STATEMENTS OF SURVIVORS. 201 



sight, for we saw no avoiding- her coming- thwart our haiser; she drove at last so near us, 

 that I was just gowing to order the mate to cut away, when it pleas'd God the ship sheer'd 

 contrary to our expectation to windward, and the man-of-war, which we found to be the 

 Sterling Castle, drove clear of us, not two ships' lengths, to leeward. 



"It was a sight full of terrihle particulars to see a ship of eighty guns (sic) and 

 about six hundred men* in that dismal case. She had cut away all her masts; the men 

 were all in the confusion of death and despair ; she had neither anchor, nor cable, nor boat 

 to help her, the sea breaking over her in a terrible manner, that sometimes she seem'd 

 all under water. And they knew, as well as we that saw her, that they drove by the 

 tempest directly for the Goodwin, where they could expect nothing but destruction. The 

 cries of the men, and the firing their guns, one by one, every half minute for help, terrified 

 us in such a manner, that I think we were half dead with the horror of it/' The same 

 writer describes the collision of two vessels, which he saw sink together, and several great 

 ships fast aground and beating to pieces. "One," says he, "we saw founder before our 

 eyes, and all the people perished." 



" We have," says Defoe, " an abundance of strange accounts from other parts, and 

 particularly the following letter from the Downs, and though every circumstance in this letter 

 is not literally true, as to the number of ships or lives lost, and the style coarse and sailor- 

 like, yet I have inserted this letter, because it seems to describe the horror and consterna- 

 tion the poor sailors were in at that time ; and because this is written from one who was 

 as near an eye-witness as any could possibly be, and be safe. 



{i ' SIR, These lines I hope in God will find you in good health. We are all left 

 here in a dismal condition, expecting every moment to be all drowned j for here is a 

 great storm, and is very likely to continue. We have here the Rear- Admiral of the Blue in 

 the ship called the Mary, a third-rate, the very next ship to ours, sunk, with Admiral 

 Beaumont, and above 500 men drowned ; the ship called the Northumberland, a third-rate, 

 about 500 men, all sunk and drowned ; the ship called the Sterling Castle, a third-rate, 

 all sunk and drowned, above 500 souls ; and the ship called the Restoration, a third-rate, 

 all sunk and drowned. These ships were all close by us, which I saw. These ships fired 

 their guns all night and day long, poor souls, for help, but the storm being so fierce and 

 raging, could have none to save them. The ship called the Shrewsbury, that we are in, 

 broke two anchors, and did run mighty fierce backwards, within sixty or eighty yards of 

 the Sands, and as God Almighty would have it, we flung our sheet-anchor down, which 

 is the biggest, and so stopt ; here we all prayed God to forgive us our sins, and to save 

 us, or else to receive us into his heavenly Kingdom. If our sheet-anchor had given way, 

 we had been all drowned ; but I humbly thank God, it was his gracious mercy that saved 

 us. There's one, Captain Fanel's ship, three hospital ships, all split, some sunk, and most 

 of the men drowned. 



" ' There are above forty merchant ships cast away and sunk ; to see Admiral Beaumont, 

 that was next us, and all the rest of his men, how they climbed up the main-mast, hundreds 



* This narrative differs from the more circumstantial account given by Defoe, doubtless from official authorities. 

 The vessel had seventy guns, and 349 men ; the latter, likely enough, may not have been her full complement. 



66 



