ind well
behind her beam, topmasts housed for the night, but, barring that,
canvassed like a well-found ship sure of her sea-room. And the Carracks
had torn the bottom out of her.

"The difficulty with the life-boat and two seine-boats was to find the
position of the wreck, the night being pitch dark and dirty, and the
calls and outcries of the poor creatures being swept down the wind to
the westward. Our fellows pulled like Trojans, however, hailing and
ahoying as they went; and about half-way down the line of Menawhidden
they came on the first of the _Nerbuddha's_ boats, laden with women and
children, in charge of the fourth officer and half-a-dozen seamen.
From her they learned the vessel's name and whereabouts, and having
directed her on her way to the Porth, hurried forward again.
They passed another boat similarly laden, and presently heard the
distracting cries of swimmers, and drove straight into the wreckage and
the struggling crowd of bodies. The life-boat rescued twenty-seven, and
picked up four more on a second journey: the first seine-boat accounted
for a dozen: the second (in which Hobart pulled an oar) was less
fortunate, saving five only--and yet, as I shall tell you, my young
friend had (and, for that matter, still has) abundant reason to be
thankful for his voyage in her; for on that night he plucked from the
sea the greatest treasure of his life.

"She--for it was a small girl of seven, and he took her from the arms of
a seaman who died soon after being lifted into the boat-turned out to be
the Colonel's daughter. She had stood by her mother's side above the
gangway while the women passed down the side into the boats: for that
noble English lady had insisted that as it was the Colonel's duty to
follow his men, so it was for the Colonel's wife to wait until every
other woman and every child had filed past. The _Nerbuddha_ had gone
down under her as she stood there beside her husband, steadied by his
hand on her shoulder. Both bodies were afterwards recovered.

"Altogether fifty-two were buried in this parish: other bodies were
washed ashore or picked up from time to time, some at great distances up
and down the Channel. In the end the list of those unaccounted for came
to forty, or by other accounts thirty-six. That was my first experience
of what Menawhidden could do. I have had many since: but to this day
our little church--yes, even when we decorate it for harvest-festival
and pile the