THE ELBA AGROUND 137 



on every one in the ship at once that we were 

 aground. Here was a nice mess. A violent 

 scirocco blew from the land ; making one's skin 

 feel as if it belonged to some one else and didn't 

 fit, making the horizon dim and yellow with fine 

 sand, oppressing every sense and raising the ther- 

 mometer 20 degrees in an hour, but making calm 

 water round us which enabled the ship to lie for 

 the time in safety. The wind might change at any 

 moment, since the scirocco was only accidental ; 

 and at the first wave from seaward bump would go 

 the poor ship, and there would [might] be an end 

 of our voyage. The captain, without waiting to 

 sound, began to make an effort to put the ship 

 over what was supposed to be a sandbank ; but 

 by the time soundings were made, this was found 

 to be impossible, and he had only been jamming 

 the poor Elba faster on a rock. Now every effort 

 was made to get her astern, an anchor taken out, 

 a rope brought to a winch I had for the cable, 

 and the engines backed ; but all in vain. A small 

 Turkish Government steamer, which is to be our 

 consort, came to our assistance, but of course very 

 slowly, and much time was occupied before we 

 could get a hawser to her. I could do no good 

 after having made a chart of the soundings round 

 the ship, and went at last on to the bridge to sketch 

 the scene. But at that moment the strain from 

 the winch and a jerk from the Turkish steamer 



