384 



ANOTHER VISIT FROM THIEVES. Chap. XIX. 



Dripping with wet, and rather low-spirited on 

 account of the misfortune which had hefallen me, 

 I lay down on my couch without any inclination 

 to sleep, as may easily be imagined. It was a se- 

 rious business for me to lose so much money, but 

 that part of the matter gave me the least uneasi- 

 ness, The loss of my accounts, journals, drawings 

 and numerous memoranda I had been making 

 during three years of travel, which it was impos- 

 sible for anyone to replace, was of far greater im- 

 portance. I tried to reason philosophically upon 

 the matter ; to persuade myself that as the thing 

 could not be helped now it was no use being vexed 

 with it ; that in a few years it would not signify 

 much either to myself or anyone else whether I 

 had been robbed or not ; but all this fine reason- 

 ing would not do. 



I may have lain about an hour in this pleasing 

 frame of mind, brooding over my ill luck, my people 

 were still on shore, the night was very dark, and 

 everything was perfectly quiet and still. Foot- 

 steps were now heard coming down the pathway 

 on the opposite side of the canal from that on 

 which my men were posted. Although we did 

 not expect anything to turn up from that quarter 

 we were all attention, and when we could see two 

 figures halt abreast of our boat our excitement was 

 at a very high pitch. " Louda, louda,"* cried one 

 of them, addressing the head boatman. My men 

 immediately started up from their concealment on 



* A term always applied to the captain or head man of the boat. 



