gh fifty year ago, the hull yarn as to how she wer
lost."

"Do you?" said Fritz. "I should like to hear about it."

"Waall, here goes, I reckon. You see as how there wer several ladies
aboard, an' it wer the plight they wer put in thet made me 'member it
all. It wer in the month of July thet it happen'd, an' the vessel, as I
said afore, wer bound to Bombay. The weather bein' thick an' the master
funky about his latitudes, findin' himself by observation near these
islands, he detarmined to look for 'em, in order to get a sight of 'em
an' correct his reck'nin'. I guess he hed too much of a sight soon;
fur, a thick fog shortly shut out everythin' from gaze, an' lookin' over
the side he found the vessel in the midst of a lot o' floatin' weed.
The helm wer put down, but by reason of light winds and a heavy swell
settin' in to the shore, the same as you just now saw at Tristan, the
shep's head couldn't be got to come round. Breakers were now heard
ahead, so the jolly-boat wer lowered with a tow-line to heave the bows
round; but it wer of no use, as the wind hed failed entirely an' the
swell was a-drivin' the shep on to the rocks. An anchor wer then let
go, but the depth of water didn't allow it to take hold, so, they
lowered the cutter to help tow the shep's head round, along with the
jolly-boat, when all of a sudden she struck. The fog wer so thick by
then, thet those on board couldn't see the boats alongside, much less
the shore. Howsomedever, they cut away the masts, to ease the vessel
an' stop her grindin' on the rocks. Soon arter this, the fog lifted
when those on board were frit by seein' right over their heads
apparently, those very terrific-lookin' cliffs you see in front, just
thaar--only thet they wer close into 'em, not more nor half a cable's
length off, an' the heavy seas, sich as you ken now see runnin' up the
face of the rocky wall thaar, wer breaking boldly right over the shep--"

"And," interrupted Fritz, "what happened then?"

"What could you expect?" replied the skipper. "I guess she wer beaten
into matchwood in five minutes; although, won'erful to say, the hull of
the passengers, ladies an' all, wer got ashore safely, only one man
bein' drowned--an' it sarved him right, as he was one of the crew who
tried to escape when the shep first struck, an' leave all the rest to
perish! They wer all got to land by a hawser rigged from a peak of
projectin' rock to a bit of the wreck; an' the ladies, I r