reen themselves from the dashing of the spray. The boat
was to the leeward of the vessel, but so great was the commotion of the
sea, that it was not safe to approach even near enough to communicate
with the people on board. After coming up among the heaving and tumbling
surges as near as they dared to venture, the crew of the surf boat found
that all attempts to make their voices heard were unavailing, as their
loudest shouts were wholly overpowered by the roaring of the sea, and
the howling of the winds in the rigging.

Mr. Holmes accordingly gave up the attempt, and fell back again,
intending to go round to the windward side of the ship, in hopes to be
able to communicate with the crew from that quarter. He could hear
_them_ while he was to leeward of them, but they could not hear him; and
his object in wishing to communicate with them was to give them
directions in respect to what they were to do, in order to enable him to
get on board.

In the mean time daylight began to appear. The position of the ship
could be seen more distinctly. She lay upon a shoal, held partly by her
anchor, which the crew had let go before she struck. Thus confined she
had been knocked down by the seas, and now lay thumping violently at
every rising and falling of the surge, and in danger every moment of
going to pieces. She was covered with human beings, who were seen
clinging to her in every part--each separate group forming a separate
and frightful spectacle of distress and terror.

Mr. Holmes succeeded in bringing the surf-boat so near to the ship on
the windward side as to hail the crew, and he directed them to let down
a line from the end of the main yard, to leeward. The main yard is a
spar which lies horizontally at the head of the main mast, and as the
vessel was careened over to leeward, the end of the yard on that side
would of course be depressed, and a line from it would hang down over
the water, entirely clear of the vessel. The crew heard this order and
let down the line. Mr. Holmes then ordered the surf-boat to be pulled
away from the ship again, intending to drop to leeward once more, and
there to get on board of it by means of the line. In doing this,
however, the boat was assailed by the winds and waves with greater fury
than ever, as if they now first began to understand that it had come to
rescue their victims from their power. The boat was swept so far away by
this onset, that it was an hour before the oarsmen could g