The old gentleman settled himself in his chair, my mother smoothed her apron, folded her hands, and looked meekly into my face.

Tom Lokins filled his pipe, stretched out his foot to poke the fire with the toe of his shoe, and began to smoke like a steam-engine; then I cleared my throat and began my tale, and before I had done talking that night, I had told them all that I have told in this little book to you, good reader, almost word for word.
Thus ended my first voyage to the South Seas.

Many and many a trip have I made since then, and many a wonderful sight have I seen, both in the south and in the north.

But if I were to write an account of all my adventures, my little book would grow into a big one; I must therefore come to a close.
The profits of this voyage were so great, that I was enabled to place my mother in a position of comfort for the rest of her life, which, alas! was very short.

She died about six months after my return.