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whole fleet was fhut from our fight. Dark 

 clouds gathered around ; the heavens fcowled 

 in terrific blacknefs ; the fhadowed fea fwelled 

 with pregnant throes ; and the fliips heaved 

 in fickening motion. At length the heavy 

 clouds burft into a roaring ftorm; the waters 

 broke into huge and tremendous mountains; 

 and the fhips rolled and pitched, in dreadful 

 agitation, upon the ruptured furface. All 

 feemed a mighty conflid. The boifterous 

 gale tore, in hideous found ; the fleeting 

 clouds hurried before the v^ind ; the rugged 

 ocean, in violent diforder, hurled mountain 

 over mountain, and ifliied forth loud-roaring 

 threats of deftrudion. The fliips, ftruggling 

 againft the wild and furious waves, were, at 

 one moment, tofl^ed on a pinnacle to the hca* 

 vens, and, the next, plunged into a gloomy 

 deep, furrounded by dark and difordered 

 mountains ; whence there feemed no poflTible 

 cfcape. In an inftant they were again amidft 

 the clouds, and again as fuddenly funk in the 

 dark valley of liquid hills : thus, alternately^ 

 threatening us with the danger of being hurled 

 from a fummit, or fwallowed up in a fright- 

 ful gulf of the unfathomable ocean. Nor 



