This scheme could not but appear to me eligible. I thirsted
after an acquaintance with new scenes; my present situation could
not be changed for a worse; I trusted to the constancy of Ludloe's
friendship; to this at least it was better to trust than to the
success of my imposture on Dorothy, which was adopted merely as a
desperate expedient: finally I determined to embark with him.

In the course of this voyage my mind was busily employed.
There were no other passengers beside ourselves, so that my own
condition and the character of Ludloe, continually presented
themselves to my reflections. It will be supposed that I was not
a vague or indifferent observer.

There were no vicissitudes in the deportment or lapses in the
discourse of my friend. His feelings appeared to preserve an
unchangeable tenor, and his thoughts and words always to flow with
the same rapidity. His slumber was profound and his wakeful hours
serene. He was regular and temperate in all his exercises and
gratifications. Hence were derived his clear perceptions and
exuberant health.

This treatment of me, like all his other mental and corporal
operations, was modelled by one inflexible standard. Certain
scruples and delicacies were incident to my situation. Of the
existence of these he seemed to be unconscious, and yet nothing
escaped him inconsistent with a state of absolute equality.

I was naturally inquisitive as to his fortune and the
collateral circumstances of his condition. My notions of