the aching festering wound. I fed like a wild beast, which seizes its food

only when stung by intolerable hunger. I did not change my garb, or seek

the shelter of a roof, during all those days. Burning heats, nervous

irritation, a ceaseless, but confused flow of thought, sleepless nights,

and days instinct with a frenzy of agitation, possessed me during that

time.

As the fever of my blood encreased, a desire of wandering came upon me. I

remember, that the sun had set on the fifth day after my wreck, when,

without purpose or aim, I quitted the town of Ravenna. I must have been

very ill. Had I been possessed by more or less of delirium, that night had

surely been my last; for, as I continued to walk on the banks of the

Mantone, whose upward course I followed, I looked wistfully on the stream,

acknowledging to myself that its pellucid waves could medicine my woes

for ever, and was unable to account to myself for my tardiness in seeking

their shelter from the poisoned arrows of thought, that were piercing me

through and through. I walked a considerable part of the night, and

excessive weariness at length conquered my repugnance to the availing

myself of the deserted habitations of my species. The waning moon, which

had just risen, shewed me a cottage, whose neat entrance and trim garden

reminded me of my own England. I lifted up the latch of the door and

entered. A kitchen first presented itself, where, guided by the moon beams,

I found materials for striking a light. Within this was a bed room; the

couch was furnished with sheets of snowy whiteness; the wood piled on the

hearth, and an array as for a meal, might almost have deceived me into the

dear belief that I had here found what I had so long sought--one

593

The Last Man