the two cutters and the jolly-boat; the
cutters were placed under the command of Mr. Norris, the second
lieutenant, and Mr. Nicholls, the master; and the jolly-boat under the
superintendence of the gunner. These boats were ordered to remain near
the ship, in case anything should occur to render it necessary for the
people to return on board.

About half-past nine P.M., Lieutenant Price and the rest of the ship's
company, excepting two or three who remained on board with the
captain, took their places upon the raft, which was veered by a hawser
to leeward of the brig, and directed to remain in that position until
the morning. At two o'clock in the morning Captain Bertram, convinced
that there was no hope of saving his ship, got into his gig with the
men who had stayed with him, and he had scarcely left the side of the
Persian ere she slipped off the rock, fell over on the larboard side,
and sunk into about seven fathoms water, the tops of the masts only
being visible above the waves.

At daylight, Captain Bertram, with the other boats, bore up for the
raft, which had broken from the hawser during the night and drifted to
some distance. They found her and her crew in a very deplorable
state,--the lashings had been cut through by the rocks, and many of
the timbers were broken, so that they scarcely held together, and the
men had had great difficulty in keeping her from being dashed to
pieces against the rocks, and in preserving themselves from being
carried away by the surf which washed over them continually.

Here was a great difficulty to be overcome; the raft was evidently so
insecure that it could not be depended upon for an hour, and the only
means of saving the men was by distributing them amongst the boats,
which were already so over-crowded, that it would be imminently
perilous to add to their freight. However, Captain Bertram did not
hesitate to brave the danger, but set the example by first taking four
men from the raft into his own gig, and directing the other boats to
receive the rest amongst them in their relative proportions. His
commands were instantly and cheerfully obeyed, but to carry them into
effect the boats' crews were obliged to throw overboard the few
articles of clothing they had saved, and the greater part of the
provisions, in order to enable the boats to bear the additional
weight.

It was now between five and six o'clock in the morning; the wind was
blowing fresh from the east; the nearest