e threads of it,--as fine
and as strong as ordinary silk. This was a great discovery truly, as it
was the only thing now wanting, except some cooking utensils, to
complete our domestic furniture. As for the latter, it was some time
before we invented anything; but thus far we had been occupied with what
seemed to be more important concerns. Over on the opposite side of the
island I found some stones of very soft texture; and, upon trying them
with my knife, I discovered that they were precisely the same kind of
stones that I had often found at home, and which we there called
soapstone. Upon making further search there proved to be quite an
extensive vein of it; and since I knew that in civilized countries
griddles are made out of soapstone, I concluded at once that other kinds
of cooking utensils might be made as well. Accordingly I carried to our
hut several pieces of it, and there they lay for a good while, until I
could find leisure to carve some pots and other things out of them.

"Thus you see we were getting along very well, steadily collecting those
things which were necessary as well for our comfort as our safety. If
the island on which we had been cast away was barren and inhospitable,
it was none the less capable, like almost every other land, in whatever
region of the earth, of furnishing subsistence to men.

"When we saw what we could do with the sinew of the narwhal, we
immediately set about preparing some bedclothes for ourselves. This we
did by squaring off the duck-skins with my knife, and then sewing them
tightly together. Thus we obtained, not only a soft bed to lie upon, but
a good warm quilt to cover us.

"This done, we went back to the cooking utensils, which you may be sure
we were very much in need of. Out of a good large block of soapstone, by
careful digging with the knife, we soon made quite a good-sized pot,
which was found to answer perfectly. We could now change our diet a
little,--at least, I should say, the manner of cooking it; for while we
could before only fry our ducks and eggs on flat stones, when we got the
pot we could boil them. This gave us great pleasure, as we were getting
very tired of having but one style of food; still I cannot say that
there was so very much occasion for being over-glad, as at best it was
only ducks and eggs, and eggs and ducks, like the boy you have heard of
in the story, who had first mush and milk, and then, for variety, milk
and mush.

"So one day th