helm a-lee; it was scarcely done, when
the vessel struck. The shock was so violent, that the men below were
thrown out of their hammocks, and they had difficulty in getting upon
deck, for every sea lifted up the ship and then again dashed her upon
the rocks with such force that they could not keep their feet. All was
confusion and alarm. Every one felt his own utter helplessness.

'Oh! my Lord,' writes Lieutenant Nesbitt to Lord Collingwood, 'it
draws tears from my eyes when I reflect on the complicated miseries of
the scene! Heaven, now our only resource, was piteously invoked; and
happy am I to say, our gallant crew left nothing untried which we
imagined could save us--all cheerfully obeying the orders of the
officers. An instant had hardly elapsed ere our main-deck was burst
in, and a few minutes after the lee bulwark was entirely overwhelmed.
A heavy sea broke entirely over us, and none could see the smallest
aperture through which hope might enter, and enliven the chill and
dreary prospect before us.'

The only chance of escape for the crew was by the boats, and one only,
a small whale-boat, got clear of the ship in safety, the others were
all either stove or washed off the booms and dashed to pieces on the
rocks by the raging surf. The boat that escaped was manned by the
coxswain, George Smith, and nine others. When they got clear of the
wreck, they lay on their oars, and those who had clothing shared it
with others who were nearly naked. They then pulled towards the Island
of Pauri, seeing that it was impossible for them to render any
assistance to their wretched comrades, as the boat already carried as
many as she could possibly stow.

After the departure of the whale-boat, the ship continued to strike
every two or three minutes, but as she was thrown higher on the rock,
the men perceived that a part of it was above water; and as they
expected the vessel to go to pieces at every shock, that lonely rock
offered a safer refuge from the waves than the frail timbers to which
they were clinging. The mercy of Providence soon provided them with
the means of exchanging their perilous situation for one of less
certain and instant danger. The mainmast fell over the side about
twenty minutes after the vessel struck, and the mizen and foremasts
followed. These all served as gangways by which the people passed
through the surf from the wreck to the platform of the coral reef, and
thus for the time were rescued from the c