He seemed to know that I was taking my farewell, and with one last lingering hope he endeavoured to restrain me.

But all in vain, my mind was finally made up.
I should have like to speak once again to M.Letourneur, Andre and Miss Herbey, but my courage failed me.

I knew that the young girl would read my resolution in my eyes, and that she would speak to me of duty and of God, and of eternity, and I dared not meet her gaze; and I would not run the risk of being persuaded to wait until a lingering death should overtake me.

I returned to the back of the raft, and after making several efforts, I managed to get on to my feet.

I cast one long look at the pitiless ocean and the unbroken horizon; if a sail or the outline of a coast bad broken on my view, I believe that I should only have deemed myself the victim of an illusion; but nothing of the kind appeared, and the sea was dreary as a desert.
It was ten o'clock in the morning.