AMUSEMENTS. 239 



from an elevation of five or six feet, with his 

 crutches, and a little parcel of wooden boats 

 that he carried under his arm, on the sand 

 of the beach. He had to scramble or halt 

 at least 100 yards, over hard rocks, before 

 he reached the water, and he several times 

 fell down and cut his naked limbs on the 

 bare stones. Being in the water he seemed 

 in an extasy, and immediately put his boats 

 in sailing order and was perfectly inattentive 

 to the counsel and warning of the spectators, 

 who shouted to him that he would be 

 drowned. His whole attention was absorbed 

 by his boats. He had formed an idea that 

 one should outsail the others, and when this 

 boat was foremost he was in delight; when 

 any one of the others got beyond it he 

 howled with grief; and once I saw him 

 throw his crutch at one of the unfavoured 

 boats. The tide came in rapidly — he lost 

 his crutches, and would have been drowned 

 but for the care of some of the spectators: 

 but he was wholly inattentive to any thing- 

 save his boats. He is said to be quite in- 

 sane and perfectly ungovernable, and will 



