194 IN MARI MAGNO.

despair of ever recovering it again. However, I worked hard, till
indeed my strength was almost exhausted, and kept my boat as
much to the northward—that is, towards the side of the current
which the eddy lay on—as possibly I could; when about noon, as
the sun passed the meridian, I thought I felt a little breeze of
wind in my face, springing up from the south-south-east. This
cheered my heart a little, and especially when in about half an
hour more it blew a pretty small gentle gale. By this time I
was gotten at a frightful distance from the island, and had the
least cloud or hazy weather intervened, I had been undone another
way too; for I had no compass on board, and should never have
known how to have steered towards the island, if I had but once
lost sight of it. But the weather continuing clear, I applied myself
to get up my mast again, and spread my sail, standing away to
the north as much as possible, to get out of the current.

Just as I had set my mast and sail, and the boat began to
stretch away, I saw even by the clearness of the water some
alteration of the current was near; for where the current was so
strong, the water was foul; but perceiving the water clear, I found
the current abate, and presently I found to the east, at about half
a mile, a breach of the sea upon some rocks. These rocks, I found,
caused the current to part again, and as the main stress of it ran
away more southerly, leaving the rocks to the north-east, so the
other returned by the repulse of the rocks, and made a strong
eddy, which ran back again to the north-west, with a very sharp
stream.

They who know what it is to have a reprieve brought to them
upon the ladder, or to be rescued from thieves just going to
murder them, or who have been in such like extremities, may
guess what my present surprise of joy was, and how gladly I put
my boat into the stream of this eddy, and, the wind also freshening,
how gladly I spread my sail to it, ranning cheerfully before the
wind, and with a strong tide or eddy under foot.

This eddy carried me about a league in my way back again
directly towards the island, but about two leagues more to the
northward than the current which carried me away at first; so
that when I came near the island, I found myself open to the