stern sheets. How I envied him his power of
passing the dull hours away, oblivious to wet or cold.

Half an hour--an hour--two hours passed, and then the kindly sea had
compassion on my lonely, forlorn condition, and rose and toyed with my
boat, and finally lifted her and bore her safely back to my home.

Home! what a word after such a night! I almost fell ashore, so great was
my anxiety, and so desperately hungry did I feel.

My surroundings had now changed from what they were three hours since;
for now I was on my island home, with the birds singing and the sun
shining brightly and warmly upon me, so that I threw off my wet clothes
and worked in a state of nature to get my tackle ashore, while "Begum"
fetched "Eddy" to help me to get my craft above tide mark.

Good old "Eddy." I felt he was indeed a friend as he came trotting down
the rocky path with a regular royal salute of braying. He tugged, and I
tugged, till when the boat was safely beached I felt as nearly exhausted
as ever I have been in my life. I scarcely had strength to get up the
path which usually I took at a run. However, I _did_ get up, and took a
good nip of brandy, following it with some solid refreshment, eating as
I lit the copper fire and filled the copper with water. While I waited
for the water to become hot, I became so drowsy that I could scarcely
keep awake, and yawned till an observer might have seen the roots of my
hair, such an open countenance did I present. The water (although I
watched it) boiled at last, and this I poured into a big tub partly
filled with cold water, and had a bath for ten minutes as hot as I could
bear it, after which I hopped into bed and slept, and slept, and slept.

It was eight a.m. when I went to bed, and I did not wake for fourteen
hours--that is till ten p.m.; and knowing that I had slept the entire
day away without a thought for my poor live stock, I turned over,
resolving to be up and feed the said live stock at dawn. But when I
again woke the sun was high above the horizon, and up I jumped, or tried
to, but found that I was very stiff and sore all over from my night
adventure. As I walked about and worked, feeding my animals, I gradually
felt better, especially after a hearty breakfast, of which I stood much
in need, after twenty-four hours' fast.

After this adventure I was very careful not to go out again without
protection from the weather in the shape of a good thick coat and
sou'wester, beside which