him loudly by name, I
rubbed his forehead, I pounded his hands, but he gave no further
recognition; yet he was getting more and more warm, and in this
circumstance I rested my hope.

"Having accomplished this much, and feeling pretty sure that the boy
would recover in the end, my mind very naturally fell back upon the
contemplation of my own unhappy condition. I moved a few steps from the
boy, and sat down upon a rock overlooking the sea. There was nothing
there to inspire me with courage, when this question came uppermost in
my mind: 'Suppose the boy does recover from his present stupor, how are
we going to live?' Could anybody indeed be in a more sorry state? Let me
enumerate:--

"1st. I had been shipwrecked,--a fortune usually considered bad enough
under any circumstances.

"2d. I had lost all of my companions except a feeble boy whom I had
rescued from death, and who was now helpless on my hands.

"3d. I was cast away on a desert land, I knew not where, but very far
towards the North Pole, as was clear enough from the immense quantities
of ice which whitened the sea before me.

"4th. I was chilly, and had no fire nor means of making any. Nor had I
sufficient clothing to cover me.

"5th. I was hungry, and had no food nor means of obtaining any.

"6th. I was thirsty, and had nothing to drink, nor could I discover
anything.

"7th. I was without house or hut to shelter me.

"8th. I was without weapons to defend myself against the attacks of wild
beasts, if any there should be to molest me.

"To counteract these evils I had four things, namely:--

"1st. Life.

"2d. The clothes on my back.

"3d. A jack-knife.

"4th. The mercy of Providence.

"And this was all! What chance was there for me?

"Little enough, one would think. And, in truth, there did not seem to be
any at all. When I thought of all this, I buried my face in my hands,
and moaned aloud, and the big tears began to gather in my eyes."

* * * * *

"O, wasn't it awful!" exclaimed William.

"I don't see what you _could_ do, Captain Hardy," exclaimed Fred.

"The poor boy," exclaimed Alice,--"I hope he didn't die. Did he, Captain
Hardy?"--and the child began to imitate the example set by John Hardy,
when he rested on the rock and looked out upon the icy sea and
speculated upon the chances of his ever seeing again the home from which
he had so foolishly run away.

"Well, I'll tell you about that some