"It so happened that I was disputing a point of small importance with one of the English sailors, in the course of which, growing angry, I was obliged to give him a blow. This excited the wrath of the other sailors, and in fact of the whole crew, who seized every missile weapon that came to hand, wherewith to assail me. I retreated to the forecastle, and took one of the English gentlemen as my shield, putting myself behind him, which mode of defence so far availed me, that I was not instantly slain. "The other gentlemen quieted the tumult; but on condition that I should be thrown into the sea, or at least, that I should be cast adrift in a small boat in which I might return to Spain, or wherever Providence might send me. "This was done accordingly; they put me into the boat with two barrels of water, one of butter, and some biscuit. I thanked my protectors for the favour shown me, and set out on my voyage with only two oars. The ship was soon far away. Night came on, and I was alone in the middle of the wide ocean, at the mercy of the wind and waves. I raised my eyes to heaven, and recommended my soul to God, with as much devotion as I could; then I looked northward, by which I hoped to distinguish whither I was going, but I knew not the place where I was. Six days and six nights I went on thus, trusting more to the mercy of Heaven than to my own exertions, for my arms were quite tired with the continued work they had to do. I abandoned the oars, unshipped them, and laid them in the boat, to assist me again, when the sea permitted and my strength returned. I laid myself down at full-length on my back, shut my eyes, and there was not a saint in heaven I did not invoke in my inmost heart to aid me. It may perhaps be hard to be believed, that in the midst of this my greatest need, there came upon me a very heavy sleep, so heavy that I lost all sense and feeling; but in my dreams imagination pictured all kinds of horrible deaths,--all were in the water, and in one it seemed to me that I was devoured by wolves and torn in pieces by wild beasts, so that waking or sleeping, my life was a prolonged death. From this not very pleasant dream, I was roughly awakened by a tremendous wave, which washed over the boat and filled it with water. I saw my danger, and hastened, as well as I was able, to restore the wave to its parent sea. My oars availed me nothing, though I again attempted to use them. The sea was growing boisterous, scourged and fretted by a south-west wind, which seems to prevail more powerfully in these seas than in any others. I saw that it was folly to oppose my little boat to its fury, my weak and fainting strength to its fierceness; so once more I laid down my oars, and let the boat run where it pleased the wind and waves to carry it.