I looked upon my present condition as the most miserable that could possibly be; that I was not able to throw myself into anything but death, that could be called worse; and if I reached the shore of the main I might perhaps meet with relief, or I might coast along, as I did on the African shore, till I came to some inhabited country, and where I might find some relief; and after all, perhaps I might fall in with some Christian ship that might take me in: and if the worst came to the worst, I could but die, which would put an end to all these miseries at once.
Je regardais ma position d'alors comme la plus misérable qui pût être, et je ne voyais pas que je pusse rencontrer rien de pire, sauf la mort. Ne pouvais-je pas trouver du secours en atteignant le continent, ou ne pouvais-je le côtoyer comme le rivage d'Afrique, jusqu'à ce que je parvinsse à quelque pays habité où l'on me prêterait assistance.