A SHIPWRECK. 239 



tainted air was, and threatening life every hour, it was 

 the sole safety of the crew. They knew nothing of this ; 

 and when the mate's knife broke, a savage wrath at 

 their frustrated hope must have seized them. " In the 

 dead of the night of Wednesday, the vessel suddenly 

 struck heavily : on the third blow the stem dropped so 

 much that all hands were forced to make the best of 

 their way, one by one, further towai'ds the bows ; in at- 

 tempting which poor Vincent was caught by the water 

 and drowned, falling down through the cabin floor and 

 skylight. After the lapse of an hour or two, find- 

 ing the water to ebb, Gallo got down into the cabin, 

 and whilst seeking for the hatchet which was usually 

 kept there, was forced to rush again for shelter to the 

 lazarette, to avoid being drowned by the sea, which 

 rose on him with fearful rapidity. Another hour or 

 two of long-suffering succeeded, when they were re- 

 joiced to see, by the dawning of the day of Thursday 

 the 19th, that the vessel was fast on the rocks, one of 

 which projected up through the skylight. The captain 

 then went down into the cabin, and found that the 

 quarter of the ship was stoved ; and, looking through 

 the opening, he called out to his companions above, 

 ' Grace a Dieu, mes enfans ! nous sommes sauves ! Je 

 vois un homme a terre ! ' Immediately after this the 

 man approached, and put in his hand, which the cap- 

 tain seized, almost as much to the terror of the poor man 

 as to the intense delight of the captain. Several people 

 of the neighbourhood were soon assembled ; the side of 

 the ship was cut open, and the four poor fellows were 



