58 
M£:moir op 
€mr8e?lFes of the liclit from the huvn'mt* ulnp to steer 
a toierably ^wxi ciiui i^e tow-anls tlie ftiioi e. She ctin- 
tinijfd to hum til! aUout luiiloi^'Jit^ when tlie Halt- 
petre she hud on humt] umk fire, and sent up one of 
the most Hplemlid atul hrilliant flumes that was ever 
seen, illammating thu liorizoti in every JirecUon to 
an extent of not less thun fifty tnilcH, and casting 
that kiml of hliue light ovw us, ^vhirliis of all otiiers 
the nio*t horrihle. Slu' biii rit and i^onLinumJ la flame 
in tliis style for ahont an hour or two, when we lost 
eight of tile obj(?ct in a cloud of smoke. 
" Neither Nilsoii nor Mr Rfll, our medirfjl friend, 
who had acrom[iaiiiL'cl uh, had saved ihmr coats ; but 
the tail of mine, with a pocket handkerchief, served 
to keep Suplua's feet warm, and we nmde hreeches 
for the children with our neckclotti.H, Hain now 
came on, but, fffrHinately, it was not of lonij; conti- 
nuance, and we got dry again. The nij^dit became 
serene and (starliijht ; we were now certain of our 
couriie, and the men behaved manfully ; ibey rowed 
incessantly, and with pntd heart and spirit, and never 
did poor nrmrtals look out more for daylight and for 
land than we did ; not that our sufferirifrs or prounda 
of complaint were any thinsi to what had befallen 
otliers, but from Sophia's dtdii ate health, as well aa 
my own, and the stormy nature of our coast, 1 felt 
perfectly convinced we ^vere unalile to undergo itar- 
vation and exposure to sun and weather many daj^, 
and, aware of the rapidity of ihe currents, I feared 
we might fall to the southward of tlie port. 
