made all the sail they could from us. In the midst of this
confusion, the rope which towed the raft, broke also, and a hundred and
fifty men were abandoned in the midst of the ocean, without any hope of
relief.
This moment was horrible. Mr. Espiau, to induce his comrades to make a last
effort, tacked and made a motion to rejoin the raft. The sailors
endeavoured to oppose it, saying that the men on the raft would fall upon
us, and cause us all to perish. "I know it, my friends," said he, "but I
will not approach so near as to incur any danger; if the other vessels do
not follow me, I will think only on your preservation, I cannot do
impossibilities." In fact, seeing that he was not seconded, he resumed his
route. The other boats were already far off. "We shall sink," cried Mr.
Espiau, let us shew courage to the very last. Let us do what we can: _vive
le roi_! This cry a thousand times repeated rises from the bosom of the
waters which are to serve us for a grave. The boats also repeated it, we
were near enough to hear this cry of _vive_ _le roi_! Some of us thought
that this enthusiasm was madness: was it the fulness of despair which made
them speak so, or was it the expression of the soul broken by misfortune? I
know not, but for my part, this moment appeared to me sublime: this cry was
a rallying cry, a cry of encouragement and resignation. (B)
[A10] XVI.--_On the sudden Gale experienced by the Raft_.
This strong gale was the same North West wind which in this season, as has
been said before, blows every day with great violence after sun-set; but
which, that day, began sooner, and continued till 4 o'clock the next
morning, when it was succeeded by a calm. The two boats which resisted it,
were several times on the point of being wrecked. The whole time that this
gale lasted, the sea was covered with a remarkable quantity of _galeres_ or
_physalides_, (physalis pelasgica) which arranged, for the most part, in
straight lines, and in two or three files, cut at an angle the direction of
the waves, and seemed at the same time to present their crest or sail to
the wind, in an oblique manner, as if to be less exposed to its impulse. It
is probable that these animals have the faculty of sailing two or three
abreast, and of ranging themselves in a regular or symetrical order; but
had the wind surprised these, so arranged on the surface of the sea, and
before they had time to sink, and shelter themselves at the bottom, or did
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