lish the sad
act.

"I was now all alone in the boat. As the sun rose the wind fell, and it
became perfectly calm. As the sail was of no use, I lowered it. Still
I had to bail, for the water continued to leak through the seams. The
hot sun came down on my head and nearly roasted me. Fortunately I had
manufactured a straw hat, with a thick top, this very one you see me
wear, it assisted to save my head, and I value it as a friend which has
done me service.

"Well, I must cut my yarn short. Day after day I sailed on. When it
was calm I hauled down my sail and went to sleep, for the leaks in the
boat lessened by degrees, and at last I was saved the trouble of baling.
I began, however, to think that I should never get to land. The meat
we had brought turned so bad that I could not eat it, the roots and
fruits lasted me better, and assisted to feed the birds, but they were
also coming to an end. Without them I knew that I could not preserve my
birds, so very unwillingly, I killed my big black parrot. I had no
means of lighting a fire, so I had to eat the bird raw; but a hungry man
is not particular.

"I should have said that we had stowed our water in a number of gourds,
but I had already emptied most of them, and I dreaded the time when my
stock would come to an end, for I knew that without it, I could not live
many days. Under the burning sun of that region, water is the chief
necessary of life, my birds too, required as much as I did. I anxiously
looked out for land. I made but slow progress, for the weather was
unusually calm, and sometimes the wind was contrary. Thus, I could not
tell how long it might be before I could reach a friendly harbour. I
had to kill another and another of my birds, till at last only my pretty
Lory remained. He was so tame that he would come and sit on my shoulder
while I was steering, and put his beak into my mouth, and talk to me.
He was my only companion you see, and I fancied he could understand what
I said, and I was sure he was very fond of me. I would rather have done
anything than kill him, still I was getting very faint and weak, and I
could scarcely crawl from the stern to the mast to lower the sail when I
wanted to get to sleep. At last I had but a pint of water remaining and
only a yam or two. I steered on as long as I could, when I felt my head
bending down to my breast. I knew that I could not keep awake many
minutes longer, so I lowered my sail and lay down