58 
MEMOIR OP 
ourselves of the light from the burning ship to steer 
a tolerably good course towards the shore. She con.- 
tinned to burn till about midnight, when the salt- 
[letre she had on board took fire, and sent up one of 
the most splendid and brilliant flames that was ever 
seen, illuminating the horizon in every direction to 
an extent of not less than fifty miles, and casting 
that kind of blue light over u.s, which is of all others 
the most horrible. She burnt and continued to flame 
in this style for about an hour or two, when we lost 
sight of the object in a cloud of smoke. 
“ Neither Nilson nor Mr Bell, our medical friend, 
who had accompanied us, had saved their coats ; but 
the tail of mine, with a pocket handkerchief, served 
to keep Sophia’s feet warm, and we made breeches 
for the children with our neckcloths. Rain now 
came on, but, fortunately, it was not of long conti- 
nuance, and w'e got dry again. The night became 
serene and starlight ; we were now certain of our 
course, and the men behaved manfully ; they rowed 
incessantly, and with good heart and spirit, and never 
did poor mortals look out more for daylight and for 
land than we did ; not that our sufierings or grounds 
of complaint were any thing to what had befallen 
others, but from Sophia’s delicate health, as well as 
my own, and the stormy nature of our coast, I felt 
perfectly convinced we were unable to undergo star- 
vation and exposure to sun and weather many days, 
and, aware of the rapidity of the currents, I feared 
we might fall to the southward of the port. 
