In the South Seas

“FOR nearly ten years my health had been declining; and for some  while before I set forth upon my voyage, I believed I was come to  the afterpiece of life, and had only the nurse and undertaker to  expect.  It was suggested that I should try the South Seas; and I was not unwilling to visit like a ghost, and be carried like a  bale, among scenes that had attracted me in youth and health.”