296 
lasted two or three seconds of time. The form of this 
meteor appeared to me like a sack turned inside out, 
after being emptied; at the last moment it appeared of 
a bluish red. 
The meteor was followed by terrible shocks of the 
sea, wind, and hail, which lasted till near three in the 
morning. The storm began then to abate, but it con- 
tinued strong till an hour after sun-rise, when it slack- 
ened a little more; but the terrible N. W. wind and 
heavy sea continued; and we beat about again all the 
day. 
The next day, 5th March, I observed our position. 
The captain decided that we could not reach Alexan- 
dria; he wished to return to the island of Cyprus. In 
consequence of this I directed our course, and after 
three days' sailing, with strong winds, and a terrible sea, 
we anchored in the harbour of Limasol, in the island of 
Cyprus, on the 7th March 1806. 
How can I paint the frightful state of our vessel? all 
the sails torn, no cordage, leaks on all sides, so that the 
pumps were in continual use, all the people ill, and 
twenty men in bed, almost expiring. One man had 
died on the 4th, and his body was thrown into the sea, 
and another died the day we arrived in port; all the rest 
were wild. The sailors helped each other on shore, 
and escaped, leaving the captain on board, with three or 
four Turkish sailors. We hastened to the shore, and 
the country people seeing the distressed situation we 
were in, fled from us; nobody would go on board. The 
governor was obliged to order some caulking to stop 
the largest leaks in the hold of the ship, which appear- 
ed every moment to be ready to sink. 
