Tryphoena, hastily taken up by her faithful attendants, and plac’d with her chief goods in the skiff, avoided a most certain death.

I, lockt in Gito’s arms, not without tears, cry’d out, “And this we have merited of Heaven, that only death should joyn us; but even now I fear fortune will be against it; for see the waves threaten to o’erturn the vessel; and now the tempest comes to burst the lov’d bands that unite us; therefore if you really love Encolpius, let’s kiss while we may, and snatch this last joy even in spite of our approaching fate.”

When I had thus said, Gito threw off his mantle, and getting under mine, thrust his head out at top to reach my lips; but that the most malicious wave might not ravish us asunder, he girt himself to me with the thong that bound his wallet; and “’tis some comfort,” said he, “to think that by this the sea will bear us longer e’re it can divorce us from each other’s arms.  Or, if in compassion it shou’d throw us on the same shore, either the next that passes by wou’d give us a monument of stone, that by the common laws of humanity he wou’d cast upon us; or at least the angry waves, that seem to conspire our separation, wou’d unwittingly bury us in one grave, with the sand their rage wou’d vomit up.”  I was satisfy’d with my chain, and, as on my death-bed, did now contentedly expect the coming hour.

In the mean time the tempest, acting the decrees of Fate, had rent all the rigging from the vessel; no mast, no rudder left, not a rope or plank, but an awkward shapeless body of a ship tost up and down the flood.

The fisher-men that inhabited the sea-side, expecting a booty, in all haste put out with their boats; but when they saw those in the vessel that cou’d defend their own; they chang’d their design of pillaging to succouring.

After a salute on both sides, unwonted murmurs, lilre that of some beast, labouring to get out, proceeded from beneath the master’s cabin; upon which, following the sound, we found Eumolpus sitting alone, and in his hand a large scroll of paper that he was filling, even to the margent, with verses; we all were amaz’d to see a man amuse himself with poetry, at a time when he had reason to think each minute wou’d be his last, and having drawn him, malcing a great noise, from his hole, we endeavour’d to recover him from his frenzy; but he was in such a heat to be disturb’d, that “’Sdeath,” said he, “let me make an end of this couplet, it finishes the poem;” on which I took hold of the mad man, and order’d the still murmuring poet to be hall’d on shore.

When with some trouble we had got him on shore, we very pensively enter’d one of the fishermen’s huts, and howe’re we feasted on our meats the sea had corrupted, we had no comfortable night of ’t.

The next day, as we were proposing how to bestow our selves, we discover’d an human body floating on a little wave that made to shore:  I stood still concern’d, and began with more diligence to see, if what was presented to our view was real.