king as it
tore through the rigging and the heavy rolling waves to break inboard,
washing the decks fore and aft; so, the hands were turned up to furl the
mainsail and take in the spanker.

This relieved the ship somewhat; but, as she still laboured very much,
the topsails were close-reefed and a reef taken in the foresail, the men
being almost blown off the yards when aloft while doing this and having
hard work to get down safely on deck again when the job was done, the
force of the gale being such that they were flattened against the
rigging and had to hold on "by the skin of their teeth," as sailor folk
say.

Even this amount of canvas, however, reduced though it was, presently
proved too much for her; and the commander therefore gave the order to
furl the foresail and haul down the foretopmast staysail, a storm
staysail being set on the forestay to keep the vessel under steerage way
as she tore through the tempest-tossed water like a maddened thing,
rolling her gunwales under and pitching sometimes to that extent that
she seemed about to dive into the deep never to rise again.

There were four men at the wheel; and yet, with all their exertion, it
was impossible to preserve a straight course, for the ship yawed from
side to side, as if seeking to escape the following seas that raced
after her, rearing their threatening crests right over the taffrail.

So, fearing that we might get pooped, we now furled the foretopsail and
lay-to under our close-reefed maintopsail and storm staysails; thus
awaiting what might further be in store for us, although it did not then
seem possible that anything could be worse!

We were all soon undeceived, however, on this point; although we had
about half-an-hour's let off, during which interval the commander and
gunnery lieutenant employed themselves in having the guns secured with
double breechings and stout seven-inch hawsers triced up along the decks
in their rear, a separate tackle being bent on into this and passing
under the neck ring of each of the long thirty-two pounders, in order to
prevent their taking charge and waltzing about amidships when the vessel
rolled.

Ay, and she did roll, too!

The decks also were battened down to keep out the floods of water, which
she was continually taking in over the bows, from passing too freely
below, where a considerable quantity had already, indeed, gone, making
us rather damp down in the steerage.

Lifelines were likewise rove on