vessel was expected, very
shortly, to be safe in port; but drifting somewhat out of her proper
direction she ran on to a submerged reef. All hands were immediately
on deck, and every endeavour was made to launch the boats, but they
were prevented by the sudden turning over of the vessel. Many of the
passengers clung to the rigging, believing that to be their best chance
of escape. Five lines were attached, by the crew, to a rock lying some
distance from the vessel, and another line was carried from the rock to
the shore. Many of the passengers, who had the courage to pass over
the comparatively slender rope spanning the watery abyss, were saved.
By reason of the extreme cold several lost their hold on the ropes and
fell into the sea. The captain was indefatigable in his efforts to
preserve life. A vast number of passengers died in their berths; many
who had managed to reach the deck were swept away by the immense waves
that flooded it. One sharp cry was wafted on the chill night air, and
a deadly silence prevailed, except for the fitful roaring of the sea.

Early in the morning, many who had spent the hours of darkness on the
rock, were rescued by a boat sent from Meagher's Island. Captain
Williams maintained his position on the wreck until the effect of the
cold on him had made his presence useless, when he was carried off in
one of the boats. Mr. Firth, after being many hours in the rigging was
assisted from his precarious situation by the Rev. Mr. Ancient, a
clergyman. A Spaniard remarked that the scene on board the sinking
ship was one of awful confusion. A crowd of terror-stricken human
beings were swaying hither and thither, in vain hopes of meeting with
some way of escape, shrieking and begging for aid; a moment after, when
he looked from his perch in the rigging, not a soul of them was to be
seen.

Emulated by the courageous example of the Rev. Mr. Ancient, the
fishermen of Meagher's Island did all in their power for the
shipwrecked people. One boy, whose friends had perished, was saved by
trying to creep through a porthole, but not having sufficient strength,
a boatman seized him by the hair and drew him out, depositing him in
the boat.

The vessel soon snapped asunder, and many of her stores were recovered
by the divers. Corpses were every now and then thrown up in vast
numbers by the raging sea, to be reverently laid with their kindred
dust, in the churchyard mould.

Many other stories migh