'What!' said Selkirk to himself, 'she has then accompanied me on this
corner of earth only to be my victim! To her first caress I replied
only by brutality; the first shot I fired in this island was directed
against her. I pursued for a long time, with my thoughtless and stupid
hatred, the only being who has ever loved me, and who to-day is dying
for having saved me from that precipice from which I drove her with
blows of stones! Marimonda, my companion, my friend,--no! thou shalt
not die! He who sent thee to me as a consolation will not take thee
away so soon, to leave me a thousand times more alone, more unhappy,
than ever! God, in clothing thee with a form almost human, has
undoubtedly given thee a soul almost like ours; the gleam of
tenderness and intelligence which shines in thine eyes, where could it
have been lighted, but at that divine fire whence all affection and
devotion emanate? Well! I will implore Him for thee; and if He refuse
to hear me, it will be because He has forgotten me, because He has
entirely forsaken me, and I shall have nothing more to expect from His
mercy!'
Falling then upon his knees, with his forehead upon the ground, he
prays God for Marimonda.
Meanwhile, from day to day the poor invalid grows weaker; her eyes
become dim and glassy; her limbs frightfully emaciated, and her hair
comes off in large masses.
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