r hunger, but I
cannot say that eaten raw, without vinegar, or pepper, or bread, they
were particularly palatable.

We had promise of a dreary night, and this was only the commencement.
The poor old mate was very ill. Deprived of his usual stimulants, he
could badly support the cold and wet to which he had been so long
exposed. He began to shiver all over, and complained of pains in every
part of his body. Then he was silent, and would do little more than
groan terribly. At last his mind began to wander; he did not know where
he was nor what had happened, and he talked of strange scenes which had
occurred long ago, and of people he had known in his youth. I could not
help listening with much interest to what he said. By it I made out
that he was by birth a gentleman; that he had gone to sea in the navy
with every prospect of rising in it, and that he had been in one or two
actions in which he had distinguished himself. But a change came over
him. He had begun by small degrees, just taking a nip now and then,
till he had become--and that very rapidly--a hard drinker. From that
time all his prospects in life were blighted. From some misconduct he
was dismissed the ship to which he belonged, and soon afterwards, for
similar behaviour, the navy itself. Then he squandered away in vice and
sensual indulgence the whole of his patrimony, and at last went to sea
in the merchant service as the only means of obtaining support.

His career has been that of many young men who have begun life with as
fair prospects, and ruined them all from their own folly and imprudence.
Poor old man, when I heard all this, and feared that he was dying, I
could not help pitying him, and feeling still more sad when I thought
that the last act of his life was a strong evidence that he had in no
way reformed as he advanced in years.

At length he slept more quietly, and, overcome by weariness, I too fell
fast asleep. I did not awake till the sun was up and glancing on the
tops of the rocks before our cave. Charley awoke at the same time, and
began to rub his eyes and to wonder where he was. The old mate was
awake. There was a dull, cold look in his eye, and his brow was
wrinkled with pain. He groaned when I spoke to him, but after a little
time he aroused himself and spoke. He said that he could not move a
limb, much less walk; but he begged that Charley and I would try and
find our way to the nearest village and bring him assistance