of my ever being taken
off it. As I looked down upon the cabin, I was surprised at the
steepness of the rocks which I had climbed, and felt alarmed, as if I
never should be able to get back again. But these thoughts were soon
chased away. I turned from the seaward, and looked inland. I found
that on one side of me there was a chasm between the rocks, the bottom
of which was so far down that I could not see it; and on the other side
the rock rose up as straight as a wall. My attention was soon diverted
by discovering another plant, and I now commenced my task of digging
them all up. I obtained, with the ferns, about twenty new varieties,
which I made up in a bundle ready for carrying down slung round my neck;
for I knew that I should require both hands to descend with. Then I sat
down to rest myself a little before I commenced my return, and after I
had been seated a few minutes, I thought I would sing a song by way of
amusement.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

I have before said that, tired of repeating the words of the songs which
Jackson had taught me, I had taken those of Psalms in metre, at the end
of the Prayer-book, by way of variety; and, as far as metre went, they
answered very well, although people would have been surprised to have
heard Psalms sung to such quick and varied measure. The Psalm I chose
this time was the first--"How blest is he who ne'er consents;" and I
began accordingly; but when I came to the end of the line, to my
astonishment I heard a plaintive voice, at a distance, repeat after me
"con-sents." I looked round. I thought I must have been deceived, so I
continued--"By ill advice to walk." This time I could not be
mistaken--"to walk," was repeated by the same voice as plainly as
possible. I stopped singing, lost in wonder.

"There must be somebody on the island as well as myself," thought I; for
I never had heard an echo before, except when it thundered, and such
echoes I had put down as a portion of the thunder.

"Who's there?" cried I.

"Who's there?" replied the voice.

"It's me!"

"It's me!" was the answer.

I did not know what to make of it. I cried out again and again, and
again and again I heard what I said repeated, but no answer to my
questions. I thought I was insulted by somebody, and yet, when I
listened, the voice that spoke came from the face of the rock on the
other side of the chasm, and no one could be there without my seeing
them. This made me think that I was