The blacks fed us afterwards with rice, prepared with oil of cocoa-nuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, eat of it greedily. I eat of it also, but very sparingly. The blacks gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, [27] that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they gave us rice on purpose to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. They did accordingly eat my comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being entire, you may easily guess, gentlemen, that instead of growing fat, as the rest did, I grew leaner every day. The fear of death under which I laboured, turned all my food into poison. I fell into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the blacks, having killed and eat up my companions, seeing me to be withered, lean, and sick, deferred my death till another time. Mean while I had a great deal of liberty, so that there was scarce any notice taken of what I did; and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance from the houses, and to make my escape. An old man who saw me, and suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but instead of obeying him, I redoubled my pace, and quickly got out of sight. At that time there was none but the old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to come home till night, which was pretty usual with them: therefore, being sure that they could not come time enough to pursue me, I went on till night, when I stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions I had taken care of; but I speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon cocoa-nuts, which served me both for meat and drink. On the eighth day I came near the sea, and saw all of a sudden white people like myself gathering pepper, [28] of which there was great plenty in that place. This I took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple. --Scheherazade broke off here, and went on with the story next night, as follows: EIGHTIETH NIGHT. The people who gathered pepper, continued Sindbad, came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me, in Arabic, who I was, and whence I came. I was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and satisfied their curiosity by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and how I fell into the hands of the blacks. Those blacks, replied they, eat men; and by what miracle did you escape their cruelty? I told them the same story I now tell you, at which they were wonderfully surprised. I staid with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence they came. They presented me to their king, who was a good prince. He had the patience to hear the relation of my adventures, which surprised him; and he afterwards gave me clothes, and commanded care to be taken of me.