he horrors
of the scene. My unfortunate father then experienced the most
excruciating agony of mind. The idea of the loss which the shipwreck
had occasioned to him, and the danger which still menaced all he held
dearest in the world, plunged him into a swoon. The tenderness of his
wife and children recovered him; but alas! his recovery was to still
more bitterly deplore the wretched situation of his family. He clasped
us to his bosom; he bathed us with his tears, and seemed as if he was
regarding us with his last looks of love.

Every soul in the boat was seized with the same perturbation, but it
manifested itself in different ways. One part of the sailors remained
motionless, in a bewildered state; the other cheered and encouraged
one another; the children, locked in the arms of their parents, wept
incessantly. Some demanded drink, vomiting the salt water which choked
them; others, in short, embraced as for the last time, intertwining
their arms, and vowing to die together.

In the meanwhile the sea became rougher and rougher. The whole surface
of the ocean seemed a vast plain furrowed with huge blackish waves
fringed with white foam. The thunder growled around us, and the
lightning discovered to our eyes all that our imagination could
conceive most horrible. Our boat, beset on all sides by the winds, and
at every instant tossed on the summit of mountains of water, was very
nearly sunk in spite of our every effort in baling it, when we
discovered a large hole in its poop. It was instantly stuffed with
everything we could find:--old clothes, sleeves of shirts, shreds of
coats, shawls, useless bonnets, everything was employed, and secured
us as far as it was possible. During the space of six hours, we rowed
suspended alternately between hope and fear, between life and death.
At last towards the middle of the night, Heaven, which had seen our
resignation, commanded the floods to be still. Instantly the sea
became less rough, the veil which covered the sky became less
obscure, the stars again shone out, and the tempest seemed to
withdraw. A general exclamation of joy and thankfulness issued at one
instant from every mouth. The winds calmed, and each of us sought a
little sleep, while our good and generous pilot steered our boat on a
still very stormy sea.

The day at last, the day so desired, entirely restored the calm; but
it brought no other consolation. During the night, the currents, the
waves, and the winds had ta