LOSS OF AN ENGLISH SLOOP. 123 
length appeared. I ran to the shore with the mate to en- 
deavor to discover some vestige of the ship, though we had 
very little hope of finding any. What was our surprise and 
our satisfaction to see that she had held together, notwith- 
standing the violence of the wind, which seemed strong 
enough to dash her into a thousand pieces during the night' 
The first thing I did was to contrive how to get the remain- 
der of the crew on shore. The vessel, since we quitted her, 
had been driven by the waves much nearer the shore, and the 
distance by which she was separated from it, I knew, must be 
much less at low v\^ater. When it was come, I called out to 
the people in the ship to tie a rope to her side and let them- 
selves dowTi one after another. They adopted this expedient. 
Watching attentively the motion of the sea, and seizing the 
opportunity of dropping at the moment when the waves retir- 
ed, they all got on shore without danger, excepting the car- 
penter. He did not think proper to trust himself in that man- 
ner, or probably was unable to stir, having used his bottle ra- 
ther too freely during the night. The general safety was at- 
tached to that of each individual, and I doubly rejoiced to see 
around me such a number of my companions in misfortune, 
whom I imagined to be swallowed up by the waves but a few 
hours before. 
The captain, before he left the ship, fortunately provided 
himself with all the materials for lighting a fire. The com- 
pany then proceeded toward the forest : some fell to work 
to cut wood, others to collect the dry branches scattered on 
the ground, and soon a bright flame, rising from a large pile, 
produced a thousand acclamations of joy. Considering the 
extreme cold which we had so long endured, no enjoyment 
could equal that of a good fire. We crowded around it as 
closely as possible to revive our benumbed limbs. But this 
enjoyment was succeeded, in general, by excruciating pain, 
as soon as the heat of the fire penetrated into those parts of 
the body which had been bitten by the frost. The mate and 
myself were the only exceptions, on account of the exercise 
we had taken during the night. All the others had been more 
or less attacked, both in the ship and on shore. The convul- 
sive movements produced in our unfortunate companions, by 
the violence of the torments they endured, would be too hor- 
rible for description. 
When we came to'make a review of our company, I obser- 
ved that Captain Green, a passenger, was missing. I was in- 
formed that he had fallen asleep in the ship, and had frozen to 
