III.
One day a king was sailing in a boat with a negro slave, who was so seasick that his groans and lamentations disturbed the royal repose. A doctor who happened to be present undertook to keep the slave quiet, and, on receiving permission to do so, ordered him to be thrown overboard, which was promptly done. The poor wretch managed with difficulty to catch hold of the rudder of the boat, and, being taken on board once more, sat shivering in a corner, and did not utter another sound. The king, delighted with this result, asked the doctor how he had silenced the fellow. 'Your Majesty will see,' was the reply, 'he had never before experienced the inconvenience of being drowned, and did not properly appreciate the security of a boat.'