ew. A few were cut down, and the rest
retreated forward, and escaped on shore by a warp, which had previously
been carried there, no one attempting to stop them. As with lanterns in
our hands, we wandered over the ship, everywhere signs were visible of
the cruel effect of our broadsides. In the cabin lay an officer and two
men. We thought they were wounded. We threw the light on their
countenances; they had been dragged there by their shipmates to be out
of the way, probably, and had died as they lay. Poor fellows! they had
fought their last fight--they were dead. Not a thing was found on
board. A glance showed Mr Willis that it would be impossible to get
the ship off, so he ordered us to set fire to her in every direction.
Having done so, and left the dead bodies to be consumed in a not ignoble
funeral pile, we hurried to the boats. We had been taught by a former
catastrophe not to delay too long. As we pulled away, the flames,
climbing up the masts and spars; to which the canvas still hung, formed
a magnificent pyramid of fire, which grew and grew in height till it
seemed to reach the very skies. It was a fine spectacle, but a finer
was to come. She was still burning when we got back to our ship, and
the boats were hoisted in. I watched the conflagration from the deck.
The fire threw a ruddy glare over the sand-hills and the dark woods
beyond, and by its light we could see people watching, undoubtedly with
bitter hearts, the destruction of their property. Without a moment's
warning, while the conflagration was at its height, the whole mass of
flame seemed to be lifted together like a huge fire-work--then it spread
far and wide, forming a fiery canopy of mushroom shape, and breaking
into a thousand fragments, came hissing down into the surrounding ocean,
while a few burning embers alone remained to mark the spot where the
tall ship had lately been--a pretty night's work for the officers and
crew of his Majesty's ship Orpheus. I don't know that the thought of
what we had been about disturbed the rest of any of those who enjoyed
the luxury of turning into their hammocks. The next morning a boat with
a flag of truce was sent on shore to learn particulars of the vessel we
had destroyed. A number of persons were collected in the neighbourhood
of the wreck, and, as may be supposed, they did not look very
affectionately at us; but flags of truce were always respected, in spite
of the animosity which was daily i