58 MEMOIR OF 



ourselves of the light from the burning ship to steer 

 a tolerably good course towards the shore. She con- 

 tinued to burn till about midnight, when the salt- 

 petre she had on board took fire, and sent up one of 

 the most splendid and brilliant flames that was ever 

 seen, illuminating the horizon in every direction to 

 an extent of not less than fifty miles, and casting 

 that kind of blue light over us, which is of all others 

 the most horrible. She burnt and continued to flame 

 in this style for about an hour or two, when we lost 

 sight of the object in a cloud of smoke. 



" Neither Nilson nor Mr Bell, our medical friend, 

 who had accompanied us, had saved their coats ; but 

 the tail of mine, with a pocket handkerchief, served 

 to keep Sophia's feet warm, and we made breeches 

 for the children with our neckcloths. Rain now 

 came on, but, fortunately, it was not of long conti- 

 nuance, and we got dry again. The night became 

 serene and starlight ; we were now certain of our 

 course, and the men behaved manfully ; they rowed 

 incessantly, am) with good heart and spirit, and never 

 did poor mortals look out more for daylight and for 

 land than we did ; not that our sufferings or grounds 

 of complaint were any thing to what had befallen 

 others, but from Sophia's delicate health, as well as 

 my own, and the stormy nature of our coast, I felt 

 perfectly convinced we were unable to undergo star- 

 vation and exposure to sun and weather many days, 

 and, aware of the rapidity of the currents, I feared 

 we might fall to the southward of the port. 



