allow a boat to be
lowered. `If I refuse,' I felt, `my crew will say that I am careless of
their lives. It is not their nature to calculate the risk they
themselves must run.' At once Mr Christopher, one of my lieutenants,
nobly volunteered to make the attempt, and numbers of the crew came
forward anxious to accompany him. At last, anxiety to save a drowning
man prevailed over prudence, and I sanctioned the attempt.

"The boat, with Mr Christopher and a picked crew, was lowered, not
without great difficulty, and, sad to say, with the loss of one of the
brave fellows. He was the bowman; and, as he stood up with his
boat-hook in his hand to shove off, the boat give a terrific pitch and
sent him over the bow. He must have struck his head against the side of
the ship, for he went down instantly, and was no more seen. Thus, in
the endeavour to save the life of one man, another was already sent to
his long account. With sad forebodings for the fate of the rest of the
gallant fellows, I saw the boat leave the ship's side. Away she pulled
into the darkness, where she was no longer visible; and a heavy pull I
knew she must have of it in that terrible sea, even if she escaped
destruction. It was one of the most trying times of my life. We waited
in suspense for the return of the boat; the minutes, seeming like hours,
passed slowly by, and she did not appear. I began at length to dread
that my fears would be realised, and that we should not again see her,
when, after half an hour had elapsed since she had left the ship's side
on her mission of mercy, a cheer from her gallant crew announced her
approach with the success of their bold enterprise. My anxiety was not,
however, entirely relieved till the falls were hooked on, and she and
all her crew were hoisted on board, with the rescued man Miles. To my
surprise I found that he was perfectly naked. As he came up the side,
also, he required not the slightest assistance, but dived below at once
to dry himself and to get out of the cold. I instantly ordered him to
his hammock, and, with the doctor's permission, sent him a stiff glass
of grog. I resolved also to relieve him from duty, believing that his
nervous system would have received a shock from which it would take long
to recover. After I had put the ship once more on her course, being
anxious to learn the particulars of his escape, as soon as I heard that
he was safely stowed away between the blankets, I went bel