nging up and putting on my clothes, while
Kennedy hurried on deck. I found that the chief noise had been caused
by a number of shot boxes breaking loose from the mainmast, and as the
ship heeled over, they came rushing under my hammock and crushing
everything before them. I had no little difficulty in getting them
secured. This appeared to be the last piece of malice those winter
gales had to play us. The next day the weather moderated, and we were
able to lay a course for Halifax. We could scarcely believe our senses
as we found ourselves entering that magnificent harbour, after our
protracted and disastrous voyage. We had been out ninety seven days,
ten weeks of which time we had been under jury-masts. Our only
squaresail was a spritsail at the main-yard to serve as a mainsail. The
whole ship was covered with ice, and a most complete wreck she looked in
every respect. We had the second lieutenant, gunner, and seventy-three
men sick, twenty of whom were suffering from frost-bites. No wonder
that such was our condition when we had encountered no less than
forty-five heavy gales of wind, and it spoke well for the soundness of
the hull of our ship that she had held together so perfectly. Our
captain, officers, and ship's company received the thanks of the
commander-in-chief for their perseverance and resolution, and certainly
no one deserved more credit than did our captain, for the determined way
in which he held on and succeeded in bringing his ship into harbour.

The next Sunday we all repaired to church, to return public thanks to
Almighty God for preserving us from the perils and hardships of the sea,
to which we had been so long exposed. It was a solemn and touching
occasion. Two and two, the captain at our head, and the officers
following with the ship's company, we all marched up together to the
church. Thoughtless and careless about our spiritual being as we
generally were, I believe very few among us did not feel our hearts
swell with gratitude to the Great Being who had so mercifully watched
over and preserved us from the dangers to which we had been exposed,
when the minister gave forth the words of that beautiful hymn of
thanksgiving,--"The sea roared, and the stormy wind lifted up the waves
thereof. We were carried up as it were to heaven, and then down again
to the deep; our soul melted within us because of trouble. Then cried
we unto Thee, O Lord, and Thou didst deliver us out of our distres