Glad to escape from the cruelty of man, I cared little for the danger to which we were subjected from the elements.  I consoled my frightened Rosina; I stepped the mast, hoisted the sail, and steered in a southerly direction, with the intention of landing on some part of the African coast.  So far from being alarmed at my situation, I felt happy.  I was in a frail bark; but I had within it all that I cared for in this world.  I sailed I knew not where, but Rosina was in my company; I felt the uncertainty of our fate, but was more than compensated by the certainty of possession.  The wind rose, the sea ran high, and curled in threatening foam; we darted with rapidity before it; and steering with one arm, while Rosina was clasped in the other, I delighted in our romantic situation; and, pleased with the excitement which it created, I was blind to the danger which we encountered.

For six days we ran before the wind, when an accumulation of clouds upon the southern horizon indicated that we should have a change.  I had no compass in the boat, but had steered by the sun during the day, and by the stars during the night.  I now considered myself well to the southward, and determined upon running eastward, that I might gain the African shore; but the gale was too strong to permit me to bring the broadside of my small bark to the wind, and I was compelled to continue my course in a southerly direction.

For the first time, a sensation of alarm came over me:  we had but two days’ more sustenance, and Rosina was worn out by constant exposure.  I myself felt the necessity of repose:  it was with difficulty that I could keep my eyelids raised; every minute Nature imperiously demanded her rights, and I nodded at the helm.

I was in a melancholy reverie, when I thought that I perceived, as the clouds on the horizon occasionally opened, something that had the appearance of the summit of a precipice.  They closed again; I watched them with anxiety until they gradually rolled away, and discovered a lofty island, covered with trees and verdure down to the water’s edge.  I shouted with delight, and pointed it out to Rosina, who answered my exultations with a faint smile.  My blood curdled at the expression of her countenance:  for many hours she had been in deep thought; and I perceived that the smile was forced to please me, the intelligence I had imparted affording her but little pleasure.  I ascribed it to weariness and exhaustion; and hoping soon to be able to relieve her, I steered direct for the only part of the shore which promised us a safe descent.  In an hour I was close to it; and, anxious to land before dark, I steered the boat with the sail hoisted through the surf, which was much heavier than I expected.  As soon as her bow struck the beach, the boat was thrown on her broadside, and it required all my exertion to save my beloved, which I did not effect without our being completely washed by the surf, which, in a few minutes,