OR THE DESERT ISLAND. 91

a loss may appear to those who live in a more salubrious
clime, to Count Charles the consequences were indeed se-
rious. For, exposed to the piercing rays of a burning sun,
every walk he was forced to take was followed by a severe
pain in his head.

After quitting the valley, the hatred that was burning
in his bosom made him forget, for hours, that a tropical
sun was pouring its fiercest rays directly on his uncovered
head. He had passed the night without sleep, and the
next day he had found, at the entrance of his cavern, the
dead bodies of some of his shipmates. It was with great
difficulty that he could animate himself sufficiently, sick
as he was, to the performance of a duty so sad and so ne-
cessary. ;

Notwithstanding the heat of the day and the labour of
the task, he was visited by frequent shivering fits; and the
scorching rays of the sun gave him intense pain, and
finally produced delirium.

He had spent considerable time in digging the first grave,
when, exhausted by his exertions, he sought repose in his
cavern. But the sight of his comrades stretched on the
naked sand roused him from his apathy, and he returned
to his melancholy and difficult undertaking. Hardly had
he dug the first grave, and whilst he was despairing of