the lashed and furious sea. Each wave swept over us, but
our buoyant craft rose on the succeeding swell, and cleft its crest
with her knife-like prow. It was now too late to attempt bringing her
to the wind; still it became more urgent to do something to prevent us
from being submerged by the huge seas, which came thundering after us
like avalanches on our quarters.

The perilous dilemma of our doubtful captain and his dainty mate, may
be easily imagined. Every body had an opinion, and of course they vied
with each other in absurdity;--at last some one proposed to cut away
the foresail, and bring her to the wind under bare poles.

I was "conning" the schooner when this insane scheme was broached, and
fearing that the captain might adopt it, I leaped on the hatch, after
calling the boatswain to my place, and assured the crew that if they
severed the sail, we would lose command of the vessel, so that with
impaired headway, the next wave that struck her would show her keel to
the skies and her dock to the fishes. I exhorted them to drive her
_faster_ if possible rather than stop. To turn out the "balance reef,"
I said, was our only salvation;--and I alleged that I had seen a
vessel saved before in precisely the same way. Cowards, with death
clutching their throats, were soon convinced by a man of nerve. I
availed myself of the instantaneous silence that followed my act, and
before the captain could think or speak, I leaped to the boom with my
sharp knife, cutting the reef-points slowly and carefully, so as not
to allow the foresail to be inflated and torn by a single blast.

My judgment was correct. Our increased canvas immediately sent us
skimming over the waves; the rollers no longer combed dangerously over
our quarter; we scudded steadily throughout the remnant of the gale;
and, next night, at sundown, we rested on a quiet, lake-like ocean,
taughtening the strained rigging, and priding ourselves mightily on
the hazards we encountered and overcame. The Minorcan skipper was
satisfied that no man ever before performed so daring an exploit. He
was, moreover, convinced, that no one but himself could have carried
the schooner through so frightful a storm, or would have invented the
noble expedient of driving instead of stripping her!

From this hour all semblance of regular discipline was abandoned.
Sailors, who are suffered to tread the quarter-deck familiarly and
offer their opinions, never get over the permitted freedo