pull and suck at the empty tumbler for several seconds. At length,
however, he let go, groaning "More, more!" This time I mixed a
considerable quantity of weak grog in a jug, and took it on deck with
me, remembering that there were others in the boat alongside who were
also probably perishing of thirst. I administered a further small
quantity of the mixture to my patient, and it was marvellous to see the
effect of it upon him, his strength seemed to return to him as though by
magic, and as he sat up on the deck he muttered, thickly:

"More drink; more drink, for the love of God! I'd sell my soul for a
tumbler of the stuff!"

Powerful though the fellow's adjuration was, I refused his request,
considering that, after his evidently long abstention, it would do him
more harm than good--perhaps kill him, even--to let him drink too freely
at first; so, putting the jug and tumbler out of his sight and reach, I
turned my attention to the longboat alongside. She was a fine, big,
powerful boat, and evidently, from her appearance, had belonged to a
large ship. Now that I had time to look at her attentively I saw that
her masts and sails were in her, laid fore and aft the thwarts, together
with six long oars, or sweeps; she bore, deeply cut in her transom, the
words "_Black Prince_ Liverpool"; there were six water breakers in her
bottom; and, huddled up in all sorts of attitudes eloquent of extremest
suffering, there lay, stretched upon and doubled over the thwarts, and
in the bottom of the boat, no less than fifteen men--whether living or
dead it was difficult for the moment to say. At all events it was
evident that there was no time to be lost, for if the men were not
actually dead their lives were hanging by a thread; so, recovering
possession of the jug of weak grog and the tumbler, I slid down into the
boat and, taking them as they came, wetted the lips of each with a
little of the liquid. Some of them were able to swallow it at once,
while others had their teeth so tightly clenched that it was impossible
to get their jaws apart; but eventually--not to dwell at unnecessary
length upon a scene so fraught with lingering, long-drawn-out
suffering--I contrived to restore every one of them to consciousness,
and to get them aboard the brig, where I spent several hours in
attending to them and, with Miss Onslow's assistance, administering food
and drink in small quantities until their strength had so far returned
to them tha