ill, when I took notice
of his eyes, which were glaring apparently at some object behind me. I
turned my head, and shall never forget the ecstatic joy which thrilled
through every particle of my frame, when I perceived a large brig
bearing down upon us, and not more than a couple of miles off. I sprung
to my feet as if a musket bullet had suddenly struck me to the heart;
and, stretching out my arms in the direction of the vessel, stood in
this manner, motionless, and unable to articulate a syllable. Peters
and Parker were equally affected, although in different ways. The former
danced about the deck like a madman, uttering the most extravagant
rhodomontades, intermingled with howls and imprecations, while the
latter burst into tears, and continued for many minutes weeping like a
child.

The vessel in sight was a large hermaphrodite brig, of a Dutch build,
and painted black, with a tawdry gilt figure-head. She had evidently
seen a good deal of rough weather, and, we supposed, had suffered
much in the gale which had proved so disastrous to ourselves; for her
foretopmast was gone, and some of her starboard bulwarks. When we first
saw her, she was, as I have already said, about two miles off and to
windward, bearing down upon us. The breeze was very gentle, and what
astonished us chiefly was, that she had no other sails set than her
foremast and mainsail, with a flying jib--of course she came down but
slowly, and our impatience amounted nearly to phrensy. The awkward
manner in which she steered, too, was remarked by all of us, even
excited as we were. She yawed about so considerably, that once or twice
we thought it impossible she could see us, or imagined that, having seen
us, and discovered no person on board, she was about to tack and make
off in another direction. Upon each of these occasions we screamed and
shouted at the top of our voices, when the stranger would appear to
change for a moment her intention, and again hold on toward us--this
singular conduct being repeated two or three times, so that at last we
could think of no other manner of accounting for it than by supposing
the helmsman to be in liquor.

No person was seen upon her decks until she arrived within about a
quarter of a mile of us. We then saw three seamen, whom by their dress
we took to be Hollanders. Two of these were lying on some old sails near
the forecastle, and the third, who appeared to be looking at us with
great curiosity, was leaning ov