264 WEECKS ox THE PURBECK COAST. 



being able to see nothing from the fog, and hearing voices, ho 

 came to the conclusion that the voices he heard must be those 

 of the Coast Guard, come to the assistance of those in difficulty, 

 and continued his occupation. It is not easy to speculate on 

 the amount of placidity which may exist in the pastoral mind; 

 but possibly the sound of five or six pistol shots in succession 

 might have aroused him into giving alarm to the Coast Guard — 

 the Captain and Crew might have become aware of their real 

 position, and in the end a considerable saving of the property 

 might have been effected. 



However that may be, the passengers first, and soon the 

 whole of the crew, were, not without the Captain's consent, in 

 the boats, expecting the masts to come over, and the vessel 

 very probably to foimder. Somewhere about three hours after 

 the sailing, the Captain and the Mate left her, intending to 

 stay by her till she should sink or the weather clear so as to 

 shew their position ; next to nothing seems to have been taken 

 in the boats. According to the evidence adduced, sight of the 

 ship was lost in the dense fog, and the boats then pulled away 

 from the breakers. Entirely losing their way they got into 

 the Eace off St. Alban's Head, and were near being swamped. 

 Eventually they were picked up by a schooner, whose crew 

 was probably, like that of the ** Hardy," quite ignorant of the 

 existence of Swanage. So that they went on to the supposed 

 nearest port, Southampton, which was reached on the morning 

 of the 2l8t. 



Meanwhile, about twelve o'clock at noon the fog cleared off, 

 and the ship revealed herself to the astonished eyes of the 

 Coast Guard on duty. The astonishment was not diminished 

 when the boats coming alongside found that she was com- 

 pletely deserted — evidently recently, for the fire was yet a-Kght 

 in the cabin. The absence of the boats explained that the 

 crew had gone out to sea. 



Possession was taken of the vessel by the Coast Guard, and 

 she was placed a^ soon as practicable under the charge of the 



