But thou hast drawn all this upon thyself by
thy cursed avarice. Ah! unfortunate wretch, shouldst thou not
rather have stayed at home, and quietly enjoyed the fruits of thy
labour?'
Such were the vain complaints with which I made the cave echo,
beating my head and breast out of rage and despair, and abandoning
myself to the most afflicting thoughts. Nevertheless, I must tell
you that, instead of calling death to my assistance in that
miserable condition, I felt still an inclination to live, and to do
all I could to prolong my days. I went groping about, with my nose
stopped, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and took
some of it. Though the darkness of the cave was so great that I
could not distinguish day and night, yet I always found my coffin
again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious and fuller of
corpses than it appeared to me at first. I lived for some days upon
my bread and water, which being all used up at last I prepared for
death.
As I was thinking of death, I heard something walking, and blowing
or panting as it walked. I advanced towards that side from whence I
heard the noise, and upon my approach the thing puffed and blew
harder, as if it had been running away from me.
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