did what she could to hurry up
the laggards, by firing rapid signal-guns; and the crews of the several
ships, waking up at last, were seen swarming aloft, when it was too
late, to shorten sail.

The _Aurora_ was lying with her head pointed to the southward, with her
starboard broadside presented square to the wind, when the gale first
struck her. Her skipper, anxious to save his canvas, if possible, kept
his men aloft as long as he dared, urging and encouraging them with his
voice to exert themselves to their utmost; but when he saw the old
_Tremendous_ bow under the first stroke of the blast as though she meant
to "turn the turtle" altogether, he thought it was high time to look to
the safety of his crew.

"Make fast, and come down at once, lads," he shouted; "down with you,
for your lives; the canvas must take care of itself now."

Startled by the anxious sharpness of the hail, the men hurriedly knotted
the gaskets, just as they were, and scuttled in off the yard like so
many frightened squirrels.

They were all in the main-rigging when the hurricane burst upon the
ship. With a terrific, unearthly streaming roar it rushed upon her, and
the barque, as if conscious of her utter inability to withstand its
tremendous strength, instantly went over on her beam-ends, with her
lower yard-arms dipping into the water. The men in the lee-rigging were
almost completely sheltered by the hull of the ship, and they had
therefore but little difficulty in holding on. But they were obliged to
remain where they were, the lower portion of the shrouds being buried
some eight feet deep in water, thus precluding the possibility of the
men descending to the deck; whilst to go aloft again and endeavour to
descend to windward, was as much as their lives were worth. They had a
practical illustration of this in the fact that two of the men in the
weather shrouds were actually torn from their hold, and dashed with such
violence against the main-top that one man had his arm, and the other,
three of his ribs broken.

Captain Leicester, on seeing the near approach of the hurricane, had,
after hailing his men to come down from aloft, lashed the wheel
hard-a-starboard, and then, accompanied by Mr Bowen, he hurried away to
the foot of the main-mast, where they cast off the starboard fore-braces
and hauled in upon the larboard until they had braced the topsail as
sharp up as it was possible for two men to get it. The result of this
manoeuvre