our barrel. We began to feel an
invincible disgust at the flesh which had till then, scarcely supported us;
and we may say that the sight of it inspired us with a sentiment of terror,
which was doubtless produced by the idea of approaching destruction.

On the 17th, in the morning, the sun appeared entirely free from clouds;
after having put up our prayers to the Almighty, we divided among us, a
part of our wine; every one was taking with delight his small portion, when
a captain of infantry looking towards the horizon, descried a ship, and
announced it to us by an exclamation of joy: we perceived that it was a
brig; but it was at a very great distance; we could distinguish only the
tops of the masts. The sight of this vessel excited in us a transport of
joy which it would be difficult to describe; each of us believed his
deliverance certain, and we gave a thousand thanks to God; yet, fears
mingled with our hopes: we straitened some hoops of casks, to the end of
which we tied handkerchiefs of different colours. A man, assisted by us all
together, mounted to the top of the mast and waved these little flags.

For above half an hour, we were suspended between hope and fear; some
thought they saw the ship become larger, and others affirmed that its
course carried it from us: these latter were the only ones whose eyes were
not fascinated by hope, for the brig disappeared. From the delirium of joy,
we fell into profound despondency and grief; we envied the fate of those
whom we had seen perish at our side, and we said to ourselves, when we
shall be destitute of every thing, and our strength begins to forsake us,
we will wrap ourselves up as well as we can, we will lay ourselves down on
this platform, the scene of so many sufferings, and there we will await
death with resignation. At last, to calm our despair, we wished to seek
some consolation in the arms of sleep; the day before we had been consumed
by the fire of a burning sun; this day, to avoid the fierceness of his
beams, we made a tent with the sails of the frigate: as soon as it was put
up, we all lay down under it, so that we could not perceive what was
passing around us. We then proposed to inscribe upon a board an account of
our adventures, to write all our names at the bottom of the narrative, and
to fasten it to the upper part of the mast, in the hope that it would reach
the government and our families.

After we had passed two hours, absorbed in the most cruel r