d with boats, so there was room for everybody without
overcrowding.

While these preparations had been going on, Captain Chesney had been in
the cuddy, stating the condition of affairs to the passengers, and
directing them to prepare for their forthcoming boat-voyage by dressing
in their warmest clothing and providing themselves with such extra wraps
as would be useful at night or during severe weather. He also permitted
them to each take a small package of valuables with them, explaining at
the same time that they must be prepared to throw these overboard should
the boats prove to be dangerously deep in the water, or should bad
weather come on.

At length, all being ready, the process of embarkation in the boats
began, both gangways being used for this purpose. First of all, the
crew of the long-boat and the first cutter descended into their
respective boats, and stood by to receive the other occupants. The
long-boat was a particularly fine and roomy craft, with accommodation
enough to take all the women and children in her, and these were now
accordingly ushered down the accommodation ladder, each being called by
name by the skipper, who stood at the gangway with a list in his hand,
which he ticked off by the light of the flames as each person left the
ship. This was at the starboard gangway. Meanwhile Simcoe, the second
mate, at the port gangway, was receiving the men who had been injured by
the lightning that had set the ship on fire. All these were taken into
the second cutter, and her full complement was made up with bachelor
passengers. As soon as these two boats had received their full number
they were ordered to pull away from the ship far enough to allow two
other boats to come to the gangway, which in like manner quickly
received their human freight, and hauled off. And so the work went on
until everybody but the skipper and myself had left the ship, the gig,
with eight hands, being at the gangway to receive us. The whole of the
fore part of the ship, to within a few feet of the main hatchway, was by
this time a roaring and blazing fiery furnace, the flames of which
reached as high as the main-topmast-head. Part of the fore deck had
fallen in; the heel of the bowsprit had been consumed, causing the spar,
with all attached, to plunge into the water under the bows, and the deck
planking, as far aft as the gangway, was almost unendurably hot to stand
upon, while small tongues of flame were constantly