirits; yet, if we consider how small an injury is
sufficient to make the strongest man as feeble as an infant, we should
cease to boast of any strength which is in us."

Such was the style of our conversation, as we sat side by side hour by
hour, in the boat. I gave Fairburn an outline of my history, and he in
return related to me his own adventures, which were romantic in the
extreme; indeed, since he came to sea, not a week had passed away
without affording him matters worthy of note.

We had run on some hours, when, as the skiff was in the wake of the
long-boat, we observed that the people in her were, by their movements,
in a great state of alarm. Some were hard at work baling, while the
ladies were turning round as if imploring our help. We instantly got
out our oars, and pulled up to her as fast as we could. We found that
she was leaking very much, from having been long out of the water, and
that it required the constant labours of the crew to keep her free. As
the jolly-boat and skiff were already as full as was safe for them, we
could do nothing to assist our consort, though we would have run every
risk rather than see them perish, yet it was utterly impossible to take
them on board with the slightest hope of saving our lives, should any
bad weather come on. While we were almost in despair what to do, one of
the men, whose duty it was to keep a look-out, declared that he saw land
ahead. We all turned our eyes in the same direction, and there, sure
enough, was a grove of trees just rising out of the water. This raised
our spirits, and enabled the crew of the long-boat to renew their
exertions. We ran on, when by degrees the stems of the trees appeared,
and we saw before us a small but thickly-wooded island. The breeze had
freshened up, and though the sea was tolerably smooth, a heavy surf was
breaking along the whole northern coast. To the eastward, a ree