278 SALMONIA. 



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 ecstasy, 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 ab- 

 sorbed by his boats. He had formed an idea, 

 that one should outsail the rest, and when 

 this boat was foremost he was in delight ; but 

 if 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 : he was 

 however wholly inattentive to any thing save 

 his boats. He is said to be quite insane and 

 perfectly ungovernable, and will not live in a 

 house, or wear any clothes, and his whole 

 life is spent in this one business — making 



