ht since of La Motte's practical philosophy.

We had every one of us soon need of all the courage and resignation we
possessed. The wind, which had been steady all the day, began towards
the afternoon to chop about. First it flew round to the north-east, and
blew pretty hard, and we none of us liked the look of the weather.
Still we hoped that it might not grow worse. We took a reef in the
mainsail, and brought the boat close up to the wind.

Before long, however, it came on to blow still harder, and the sea got
up very much, and the spray came flying over us, and now and then a sea
broke on board, and we had to keep a couple of hands baling to prevent
the boat from filling. Night was coming on: we close-reefed the
mainsail, and took a reef in the foresail, and continued our course
close-hauled. By degrees the wind shifted round to the
north-north-east, and though close-hauled as we lay, we were fully four
points off our course, and if it held on that way, it seemed a chance
even if we should fetch the coast of Cornwall. Night was coming on, but
there was no improvement in the weather.

Having taken a cheerless supper, for our spirits had sunk very low, we
sat still in our places without speaking. The rain came down on us and
wetted us through and chilled us to the bones, and the weather grew
thicker and thicker. Sometimes we could scarcely see a yard ahead, and
we ran a great risk of being run down by a vessel, or of running into
one. Still we could do nothing further to help ourselves.

Away we flew into the pitchy darkness, the seas hissing and roaring
around us, the boat tumbling and tossing about, now in the trough of a
sea, now on the summit, surrounded by dense masses of foam, which seemed
at times completely to wrap us up--the wind howling, and the rain coming
down in torrents, sufficient of itself to swamp the boat.

Either La Motte or Andrews or I sat at the helm, and very nice steering
it required to keep the boat from swamping. We lighted the binnacle
lamp to enable us to keep as near as we could to our proper course. We
had also our lantern ready to show as a signal in case we were able to
make out any vessel approaching us.

I had been in many perils, as I have described, but none of them seemed
greater than those I went through on that night. Often I thought that
the boat could not possibly swim another minute. Often she was almost
gunwale under before we could luff up in time to ease he