r
spouting out upon our streaming deck, I got another gang to work at
launching the guns overboard as the roll of the ship permitted--and
this, I was glad to see, eased the poor labouring craft quite
perceptibly. This done, all hands, except those at the pumps, went to
breakfast, the meal consisting of hot coffee sweetened with molasses,
and ship's biscuit, more or less sodden with salt-water--for with the
coming of daylight and the preparation of breakfast the unwelcome
discovery had been made that the salt-water had got at the provisions
and gone far toward spoiling them. Then, as soon as the first gang had
finished breakfast, they relieved those at the pumps, who in their turn
took breakfast and next proceeded to clear away the longboat and prepare
her for launching, by providing her with a proper supply of oars and
thole-pins, her rudder and tiller, masts and sails, and then carefully
stowing her stock of water and provisions. But when all this was done
it was still blowing too hard--although the worst of the gale seemed to
be over--and the sea was altogether too rough to allow of our attempting
to launch her. We therefore next got to work upon a raft, first of all
lashing all our spare spars together as a sort of foundation, and then,
upon the top of this, lashing the hen-coops, gratings, a few planks that
the carpenter had stowed away down below, and, finally, some lengths of
bulwark that we cut away for the purpose. This raft, when completed,
was a fairly roomy affair, affording space enough to stow away some
thirty people, together with a good supply of provisions and water,
which we now proceeded to get up from below and stow; the cook,
meanwhile, industriously boiling as much beef and pork as he could crowd
into his coppers. Then we knocked off and piped to dinner; and while we
were getting this--probably the last meal of which we should ever
partake aboard the poor old _Dolphin_--our hearts were gladdened by a
sudden burst of sunshine breaking through the clouds, and half an hour
later the sky to windward was clear, the sun was shining brilliantly and
pouring his welcome warmth upon our chilled bodies and saturated
clothing, while the gale had broken and was fast moderating, having
already declined to the strength of a double-reefed topsail breeze. The
sea, too, was no longer raging like a boiling cauldron; yet, even so, it
was still too heavy to justify us in attempting to launch either the
longboat or