We prepared for our rest; we loaded all our arms, then offered up our prayers together, thanking God for his signal mercy to us, and commending ourselves to his care.

When the last ray of light departed, we closed our tent, and lay down on our beds, close together.

The children had remarked how suddenly the darkness came on, from which I concluded we were not far from the equator; for I explained to them, the more perpendicularly the rays of the sun fall, the less their refraction; and consequently night comes on suddenly when the sun is below the horizon.
Once more I looked out to see if all was quiet, then carefully closing the entrance, I lay down.

Warm as the day had been, the night was so cold that we were obliged to crowd together for warmth.

The children soon slept, and when I saw their mother in her first peaceful sleep, my own eyes closed, and our first night on the island passed comfortably.
* * * * *.