rst shock; for,
perhaps, of all shocks to the human frame, there is none which creates
a greater panic than the first intimation of fire on board of a
vessel--a situation, indeed, pitiable, when it is considered that you
have to choose between the two elements seeking your destruction.
Philip did not speak for a minute or two. He then pointed out to the
men the danger of their situation, what were the measures which he
and Krantz had decided upon taking, and how necessary it was that all
should be cool and collected. He also reminded them that they had but
little powder in the magazine, which was far from the site of the
fire, and could easily be removed and thrown overboard; and that, if
the fire could not be extinguished, they had a quantity of spars on
deck to form a raft, which, with the boats, would receive all on
board, and that they were but a short distance from land.

Philip's address had the most beneficial effects; the men rose up when
he ordered them; one portion went down to the magazine, and handed up
the powder, which was passed along and thrown overboard; another went
to the pumps; and Krantz, coming up, reported the hole to have been
cut in the planking of the deck above the main-hold: the hoses were
fixed, and a quantity of water soon poured down, but it was impossible
that the danger could be kept secret. The troops were sleeping on
the deck, and the very employment of the seamen pointed out what had
occurred, even if the smoke, which now increased very much, and filled
the lower deck, had not betrayed it. In a few minutes the alarm of
_Fire_! was heard throughout the vessel, and men, women, and children
were seen, some hurrying on their clothes, some running frightened
about the decks, some shrieking, some praying, and the confusion and
terror were hardly to be described.

The judicious conduct of Philip was then made evident: had the sailors
been awakened by the appalling cry, they would have been equally
incapable of acting, as were the troops and passengers. All
subordination would have ceased: some would have seized the boats,
and left the majority to perish: others would have hastened to the
spirit-room, and, by their drunkenness, added to the confusion and
horror of the scene: nothing would have been effected, and almost all
would, in all probability, have perished miserably. But this had been
prevented by the presence of mind shown by Philip and the second mate,
for the captain was a cypher: