A little after noon I found the sea very calm, and the tide ebbed so far out that I could come within a quarter of a mile of the ship. And here I found a fresh renewing of my grief; for I saw evidently that if we had kept on board we had been all safe—that is to say, we had all got safe on shore, and I had not been so miserable as to be left entirety destitute of all comfort and company as I now was.
Passava di poco l’ora del mezzogiorno, quando trovai il mare sì placido e il riflusso in tanta declinazione, che potei portarmi con le mie gambe alla distanza di un quarto di miglio dal vascello, e qui, oh quanto si rinnovellarono i miei cordogli! perchè qui ebbi il pieno convincimento che se fossimo rimasti a bordo, ci saremmo tutti salvati.