rd of the tender.

At this time the cabins of the beacon were only partially covered, and
had neither been provided with bedding nor a proper fireplace, while the
stock of provisions was but slender. In these uncomfortable
circumstances the people on the beacon were left for the night, nor was
the situation of those on board of the tender much better. The rolling
and pitching motion of the ship was excessive; and, excepting to those
who had been accustomed to a residence in the floating light, it seemed
quite intolerable. Nothing was heard but the hissing of the winds and
the creaking of the bulkheads or partitions of the ship; the night was,
therefore, spent in the most unpleasant reflections upon the condition
of the people on the beacon, especially in the prospect of the tender
being driven from her moorings. But, even in such a case, it afforded
some consolation that the stability of the fabric was never doubted, and
that the boats of the floating light were at no great distance, and
ready to render the people on the rock the earliest assistance which the
weather would permit. The writer's cabin being in the sternmost part of
the ship, which had what sailors term a good entry, or was sharp built,
the sea, as before noticed, struck her counter with so much violence
that the water, with a rushing noise, continually forced its way up the
rudder-case, lifted the valve of the water-closet, and overran the cabin
floor. In these circumstances daylight was eagerly looked for, and
hailed with delight, as well by those afloat as by the artificers upon
the rock.

Friday, 2nd June.

In the course of the night the writer held repeated conversations with
the officer on watch, who reported that the weather continued much in
the same state, and that the barometer still indicated 29.20 inches. At
six a.m. the landing-master considered the weather to have somewhat
moderated; and, from certain appearances of the sky, he was of opinion
that a change for the better would soon take place. He accordingly
proposed to attempt a landing at low-water, and either get the people
off the rock, or at least ascertain what state they were in. At nine
a.m. he left the vessel with a boat well manned, carrying with him a
supply of cooked provisions and a tea-kettle full of mulled port wine
for the people on the beacon, who had not had any regular diet for about
thirty hours, while they were exposed during that period, in a great
measure, both to