82 THE SEA. 



had found a lemon, which he resolved to keep entirely for himself, until the ominous threats 

 of the rest obliged him to share it. The wine, which should have warmed their bodies 

 and gladdened their hearts, produced on their weakened frames the worst effects of 

 intoxication. Five of the number resolved, and were barely persuaded not to commit 

 suicide, so maddened were' they by their potations. Perhaps the sight of the sharks, 

 which now came boldly up to the edges of the raft, had something to do with sobering 

 them, for they decided to live. 



Three days now passed in intolerable torments. They had become so careless of life, 

 that they bathed even in sight of the sharks; others were not afraid to place themselves 

 naked upon the fore part of the raft, which was then entirely under water; and, though 

 it was exceedingly dangerous, it had the effect of taking away their thirst. They now 

 attempted to construct a boat of planks and spars. When completed, a sailor went 

 upon it, when it immediately upset, and the design of reaching land by this means was 

 abandoned. On the morning of the 17th of July, the sun shone brightly and the sky was 

 cloudless. Just as they were receiving their ration of wine, one of the infantry officers 

 discerned the topmasts of a vessel near the horizon. Uniting their efforts, they raised a 

 man to the top of the mast, who waved constantly a number of handkerchiefs tied together. 

 After two hours of painful suspense, the vessel, a brig, disappeared, and they once more 

 resigned themselves to despair. Deciding that they must leave some record of their fate, 

 they agreed to carve their names, with some account of their disaster, on a plank, in the 

 hope that it might eventually reach their Government and families. But they were to 

 be saved : the brig reappeared, and bore down for them. She proved to be a vessel which 

 had been dispatched by the Governor of Senegal for the purpose of rescuing any survivors ; 

 though, considering the raft had now been seventeen days afloat, there was little expectation 

 that any of its hundred and fifty passengers still lived. The wounded and blistered limbs, 

 sunken eyes, and emaciated frames of the remnant told its own tale on board. And yet, 

 with due order and discipline, presence of mind, and united helpfulness, the ship, with 

 every soul who had sailed on her, might have been saved; and a fearful story of cruelty, 

 murder, and cannibalism spared to us. The modern Medusa has been branded with a name 

 of infamy worse than that of the famous classical monster after which she was named. The 

 celebrated picture by Gericault in the Louvre, at Paris, vividly depicts the horrors of the scene. 



The wreck of the Medusa has very commonly been compared and contrasted with that 

 of the Alceste, an English frigate, which was wrecked the same year. Lord Amherst was 

 returning from China in this vessel, after fulfilling his mission to the Court of Pekin, 

 instituted at the instance of the East India Company, who had complained to Government 

 of the impediments thrown in the way of their trade by the Chinese. His secretary and 

 suite were with him ; and so there was some resemblance to the case of the Medusa, which 

 had a colonial governor and his staff on board. The commander of the Alceste was Captain 

 (afterwards Sir) Murray Maxwell, a true gentleman and a bluff, hearty sailor. Having 

 touched at Manilla, they were passing through the Straits of Gaspar, when the ship suddenly 

 struck on a reef of sunken rocks, and it became evident that she must inevitably and speedily 

 break up. The most perfect discipline prevailed ; and the first efforts of the captain were 

 naturally directed to saving the ambassador and his subordinates. The island of Palo Leat 



