sked him whether he was willing to take his chance in the boat. He
replied in the affirmative, if there was room; and on learning that
there was, he immediately went and gave the people his benediction;
and after saluting the old gentleman, tucked up his conical robes and
forsook the vessel. Captain Nicholls saluted him likewise, and several
others, and then left them praying for his safety.

When he entered the boat he bid the sailors cast her adrift; it was
very dark, and they had neither moon nor stars to direct them. "What a
terrible situation!" he exclaims, "we were twenty-seven in the
long-boat, and nine in the cutter, without victuals or drink."
Uncertain of their distance from the English coast, they agreed to
keep as close as possible to the ship.

It began to blow very fresh, with sleet and snow; the people were
fatigued to the uttermost, from working so long at the pumps, and
after sitting in the wet and cold, they began to wish that they had
staid in the ship and perished, as now they might die a lingering
death. Either alternative was awful. Destitute of provision, it was
most probable that one must be sacrificed by lot to keep the others
alive; and their dismal situation, in arousing the most horrible
anticipations, made them forbode the worst.

The boats now began to make water, yet the men refused to bail them,
they were in a state of such extreme weariness, and not having slept
for four nights, became regardless of their fate. Captain Nicholls,
nevertheless, prevailed on them to free the long-boat of water.

Having a brisk gale, they soon ran a long way from their unfortunate
ship, when to their great distress, it fell quite calm at ten in the
morning. This threw the people in despair, their courage began to
fail, and as they could not expect to live so long as to make the
land, death seemed again staring them in the face.

Some time after this unlucky party forsook the ship, four of the
French prisoners let a small jolly-boat, which was still remaining,
overboard, with two small paddles, and swam to her; and just as they
left the vessel, her decks blew up with a report like a gun. She sunk
in the ocean, and three hundred and sixty souls perished with her.

Captain Nicholls, at length observing the water colored, asked whether
they had any twine, on which one of them gave him a ball from his
pocket; they knocked the bolts off the knees of the long-boat,
wherewith to make a deep-sea lead, and sound