s had been crushed and flattened as it were by the pressure of
the air, but now, as though strengthened by the reaction, they rose with
the utmost fury. The raft followed the motions of the increasing swell,
and was tossed up and down, to and fro, and from side to side with the
most violent oscillations "Lash yourselves tight," cried the boatswain,
as he threw us some ropes; and in a few moments, with Curtis's
assistance, M. Letourneur, Andre, Falsten, and myself were fastened so
firmly to the raft, that nothing but its total disruption could carry us
away. Miss Herbey was bound by a rope passed round her waist to one
of the uprights that had supported our tent, and by the glare of the
lightning I could see that her countenance was as serene and composed as
ever.

Then the storm began to rage indeed. Flash followed flash, peal followed
peal in quick succession. Our eyes were blinded, our ears deafened, with
the roar and glare. The clouds above, the ocean beneath, seemed verily
to have taken fire, and several times I saw forked lightnings dart
upwards from the crest of the waves, and mingle with those that radiated
from the fiery vault above. A strong odour of sulphur pervaded the air,
but though thunderbolts fell thick around us, not one had touched our
raft.

By two o'clock the storm had reached its height. The hurricane had
increased, and the heavy waves, heated to a strange heat by the general
temperature, dashed over us until we were drenched to the skin. Curtis,
Dowlas, the boatswain, and the sailors did what they could to strengthen
the raft with additional ropes. M. Letourneur placed himself in front
of Andre to shelter him from the waves. Miss Herbey stood upright and
motionless as a statue.

Soon dense masses of lurid clouds came rolling up, and a crackling, like
the rattle of musketry, resounded through the air. This was produced by
a series of electrical concussions, in which volleys of hailstones were
discharged from the cloud-batteries above. In fact, as the storm-sheet
came in contact with a current of cold air, hail was formed with great
rapidity, and hailstones, large as nuts, came pelting down, making the
platform of the raft re-echo with a metallic ring.

For about half an hour the meteoric shower continued to descend, and
during that time the wind slightly abated in violence; but after having
shifted from quarter to quarter, it once more blew with all its former
fury. The shrouds were broken, but