Churchyard,

We leave the reader to imagine with what feelings Mark heard these facts.  Bridget, for whom his tenderness was unabated; Bridget, who had been the subject of so many of his thoughts since his shipwreck, had shown herself worthy to be thus loved, and was now on an island that he might easily reach in a run of a few hours!  The young man retired further within the grove, leaving Bob and Socrates behind, and endeavoured to regain his composure by himself.  Before rejoining his companions, he knelt and returned thanks to God for this instance of his great kindness.  It was a long time, notwithstanding before he could become accustomed to the idea of having associates, at all.  Time and again, within the next month or two, did he dream that all this fancied happiness was only a dream, and awoke under a sense of having been the subject of an agreeable illusion.  It took months perfectly to restore the tone of his mind in this respect, and to bring it back into the placid current of habitual happiness.  The deep sense of gratitude to God he never lost; but the recollection of what he had suffered, and from what he had been relieved by the Divine mercy, remained indelibly impressed on his heart, and influenced his future life to a degree that increased the favour a thousand-fold.

The mode of proceeding was next discussed, in the course of doing which Mark communicated to Bob, somewhat in detail, the circumstance of the recent convulsion, and the changes which it had produced.  After talking the matter over, both agreed it would be every way desirable to bring the whole party, and as much of the property as could be easily moved, up to windward at once.  Now, that the natives knew of the existence of Rancocus Island, their visits might be often expected, and nothing was more uncertain than their policy and friendship.  Once on Rancocus Island the Peak could be seen, and from the Peak the Reef was visible.  In this way, then, there was every reason to believe that the existence of their little colony would soon become known, and the property they possessed the object of cupidity and violence.  Against such consequences it would be necessary to guard with the strictest care, and the first step should be to get everything of value up to windward, with the least possible delay.  The natives often went a long distance, in their canoes and on their rafts, with the wind abeam, but it was not often they undertook to go directly to windward.  Then the activity of the volcano might be counted on as something in favour of the colonists, since those uninstructed children of nature would be almost certain to set the phenomenon down to the credit of some god, or some demon, neither of whom would be likely to permit his special domains to be trespassed on with impunity.