ut from those in advance. The rear ranks
hurried on. A house was seen, then another, and another. They were in
the middle of a village. Kind people came out of their houses to
inquire what had occurred; and at once there was no lack of hearty
invitations, and the whole party were soon enjoying warmth, hot drinks,
and dry clothing, which soon revived the greater number, though some who
had been frost-bitten required considerable attention before they were
set to rights.

The next day the storm raged as furiously as before, and so it continued
for nearly a week, and all had reason to be thankful that they had
reached a place of safety. At length, the weather moderating, and
provisions on the island growing very scarce, the ambassador and his
suite, and half of the ship's company, proceeded on, though not without
great difficulty and hazard, to Cuxhaven, while the rest remained on the
island, in the hope of saving some of the ship's stores.

Among the latter were Devereux, Paul, and O'Grady, with Reuben Cole.
The next day they, with a party of men, volunteered to visit the wreck,
to report on her condition, and to bring back some bread, of which they
stood greatly in need. They succeeded in getting on board, and found
the ship in even a worse condition than they had expected. She was on
her beam ends, with upwards of seven feet of water in her, apparently
broken asunder, the quarter-deck separated six feet from the gangway,
and only kept together by the ice frozen round her. Their task
accomplished, with a few articles of value and a supply of bread, they
returned to the shore.

Considering that the risk was very great, the captain decided that no
further visits should be paid to the ship.

However, one morning, the weather becoming very fine, it being
understood that the captain had not actually prohibited a visit to the
ship, Devereux, Paul, and O'Grady, with Cole and another man, set off to
pay, as they said, the old barkie a farewell visit. The captain, who
was ill in bed, only heard of their departure too late to recall them.
The frost was so severe that the ice was well frozen, and thus they must
have got on board; but it was supposed that they had remained on board
till the tide changing made their return impossible. They were
looked-for anxiously during the evening, but no tidings came of them.
At night the wind again got up, and their shipmates, as they sat by the
fires of their hospitable host, trem