rather elucidating the utterance by the action; and the proposition was, that he should swim out to sea with me. I was 'not John O'Gaunt; but no coward, Hal!'—and, considering that I had never yet ventured into the sea,-and that the person to whose care I committed myself, in so novel and nervous an exploit, was almost a stranger, and that stranger a savage,—my immediate acceptance of his offer, by springing out of the bathing-machine upon his back, may be looked upon as a bold measure, rather than otherwise."—
"Omai, who was highly pleased with my confidence in him, walked a considerable way, before the water came up to his chin; he then struck out; and having thus weighed anchor for this my first voyage, I found myself on board the Omai, decidedly not as commander of the vessel, but as a passive passenger, who must submit, without effort, to the very worst that could happen. My wild friend appeared as much at home upon the waves as a rope-dancer upon a cord; but, as soon as he had got out of his depth, my apprehensions were aroused, and I began to think that, if he should take a sudden fancy to dive, or to turn round and float with his face towards the sky, I who was upon his back must be in a very awkward situation. Every fresh motion of his arms and legs carried us some yards further out; and in the intervals of these efforts, he constantly cried, "Tosh not fraid;" but Tosh was fraid, and plaguily frightened indeed;—that's the plain truth. After a time, however, we went on so steadily, that my fears gradually subsided, and I listened tranquilly to the jargon of my vehicle, who taught me several words in his own language, which had all some reference to our im-
