"For God's sake, Augustus," I screamed, now heartily frightened, "what ails you ?--what is the matter ?--what _are_ you going to do ?" "Matter!" he stammered, in the greatest apparent surprise, letting go the tiller at the same moment, and falling forward into the bottom of the boat--"matter--why, nothing is the--matter--going home--d--d--don't you see ?" The whole truth now flashed upon me.

I flew to him and raised him up.

He was drunk--beastly drunk--he could no longer either stand, speak, or see.

His eyes were perfectly glazed; and as I let him go in the extremity of my despair, he rolled like a mere log into the bilge-water, from which I had lifted him.

It was evident that, during the evening, he had drunk far more than I suspected, and that his conduct in bed had been the result of a highly-concentrated state of intoxication--a state which, like madness, frequently enables the victim to imitate the outward demeanour of one in perfect possession of his senses.