SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
235 
below, and supplied with small quantities of tea and bread, 
then stripped of their wretched clothing, washed, and put 
to bed. 
Meantime the officer reported the condition in which he 
had found the wreck. It appeared to have been thirty-two 
days in the state in which we saw it, during which time most 
of the crew had died, and the rest had only preserved life by 
feeding on their late companions. When the officer went 
on board, the two women rushed towards him, kissed his 
hands, and hailed him as a deliverer. The men, stupefied 
as it appeared with suffering, scarcely spoke, but hastily 
gathering their tattered clothes round them, hurried to¬ 
wards the boat. The master of the vessel, his wife, a female 
passenger, two middle-aged men, and one young man, were 
all that survived of seventeen. One of the women, when 
brought on the Blonde's deck, fell on her knees and ex¬ 
claimed—“ Great God, where am I ? is it a dream ?”—but 
it was not until the next day that we heard the particulars 
of their sad story. 
As the night came on, it began to blow fresher and 
fresher, and ere morning the weather had, as we thought, 
been violent enough to have destroyed these poor creatures 
had they remained upon the vessel; but as day advanced 
the wind again moderated, and the master of the vessel, 
ii ii 2 
