Well, dear Mother, all, as I said, went well with
me, till one night, when we were on the Grand Bank; it was a rain
storm, and the captain sent me up to the topmast to reef a sail;
some one had been up, in the course of the day, and dropped some
grease, and I think my foot slipped; I was confused, the rain beat
in my face, I could not see any thing, and I fell. I must have been
stunned, for I am sure some time must have passed before I found
myself overboard, struggling to keep myself above water. In a
moment, I saw my whole danger. I knew that the ship must have gone
on some distance, and that it was useless to try to swim after her.
I did not think the sailors would know I had fallen overboard, for
some time, and I knew that, in such a dark, stormy night, it was
almost impossible for them to do any thing to save me. You know,
dear Mother, I am an excellent swimmer; but I immediately thought
that my only chance was to save my strength as much as possible; so
I turned over on my back and floated, and determined to keep myself
as quiet as I could, so as not to exhaust myself before the boat
could come for me, which was what I hoped for, though I knew there
was small chance of it, on such a night. In a few moments I saw
indistinctly one of those great birds that follow after vessels,
hovering over me, and I felt his horrid wings brushing over my face.
I used one of my arms to drive him away, while, with the other, I
kept myself on the top of the water; the waves rolled high, and, as
they broke over me, repeatedly filled my mouth with the bitter
water, so that I could not scream to let any one know where I was.
Presently more birds, smaller however, fluttered their frightful
wings over me; but the large one, whose wings I am sure extended as
far as I could stretch my arms, was the worst; he kept hovering over
me; O, I can see the frightful creature now! Well, Mother, don't be
scared, for here I am as well as ever. I found my strength began to
fail me. I could not see the ship. The cold was terrible. The horrid
birds were hovering, and the waves were rolling over me. I thought
of you and father, my brothers and sisters, my dear home; and I felt
as if I could not bear my sufferings any longer, and that I had
better give up. I was about turning myself over and letting myself
go, when I saw a black thing at a distance which I took for a
porpoise. While I was looking to see what it was, I heard the words,
'Jemmy! Jemmy!' and I