“The value of putting this discovery to prompt use was soon seen. The boy, from being cold almost as a corpse, began to show some symptoms of returning warmth. His breathing seemed to be more rapid and free, and his eyelids began to move a little, though they did not fully open for some time; but it was then only for an instant, and I was not certain whether he recognized me or not. I called to him loudly by name, I rubbed his forehead, I pounded his hands, but he gave no further recognition; yet he was getting more and more warm, and in this circumstance I rested my hope.
“Having accomplished this much, and feeling pretty sure that the boy would recover in the end, my mind very naturally fell back upon the contemplation of my own unhappy condition. I moved a few steps from the boy, and sat down upon a rock overlooking the sea. There was nothing there to inspire me with courage, when this question came uppermost in my mind: ‘Suppose the boy does recover from his present stupor, how are we going to live?’ Could anybody indeed be in a more sorry state? Let me enumerate:—
“1st. I had been shipwrecked,—a fortune usually considered bad enough under any circumstances.
“2d. I had lost all of my companions except a feeble boy whom I had rescued from death, and who was now helpless on my hands.
“3d. I was cast away on a desert land, I knew not where, but very far towards the North Pole, as was clear enough from the immense quantities of ice which whitened the sea before me.
“4th. I was chilly, and had no fire nor means of making any. Nor had I sufficient clothing to cover me.
“5th. I was hungry, and had no food nor means of obtaining any.
“6th. I was thirsty, and had nothing to drink, nor could I discover anything.
“7th. I was without house or hut to shelter me.
“8th. I was without weapons to defend myself against the attacks of wild beasts, if any there should be to molest me.